environment
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Ancient ‘Lazarus’ Primate Was North America’s Last—Until Humans Arrived, Researchers Say
You may think Nebraska and China have little in common, but the two places definitely share one ancient similarity: the presence of a 30-million-year-old primate lineage which headed to North America millions of years before modern human ancestors would evolve. The lineage emerged in North America millions of years after the apparent extinction of all…
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Astronaut Tool Bag Becomes Unexpected Satellite After ISS Spacewalk Slip-Up
In space, misplacing a bag of tools is hard to recover from. A tiny mishap during a recent spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS) has led to a new object in the night sky, with a tool bag now orbiting Earth ahead of the space station, temporarily taunting the astronauts who dropped it. During…
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Dusting and Mopping Better Than Air Purifiers for Cleaning Indoor Air After a Wildfire
Even after smoke from a wildfire has visibly cleared, lingering toxins indoors can tank air quality and threaten our health. Harmful chemicals stick around on surfaces and release into the air—and, new research found, air filters won’t get rid of them. In a study published last month in Science Advances, scientists documented how smoke leaves…
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Astronomers Spot New Aurora in the Gases Around Uranus
Feast your eyes on Uranus’ glowing edges. We’re serious—a team of astronomers has spotted a new aurora on the seventh planet from the Sun, glowing at infrared wavelengths. Ultraviolet aurorae were first spotted on the planet in 1986, but an infrared aurora had never been seen before. The aurora’s discovery was made with the Keck…