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In 1967, the US detonated a 29-kiloton nuclear device 4,227 feet below New Mexico to unlock natural gas; 5 tests produced 213 million cubic feet, but the gas had measurable radioactivity

The site was decommissioned. However, contamination remains underground. In 1967, the United States tried an unusual method to increase natural gas production. It detonated a 29-kiloton device and had an explosoion 4,227 feet below the ground in north-western New Mexico to stimulate the flow of natural gas.According to the US Department of Energy (DOE), the…

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Scientists released up to 45,000 cubic feet of water per second from Glen Canyon Dam for 8 days in 1996; the artificial flood rebuilt Grand Canyon sandbars

Glen Canyon Dam (Image Credit: Canva) For eight days in 1996, the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon experienced something unusual: a deliberately created flood. Scientists working with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and other agencies used Glen Canyon Dam to release water at rates reaching 45,000 cubic feet per second, creating a massive controlled…

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In 1894, two scientists independently used snake venom to create the world’s first antivenoms; one discovery changed treatment of deadly bites |

A snake bite in the late 19th century offered little certainty about what would happen next. There were attempts to counter venom with chemicals and other remedies, but no established treatment could directly neutralise the poison. Then, in France in 1894, two research teams arrived at a very different idea. Albert Calmette, working within the…

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Quote of the day by Richard Feynman: “To every man is given the key to the gates of heaven. The same key opens the gates of…” – a powerful reflection on choice and consequences |

Quote of the day by Richard Feynman (Image: Wikipedia) Some of the most memorable lines are powerful precisely because they manage to say something genuinely complicated in just a few words. This one, often credited directly to the physicist Richard Feynman, is a genuine example. “To every man is given the key to the gates…

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Jaws’ territory is now a great white nursery: 18 young sharks found off New York’s Hamptons as scientists investigate why they keep returning

The waters off New York’s Hamptons, once immortalised as shark-infested territory in Jaws, are revealing a very different story. Researchers have confirmed a summer nursery for young great white sharks in the New York Bight, with studies showing juvenile whites repeatedly using the region’s coastal waters during their early years. NOAA lists Long Island among…

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Researchers edited 25 beagle embryos to remove a major dog allergen; two pups born in 2024 produced no detectable Can f 1 and did not trigger one allergic founder’s skin-prick test

Researchers tested saliva and dander from the gene-edited dogs and found no detectable Can f 1 protein. The resulting 25 reconstructed embryos were implanted into a surrogate beagle, which eventually gave birth to Alfie and Bailey. Dogs are often called humans’ best friend, but for people with dog allergies, living with a canine companion can…

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New Zealand’s world’s heaviest parrot was on the brink with only 51 birds left; now after decades of intensive conservation by wildlife experts, its population has surged to 325 |

New Zealand’s critically endangered kākāpō, the world’s heaviest parrot, has reached a remarkable conservation milestone after decades of intensive efforts to pull the species back from the brink of extinction. Its population has climbed to 325 birds after 90 chicks from the 2026 breeding season were officially added to the count, marking the highest population…

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Quote of the day by Stephen Hawking: “I believe the simplest explanation is, there is no God. No one created the universe and…” – a profound reflection on life, death and the universe |

Quote of the day by Stephen Hawking Few questions have occupied the human mind for quite as long as why the universe exists, and whether human life actually has any real purpose. For centuries, people have approached these questions through religion, philosophy and science, often arriving at genuinely very different conclusions. Stephen Hawking, one of…

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New England has battled invasive green crabs for more than 200 years; now people are eating the destructive species in a bid to protect shellfish, wetlands and coastal ecosystems

Since time immemorial, humans have been consuming food derived from the land, air and water. From vegetables and birds to even crabs, there is not much we have not used to survive on. But currently, people in New England are feasting on green crabs not to survive themselves but to help the native species subsist….

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60 years after Dutch elm disease devastated America’s 100 million iconic trees, now scientists have infected 6,000 young elms in a radical bid to bring them back

Six decades ago, Dutch elm disease swept across the United States, killing an estimated 100 million American elms that once shaded streets, parks and college campuses from coast to coast. The fungus, carried by bark beetles, turned majestic, vase-shaped trees into dead standing skeletons and changed the look of countless towns. Now, in a bold…

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