600-800 단어 기사

The great frigatebird, a species of seabird found across the world’s tropical seas, has a 7 foot wingspan — the largest of any bird species its size. Past research had indicated that these adept pilots could stay aloft as long as a week at a time. It turns out, that the experts and even Christopher Columbus, who noticed the birds on his 1492 voyage to the Americas — and remarked “does not alight on the sea nor depart from land 20 leagues (70 miles)” — had vastly underestimated the magnificent bird’s flying prowess and smarts!...

Monday, August 8, was Earth Overshoot Day. Calculated annually by the environmental advocacy group, Global Footprint Network, it is the day when humanity has consumed all the natural resources — produce, meat, fish, water, and wood — that our planet can regenerate in a single year. This means that for the rest of 2016, we will be using natural resources that are impossible to replace....

Water, or rather the lack of it, is one of the most pressing issues of our times. Unprecedented droughts and growing populations have left many countries struggling to keep up with demand. Given that agriculture is the largest single user of freshwater, providing farmers with new conservation techniques would go a long way in alleviating our water woes. It turns out that a “miracle” powder has been helping drought-stricken Mexican farmers do exactly that for over a decade!...

In July 2016, much to the dismay of environmentalists and the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) — the federal government body in charge of the nation's waterways — granted the final permits to allow construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). When completed, the 1,172-mile-long, $3.8 billion USD pipeline that snakes through four states will be able to transport up to 500,000 barrels of crude oil from the Bakken Formation area of North Dakota to refineries in Illinois, daily. The builder, Dakota Access, LLC, a subsidiary of Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, asserts that the underground pipeline is a more direct, cost-effective, safer, and environmentally responsible way to transport crude oil....

Sunday, September 11, 2016, marks the 15th anniversary of the most daring and deadliest terrorist attack on American soil. Planned and executed by Islamic extremist organization Al Qaeda, the unprovoked act of violence is what led to our ongoing "Global War On Terrorism” and changed life as we knew it, forever....

On Wednesday, August 24, the residents of the Apennine regions in central Italy were jolted awake at 3.36 a.m. by a 6.2 magnitude earthquake. To make matters worse, it was followed by over 80 aftershocks, including a 5.5 magnitude tremor that hit Umbria an hour later, at 4.33 a.m....

While your pet fish may appear to be oblivious of your presence, chances are it knows you extremely well and can probably even identify you from a crowd of humans! At least, that is the conclusion reached by scientists the University of Oxford in the U.K. and the University of Queensland in Australia, following an extensive study of the archerfish, a species of tropical fish that can be found all the way from India, to Indonesia, the Philippines, and Australia....

With more than 16,000 jumps to his credit, professional skydiver Luke Aikins has performed many heart-stopping stunts, but his latest feat tops them all. On July 30, 2016, the 42-year-old daredevil became the first man in the world to leap off a plane from an altitude of 25,000 feet without a wingsuit or parachute! Instead, he relied on a net that measured 100-by-100-feet, or less than one-third the size of a football field, to break his fall and help him land safely....

With technology permeating every aspect of our lives, it should come as no surprise that it is playing an important role at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Wearable tech is not just helping elite athletes deliver their optimal performance at this competitive sporting event where everyone is battling for Olympic gold, but also protecting them from serious injuries....

A few weeks ago, if you saw someone wandering around your neighborhood staring at their phone, you might have assumed they were lost. Now, it would not be too much of a stretch to think that they are busy locating, capturing, battling or training fictional creatures called Pokémon Welcome to Pokémon Go, the free-to-play location-based augmented reality game that has taken the world by storm since its release on July 6. For those that are unfamiliar with the Pokémon brand and wondering what the latest hoopla is all about, here is a brief rundown....

On June 23, residents of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom (UK)— England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales — went to the polls to determine if the country should leave the European Union (EU). Most experts believed that Britons would make the “sensible” decision and vote against what has popularly been dubbed “Brexit.” After all, the benefits of remaining with the world’s largest economy far outweigh the drawbacks. But the experts were wrong!...

Though the detrimental impact of plastic waste on the environment is well-known, consumption of drinks bottled in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) —the most commonly used polymer — continues to rise at alarming levels. According to experts, over 22,000 plastic bottles are discarded every second, and the numbers are only growing. While a fraction of them do get recycled, most end up in the ocean, where they disintegrate into smaller pieces and are often mistaken for food by innocent fish and birds....

On Monday, May 30, Americans will celebrate Memorial Day. The Federal holiday that is observed annually on the last Monday of the month is highly anticipated by all, for various reasons. To students, it signifies the end of the school year and the start of a long lazy summer break. For adults, the holiday is a reminder to firm up vacation plans and host barbecue parties....

In 2014, marine biologist and National Geographic Emerging Explorer David Gruber was on a nighttime dive to observe biofluorescent corals when he noticed a bright green eel darting across. This was the first time biofluorescence had been witnessed in a vertebrate. Curious to see if there were more such creatures just waiting to be discovered, Gruber and his team began combing through coral reefs around the world. Sure enough, they found that 180 species of animals, including bony fishes, reptiles, and even the hawksbill sea turtle, have the capability to “glow”, in the deep dark ocean waters....

When a 91,000-acre piece of vacant land came up for sale in Southwest Florida about ten years ago, it attracted builders from across the country. After all, the chance to develop an area almost five times the size of Manhattan does not come frequently. But to everyone’s surprise, the owners did not auction the property that lies just 20 minutes from Fort Myers to the highest bidder. Instead, they sold it to Palm Beach-based Kitson & Partners who not only promised to preserve a bulk of the land, but also use the remaining acreage to build an environmentally friendly town....

Are we the only intelligent beings in the Universe or are there several other perhaps even smarter civilizations just waiting to be discovered? That is the million dollar question scientists have been trying to answer for over 50 years. Now Russian billionaire Yuri Milner wants to solve the mystery once and for all, by reaching for the stars . . . Literally!...

On Sunday, May 1 shortly after 4 pm, a crew from the Alberta Agriculture and Forestry Department reported a wildfire in the vicinity of Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada. Though the fire, which was labeled MWF-009 because it was the ninth such blaze encountered this season was similar to the previous ones, it concerned firefighters more for two reasons....

Schools across the world are trying to come up with innovative solutions to keep students active and alert. Some are replacing conventional classroom chairs with exercise balls or standing desks. At Ward Elementary School in Winston, North Carolina students have adopted an innovative program that entails riding stationary bikes while reading....

On Wednesday, April 20, Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew announced that Harriet Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States, on the $20 bill. The former slave and abolitionist is the first African-American, and the first woman in over a century, to be featured on the face of U.S. currency. The last female represented on U.S. notes was Martha Washington, who appeared on the $1 silver certificate from 1886 to 1957, when the certificates were discontinued....

The fact that computers are getting increasingly smarter is evident. However, they still lack creativity and intuition and hence cannot learn, think and understand like humans — At least, that was the consensus until Google's AlphaGo computer algorithm beat 18-time world champion Lee Se-dol, 4 to 1 at the ancient Chinese game, Go....

For those that enjoy pranks, there is no better day than April 1. Also known as 'Fool's Day' it is the one day of the year when light-hearted tricks are not just accepted but welcomed! Nobody knows how this fun tradition started. Some think it began in 1582 when the world moved away from the Julian calendar, (that began the new year in April) to the current Gregorian calendar. Others think it was to celebrate the onset of spring....

Easter weekend is upon us! For most of you, that means going to an egg roll or two, meeting the Easter bunny, participating in parades and best of all binging on delicious foods like honey-baked ham and potatoes with friends and family. It turns out that not all countries celebrate this important Christian holiday with these traditions. They have their own rituals which may not include egg hunts and Easter bunnies, but are equally fun!...

Once underground mines have served their purpose, most are sealed and forgotten. The 2000-year-old Salina Turda Salt Mine in the city of Turda, Romania was no exception. The mine which is believed to have opened in the Middle Ages (as far back as 1075) was shuttered in 1932 after competition from neighboring mines rendered its operation unprofitable....

Sunday, March 13 marks the beginning of Daylight Saving Time (DST) in the United States. On this day, most Americans will move their clocks forward by an hour. This simple action allows residents to enjoy more daylight during the upcoming spring and summer months....