Science Round Up

Here are a few interesting science stories in the news from the past little while. Discovery Jones, our mascot, is on Twitter and he tweeted about these not too long ago.

** An elephant in an Australian zoo has shocked vets by giving birth to a live elephant calf which zoo-keepers believed had died in the womb.

Experts had said the survival of the baby elephant after six days of labour would be "a miracle". But the male calf was delivered showing signs of life on Wednesday morning and, by the afternoon, took its first steps. Read more

** Chile Earthquake Moved Entire City 10 Feet to the West

The magnitude 8.8 quake that struck near Maule, Chile, Feb. 27 moved the entire city of Concepcion 10 feet to the west. Precise GPS measurements from before and after the earthquake, the fifth largest ever recorded by seismographs, show that the country’s capital, Santiago, moved 11 inches west. Even Buenos Aires, nearly 800 miles from the epicenter, shifted an inch. Read more

** DR Congo ring may be giant 'impact crater'

Deforestation has revealed what could be a giant impact crater in Central Africa, scientists say. The 36-46km-wide feature, identified in DR Congo, may be one of the largest such structures discovered in the last decade. Read more

** All-black penguin discovered

King Penguins are notorious for their prim, tuxedoed appearance -- but a recently discovered all-black penguin seems unafraid to defy convention. In what has been described as a "one in a zillion kind of mutation," biologists say that the animal has lost control of its pigmentation, an occurrence that is extremely rare. Read more (including a photo)

** Socotra: The Most Alien-Looking Place on Earth?

The island of Socotra lies only 150 miles off the Horn of Africa, but one look at its surreal landscape and it might be mistaken for another planet. Check out the slideshow with some really amazing photographs: Slideshow of Socotra (Desert rose pictured to the left by Soqotra2007)

** And lastly, here are two more timely articles, although I am getting them to you one day late. Yesterday was Pi Day! What is Pi day? Find out about Pi Day. Yesterday was also the birthday of Albert Einstein, everyone's favourite theoretical physicist. Check out this post on "the real Einstein".

Stay curious,
Collette

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