A remote research station conducts critical science far from civilization
It was early May 2024 at Summit Station, one of the National Science Foundation's research outposts in Greenland, and the conditions were particularly cold for spring: minus-40 degrees with 20-mph winds, creating a wind chill of a brisk 75 below zero Fahrenheit.
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Bowhead whale cracks through ice in order to breathe
A marine biologist captured video of the moment a bowhead whale cracked through a layer of ice in West Greenland in order to breathe. Fredrik Oscar Christiansen of Aarhus University in Denmark posted the footage on his Instagram page, describing it as 'an ice whale breathing through a hole in the ice.' 'This behavior happens frequently during the colder winter and spring months in Disko Bay, when few open water patches exist in the ice,' Christiansen told Discover Wildlife. Bowhead whales reside almost exclusively in Arctic and subarctic waters and have become adapted to life in icy water, according to NOAA Fisheries. That includes being able to break through ice to take a breath. They are so named because of their very large triangular skull that they use to break through heavy ice to come up for air, according to AZ Animals. Christiansen told Discover Wildlife that a bowhead whale, also referred to as a polar whale and Arctic whale, can break through nearly 2 feet of ice. Bowhead whales can grow up to 62 feet and weigh up to 200,000 pounds. Christiansen, who is studying the effects between climate change and how much these mammals are eating, uses a drone to film the huge creatures. Bowhead whales are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Conservation Act in 1970 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and are listed as depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. This article originally appeared on For The Win: Bowhead whale cracks through ice in order to breathe
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Will we lose time on July 9? Midweek day losing time; here's why
Wednesday, July 9 is going to be one of this year's shortest days, but you probably won't be able to tell. Here's why several milliseconds will be shaved off the clock on Wednesday, and when you can expect the phenomenon to occur again. It takes roughly 86,400 seconds for Earth to complete a full rotation. The measuring of that rotation will cause an actual loss of time on Wednesday, July 9. "86,400 seconds is another way of saying 24 hours. A millisecond is 0.001 seconds—considerably less than a blink of an eye, which lasts around 100 milliseconds," read Time and Date's website. "The only way to measure these tiny day-to-day variations in Earth's spin speed is with atomic clocks, which were introduced in the 1950s. The number of milliseconds above or below 86,400 seconds is known as length of day (LOD)." The LOD has sped up over the decades, leaving to a shortening of days which will be most evident during three days in 2025. "Until 2020, the shortest LOD ever recorded by atomic clocks was -1.05 ms. This means that Earth completed one rotation with respect to the Sun in 1.05 milliseconds less than 86,400 seconds," read Time and Date's explanation. "Since then, however, Earth has managed to shatter this old record every year by around half a millisecond. The shortest day of all was -1.66 ms on July 5, 2024. "Earth is expected to get close to this again around July 9, July 22, and August 5." From Quarks to Quasars explained Wednesday's loss of time in a lengthy Facebook post: Moscow State University researcher Leonid Zotov said scientists haven't yet pinned down exactly what was causing the disparity in the time of Earth's rotation, but he expected Earth's rotation to regulate soon. "In other words, we're not traveling back toward back toward the Mesozoic in terms of rotation," noted Popular Mechanics. "The planet will eventually continue its steady deceleration — this is, of course, its natural tendency, but surface changes like polar ice melt can also contribute to the Earth's rotation slowing down." Damon C. Williams is a Philadelphia-based journalist reporting on trending topics across the Mid-Atlantic Region. This article originally appeared on Earth's rotation shortens the day on July 9; what happens on Wednesday
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Study Finds This Surprising Workout Adds 10 Years To Your Life—And It's Not Walking Or Weights
While you probably know that running can reduce all-cause mortality by improving your cardiovascular health, and weight training can do so by preserving muscle mass, and metabolic and bone health, science shows they're not quite as effective as another form of movement when it comes to living a long and healthy life. And that form of activity is tennis, according to one study. The research involved 8,577 participants in Denmark, with an average age of 44, and the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality was calculated based on the answers participants gave in a series of questionnaires around the frequency and duration of exercise they do, lifestyle factors like smoking, diet and alcohol consumption, and their education, income and medical history. Those who did tennis were expected to live 9.7 years longer than if they didn't do any exercise; those who ran had a life expectancy gain of 3.2 years; and those who did gym training, like weights, only had a 1.5-year longer life expectancy. If you're skeptical, another study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, reinforces the findings. This one tracked over 80,000 participants for nine years, comparing the impact of various sports on their overall health. Those who regularly played racket sports–including tennis, but also badminton, squash, racquetball, and table tennis–had a 47% lower chance of all-cause mortality than those who didn't exercise. The study also evaluated the benefits of swimming, cycling, and aerobics: swimmers had a 28% lower risk, cyclists had a 15% lower risk, and those who did aerobics had a 27% lower risk. Tennis (and racket sports) are clear winners, but why? For the authors of the Danish study, they believe it's largely down to the element of social interaction. It fosters camaraderie, emotional support, trust, and a sense of belonging–all of which have been proven to impact health just as much as how much movement you do or how nutritious your diet is. Other experts put it down to the high-intensity interval training effect: tennis naturally involves short bursts of intense effort, like sprints and rapid direction changes, which improve cardiovascular fitness, insulin sensitivity, and vascular function–health markers closely tied to longevity. So, if you're already feeling inspired by Wimbledon, consider this your sign to book a court stat. Get the Workouts Get the Challenge Get the Workouts Get the Challenge Get the Workouts Get the Workouts Get the Challenge Get the Workouts Get the Workouts Get the Workouts Get the Workouts Get the Workouts Get the Workouts Get the Challenge Get the Workouts Get the Workouts You Might Also Like Jennifer Garner Swears By This Retinol Eye Cream These New Kicks Will Help You Smash Your Cross-Training Goals
