After 60 years, the search for a missing plane in Lake Superior remains fruitless
Experts searching for plane wreckage in Michigan's Lake Superior turned up found logs and rocks on the bottom but no debris from an aircraft that crashed nearly 60 years ago carrying three people on a scientific assignment.
A team from Michigan Technological University returned last week by boat to get closer to 16 targets that appeared on sonar last fall , more than 200 feet (61 meters) below the surface of the vast lake. The crew used side-scan sonar and other remote technology.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
13 minutes ago
- Forbes
What Are The Best Wildflowers To Attract Bees?
Not all commercial wildflower seed mixes are created equal in the eyes of our insect overlords. Now that summer has finally arrived, people are planting wildflower seed mixes to attract and support the dwindling number and variety of wild bees and other beneficial insect pollinators. Some of us create our own wildflower seed mixes whilst others purchase ready-made commercial seed mixes. Additionally, annual flowering seed mixes are often planted and grown in public gardens, parks, along roadsides, in traffic verges and in other urban areas. Farmers sometimes plant these mixes alongside food crops to enhance pollination. But some of the flower species included in these mixes may not be the most pollinator-friendly. So this raises the question: which wildflowers species are best for supporting our struggling insect friends? Is it best to plant native wildflowers seeds instead of non-natives? Should seed mixes contain only flowering plants, or is including some non-flowering plants in the mix also helpful? An international collaboration of scientists based at institutions throughout the UK and Denmark pondered these same questions. To find some answers, they surveyed 477 scientific papers, field tested four commercially available seed mixes and then developed and field tested two novel experimental wildflower seed mixes of their own by counting the numbers of beneficial pollinators – bumblebees, solitary bees and hoverflies – that visited the wildflowers. It's important to remember that ensuring a continuous and overlapping supply of flowers is essential to supporting a diverse population of wild pollinators, by accommodating different forage preferences and flight periods of different pollinator species. And of course, one mustn't forget the human factor: some of these wildflower seed mixes were simply more aesthetically pleasing to the public. Perhaps surprisingly, the study revealed that seed mixes containing non-native flowering plants along with native species had higher establishment rates and longer flowering periods. The study also finds that of those seed mixes that attracted pollinating insects in higher numbers, a small number of key wildflower species were visited frequently, and these preferred flower species differed between pollinator groups. But because many urban areas are more alike than they are different, are these 'best wildflower' species the same across urban areas in, say, the United States, Canada or Australia? 'The study was carried out in the UK, so the list of species is most appropriate for northern Europe,' the study's senior author, botanist Natasha de Vere, told me in email. Professor de Vere is Professor and Curator of Botany at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, where she is an expert on plant-pollinator interactions and the link between biodiversity and human well-being. That said, Professor de Vere and collaborators are still testing their novel wildflower seed mixes in different climates. 'We have just planted one of our seed mixes at the Natural History Museum of Denmark in the Botanical Garden so we can see how well it does in the Danish climate,' Professor de Vere explained in email. Do wildflower seed mixes provide everything that wild pollinators need? 'Annual seed mixes can provide a beautiful and colourful display of flowers in gardens and parks that can help to provide nectar and pollen for pollinators,' Professor de Vere replied in email. 'But seed mixes cannot replace abundant flowering plants within the wider landscape and it is important to think about all the needs of pollinators. As well as sufficient flowers through the year, bees need suitable habitat for foraging such as hollow cavities, bare ground and a range of grass height." You mentioned hoverflies in your study. Do hoverflies have different needs from bees? 'The larvae of different hoverfly species can have very different needs: some are predators on plants, whilst some need ponds or decaying wood,' Professor de Vere said in email. The larvae of other hoverflies are voracious predators of common pest insects, such as aphids. Keeping in mind the sensitivities of bees and the appetites of hoverfly larvae, it is strongly recommended not to use either herbicides or pesticides because these chemicals poison and kill the very insects we are working to protect and support. Based on their findings, the study's authors recommend adding these annual 'pollinator-friendly' wildflower seeds to your mixes to attract and support a variety of beneficial pollinating insects: Lucy Witter, Laura Jones, Abigail Lowe, Will Ritchie, Peter Dennis, Gemma Beatty, and Natasha de Vere (2025). The pick of the plot: An evidence-based approach for selecting and testing suitable plants to use in annual seed mixes to attract insect pollinators, Plants, People, Planet | doi:10.1002/ppp3.70041 © Copyright by GrrlScientist | hosted by Forbes | Socials: Bluesky | CounterSocial | LinkedIn | Mastodon Science | MeWe | Spoutible | SubStack | Threads | Tumblr | Twitter
New York Times
16 minutes ago
- New York Times
Trump Threatens Musk Contracts as Feud Escalates
President Trump threatened to cut billions of dollars in federal contracts and tax subsidies for Elon Musk's companies on Thursday, the latest escalation in the growing feud between the two men. 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,' the president wrote on Truth Social. 'I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!' Last year, Mr. Musk's companies were promised $3 billion across nearly 100 different contracts with 17 federal agencies. Most of the contracts were for SpaceX, Mr. Musk's space technology company. Tesla, his electric vehicle company, also has contracts with the federal government. But the relationship between the two men very publicly dissolved Thursday. Mr. Musk until last week was a top presidential adviser and has since turned into a critic of one of Mr. Trump's priorities. Mr. Musk has called the president's signature legislation currently moving through Congress a 'disgusting abomination.' The two lashed out at each other from on their own social media platforms on Thursday. 'Elon was 'wearing thin,' I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!' Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. Mr. Musk responded on X, the social media platform he owns, 'Such an obvious lie. So sad.'
Digital Trends
16 minutes ago
- Digital Trends
Want a Copilot+ PC? The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 is $500 off today
Microsoft's Copilot is making waves, and it's not a surprise that Microsoft itself is making some of the top devices to maximize the powerful AI assistant. One of them is the Microsoft Surface Pro 11, which you can get from the Surface Laptop and Surface Pro deals of Best Buy with a huge $500 discount that slashes its price from $2,100 to $1,600. It's an extremely reliable machine that would prove to be a trustworthy companion, but you'll have to complete your purchase immediately if you want to get it for a lower price than usual. Why you should buy the Microsoft Surface Pro 11 The Microsoft Surface Pro 11, which received an amazing score of 4.5 stars out of 5 in our review, is tagged as a Copilot+ PC. This means they've integrated Microsoft's Copilot at a systemwide level and equipped the computer with components to efficiently run the AI assistant. The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor, the Qualcomm Adreno GPU, and 32GB of RAM, which also make it a tool that will give a massive boost to your daily productivity. The 13-inch PixelSense Flow touchscreen of the Microsoft Surface Pro 11 offers 2880 x 1920 resolution and a dynamic refresh rate of up to 120Hz for sharp details and vibrant colors. The device also comes with a 1TB SSD for enough storage space for all of your apps and files, and Windows 11 Home pre-installed. The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 also tops our list of the best 2-in-1 laptops, but you'll have to buy the Surface Pro Keyboard if you want to use it as a laptop alternative. The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 is an excellent way to access Copilot, and it's a very tempting purchase right now because it's available from Best Buy at $500 off. From $2,100 originally, you can get it for a much lower price of $1,600, but only if you hurry, because we're not sure how much time is remaining before this offer expires. Go ahead with your transaction for the Microsoft Surface Pro 11 as soon as you can so that you won't miss out on the fantastic savings.
