Today's eclectic bundle of uplifting news nuggets from around the world.
Hadrosaur
A dinosaur fossil discovered in Canada could be a rare complete dinosaur skeleton, researchers say. Complete with fossilised skin, the exposed fossil of the hadrosaur, a large, plant-eating, duck-billed species, is sticking out from a hillside in Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada. While the fossil includes a large portion of the young animal’s tail and its right hind foot, it is sitting in a way that suggests the entire skeleton may be preserved within the hill. As entire skeletons are very rare, researchers are excited because the 'juvenile' specimen is likely to provide information about what the dinosaur looked like and its anatomy.
Wave Energy
While wind and solar clean energy technologies have rapidly grown in recent years, researchers have long been working on ways to harness the energy of tides and waves. Sea Wave Energy Ltd has been working for a decade on wave-riding generators that could provide massive amounts of clean energy - at an extremely low cost. The technology has yet to be perfected, but early research is promising, and experts say if successful it could be a “clean energy revolution.”
Tredges
Manchester is looking at lessons from a recent study about planting 'tredges' between roads and school playgrounds. The trees managed as a head-high hedge were installed at three Manchester primary schools in the summer of 2019 - one with ivy; one with western red cedar; and one with mixed western red cedar, Swedish birch and an inner juniper hedge. A fourth school, with no planting, was a control. Western red cedar brought the biggest overall reductions in particulate matter and black carbon. Its prolific, small, rough, evergreen leaves capture and stop particulates from circulating. Rain then washes them off so leaves can capture more. Carefully selected and managed tredges could be used elsewhere in urban areas to cut the health impacts of traffic pollution.
Hodophile
One who loves to travel.
Zarka and Zarka
When Kamelia Zarka started working for Hawaiian Airlines as a flight attendant in 1992, she never dreamed that one day she would be breaking barriers as both a Tongan woman and mother. She succeeded in getting her pilot license in 1999 and became the first Tongan woman to captain a commercial airliner. But Zarka wasn't done breaking barriers. This year, on 31 August, the mom of two had someone special in the cockpit alongside her: First Officer Maria Zarka, her eldest daughter. The mother-daughter duo shared the cockpit, flying between neighboring islands in a Boeing 717 aircraft for Hawaiian Airlines.
Rediscovered
A wildflower has been rediscovered on the Isle of Man (in the Irish Sea) for the first time in more than 140 years. The skullcaps were found on marshy grassland, known as a garee, on a dairy farm in the south of the island. It is the first time a native example has been found on the island since 1880, the Manx Wildlife Trust said. The plant, which has the scientific name Scutellaria galericulata, has tube-like blue flowers of about 0.5 inches (1.5cm).
Tea Lovers Rejoice!
Scientists have confirmed what we knew all along: drinking tea is good for you. Your daily brew could help you live longer - and it doesn't make a difference if you add milk or sugar. The researchers, from the National Institutes of Health, used data from the UK Biobank to discover that drinking just two cups of tea per day could lower your risk of mortality by 10 percent.
Quote of the Day
“Don't be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.”
Roy T. Bennett
On this Day
8 September 1966: The first episode of the sci-fi series Star Trek aired on American television.
Jupiter, our largest planet, is brightening itself up as it comes closer to us than at any point in the past seven decades. Read on...
Mood Booster
Global superstar Camila Cabello and legendary composer Hans Zimmer have teamed up on their new track 'Take Me Back Home' to give you the first look at BBC Earth's next landmark title, Frozen Planet II, screening on 11 September. And yes, Sir David Attenborough will be back!