In Case You Missed It

ANTARCTICA

Only two Adélie penguin chicks out of a population of thousands survived last summer's breeding season. Researchers blame abnormally large expanses of ice that forced adults to travel farther to find food, while their young starved.

KENYA

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A perfume made from an antelope's scent protected cattle from tsetse flies, a study of around 1,100 cows found. The flies can transfer the parasite that causes “sleeping sickness” (African trypanosomiasis) in humans to cows as well, causing losses in milk and meat.

GERMANY

The total mass of flying insects in German nature reserves has decreased by more than 75 percent since 1989. The cause is unclear, but researchers caution that if this trend continues, it could disrupt the entire food chain.

U.S.

Scientists tracked the ice loss in around 1,200 mountain glaciers across the U.S. They estimate that Washington State's Mount Rainier has lost roughly 0.7 cubic kilometer of ice since 1970.

SAUDI ARABIA

Archaeologists using Google Earth discovered 400 rectangular stone “gates” strewn across the Arabian Desert. They think these structures, whose purpose remains unclear, may be the work of ancient nomadic tribes.

U.K.

Engineers have debuted a car-plane hybrid powered by a jet engine, dubbed the “Bloodhound SSC,” in southwestern England. They now plan to add rockets to the vehicle in hopes of breaking the world land-speed record.

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