News Briefs from around the World: July 2022

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

Genetic analysis showed that the Patagonian sheepdog, a breed found in Argentina and Chile, is the closest living relative to the ancestor of all U.K. herding dog breeds. European colonizers likely introduced this line nearly 200 years ago.

U.K.

Researchers searched for traces of parasite infection in more than 450 human pelvic remains dating from prehistoric times to the Victorian era. Petrified roundworm and whipworm eggs suggest that Roman-era and late medieval Brits were most likely to be plagued with these pests.

ANTARCTICA

Investigations detail how the activity of an underwater volcano, the Orca Seamount, triggered a recent series of 85,000 earthquakes along the Antarctic continental plate. The quakes shifted the position of nearby King George Island by roughly four inches.

SWITZERLAND

A four-inch fossilized tooth, found nearly 9,500 feet above sea level in the Swiss Alps, may have come from the largest-known marine reptile. Paleontologists say the tooth belonged to an ichthyosaur up to 50 feet long that swam the ancient seas.

FRANCE

A pipistrelle bat set a new record for the longest-known bat migration. The tiny mammal covered about 1,545 miles—from Borok, Russia, to the French village of Lully—in 63 days. Its journey came to a tragic end when it drowned in a water tank.

JAPAN

Scientists working with food and pharmaceutical company Kirin developed an electrical chopstick accessory that makes food taste 50 percent saltier—without adding salt. The device runs a minuscule current through the utensils, drawing extra ions from the food across a user's tastebuds.

Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism

Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.

When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.

Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber

Thank you,

Jeanna Bryner, Editor in Chief, Scientific American