Science News Briefs from around the World

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Canada to Kenya, including one about how humans thousands of years ago in what is now Argentina butchered and presumably ate giant ground sloths.

Giant ground sloth skeleton at the American Museum of Natural History.

Illustration of a Bohr atom model spinning around the words Science Quickly with various science and medicine related icons around the text

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

Hi, I’m Scientific American podcast editor Steve Mirsky, and here’s a short piece from the June 2019 issue of the magazine, in the section called Advances: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Science, Technology and Medicine.

The article is titled "Quick Hits," and it’s a rundown of some science and technology stories from around the globe compiled by editorial contributor Jim Daley.   

From Canada: Archaeologists have now confirmed that a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton found in the 1990s at a fossil site in Saskatchewan is the biggest and heaviest on record. At nearly 42 feet long and almost 20,000 pounds, “Scotty” surpassed the record set by “Sue,” which was found in South Dakota in 1990.


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.


From Argentina: Archaeologists identified a site where ancient humans killed and butchered giant ground sloths (Megatherium americanum) in the Pampas region in eastern Argentina. The find provides evidence that humans contributed to the sloths’ extinction.

From Kenya: A science teacher who won the 2019 Global Teacher Prize announced he intends to donate the $1-million award to benefit society. Peter Tabichi, a Franciscan friar, mentors a science club that came in first in its category in the 2018 Kenya Science and Engineering Fair.

From the Comoros: Geochemists at Columbia University found a lode of quartzite, a metamorphic rock formed from sandstone, on the Indian Ocean island of Anjouan. The island is volcanic and had been thought to contain only igneous rocks.

And from North Korea: Physicists at Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang have brokered a rare agreement to collaborate with Italy’s International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste. The North Koreans will study computational neuroscience with Italian physicists.

That was Quick Hits, by Jim Daley.

It’s Time to Stand Up for Science

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.

I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.

If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.

In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.

There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.

Thank you,

David M. Ewalt, Editor in Chief, Scientific American

Subscribe