August 2020, ScientificAmerican.com 17For more details, visit
http://www.ScientificAmerican.com/
aug2020/advancesIN THE NEWSQuick
Hits
By Sarah Lewin FrasierANTARCTICA
Scientists found that king penguin excrement releases
nitrous oxide—also known as laughing gas. It forms as
soil bacteria eat the droppings’ nitrogen-rich compounds.CANADA
A new study models how
a gigantic, morphing blob
of liquid iron in Earth’s
outer core underneath
the Canadian Arctic is
losing its grip on the
North magnetic pole.
A second, intensifying
blob below Siberia is
pulling the pole away.AMBIA AND MONGOLIAZ
This spring a satellite-
tagged cuckoo completed
an epic 12,000-kilometer
journey from Zambia
to Mongolia. It had
originally been tagged in
Mongolia in 2019 and
traversed 16 countries in
its round-trip migration.N O RWAY
Archaeologists are excavating a 20-meter
Viking ship, buried below a farmer’s field, to stop
a wood-eating fungus from destroying it. Ground-
penetrating radar had found the ship in 2018, and
a new wood sample analysis revealed that it could
not be preserved underground.SCOTLAND
A geologic-dating effort suggests the fossil
of a millipedelike creature found on the island
of Kerrera formed 425 million years ago, making
it possibly the oldest-known fossilized land animal.
(Older land animals have been spotted indirectly,
through preserved tracks.)TANZANIA
Researchers discovered Africa’s largest-ever collection of
fossilized human footprints, left in volcanic mud about
10,000 years ago. Many of them came from a group of
17 people, mostly women, all walking in the same direction.
© 2020 Scientific AmericanAugust 2020, Scientifi cAmerican.com 17For more details, visit
http://www.ScientificAmerican.com/
aug2020/advancesIN THE NEWSQuick
Hits
By Sarah Lewin FrasierANTARCTICA
Scientists found that king penguin excrement releases
nitrous oxide—also known as laughing gas. It forms as
soil bacteria eat the droppings’ nitrogen-rich compounds.CANADA
A new study models how
a gigantic, morphing blob
of liquid iron in Earth’s
outer core underneath
the Canadian Arctic is
losing its grip on the
North magnetic pole.
A second, intensifying
blob below Siberia is
pulling the pole away.ZAMBIA AND MONGOLIA
This spring a satellite-
tagged cuckoo completed
an epic 12,000-kilometer
journey from Zambia
to Mongolia. It had
originally been tagged in
Mongolia in 2019 and
traversed 16 countries in
its round-trip migration.NORWAY
Archaeologists are excavating a 20-meter
Viking ship, buried below a farmer’s field, to stop
a wood-eating fungus from destroying it. Ground-
penetrating radar had found the ship in 2018, and
a new wood sample analysis revealed that it could
not be preserved underground.SCOTL AND
A geologic-dating effort suggests the fossil
of a millipedelike creature found on the island
of Kerrera formed 425 million years ago, making
it possibly the oldest-known fossilized land animal.
(Older land animals have been spotted indirectly,
through preserved tracks.)TANZANIA
Researchers discovered Africa’s largest-ever collection of
fossilized human footprints, left in volcanic mud about
10,000 years ago. Many of them came from a group of
17 people, mostly women, all walking in the same direction.For more details, visit
http://www.ScientificAmerican.com/
aug2020/advancesIN THE NEWSQuick
Hits
By Sarah Lewin FrasierANTARCTICA
Scientists found that king penguin excrement releases
nitrous oxide—also known as laughing gas. It forms as
soil bacteria eat the droppings’ nitrogen-rich compounds.CANADA
A new study models how
a gigantic, morphing blob
of liquid iron in Earth’s
outer core underneath
the Canadian Arctic is
losing its grip on the
North magnetic pole.
A second, intensifying
blob below Siberia is
pulling the pole away.ZAMBIA AND MONGOLIA
This spring a satellite-
tagged cuckoo completed
an epic 12,000-kilometer
journey from Zambia
to Mongolia. It had
originally been tagged in
Mongolia in 2019 and
traversed 16 countries in
its round-trip migration.NORWAY
Archaeologists are excavating a 20-meter
Viking ship, buried below a farmer’s field, to stop
a wood-eating fungus from destroying it. Ground-
penetrating radar had found the ship in 2018, and
a new wood sample analysis revealed that it could
not be preserved underground.SCOTL AND
A geologic-dating effort suggests the fossil
of a millipedelike creature found on the island
of Kerrera formed 425 million years ago, making
it possibly the oldest-known fossilized land animal.
(Older land animals have been spotted indirectly,
through preserved tracks.)TANZANIA
Researchers discovered Africa’s largest-ever collection of
fossilized human footprints, left in volcanic mud about
10,000 years ago. Many of them came from a group of
17 people, mostly women, all walking in the same direction.sad0820Adva3p.indd 17 6/17/20 5:11 PM
Untitled-1 1Untitled-2 1 6/16/20 10:44 AM6/18/20 11:07 AMsad0820Adva4p.indd 17 6/18/20 12:07 PM