May 2020, ScientificAmerican.com 19IN THE NEWSQuick
Hits
By Sarah Lewin FrasierCHILE
Baffled by unexplained skin
lesions on blue whales near
Chile, scientists shot darts
by cross bow to take samples
from the whales’ blisters
and fat in a bid to identify
potential pollutant causes.
CHINA
Researchers in northern China uncovered fossils
of the oldest green algae on record, a multi-
cellular two-millimeter organism that lived
a billion years ago—the earliest known ancestor
of today’s photosynthesizing plants.MALAYSIA
Scientists say they
are scaling up an
experimental farm
that uses metal-loving
plants to draw and
harvest nickel from the
soil in the Malaysian
portion of Borneo. The
expanded farm will
cover 50 acres.RUSSIA
A 46,000-year-old bird recovered from the
Siberian permafrost is in such good condition
that it looks like it died days ago, researchers
say. It is the only nearly intact bird carcass
found from the most recent ice age.For more details, visit
http://www.ScientificAmerican.com/
may2020/advances
AUSTRIA
For the first time, engineers executed a new bridge-
building technique with two vertical girders, erecting
them upward before unfurling the span like an umbrella.
Two such structures will form bridges across Austrian
rivers. The process saves time and cuts down massively
on the scaffolding needed to build horizontally.ZIMBABWE AND MOZAMBIQUE
New research on African turquoise killifish, which live
in ponds that dry up seasonally, reveals that their embryos
can suspend development by up to two years, with no
impact on their ultimate life span after hatching.Baffl ed by unexplained skin
lesions on blue whales near
Chile, scientists shot darts
by cross bow to take samples
from the whales’ blisters
and fat in a bid to identify
potential pollutant causes.
Researchers in northern China uncovered fossils
of the oldest green algae on record, a multi-
cellular two-millimeter organism that lived
a billion years ago—the earliest known ancestor
of today’s photosynthesizing plants.Scientists say they
are scaling up an
experimental farm
that uses metal-loving
plants to draw and
harvest nickel from the
soil in the Malaysian
portion of Borneo. The
expanded farm will
cover 50 acres.A 46,000-year-old bird recovered from the
Siberian permafrost is in such good condition
that it looks like it died days ago, researchers
say. It is the only nearly intact bird carcass
found from the most recent ice age.AUSTRIA
For the fi rst time, engineers executed a new bridge-
building technique with two vertical girders, erecting
them upward before unfurling the span like an umbrella.
Two such structures will form bridges across Austrian
rivers. The process saves time and cuts down massively
on the scaff olding needed to build horizontally.New research on African turquoise killifi sh, which live
in ponds that dry up seasonally, reveals that their embryos
can suspend development by up to two years, with no
impact on their ultimate life span after hatching.Scientific American is a registered trademark of Springer Nature America, Inc.© 2020 Scientific American