Pluto鈥檚 name bonanza
Some of Pluto鈥檚 features finally have official names. Among locations named after scientists, Pluto鈥檚 pale heart has been named Tombaugh Regio after Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered the dwarf planet. One fracture is now called Sleipnir Fossa after the Norse god Odin鈥檚 eight-legged horse.
Fin diesel
In a bid to address pollution in Beijing, China has floated the idea of or other fossil fuels. The plan will kick into effect 鈥渋n the near future鈥�. It would create huge incentives for electric vehicles and would shore up China鈥檚 credentials as a green superpower (see 鈥�Why China鈥檚 green ambitions will make it the next world leader鈥�).
Coral on the slide
The Great Barrier Reef has been losing crucial reef-building corals for at least 100 years. Researchers only began tracking reef decline in the 1980s, but now radioisotope dating has revealed many coral deaths throughout the last century ().
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Get up, stand up
Exercise isn鈥檛 enough to ward off risks of sitting still for long periods. Researchers who tracked people over 45 found that those inactive for more than 12.4 minutes at a time had almost twice the risk of dying during the study period as those inactive for less than 7.7 minutes at a time. This effect held even when people did vigorous exercise (Annals of Internal Medicine, ).
Animals鈥� head start
Tiny preserved burrows reveal that worm-like animals were thriving on Earth 555 million years ago, over 10 million years before other fossil evidence starts to appear. The find supports previous suspicions that animals evolved earlier than fossil bones alone would suggest (Nature Ecology & Evolution, doi.org/ccz5).