Roughly 2,000 years ago, Mount Vesuvius erupted, destroying the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Now a group of scientists is working to decode one of the great mysteries of that time – the scrolls of Herculaneum.

In 1752, workers digging in Herculaneum uncovered a home that had belonged to a rich person. Inside, under a layer of volcanic mud, workers discovered over 600 scrolls – the largest library of the ancient world. Most of the scrolls were made from papyrus – a paper-like material. The heat from the volcano had burned the scrolls so much that they looked like chunks of charcoal.

The scrolls were so fragile that just touching them could make them fall apart. So scientists have been looking for ways to read the scrolls without opening them.

Brent Seales, a computer scientist at the University of Kentucky has been working on this for over 20 years.

Dr. Seales developed a method of using a CT (computed tomography) scanner to take 3D X-ray images of a papyrus scroll. Then he uses a computer program to “unroll” the scroll, and get pictures of what it looks like on the inside. In 2016, his team used this method to read a burned scroll found near the Dead Sea.

But the scrolls from Herculaneum are much harder. The ink is made from charcoal and water, and doesn’t show up well in CT scans. Still, Dr. Seales hoped to be able to find the writing on the scrolls by looking for places where the papyrus was rougher. He trained an AI program to look for these patterns.

(newsforkids.net)

Axolotls are famous for their ability to heal themselves. If an axolotl loses a leg, or even part of its heart, brain, or lungs, it can regrow them. Scientists have long been interested in how the axolotl does this. Some people think the information could help solve some human medical problems.

There are several different species of axolotls in Mexico. All of them are seriously endangered. The Mexican axolotl, which is the best-known, is only found naturally in Lake Xochimilco near Mexico City. This is not a big, open lake, but a collection of canals and smaller bodies of water.

Sadly, axolotls are in trouble. The number of axolotls in Xochimilco has dropped 99.5% in less than 20 years. Scientists used to find thousands of axolotls in a fairly small area. Now, they’re only finding dozens.

There are a number of reasons for the drop in axolotls. One is that the water in the canals has become more and more polluted. Another is that there are invasive fish in the lake which are eating the axolotl’s food, and even their babies.

Scientists at Mexico’s National Autonomous University (UNAM) have been working for years to try to protect the axolotls.

Last year, the UNAM scientists started a program they called “AdoptAxolotl”. They asked people to donate money to help pay for efforts to save the axolotl.

(newsforkids.net)

On Tuesday, Virgin Atlantic flew a large passenger jet from London to New York using 100% “Sustainable Aviation Fuel” (SAF). The flight was meant to show that it’s possible to fly using cleaner fuels, but experts disagree about the effects of SAF on the climate.

Airplane travel creates nearly 3% of the world’s greenhouse gases. That makes cutting pollution from flying an important part of the fight against the climate crisis.  Airlines and plane makers are working hard to figure out ways to make their flights pollute less.

Tuesday’s flight was supposed to draw attention to these efforts. The Boeing 787 can carry hundreds of passengers. But for the test flight, the plane only held people from the companies involved, and some reporters. Still, the plane crossed the Atlantic Ocean with its engines powered by 100% sustainable fuel.

That’s a big deal. Normally, airplanes can use up to 50% SAF, and this is mixed with the kerosene that the planes usually use for fuel. Virgin Atlantic had to get special permission to use 100% SAF.

The fuel used on the flight was mainly made from used cooking oils and animal fats. A small part of the fuel was made from corn waste. Virgin Atlantic says that using SAF cut the flight’s pollution by 70%. SAF still pollutes when it’s burned, just like regular jet fuel. The difference is in how the fuels are made.

SAF is made from plants (and related animal products) that once absorbed carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air. When SAF burns, it just releases this same CO2 again. That’s different from jet fuel, which is made from oil pumped from underground, releasing CO2 that was deeply buried.

SAF may sound great, but it still has many problems. For one thing, SAF costs as much as five times as much as regular jet fuel. That helps explain why only one-tenth of 1% of the fuel airlines currently use is SAF. (That’s just one gallon – or liter – out of every thousand.)

Virgin Atlantic is hoping that its flight will encourage more companies to produce SAF and that this will bring the price down.

But even if the price of SAF drops, critics say there are still big problems with it. They say it’s easy to make small amounts of SAF out of plant waste. But to make as much SAF as the airlines really need would require farmers to grow plants for fuel instead of for eating. This could also lead to more forests being cut down for farmland.

Airlines like SAF because it can be used now in existing planes with no changes. They hope it will help quickly reduce airplane pollution until non-polluting fuels are developed.

Governments seem to agree that SAF is a step in the right direction. Both the United States and the European Union have set targets that will sharply increase the use of SAF in coming years. But airline companies have a long way to go to reach their goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

(newsforkids.net)

In 2024 NASA plans to send 4 astronuats on a journey to the far side of the moon. On April 3rd 2023 the agency announced the mission that Artemis II will fly around the moon. It's crew including the first women and the first person of color on a moon mission, it also includes the first Canadian!

The goal of this mission is to land humans on the moon again in 2025, though it's a long ways away the goal in mind is clear; NASA plans to build a permanent base on the moon. This is a historic moment because the last time astronauts even approached the moon was 1972.

If you are a New England Patriots fan you were probably upset when Tom Brady left the team in March, 2020. What a horrible month! First everything shuts down, then Brady leaves? With Brady gone, the Patriots needed a quarterback. They signed QB Cam Newton from free agency, and he became their starter. He did not last long, though. Being New England’s first pick in the 2021 NFL Draft(15th overall), Mac Jones replaced him as their new starting QB. Newton was cut later that week. The question really is, will Mac Jones be as good as the legend, Tom Brady?

Experts think there might be a chance. ESPN NFL Draft expert Todd McShay is one of those.”(Mac Jones)reminds a little bit of Dan Marino or even Tom Brady in terms of, and I'm not saying the same skill level, but not very mobile but really good inside the pocket.” he once said on the show, “Keyshawn, JWill and Zubin”. Similarly, former Chicago Bears coach, Marc Trestman, also thinks there’s a chance. “He can produce and work within the structure that Tom Brady did,” Trestman said. Those experts say there's a chance, but what do the stats say?

In Mac Jones’ first five games as a starter in the NFL, he had a completion rate of around 75%. That’s just below the average for a QB, but for a rookie it’s pretty good, especially compared to Tom Brady. Brady only had around a 60% completion rate. Big difference. Mac definitely wins that one. In his NFL Combine, Mac Jones got a 4.83 second 40 yard dash. Brady got 5.30 seconds. The same thing happened with the vertical jump, Jones getting 32” and Brady getting 24.5”. As this evidence suggests, Mac Jones had a much better combine than Tom Brady.

Clearly, the stats and experts say there is a chance, but until Mac Jones wins 7 Super Bowls, 5 MVPS, throws for over 80,000 passing yards, over 600 TD’s, and has over 7,000 completions, Tom Brady is still better. Mac Jones has the skill to pass Brady, but only time will tell if he can pull it off.

On November 4th, the Bruins defeated the Red Wings 5-1. Before then, both teams had 4 wins, so it was going to be a close game. One player did not get the memo. Patrice Bergeron went on fire scoring a hat trick +1, 4 goals. Ironically, those were his first 4 goals of the season. Brad Marchand also had a good game, assisting on all 4 of Bergeron’s goals. The Bruins are now up to 5th place in their division, hoping to move up a little bit more, but there is still lots of time to do so.