Female orcas have extremely long postreproductive life spans; they stop reproducing in their late 30s and early 40s but can continue to live for decades thereafter

Orca grandmothers improve survival of their grandoffspring

In a study involving 378 orcas (or killer whales), researchers observed the first non-human example of the "grandmother effect" in a menopausal species.

This is when post-reproductive grandmothers (in this case, orcas) assist other members of the species with their offspring, thereby improving the young ones’ chances of survival. It was found that these post-reproductive orcas had the largest beneficial impact on their grandoffspring’s survival chances.

Admiral Graf von Spee's famous flagship, SMS Scharnhorst. The wreck has now been located off the Falkland Islands

Wreck of Famed WWI Heavy Cruiser SMS Scharnhorst Discovered off Falklands

The wreck of the German battlecruiser SMS Scharnhorst, sunk by the Royal Navy during the First World War with the loss of all her crew and Admiral Graf von Spee has been found in the South Atlantic. SMS Scharnhorst, the flagship of the East Asia Squadron which was once the scourge of the Royal Navy, went down with most of the rest of the formation on December 8, 1914, in the Battle of the Falkland Islands.

The battlecruiser sank on Dec. 8, 1914, with more than 800 crew members on board, including German Adm. Maximilian Graf von Spee.

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Scharnhorst bow
The most important result of the 2019 season was confirmation that the eastern concentration of largely homogenous ceramics located on an elevated, rocky outcrop to the east of the breakwater and the sheltered channel, was indeed a shipwreck

Sixth-century shipwreck discovered off Cyprus

The survey was carried out by staff from the University of Southampton, Centre for Maritime Archaeology, as part of the Ancient Akrotiri Project, an ongoing collaborative research project on the peninsula conducted since 2015 and led by the University of Leicester.

Survey conducted by divers using underwater scooters, enabled wider coverage of the offshore approaches, identified new finds including numerous stone anchors and what appears to be the remains of a wreck carrying roof tiles, still of uncertain date.

Using sounds of healthy reefs to attract young fish

Healthy coral reefs are full of sounds of life—with the whistles, pops and grunts of fish, the crackle of snapping shrimp, etc. These sounds travel out through the ocean currents, and “advertise” to young fish to come and settle down at this particular reef ecosystem.

However, when reefs are degraded or dying, the environment falls silent. Literally.

As a result, young fish do not find their way to such reefs, and this exasperates the reef's dire situation.