ANCIENT REPTILE
There's new information about the world's oldest flying reptile, which was discovered in Australia. The giant creature is known as a pterosaur and lived about 107 million years ago. According to a study published today in the journal History Biology, the animal had a wingspan that was 6.5 feet long and was the first vertebrate able to fly. It lived alongside dinosaurs during the Mesozoic Era, which began 252 million years ago.
SHARK SPOTTING
Meanwhile, this shark was recently spotted circling around a man and his son who were taking a dip at Orange Beach, Alabama. The footage was captured on a drone by a 15-year-old who was monitoring sharks in the Gulf of Mexico. The gulf is home to 50 species of sharks, only about half of which are known to have encounters with people.
BEE SWARM
Finally, a huge swarm of bees was filmed over a crowd of spectators at the Indianapolis 500 Race over the weekend. The video shows the bees hovering above spectators. The man who shot the video says the crowd was unfazed by the bees and was mostly focused on the race. There was even a beekeeper sitting a few rows away from the swarm who helped remove the bees after the race. He said there were an estimated 12,000 to 16,000 bees in the stands.
Despite the expected arrival of COVID-19 vaccines in just a few weeks, it could take several months — probably well into 2021 — before things get back to something close to normal in the United States.
American Airlines is expanding its COVID-19 pilot pre-flight testing program to London in an effort to get more international flyers in the sky.
AstraZeneca reported that its vaccine is 90% effective and cheaper to distribute than vaccines from its competitors. Meanwhile, the U.S. is averaging 1,500 deaths per day according to Johns Hopkins.
Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca said Monday that late-stage trials showed its coronavirus vaccine was up to 90% effective, giving public health officials hope they may soon have access to a vaccine that is cheaper and easier to distribute than some of its rivals.
Pfizer said Friday it is asking U.S. regulators to allow emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine, starting the clock on a process that could bring limited first shots as early as next month and eventually an end to the pandemic -- but not until after a long, hard winter.
A satellite jointly developed by Europe and the United States being launched this weekend will greatly help scientists keep track of the rise in global sea levels, one of the most daunting effects of climate change, a senior official at the European Space Agency said Friday.
The use of mRNA technology in COVID-19 vaccines is groundbreaking for a number of reasons. However, there is a drawback to the vaccines: they have to be stored in brutally cold temperatures.
The U.S. decline in cigarette smoking could be stalling while the adult vaping rate appears to be rising, according to a government report released Thursday.
The only known white giraffe in the world has been fitted with a GPS tracking device to help protect it from poachers as it grazes in Kenya.
Pfizer said Wednesday that new test results show its coronavirus vaccine is 95% effective, is safe and also protects older people most at risk of dying.
