An image of Venus, made with data recorded by Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft in 2016, shows swirling clouds in the planet’s atmosphere.
Credit: PLANET-C Project Team/JAXA

Could there be microscopic life in the clouds of the planet Venus? The idea may seem far-fetched, but in 2020, scientists discovered a tantalizing hint that it could be true, in the form of a strange gas in Venus’s atmosphere. They are still studying to see what the planet might be hiding!

Venus has been called Earth’s twin. It’s next door to Earth, about the same size as Earth, and covered by an atmosphere of thick, swirling clouds. All of these features made it a tempting target during the early exploration of space. Speculators even imagined dense jungles covering the planet’s surface. When the first landers visited Venus in the 1970’s, however, they revealed a searing environment of 870 °F (465 °C) with pressures 90 times greater than that at Earth’s surface. Clouds of sulfuric acid filled the sky. The search for other life within the solar system quickly shifted to the more temperate Mars.

The new evidence was discovered by an international team of scientists that was actually more interested in exoplanets, planets orbiting distant stars. The team was led by Jane Greaves at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom. Scientists are constantly looking for ways to study exoplanets for signs of alien life. One way is to study the spectra (ranges of light) reflected by exoplanets for clues to chemicals in their atmosphere. One such chemical may be the gas phosphine. On Earth, phosphine is produced by microbes in anaerobic environments—places without oxygen. The gas is short-lived, so to be present in a planet’s atmosphere, it must be replenished continually. So, the presence of phosphine in an exoplanet’s atmosphere could be a sign of ongoing alien life.

The team recorded atmospheric data from Venus in an attempt to establish a benchmark for the spectral signature of an Earth-sized planet without phosphine. To their surprise, their findings indicated that the Venusian atmosphere did contain phosphine. After asking another team of scientists to double-check their results and studying the planet with a more powerful telescope, the evidence of phosphine was confirmed. Scientists do not yet know of a nonbiological way for phosphine to arise on Venus, pointing to the amazing possibility that Venus may harbor microscopic life. If such life exists, it is likely to be found in Venus’s clouds, where conditions are less hellish than those on the surface.

Greaves and her team emphasized that scientists are a long way from determining that there is life on Venus. The authors noted, for example, that sulfur dioxide produces a similar spectral signature to phosphine under certain conditions, raising the possibility that other molecules may mimic phosphine.

Vonetta Flowers
Credit: © Everett Collection, Shutterstock

Winter is a time for hockey, ice skating, skiing, sledding, and snowboarding. Have you ever heard of bobsledding? Bobsledding is a fast, dangerous winter sport in which teams of two or four persons ride down a steep, icy course in steel and fiberglass sleds. The sleds may reach speeds up to 90 miles (145 kilometers) per hour. The team with the fastest total time after either two or four runs wins the competition.

One famous bobsledder is Vonetta Flowers. Flowers is a former American Olympic bobsledder. In 2002, she became the first Black American to win a gold medal in the Winter Olympic Games. She tried bobsledding on a whim and took the sport quickly.

Vonetta Jeffrey was born on Oct. 29, 1973, in Birmingham, Alabama. She began running as a child. In high school, she was an all-star track and basketball athlete. Flowers was a seven-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) All-American in track at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She competed in several events, including the long jump, triple jump, 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, and relays. She married John Flowers, an American track coach and former track athlete, in 1999.

Vonetta Flowers won a gold medal in the long jump at the 1994 Olympic Festival. The festival was a U.S. national competition held between Olympic Games years. Flowers competed in the long jump at the 2000 Olympic trials but failed to qualify. While at the trials, Flowers’s husband saw a flyer for tryouts as a brakeman for bobsledding. In two-person bobsledding, the team includes a driver and a brakeman. The brakeman helps to push off at the beginning of the run and brakes the sled to a stop at the end of the run. As a trained track athlete, Flowers outperformed many competitors at the bobsled trials.

At the bobsled trials, Flowers met the American bobsledder Bonny Warner. In 2001, Flowers and Warner finished in the top 10 in all 7 World Cup races. However, Warner replaced Flowers with another brakeman. Flowers almost quit the sport before the American bobsledder Jill Bakken recruited her as brakeman.

In 2002, at the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, Flowers and Bakken competed against Warner’s team, which was favored to win. Flowers and Bakken broke the course record on their first run and won the first-ever gold medal in women’s bobsled. Flowers retired from competition after the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy. She began working as a track coach at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Flowers’ story inspires many to try a new sport or hobby. What would you like to try this year?

A woman harvests cacao pods by hand at a company-owned plantation in Ghana. The main ingredient in chocolate, cacao is one of Africa’s largest export crops.
© Ron Giling from Peter Arnold, Inc.

On a cold winter night there is nothing better than a mug of hot chocolate to warm you up. Though it is a simple drink, there is a long history behind the warm treat. Many say the first people to drink chocolate beverages were the Maya. The Maya were an Indigenous (native) people who developed a civilization in Central America and southern Mexico. ​​As far back as 500 B.C., the Maya made a drink containing ground-up cacao, chili peppers, corn meal, and water. The word chocolate comes from chocolatl, a word Spanish conquerors may have created by combining the Maya word chocol, which means hot, with the Aztec word atl, which means water.

While there are many records on the history of hot chocolate, no one knows for sure who invented chocolate milk. Some historians believe Jamaicans had been making a hot drink with cacao shavings boiled with milk and cinnamon since the 1500′s. Some people credit the British physician and botanist Sir Hans Sloane. In the early 1700′s, Sloane lived in Jamaica. There, he was served cocoa to drink. Cocoa is made from a tropical tree called the cacao. Botanists believe the cacao tree originated in the northern Amazon River Basin in South America. Sloane added milk to the cocoa to improve the taste. Sloane brought the mixture with him when he returned to England. The beverage was originally marketed as a medicine. While you can heat up chocolate milk to make hot chocolate, it will not be as dense and creamy as traditional hot chocolate.

An Aztec sculpture found in Amatlan, Mexico, shows a man holding a cacao pod. The Aztec people ruled an empire in Mexico in the 1400′s and early 1500′s.
Museum Collection Fund, Brooklyn Museum

What most people call “hot chocolate” is actually hot cocoa. The difference is that hot cocoa is made from cocoa powder, sugar or sweetener, and hot water or milk. Hot cocoa does not contain the fat and calories of chocolate. Hot chocolate is made from melted chocolate, sweetener, and either dairy or non-dairy milk. In many places, hot chocolate is called drinking chocolate.

Manufacturers invented a press to force cocoa butter out of roasted cacao beans, forming dry cakes. The cakes are then ground into the reddish-brown cocoa powder that you can buy at the store. Dutch-processed cocoa powder is made from cacao that was soaked in a solution before being ground. The solution lowers the acidity of the chocolate. Dutch-processed cocoa powder has a darker color and a less bitter flavor than regular cocoa powder.

Whether you drink hot cocoa or hot chocolate, you can put some marshmallows or whip cream on top for some added sweetness. However you enjoy your warm chocolate beverage, stay cozy!

Ben N. Campbell was a member of the United States Senate from 1993 to 2005. Campbell, a Republican, represented Colorado. Before becoming a senator, Campbell had served in the Colorado House of Representatives and the U.S. House of Representatives.
U.S. Senate

People in the United States observe Native American Heritage Month each year in November. During this period, many Native tribes celebrate their cultures, histories, and traditions. It is also a time to raise awareness of the challenges Indigenous people have faced in the past and today, along with their contributions to the United States as its first inhabitants.

Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a Northern Cheyenne chief, was a member of the United States Senate from 1993 to 2005. He represented Colorado. When he was elected, Campbell became the first Native American person since the late 1920′s to hold a U.S. Senate seat. Charles Curtis, whose mother was part Native American, served in the Senate from 1907 to 1913 and again from 1915 to 1929. Campbell was elected as a Democrat. In 1995, he switched to the Republican Party.

As a senator, Campbell focused on such issues as water conservation and environmental preservation. He worked to protect Colorado’s water resources.

Campbell was born on April 13, 1933, in Auburn, California. His father was Northern Cheyenne, and his mother was of Portuguese descent. Campbell served in the U.S. Air Force from 1951 to 1953. He earned a bachelor’s degree from San José State University in 1957. He also attended Meiji University in Tokyo. Campbell became a judo expert and was a member of the U.S. judo team in the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. During the late 1960′s and the 1970′s, he built a successful business as a jewelry designer and jewelry maker and became a resident of Colorado.

Campbell was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 1982. He served from 1983 until 1986, when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He won reelection to the U.S. House in 1988 and 1990. In 1992, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, and he took office in 1993. He was reelected in 1998.

In 2004, Campbell announced that because of concerns about his health he would not seek reelection that year to the Senate. His final term as senator ended in January 2005.

The Mariner 4 probe was launched in 1964 and traveled toward Mars. It was the first satellite to take up close pictures of another planet.
Credit: NASA

On Earth, the blue and green planet of our solar system, we are celebrating Red Planet Day today, November 28. The red planet is a nickname for Mars, the fourth planet from the sun. On November 28, 1964, NASA launched the first mission toward Mars, with the Mariner 4 probe. We call it “the Red Planet” because the surface of Mars has a reddish color due to the weathered iron-rich minerals present in the Martian dust and surface rocks. The iron oxidizes creating rust. We should call it the rusty planet! Many ancient peoples associated the planet with war and conflict because of its blood-red appearance. Indeed, Mars is the Latin name for the ancient Roman god of war.

Mars, like Earth, has clouds in its atmosphere and deposits of ice at its poles. But unlike Earth, Mars has little to no liquid water on its surface. The rustlike color of Mars comes from the large amount of iron in the planet’s soil.
Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Humans have been studying Mars for centuries. Visible from Earth with the unaided eye, Mars has always captivated us! Of all the planets in our solar system, Mars has the surface environment that most closely resembles that of Earth. Mars has weather and seasons and landforms that appear familiar. Salty water may flow just below the planet’s surface. Like Earth, the sun, and the rest of the solar system, Mars is about 4.6 billion years old.

Mars has a special place in popular culture, one that is unique among the planets. This fascination with Mars probably developed because the planet is relatively close to and similar to Earth. Early observations with Earth-based telescopes inspired popular speculation that Mars was home to all kinds of life, even alien civilizations. Many works of science fiction have played upon these ideas, showing humans visiting Mars or malevolent Martians invading Earth.

A Martian landscape includes jagged rocks, sand dunes, and hazy clouds. The image, taken by the United States rover Curiosity, has been adjusted to show the natural color of the planet, as it would appear to an observer on the surface.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

In the 1960’s, the U.S. Mariner spacecraft showed Mars to be a cold, desert planet devoid of visible life. But Mars continues to fascinate people with hints of past surface water and the possibility that microscopic life once existed or still exists there. Experts also view Mars as the next likely target for human space exploration and perhaps even as a stepping stone to exploring the rest of the solar system.

Robotic spacecraft began detailed observation of Mars in the 1960′s. The United States launched to Mars the Mariner 4 probe in 1964 and Mariners 6 and 7 in 1969. The pictures they returned showed a barren surface, covered with craters like those on the moon. There was no sign of liquid water or life. The spacecraft observed few of the planet’s most interesting features because they happened to fly by only heavily cratered regions. But when Mariner 9 went into orbit around Mars in 1971, people’s view of Mars completely changed. Mariner 9 mapped about 80 percent of Mars and made the first discoveries of the planet’s canyons and volcanoes. It also found the first evidence for water, taking photographs of the outflow channels and valley networks.

Browns’ 1969 patent plan for an elaborate home security system suggests safety and relaxation can go hand in hand.
Credit: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Today many people have security systems installed in their houses. Security systems set off an alarm when someone breaks in and automatically call the police. Home security systems also connect to smoke alarms and call the fire department if there is a fire. Some people also have security cameras around the house. They can show us when we have a package at the front door or when a visitor is waiting outside. Newer models even let you open the door from your smartphone or smartwatch! Do you know about the woman who invented the first home security system?

Well, she did not work for the CIA, FBI, or Homeland Security. Marie Van Brittan Brown was a Black American nurse. She was born on Oct. 22, 1922, in the Queens borough (section) of New York City. She married Albert Brown, an electronics technician. She worked late hours as a nurse and was concerned about the slow response time of the police in her neighborhood. Brown created a home security system for their house and filed for a patent in 1966. Brown called her invention the “Home Security System Utilizing Television Surveillance.”

The system involved a camera that monitored four different areas, displaying surveillance footage on a television. The system also had a two-way microphone, a button to let visitors into the house, and a button that called the police. The patent was approved in 1969. However, Brown never found a manufacturer or marketed her invention. Brown died on Feb. 2, 1999, in Queens.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were said to have been built by King Nebuchadnezzar II after he married a mountain princess. He hoped the gardens would make her feel at home.
Credit: World Book illustration by Birney Lettick

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, a listing of notable objects built between about 2500 and 250 B.C. The plants in the gardens spilled over terraces, giving them the appearance of hanging. The gardens probably were built by King Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled Babylon from 605 to 562 B.C. Babylon was a great city on the banks of the Euphrates River near present-day Al Hillah, Iraq. Archaeologists have not been able to find the remains of the gardens.

The gardens are considered to be a great architectural achievement. Nebuchadnezzar was said to have built the gardens for his wife Amytis, who missed the lush mountains of her homeland of Media, an ancient country in what is now northern Iran. Nebuchadnezzar’s palace had stone arches and brick terraces on squared-off pillars. Plants filled the terraces. To irrigate the flowers and trees, enslaved people worked in shifts turning handles to lift water from the Euphrates River.

This map shows the locations of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Credit: WORLD BOOK map

Knowledge of the gardens comes from an account written around 280 B.C. by Berossus, a Babylonian priest. Later writers, who may have only read about the gardens, described them as laid out on a brick terrace about 400 feet (120 meters) square and 75 feet (23 meters) above the ground. Strabo, a Greek geographer who lived from about 63 B.C. to A.D. 24, described the irrigation system for the gardens and vaulted terraces. He wrote of screws that drew the water up from the river. Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian who lived sometime between 100 B.C. and the birth of Jesus Christ, described the gardens as a green, forested, artificial mountain that resembled a ziggurat (stepped tower).

Some historians believe that accounts of the gardens may be inaccurate or untrue. The British scholar Stephanie Dalley, for example, concluded that the gardens never existed in Babylon. Dalley believed the gardens were built in the city of Nineveh, about 300 miles (500 kilometers) north of Babylon, by the Assyrian King Sennacherib in the early 600’s B.C. In ancient texts, Sennacherib described his royal palace gardens as having an irrigation system powered by a water-raising device often referred to as the Archimedean screw. Modern excavations in the area found an aqueduct system for delivering water from the mountains. The historical confusion could be due to Nineveh being referred to as “old Babylon” in Assyrian sources.

Young dancers participate in a Powwow on July 23, 2016, in Couer d’Alene, Idaho.
Credit: © Gregory Johnston, Shutterstock

People in the United States observe Native American Heritage Month each year in November. During this period, many Native tribes celebrate their cultures, histories, and traditions. It is also a time to raise awareness of the challenges Indigenous people have faced in the past and today, along with their contributions to the United States as its first inhabitants.

Across the country, people are gathering for powwows big and small to celebrate Native American Heritage Month. Through dancing, traditional food and regalia, and other traditions, Indigenous communities celebrate their culture and community. For many communities, these will be the first large powwows held since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020. The Choctaw Nation hosted one of the country’s largest and most well known powwows in Oklahoma earlier in the month. Some powwows honored Indigenous veterans on Veterans Day.

A powwow is a ceremony of dancing practiced by Indigenous (native) peoples of the United States and by First Nations, Indigenous peoples of Canada. The term powwow comes from the Algonquian word pau wau, meaning healer. The gathering lasts several days and includes dancing, drums, feasts, regalia (traditional attire), and singing. Powwows have their roots in traditional Indigenous religious ceremonies and meetings. Today, they may serve as a secular (nonreligious) and public celebration.

Indigenous American cultures included traditional dances and songs. However, many Indigenous ceremonies and traditions have been outlawed by white settlers at various times. In the United States, the Religious Crimes Code of 1883 prohibited ceremonial dances. The Indian Act, first passed in 1876, is the main Canadian law governing relations between the First Nations and the federal government. In 1884, the act was amended to ban ceremonies such as potlatches and certain dances. The potlatch is a ceremony of feasting and gift-giving practiced by indigenous peoples and First Nations of the Northwest Coast region.

In the late 1800’s, traveling “Wild West” shows became popular. Shows such as that presented by the frontiersman and entertainer Buffalo Bill offered an opportunity for Indigenous performers to make money for their tribes by performing outlawed songs and dances publicly.

The Religious Crimes Code was amended to allow Indigenous dances and songs in 1933. In 1951, Canada lifted the prohibition on dances and potlatches. The United States Congress passed the American Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1978 to guarantee the protection of Indigenous people under the First Amendment to the Constitution. These changes enabled powwows to flourish in the 1960’s and 1970’s, when they were held during the summer.

Smaller local powwows still occur on reservations (lands set aside for Indigenous use), but larger powwows may take place in stadiums and at casinos. Indigenous elders bless the grounds before the event begins through song, prayer, and the burning of sage or tobacco. The powwow grounds are usually laid out in a series of concentric circles (circles spreading from a common center). The area for dancing and drums lies in the middle. The space around the dancers is reserved for elders and friends and family of the dancers. Outside that circle, there is room for spectators and vendors. The vendors sell traditional and modern foods, crafts, art, and clothing.

Every powwow has an emcee, a master of ceremonies. The emcee is usually a leader in the community with knowledge of the traditional ceremonies along with a modern-style education. The emcee announces events, introduces dancers, and tells stories.

Powwows begin with the grand entry, an opening parade. This tradition was adopted from the Wild West shows as well as processions at treaty signings. In a giveaway ceremony on the last day of the powwow, gifts are given from the host to the visitors or in memory of someone who died. The ceremony begins with the hosts dancing and the emcee announcing those receiving gifts.

Dancing styles are differentiated in part by the regalia worn by performers. Competitive dances for men include the fancy, grass, northern, and straight dance styles. For women, competitive dancing styles include fancy shawl, jingle dress, northern and southern buckskin, and northern and southern cloth. Dancers compete for prize money. The dance competition is organized by dance style and by the age and gender of the performers.

Drums and singing accompany the dances. Singers may sing in the language of a specific tribe or in vocables, simple nonverbal syllables that are shared among tribes.

Powwows are held the year around in major cities across Canada and the United States. A powwow may include up to 800 dancers or more. Some traditional powwows focus only on the songs and dances. Others may include such activities as rodeos, fashion shows, and music competitions. The largest powwow is the Gathering of Nations in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which may include more than 3,000 dancers.

A dog show is a competitive event in which judges evaluate dogs on their physical appearance and condition. In this photograph, a woman parades a doberman pinscher for the judges’ review.
© Shutterstock

The National Dog Show, presented by the Kennel Club of Philadelphia and the American Kennel Club, took place over the weekend at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. The National Dog Show has aired on television every Thanksgiving Day after Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade for 20 years. Anyone can go to see the show near Philadelphia for an entrance fee, especially well-behaved dogs.

The bichon frise is a popular show dog. This photograph shows bichons frises lined up for judging at a dog show.
AP Photo

The American Kennel Club (AKC), the best-known dog registry in the United States, classifies dog breeds into seven major groups for exhibition in dog shows. The seven groups are (1) sporting dogs, (2) hounds, (3) working dogs, (4) terriers, (5) toy dogs, (6) nonsporting dogs, and (7) herding dogs. The AKC also has a miscellaneous category for dogs that are growing in popularity but that have not yet been accepted for registration.

Last weekend nearly 2,000 dogs made their way to the Philadelphia area to compete with their owners, handlers, milk-bones, and hair dryers. There are 205 registered breeds in the show this year competing in the 7 group competitions. Each breed competes to be “Best of Breed.” Those winners participate to be “First in Group” in each of the seven groups. From the seven dogs named “First in Group,” the judges name the overall champion as “Best in Show.”

The American Kennel Club added a new breed to the registry last year. The Biewer terrier, a German toy breed, is making its debut on the show. The breed, pronounced like“beaver,” is a relative of a Yorkshire terrier with white, tan, and brown fur. They are known as friendly and athletic companions.

Last year, Winston, a cream-colored French bulldog won “Best in Show.” In 2021, Claire the Scottish deerhound, a type of hound, won “Best in Show.” In 2019, a bulldog named Thor won after taking the non-sporting group. A whippet, a hound breed, named Whiskey won in 2018.

Saltwater crocodile
© Firepac, Shutterstock

October 21 is a special day for our scaly friends. Slithering black mambas, majestic leatherback sea turtles, and itty bitty nano-chameleons (just discovered in 2021) step into the spotlight for National Reptile Awareness Day in the United States.

The saltwater crocodile is the largest living reptile and one of the most fearsome predators (hunting animals) on Earth. Adults can reach lengths of 23 feet (7 meters) and weights of over 1 ton (0.9 metric tons). Saltwater crocodiles live on the coasts of northern Australia and Southeast Asia, and on the islands between. The saltwater crocodile is also called the estuarine crocodile and the Indo-Pacific crocodile. In Australia, it is informally called the “saltie.”

The saltwater crocodile has a long, low, sausage-shaped body; short legs; and a long, powerful tail, which it uses to swim. It also has a tough hide, a long snout, and sharp teeth to grasp its prey.

A saltwater crocodile’s diet depends greatly on its age and size. Young individuals eat crustaceans, insects, rats, and small fish. As saltwater crocodiles grow, they take increasingly larger prey, including sharks and water buffalo. Large adults may attack humans if an opportunity presents itself.

Unlike other crocodiles and alligators, saltwater crocodiles swim in the open ocean. They have occasionally been seen swimming far from shore, apparently moving between islands. Saltwater crocodiles are often found in brackish (salty) pools and estuaries, coastal river valleys flooded by the ocean. They can also live in fresh waters, however, including rivers and swamps.

Saltwater crocodiles reproduce during the rainy season. A female saltwater crocodile lays about 50 eggs in a nest of rotting vegetation. The mother may protect the nest from predators. The eggs hatch in about three months. Hatchlings are about 1 foot (30 centimeters) long at birth. The mother carries the hatchlings from the nest to open water to protect them from land predators.

Male saltwater crocodiles grow larger than females. Males reach an average length of about 16 feet (5 meters). Females typically grow to about 11 1/2 feet (3.5 meters) in length.

Adult saltwater crocodiles have one of the strongest bites in the animal kingdom. They can close their jaws with approximately 3,700 pounds per square inch (16,500 newtons) of force. In contrast, human bite force is only about 200 pounds per square inch (900 newtons).

Because they present a danger to humans, saltwater crocodiles are sometimes feared and hated by people. In northern Australia, they were hunted almost to extinction before a 1970 hunting ban enabled populations to recover. Like most other crocodiles, saltwater crocodiles are threatened by hunting, invasive species, habitat destruction, and pollution. Governments across the saltwater crocodile’s range work to educate people on how to avoid attacks.