Margherita Bassi

Daily Correspondent at Smithsonian Magazine

Journalist at Freelance

Daily correspondent for @SmithsonianMag | Corrispondente americana per @cittanuova_it | Trilingual freelance writer

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Articles

These Colorful Birds Form Long-Term 'Friendships' by Helping Out With Babysitting, Study Suggests

5 days ago | smithsonianmag.com | Margherita Bassi

While scientists have observed animals assisting their relatives, a new study reveals that many superb starlings also form supportive relationships with non-relatives that can last for years Superb starlings—medium-sized, often brilliantly colored birds in eastern Africa—work together to raise their flock’s young. And according to a new study, they reciprocally help each other out in friendship-like relationships.
All 28 of the U.S.'s Largest Cities Are Sinking, Study Finds

6 days ago | gizmodo.com | Margherita Bassi

America’s biggest cities are slowly sinking—and not just the ones near the ocean, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Cities. The satellite-based study shows that all 28 U.S. cities with over 600,000 people are subsiding, putting infrastructure in fast-growing urban areas increasingly at risk. Researchers used satellite data to investigate the vertical land movements in large U.S. cities, finding that all of them are sinking to some extent.
Pompeii Family Blocked Bedroom Door With Bed to Escape Eruption, New Findings Reveal

1 week ago | gizmodo.com | Margherita Bassi

In 79 CE, Mount Vesuvius erupted with tremendous force, burying the nearby Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneumā€”and possibly around 16,000 peopleā€”under ash and pumice.Ā Almost 2000 years later, archaeological investigations continue to reveal the victims’ final moments, immortalized in the solidified volcanic debris.
Astrophysicists Track Down the Mysterious Cosmic Origins of Gold and Other Heavy Metals in Our Galaxy

1 week ago | smithsonianmag.com | Margherita Bassi

Researchers suggest powerful bursts from magnetars—collapsed stars with strong magnetic fields—may have contributed up to 10 percent of all elements heavier than iron in the Milky Way Industries such as technology, medicine and agriculture rely on naturally dense elements known as heavy metals. But despite these materials’ importance in our lives, their cosmic origins largely remain a mystery.
First Fatal Bear Attack in Florida’s Recorded History Leaves Man and Dog Dead

1 week ago | technewstube.com | Margherita Bassi

Tech News Tube is a real time news feed of the latest technology news headlines.Follow all of the top tech sites in one place, on the web or your mobile device.
First Fatal Bear Attack in Florida's Recorded History Leaves Man and Dog Dead

1 week ago | gizmodo.com | Margherita Bassi

Authorities in Florida have announced the state’s first known fatal bear attack. One or more bears killed Robert Markel, an 89-year-old man, along with his dog, in Collier County, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), as reported by USA Today. The attack comes as the FWC considers restarting “highly regulated bear hunting” for the first time since 2015 in response to a growing bear population.
Some Bus Shelters Actually Make Heat Even Worse, Study Finds

1 week ago | gizmodo.com | Margherita Bassi

Imagine taking the bus on a hot summer day. The Sun is beating down strongly, so you hurry to the bus shelter. After all, the structure’s shade should lessen the heat stress. New research, however, shows that this isn’t always the case. In fact, sometimes it makes an already unpleasant situation even worse. Researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston measured heat stress at bus stops in Houston between July 20 and August 7, 2023.
Archaeologists discover hundreds of metal objects up to 3,400 years old on mysterious volcanic hilltop in Hungary

1 week ago | yahoo.com | Margherita Bassi

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Some of the metal artifacts dating to the Early Iron Age that archaeologists found on Somló Hill in Hungary. | Credit: Bence Soós et al; Photo by László György; CC BY 4.0Ancient people in Hungary hid at least six metal hoards around a mysterious settlement on a lone hill as early as the 15th century B.C., a new study using lasers and fieldwork finds.
What You Learned About Cell Division Is Probably Wrong

1 week ago | technewstube.com | Margherita Bassi

Tech News Tube is a real time news feed of the latest technology news headlines.Follow all of the top tech sites in one place, on the web or your mobile device.
What You Learned About Cell Division Is Probably Wrong

1 week ago | gizmodo.com | Margherita Bassi

If you took high school biology, you probably learned about cell division: a crucial process in all life forms officially called mitosis. For over one hundred years, students have learned that during mitosis, a parent cell becomes spherical before dividing into two daughter cells of the same size and shape. A new study, however, might rewrite many, many biology textbooks.