Antarctica Iceberg Will Not Be Last Glacier to Go - by Justin Worland

The stunning visual of an Antarctic ice shelf the size of Delaware breaking off into the ocean has struck wonder and worry in those all across the world who have the seen image.

Scientists mostly attribute the occurrence to cleaving, the process in which a large portion of ice separates from the larger shelf, but disagree about the extent to which climate change contributedScientists say Larsen C will not directly contribute much to devastating sea-level rise — the ice shelf was already floating, so when it melts, waters will not rise significantly — but nonetheless the image of a trillion-ton iceberg floating away from Antarctica has raised new concerns over climate change. And rightfully so. If the entire Antarctic ice sheet melted, sea levels would rise by 200 feet globally, according to National Snow and Ice Data Center data.

Read more: Antarctica Iceberg Will Not Be Last Glacier to Go | Time.com

Life resuscitation: Animal brought back to life from 30-year deep freeze

More than one human -- deceased baseball star Ted Williams, for example -- has wondered whether freezing your body when you die might allow you to be revived in the future.

Perhaps Japanese scientists are beginning to find an answer.

As the Wall Street Journal reports, researchers at Japan's National Institute of Polar Research have resuscitated two tardigrades -- sometimes known as waterbears or moss piglets -- from a 30.5-year deep freeze.

It seems odd that animal-namers can't decide whether these tiny eight-legged creatures look more like pigs or bears. I'm going with waterbears.

The researchers first collected two waterbears in 1983 from an Antarctican moss sample. They then stored them at minus-20 degrees C (roughly minus-4 degrees Fahrenheit). They defrosted them in 2014.

After defrosting, it took one of the waterbears 29 days to return to what the researchers described as a normal condition. The other died after 20 days.

Perhaps when they do, we will learn something about the prospects for reviving humans. Or perhaps waterbears are simply special beings. And we're not.

Read more: Animal brought back to life from 30-year deep freeze

Sick American scientist successfully evacuated from Antarctica by Airbus A-319 landing on Ice

An Airbus A319 rescue aircraft sent to evacuate an American scientist who had fallen ill at a research outpost in Antarctica successfully arrived back in New Zealand on Thursday morning. The patient was then to be transferred to a local hospital for urgent surgery.

The A319 Airbus from the Australian Antarctic Division research programme began its five-hour journey from New Zealand on Wednesday and made a landing on an ice runway known as Pegasus, near the McMurdo station where the scientist was based.

The rescue flight was flown into Antarctica under risky weather conditions with temperatures as low as -30 degrees Celsius. Flights to Antarctica are usually only made in the summer but the National Science Foundation (NSF) said the patient, who is a member of one of its projects, may require “immediate corrective surgery.” NSF also said they were unable to reveal any details about the scientist’s name, gender, age or illness due to privacy reasons.

Read more: Sick American scientist successfully evacuated from Antarctica | euronews, world news