desert

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Injured Hiker Survives 4 Days in Desert

North Carolina man inspired by '127 Hours'

(Newser) - Maybe the sequel will be called 100 Hours? Inspired by the cringe-inducing James Franco film 127 Hours, a North Carolina man went hiking in the Utah desert, broke his leg, and crawled toward his parked car for 4 days, the AP reports. Amos Wayne Richards, 64, is now recuperating at...

Arizonan, 84, Survives 5-Day Desert Ordeal

Henry Morello drank windshield wiper fluid to stay alive

(Newser) - An 84-year-old Arizona man was found alive and well after spending 5 days stranded in the desert without water. Henry Morello, who is diabetic, got stuck in a ravine after taking a wrong turn while driving home from his favorite restaurant. He survived by drinking windshield wiper fluid and using...

Colossal Chinese Dustball Circles Earth in 13 Days

(Newser) - A dust cloud weighing nearly a million tons kicked into the atmosphere by a massive storm in China's Taklamakan desert circled the world almost intact in 13 days, the Telegraph reports. Scientists, who used NASA satellites to track the path of the dustball until it fell apart over the Pacific...

China Uses 'the Pill' to Stop Gerbil Overpopulation

Officials hide contraceptive meds in gerbil feed

(Newser) - Chinese officials have resorted to contraceptive pills to control the exploding gerbil population threatening a fragile desert ecosystem, the BBC reports. The government is placing feed pellets mixed with the medication by the gerbils’ burrows, which damage the roots of what plants survive there. Authorities have tried measures to boost...

Sahara Yields Ancient Cemetery
 Sahara Yields Ancient Cemetery 
Aug 15, 2008 2:13 PM CDT

Sahara Yields Ancient Cemetery

Find shows desert was once lush, green, populated

(Newser) - Explorers hunting for dinosaur bones have found a Stone Age cemetery deep in the Sahara desert, National Geographic reports. The team of paleontologists discovered bones from two separate ancient human cultures that lived in the region as long as 10,000 years ago, when monsoon rains turned parts of the...

Archeologists Uncover Treasures Via Google Earth

Lost ruins spotted in Afghan desert

(Newser) - Google Earth has made detailed satellite imagery readily accessible to planetary voyeurs—but academics are also using it to get things done in ways never before possible. A team of university archeologists are uncovering hundreds of sites in the Afghan desert that might never have been discovered on foot, reports...

'Big Dig' Seeks More Manson Bodies
'Big Dig' Seeks More Manson Bodies
May 20, 2008 2:06 PM CDT

'Big Dig' Seeks More Manson Bodies

Investigators pore over cult's Death Valley ranch

(Newser) - Investigators with high-tech equipment and shovels will be spending the next few days combing the Manson Family's desert hide-out for bodies, the Los Angeles Times reports. Rumors that murder victims are buried at the isolated ranch have persisted for decades. Police called in scientists after corpse-sniffing dogs became agitated at...

More Manson Victims?
More Manson Victims?
Mar 16, 2008 9:37 AM CDT

More Manson Victims?

Amateur sleuths and a corpse-sniffing dog search Manson ranch in the Calif. Desert

(Newser) - A rag-tag group of forensic investigators, a gold miner, and a corpse-sniffing dog say they have turned up evidence of long suspected killings by the Manson family in the California desert, AP reports. Using the tools and techniques of chemistry and archeology, the group has concluded that there may be...

No Signals Mean Fossett Likely Dead: Experts

Millionaire aviator missing 10 days in Nevada desert

(Newser) - As the search for Steve Fossett entered its 10th day, experts told the Telegraph the millionaire adventurer’s chances of survival were slim. Fossett hasn’t been seen or heard from since he left a Nevada airstrip Sept. 3, and authorities haven’t received signals from his plane or watch....

Surfers Scour Google Earth for Signs of Aviator

Internet volunteer army pores over photos in Fossett search

(Newser) - An army of web surfers—even the guy in the next cubicle—has joined the search for missing aviator Steve Fossett. Google Earth has released fresh images of the Nevada desert, and surfers can scour chunks of wilderness for aircraft wreckage. One problem: "We're finding them left and right—...

Mystery Illness Kills Camels
Mystery Illness Kills Camels
Aug 19, 2007 11:10 AM CDT

Mystery Illness Kills Camels

Saudi government denies contagious disease is behind it

(Newser) - In Saudi Arabia, hundreds of camels have suddenly died for unknown reasons—232  were counted in the last four days in the Dawasir Valley, 250 miles south of Riyadh, Reuters reports. The Agriculture Ministry denies that an infectious disease is behind the deaths and blames problems with animal feed. Owners...

Deserts Eat Up China's Usable Land
Deserts Eat
Up China's Usable Land
Aug 16, 2007 5:03 PM CDT

Deserts Eat Up China's Usable Land

In arid provinces, farms and families feel pinch of policy gone awry

(Newser) - With China's deserts spreading another 950 square miles each year, the government is evicting families and replanting farms to stem the tide, the Christian Science Monitor reports from Gansu province. With 20% of the world's population but 7% of its arable land, China's decades-old problem has worsened due to overfarming,...

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