Pentagon is struggling to explain more than 170 fresh UFO reports, new document reveals

Never-before-seen volcanic magma chamber discovered deep under Mediterranean, near Santorini | Why does lightning zigzag? | Does evolution ever go backward? Created for {EMAIL} | [Web Version]( January 17, 2023 CONNECT WITH LIVESCIENCE  [Facebook]( [Twitter](  [LIVESCIENCE]( Amazing science every day [SIGN UP]( ⋅ [WEBSITE]( [] Top Science News [] [Pentagon is struggling to explain more than 170 fresh UFO reports, new document reveals]( [Pentagon is struggling to explain more than 170 fresh UFO reports, new document reveals]( (Getty Images) The U.S. government has been inundated with hundreds of UFO encounter reports in the past year, and about half of them remain inexplicable, according to an unclassified document released by the Pentagon Thursday (Jan. 12). The 11-page report, filed by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), reveals that the Pentagon has cataloged a total of 510 reports of alleged sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) — or unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs), as the government prefers to call them — largely filed by U.S. military personnel. Full Story: [Live Science]( (1/13) [] Amazing Earth [] [Never-before-seen volcanic magma chamber discovered deep under Mediterranean, near Santorini]( [Never-before-seen volcanic magma chamber discovered deep under Mediterranean, near Santorini]( (SANTORY) A submarine volcano whose deadly eruption shattered the picturesque Greek island of Santorini nearly 400 years ago has a growing, never-before-seen magma chamber that could fuel another massive eruption within the next 150 years, a new study finds. About 4 miles (7 kilometers) from Santorini, 1,640 feet (500 meters) under the ocean's surface, lies the Kolumbo volcano. A study revealed that a previously undetected magma chamber growing beneath the Kolumbo volcano could lead to another eruption, thus endangering residents and tourists on Santorini. Full Story: [Live Science]( (1/16) [] Life’s Little Mysteries [] [Why does lightning zigzag?]( [Why does lightning zigzag?]( (Jure Batagelj / 500px via Getty Images) Lightning can light up the sky in a bright flash and take on a variety of shapes, but if you were to draw it, you'd almost certainly scratch out a zigzag. But what gives thunderbolts this branch-like shape? Why does lightning zigzag across the sky, instead of discharging in a straight line between a thundercloud and the ground? Full Story: [Live Science]( (1/14) [] [Does evolution ever go backward?]( [Does evolution ever go backward?]( (MARK GARLICK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY via Getty Images) Evolution has produced stunningly complex features, from neuron-studded octopus arms to the mammalian ear. Can evolution ever go "backward," though, reverting complex creatures to previous, simpler forms? In so-called regressive evolution, organisms can lose complex features and thus appear to have evolved "back" into simpler forms. But evolution doesn't really go backward in the sense of retracing evolutionary steps, experts say. Full Story: [Live Science]( (1/15) [] Your Health [] [A mysterious brain network may underlie many psychiatric disorders]( [A mysterious brain network may underlie many psychiatric disorders]( (John M Lund Photography Inc via Getty Images) Scientists have uncovered a mysterious network of brain connections that is linked to several psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This shared brain circuitry could help reveal why many patients who are diagnosed with one psychiatric illness also meet the criteria for a second. Full Story: [Live Science]( (1/14) [] Astronomy & Astrophysics [] [Black hole 'spaghettified' a star into a doughnut shape, and astronomers captured the gory encounter]( [Black hole 'spaghettified' a star into a doughnut shape, and astronomers captured the gory encounter]( (NASA, ESA, Leah Hustak (STScI)) The Hubble Space Telescope has spotted a star being stripped and stretched into a doughnut shape as a black hole devours it. The supermassive black hole, located 300 million light-years from Earth at the core of the galaxy ESO 583-G004, snared and shredded the star after it wandered too close, sending out a powerful beam of ultraviolet light that astronomers used to locate the violent encounter. Full Story: [Live Science]( (1/14) [] Daily Quiz [] POLL QUESTION: True or false: Evolution sometimes "retraces its steps," so to speak. (Learn the answer [here]() [Vote]( [True]( [Vote]( [False](   [Sign Up]( | [Update Profile]( | [Unsubscribe]( [Privacy Policy]( | [Cookies Policy]( | [Terms and Conditions]( CONTACT US: [FEEDBACK](mailto:livescience@smartbrief.com) | [ADVERTISE]( Future US LLC © Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY, 10036