Why Antarctica fires up imaginations

+ Your zodiac sign might not match what’s written in the stars + Snacks after youth sports [Click here to view this message in your web-browser](. Edition: US 25 January 2020 [The Conversation]( Academic rigor, journalistic flair [Jennifer Weeks] A note from... Jennifer Weeks Environment + Energy Editor Antarctica was officially discovered 200 years ago, on January 27, 1820. But it had already sparked human curiosity. For centuries, scholars and explorers had hypothesized that a vast Terra Australis existed at the bottom of the world, balancing the lands of the Northern Hemisphere. We know much more about Antarctica today, some of it alarming: As Vanderbilt University earth scientist Dan Morgan explains, Antarctic ice sheets are melting at an accelerating rate. But Morgan finds Antarctica inspiring – not least because it may be the world’s [best example of international scientific cooperation](. This week we also liked stories about [centuries of distinctive black names in the US](, the 19th-century trend of [intentionally introducing animals to places they didn’t belong]( and why [what you think is your zodiac sign probably doesn’t align]( with the stars. Aerial view of a glacier in the Antarctic peninsula region. Getty Images/Mario Tama [200 years of exploring Antarctica – the world’s coldest, most forbidding and most peaceful continent]( Dan Morgan, Vanderbilt University Two centuries after it was first sighted by Russian explorers, Antarctica is a key site for studying the future of Earth's climate – and for global scientific cooperation. Black names have changed over the centuries. fizkes/Shutterstock.com [A brief history of black names, from Perlie to Latasha]( Trevon Logan, The Ohio State University A scholar disproves the long-held assumption that black names are a recent phenomenon. As the Earth orbits the Sun, the Sun appears to move through the ancient constellations of the zodiac. TauÊ»olunga/Wikimedia Commons [Why your zodiac sign is probably wrong]( James Kaler, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Astronomy and astrology do not agree on the dates of the zodiac constellations. - [Victorian efforts to export animals to new worlds failed, mostly]( Harriet Ritvo, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Acclimatization societies believed that animals could fill the gaps of a deficient environment. - [Silicon Valley’s latest fad is dopamine fasting – and that may not be as crazy as it sounds]( A. Trevor Sutton, Concordia Seminary Dopamine fasting has fast become a fad in the Silicon Valley, as a way to reset the brain's feel-good chemical. Many religions have advocated fasting for some of the same reasons. - [Snacks after youth sports add more calories than kids burn while playing, study says]( Jay Maddock, Texas A&M University ; Lori Andersen Spruance, Brigham Young University Youth sports are a great way for kids to be active, but a recent study showed that after-sports snacks, on average, had 43 more calories than the amount burned during the activity. - [5 obstacles that stop many students from taking an internship]( - [If the Romance Writers of America can implode over racism, no group is safe]( - [Vital Hasson, the Jew who worked for the Nazis, hunted down refugees and tore apart families in WWII Greece]( - [What a bundle of buzzing bees can teach engineers about robotic materials]( - [When lesbians led the women’s suffrage movement]( - [How Iran’s military outsources its cyberthreat forces]( - [Giving is changing as philanthropy faces more scrutiny]( - [Can capitalism solve capitalism’s problems?]( - [Joaquin Phoenix’s lips mocked – here’s what everyone should know about cleft lip]( - [In the terrorism fight, Trump has continued a key Obama policy]( - [US and Cuba spar over jailed dissident – but is José Daniel Ferrer really a political prisoner?]( [Do you think the public needs trustworthy information? Help us reach more people]( [Follow us on Twitter.]( [Join us on Facebook.]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation](. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe instantly](. We’ll miss you. 89 South Street - Suite 202 Boston, MA 02111