Articles with 400-600 Words

With over three-quarters of the country under mandatory shutdown orders, and more joining daily, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced hundreds of businesses to shutter and led to widespread layoffs. To mitigate the coronavirus outbreak's economic impact, US lawmakers have passed a $2.2 trillion emergency relief bill, the largest economic rescue package in the nation's history....

Looking for a fun idea to pass time during this COVID-19 pandemic hiatus? Then you will be thrilled to know that Wednesday is April Fools' Day, which means that you can play a light-hearted prank, or two, without getting into trouble!...

Drones have come a long way since their first iteration, which was unsteerable and lifted a mere two feet off the ground during its first flight, was unveiled by French inventor brothers Jacques and Louis Bréguet in 1907. Modern-day quadcopters can be programmed to fly autonomously at high altitudes for long distances, swim underwater, and now, thanks to some University of Zurich researchers, even play dodgeball!...

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed life as we knew it just a few weeks ago. Millions of people worldwide are now under mandatory or voluntary lockdowns. All public attractions, including museums and aquariums, are shuttered, and the usually crowded streets of popular tourist destinations are desolate. An unanticipated silver lining during these challenging times for humans is that many of the Earth's other inhabitants are finally getting a chance to leave their normal habitats and roam freely....

For most birds, nest-building entails creating a bowl-shaped receptacle of twigs and dry leaves. However, don't tell that to the common tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius). The tiny birds, found in urban gardens across tropical ecosystems worldwide, go through extraordinary lengths to sew together a comfortable and safe home for their offspring....

Texas, the biggest of the contiguous US states, prides itself on being larger than life. Everything, from hairstyles to boot heels to food portions to mascots to convenience stores (the largest one boasts 80 soda fountains), is exaggerated. Hence, it should come as no surprise that the Lone Star State is also home to the largest signature on Earth....

Though many single-celled lifeforms have evolved to survive without oxygen, multicellular organisms have always been believed to need it to live. Now, scientists in Tel Aviv, Israel, have found that Henneguya salminicola, a parasite, which spends its life attached to the muscle tissue of fish, has adapted to living without oxygen....

Paleontologists have long determined that modern-day birds evolved from smaller members of the two-legged, meat-eating theropods, such as velociraptors. However, for many years, the only transitional fossil linking the two had been that of the archaeopteryx — a bird-dinosaur hybrid that lived on Earth about 150 million years ago, during the late Jurassic period....

And in the blink of an eye, winter is over — at least when it comes to the clocks. On March 8, 2020, most Americans will "spring forward" by moving their clocks an hour ahead. Though the start of Daylight Saving Time (DST) means sacrificing sixty minutes of precious sleep or playtime on Sunday, it provides for longer spring and summer days....