In case you missed it—a few of the great science stories I came across over the last week:

• One of the scientists I profiled in Into the Deep: Science Technology, and the Quest to Save the Ocean had a paper release yesterday (4/22). It explores new things we’ve learned about how blue whales feed. Be sure to check out the video at the end of the article: http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/gemmlab/2020/04/22/new-publication-blue-whale-surface-foraging/
• Oregon students launch GPS-fitted mini-boats and track them across the Pacific. Partner classrooms in Japan do the same. Will the boats catch a current and make it across the ocean? https://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-japan-mini-boat-columbia-river-maritime-museum-education-stem/
• Against the odds, spring-run Chinook salmon making a comeback on the San Joaquin River: https://californiawaterblog.com/2020/04/19/science-of-an-underdog-the-improbable-comeback-of-spring-run-chinook-salmon-in-the-san-joaquin-river/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
• Toxins that help rough-skinned newts ward off predators likely comes from an unlikely ally: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/toxin-producing-skin-bacteria-can-make-newt-deadly-poisonous
• Scientists have found a frog fossil that is a mere 40 million years old. The fossil frog is part of a family of frogs still around today. The catch? They live in the warm, humid Chilean Andes. So at one time Antarctica must have been a whole lot warmer. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/first-frog-fossil-antarctica-found-ancient-climate