New discovery makes Loch Ness Monster ‘plausible’

The existence of the Loch Ness Monster is “plausible”, a British university has concluded. Scientists found fossils of small plesiosaurs – long-necked marine reptiles from the age of dinosaurs – in a 100-million-year-old river system in Morocco’s Sahara Desert. The finding suggests the reptiles may have lived in freshwater. Images and eyewitness accounts have suggested that the beast has a long neck and small head similar to a plesiosaur. However, said The Independent, sceptics have argued that plesiosaurs could not have lived in Loch Ness as they needed a saltwater environment.

Dogs ‘can understand intention’

Dogs may be able to understand our intentions, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna either fumbled and dropped dog treats or withheld them. They noted that the dogs appeared to recognise when they were being “clumsy” and when they were being “mean”, said The Times. “Our results… provide robust evidence that dogs distinguish between similar actions (leading to the same outcome) associated with different intentions,” said the team, which studied the responses of 96 dogs of various breeds and ages.

Hirst to burn his artworks

The artist Damien Hirst is to burn thousands of his paintings next month in a project focusing on art as currency. The Guardian said Hirst will destroy the artworks at his London gallery. Buyers were given the option of keeping NFTs or trading them in for the physical artwork. Those works which were not claimed in physical form will be burned on a daily basis from 9 September. Last year, Hirst said the project, titled The Currency, was an “interesting experiment”.