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Hi, I'm Scientific American podcast editor Steve Mirsky. And here's a short piece from the February 2019 issue of the magazine, in the section called Advances: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Science, Technology and Medicine.

The article is titled Quick Hits, and it's a rundown of some science and technology stories from around the globe, compiled by editorial contributor Emiliano Rodríguez Mega. 

From Greenland:

Scientists spotted¹ a 19-mile-wide crater² hidden below Hiawatha Glacier³ in northwestern Greenland. They believe it might represent a meteorite⁴ impact, but other experts say more evidence is needed to prove that the crater has an extraterrestrial origin.

From Chile:

One of the driest places o?n Earth, the Atacama Desert, is losing its microbial life because of unprecedented⁵ rains. Frequent rainfall for the past three years has caused the massive extinction⁶ of native bacterial⁷ species.

From Egypt:

An excavation⁸ near Cairo yielded dozens of mummified cats. Archaeologists also found two large mummified scarab beetles⁹ wrapped in linen¹⁰ and a rare collection of smaller scarab mummies.

From Palau:

The tiny Pacific archipelago became the first country to prohibit the use of sunscreens containing coral-toxic ingredients, including oxybenzone and octinoxate. The measure follows a similar legislative¹¹ decision in Hawaii that takes effect in 2021.

And in South Africa:

Students in Cape¹² Town made bricks using urine from men's toilets, in a biochemical process involving bacteria, calcium¹³ and sand. The bricks offer a productive—and odorless—way to recycle human urine.

That was Quick Hits by Emiliano Rodríguez Mega.