Abstracts: National Parks, the Biology Behind Pixar, and More

• President Obama visited Yosemite and Carslbad Caverns last week, urging for the protection of national parks threatened by budget cuts and climate change. (Bloomberg)

Animating animal movement is hard, and to get it right Pixar hired a bio-mechanics researcher. (Visual by Efraimstochter/Pixabay)

• In order to accurately model how animals move, Pixar Studios hired a bio-mechanics researcher for its latest movie, Finding Dory. (Geek Wire)

• Earth has a new “quasi-satellite” — an asteroid that will orbit the planet for the next few centuries. (Vox)

• Before this month, nobody had been able to corroborate the 200-year old tale the electric eels could leap out of the water. Nobody except one girl and her eighth-grade class. (Nautilus)

• In May, astronaut Scott Kelly returned to Earth after spending a year in space, and this month, three more ISS astronauts returned home after six months in orbit. What exactly does that amount of time do to the body? (Al Jazeera English)

• On July 4, NASA’s Juno spacecraft will enter orbit around Jupiter in order to probe the secrets of the gas giant. (Eos)

• Fear surrounding Zika virus is driving the development of many ineffective products — from wristbands to stickers, and even condoms — that claim to offer protection. (STAT)

• Living on the Russian tundra can be hard — and an invasion of bears can make it even harder. (Outside Magazine)

• And finally, new research suggests that fish may be much more intelligent than previously thought. (Pacific Standard)