* Astronomy

The bear that left a 3-foot-long claw mark in an Ice Age clay bank was the largest bear species ever to walk the Earth, about 6 feet tall at the shoulder and capable of moving its 1,800-pound body at up to 45 mph in a snarling dash for prey.
The claw mark by the extinct giant short-faced bear still looks fresh today in a southwestern Missouri cave that some scientists are calling a national treasure — an Ice Age time capsule sealed for thousands of years.
Discovered accidentally five years ago on the outskirts of Springfield, Riverbluff Cave is slowly yielding its fossil treasures as a small team of scientists and volunteers gingerly explores it while trying to preserve a rich bed of remains.
Remains in the cave date back at least 830,000 years and possibly more than 1 million years. At some point at least 55,000 years ago, it was sealed by rocks and mud until a construction crew blasted a hole in one end while building a road in 2001.

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