NASA recently released these photos of icebergs off the coast of the South Georgia Islands in the southern Atlantic Ocean. The ripple effect in the clouds above the larger icebergs is caused by air being pushed up over the massive blocks of ice, creating patterns in the clouds. The ripples are caused as air moves over the huge icebergs. The icebergs are so large that air flowing over them rides up....
But underneath the ice, Arctic krill manage to keep the rhythm of the day and night all winter long. Krill are shrimp-like animals that form the base of many underwater ecosystems, eating plankton and other vegetation, and being gobbled up by the thousands by whales and fish. Like many deep-sea invertebrates, they go through a daily migration, spending the daytime hours 1,600 feet down—about the height of the One World Trade Center—and nights near the water’s surface....
From the CAVE’s floor and walls, projectors display the virtual patient at 10 times the detail of the next-best simulations. CAVEman started life as a massage-therapy training tool, but researchers can now customize the generic version to represent actual patients by plugging in data and images from MRI scans, biopsies and other personal information—anything that’s compatible with the software. Next up: The Calgary team will add tactile feedback sensors and make CAVEman simulate dynamic processes, such as respiration and blood flow, so that doctors can test-run treatments before trying them in the O....
Twitter won the award last week for most chaotic social media platform—but Instagram may be pushing for the title today. Earlier this morning, Instagram confirmed via tweet that many users are experiencing accessibility issues in the form of seemingly random account suspensions. “We’re looking into it and apologize for the inconvenience,” the message concludes alongside the hashtag “#instagramdown.” As The Verge notes, many prominent Instagram accounts’ follower totals have dropped precipitously, with the social media company’s official account down over a million users since yesterday....
To do so, the team painted three life-sized mannequins in different patterns. One was a homogenous dark brown, another dark brown with white stripes like a zebra, and the third was painted light beige to mimic fairer-skinned humans. Then, they covered the lifeless trio in mouse trap glue. That thin, odorless, transparent adhesive trapped any blood-sucking fly that decided to touch down on the mannequins’ “skin.” In what looked like a modern art piece—or maybe the cover art for a bad indie record—the researchers placed the mannequins in a Hungarian field....
Decades’ worth of Gatorade commercials have taught us two things: Sports drinks hydrate you better than water, and it’s normal to sweat orange or blue liquid. Neither of these statements is true, but it does bring us to another interesting point, which is that the reason sports drinks work probably isn’t what you think. The reason many of us drink stuff like Gatorade to begin with is probably a combination of the sweet neurochemical reward that comes from ingesting sugar and the subliminal messaging inherent in sports drinks commercials that tells us real athletes drink [insert your favorite sports drink here]....
That’s more than the emissions of some countries, or about the same as a small fossil fuel producer. For comparison, oil company Pioneer has an annual footprint of about 40 million tons, while Exxon’s is 604, explains Richard Heede, co-director of the Climate Accountability Institute, who published an analysis last year on the most polluting fossil fuel companies. Even so, Heede says he applauds Bezos’ latest commitment. “I thought it was a worthy amount to donate to the world’s most critical issue,” he says....
L’Oreal, the company that makes shampoo and not electronics, announced a smart patch today that measures UV radiation on the wearer’s body, called My UV Patch. It’s applied to the skin, and is basically a sticker coated in special dye. When light from the sun (or presumably even a UV light) hits the patch, the dye reacts and changes color depending on the intensity of light and how long it’s been exposed....
Hunters know the risks of cruising down rural highways in whitetail country, and the deer carcasses lining our roadways are a not-so-subtle reminder. But during COVID-19 closures and social distancing, there has been a steep drop in the number of animals killed by vehicles. Roadkill animal deaths fell in California, Idaho, and Maine, according to a study by the Road Ecology Center at the University of California-Davis. The study found that animals killed by cars dropped by 21 to 56 percent—depending on the location—from March to mid-April....
But, these events typically encompass a lot more than two products. So, feel free to click on the live stream embedded above, then scroll down for all the news as it happens and some crucial context and commentary. Samsung starts the event talking about the Galaxy Fold. “It was the first entry in an entirely new era of smartphone history.” With that, the Galaxy Z Flip is official. The new Flip Z comes in black, mirror purple, and—in some countries—mirror gold....
That’s all according to a new paper in the journal Science, which showed that a therapy based on llama antibodies could protect mice from otherwise lethal doses of the flu. In theory, the technique could eventually be used to manufacture a nasal spray that would act as a so-called universal vaccine, providing long-term protection against all types of the flu. A shot-free solution to the flu—especially one that we don’t need to redesign every year—is obviously great news, but to really appreciate how ingenious this solution could be (assuming that it translates into humans from mouse trials) we have to back up a second to talk about how our bodies normally fight off the flu....
By now just about everyone has heard of 127 Hours, the critically acclaimed movie inspired by Aron Ralston, the climber who was pinned by a boulder in Utah and spent an hour sawing his arm off with a dull knife blade. It’s a dramatic film, but I don’t think moviegoers would have had to close their eyes for as long if Ralston had carried a pocket hone in his pack, or even a piece of fine-grit sandpaper....
Still, Manchin, who has received around $400,000 in donations from fossil fuel companies and made millions off of a coal brokerage firm he founded himself, couldn’t get on board even after resisting the Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP), which would give utilities $150 billion plan to install increasing amounts of clean electricity. “If I can’t go home and explain it to the people of West Virginia, I can’t vote for it,” Manchin told Fox on Sunday....
The attack is just one of the latest tracked by the semi-satirical Cyber Squirrel 1 map. “This map”, according to its About section, “lists all unclassified Cyber Squirrel Operations that have been released to the public that we have been able to confirm. There are many more executed ops than displayed on this map however, those ops remain classified.” Based on data from a Twitter account dating back to at least March 2014, the map has been around since at least September 2015....
Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk and activist with his own mindfulness center called Plum Village in the south of France. If you can’t get there on a retreat, his pocket-sized book on meditation is the next best thing. Written in a beautifully clear and calming style, this book explains meditation and wisdom in a very accessible way. A singing bowl can set the tone of your meditation practice and do wonders for clearing your mind....
Despite a long history and hundreds of modern models available for purchase, menstrual cups still get far less attention than pads and tampons. But now, more than a century and a half after their first iteration, scientists have scoured all available evidence to give us the scoop. Their verdict: Cups really are greener, safer, and perhaps even more effective than more mainstream products. For the review, published this month in by The Lancet, epidemiologist Annemieke van Eijk and her co-authors analyzed 43 studies and reports on the leakage, acceptability, and safety of menstrual cups....
On April 22, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a successful launch of what they described as a military reconnaissance satellite, which came after several failed attempts. The satellite joined a growing list of weapons and military systems in orbit, including Russia’s test of a missile system designed to destroy satellites, also in April, and India’s test of an anti-satellite weapon, which the country launched in March 2019. Experts like Brian Weeden, director of program planning at the Secure World Foundation (SWF), a nonpartisan think tank based in Broomfield, Colorado, worry that these developments—all confirmed by the newly reestablished United States Space Command—threaten to lift earthly conflicts to new heights and put all space activities, peaceful and military alike, at risk....
They’re fairly simple to set up, and learning to shoot with them only takes a bit of practice. They work with a range of cameras, from the ones used by professionals to common DSLRs to the smartphone in your pocket. Many provide control over internal functions and setting through iOS and Android app integration. Some even include built-in cameras and are tiny enough to slip into a pocket. Movies are about moving pictures, and motorized stabilizers help to open this fundamental tool of creativity to everyone....
Hey @PopSci, is the #mysteryanimal a baboon? And then I might say “if you think that’s a baboon, perhaps you are the baboon!” But probably not, because this is a positive environment and all guesses are welcome and also this is not a very common animal so guess whatever you want! The first person to get it right wins! We’ll retweet the answer from @PopSci, and also update this post so your amazing animal knowledge will be permanently etched onto the internet....
