Meet SoFi The Robotic Fish "Spy"With climate change and overfishing wreaking havoc on our oceans, it is becoming increasingly important for researchers to closely monitor our marine life. However, observing sea creatures up close is almost impossible since human presence scares the animals. Now, thanks to The Soft Robotic Fish, aka SoFi, researchers may not only be able to keep a close eye on the elusive creatures, but also uncover undersea secrets that have been eluding us for centuries....
اقرأ المقالWhy American Retailers Love Mother's Day Almost As Much As MomsOn Sunday, May 13, most Americans will celebrate the extraordinary woman in their lives — Mom — with a perfect outing and a gift or two. While mothers certainly look forward to the annual pampering, retailers anticipate the holiday even more. That's because the money spent on meals, cards, flowers, jewelry, and other presents adds up to billions of dollars, making Mother's Day the third largest retail holiday in the U.S., behind only the winter holidays and back-to-school season. Even better? The spending keeps increasing year after year....
اقرأ المقالWatch Jupiter Up Close On May 8Tonight, (May 8) Earth will pass between the sun and Jupiter, putting our solar system’s largest planet directly in opposition to the star. This means that Jupiter will rise shortly after the sun sets and stay up all night, making it the best time of year to see the massive gaseous world. While the planet will shine its brightest tonight, it will not reach its closest distance — 409 million miles (658 million kms) — to Earth until May 10....
اقرأ المقالSeismologists Puzzle Over The Cause Of A Massive Crack In Kenya's Rift ValleyIn mid-March, following an extended period of heavy rainfall, residents of the Mai Mahiu settlement in Kenya woke up to a big surprise – a massive crack in the Earth that appeared to have opened up almost overnight. Running several miles long and measuring 50 feet deep and 65 feet wide in some places, the terrifying fissure damaged several homes and caused a portion of the busy Mai Mahiu Narok-Nairobi highway to collapse. What caused it? Depends on who you ask....
اقرأ المقالZombie Ant Parasite Controls Its Victims Like A PuppeteerA parasite that can transform ants into zombies and make them do its bidding may sound like something straight out of a science fiction movie. However, that is precisely what the Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, or, zombie ant fungus does to unsuspecting carpenter ants. Now, a new study has discovered that the fungus accomplishes this ghoulish feat without infecting the ant’s brain....
اقرأ المقالHomework And Tests Stressing You Out? Consider Moving To Sweden!While an entire month free of homework or tests may sound too good to be true, that is precisely what the students at Sturenskolan School in Boden, Sweden were treated to in April. What’s more, if the results of the experiment prove encouraging, starting 2019, the middle schoolers will never have to worry about after-school work or tests, aside from the national examinations, which are mandatory for students across the country....
اقرأ المقالMysterious Arctic Ice Circles Puzzle NASA ScientistsEvery month, NASA Observatory’s Earth Matters challenges viewers to describe a mysterious satellite image, the answer to which is posted on the website a week later. However, even the experts could not come up with a definitive explanation for the April puzzler, a photo featuring mysterious ice circles in the Arctic....
اقرأ المقالFormer U.S. First Lady And Literacy Champion, Barbara Bush, Dies At 92On Saturday, April 22, over 1000 mourners, including four of the five living former presidents, from across the country, gathered at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, in Houston, Texas to honor and remember Barbara Bush. The 92-year-old who suffered from a series of health complications, passed away peacefully in the comfort of her Houston home on April 17 with the love of her life, former president George H.W. Bush, by her side....
اقرأ المقالThe Human Body's Largest Organ May Have Just Been DiscoveredScientists have long maintained that the skin, which makes up roughly 15 percent of a person’s body mass, is the largest organ in the human body. However, now researchers from New York University's School of Medicine appear to have stumbled upon what they believe may be an even larger organ. Called the interstitium, it is not solid like the heart or liver, but a network of fluid-filled spaces that is present throughout the body to protect the rest of our organs....
اقرأ المقالJust In Time For Earth Day — A Plastic-Eating Enzyme!The Earth Day Network may have an unexpected ally in its quest to solve the global plastic pollution crisis: bacteria. More specifically, an enzyme produced by the Ideonella sakaiensis microbes. Dubbed PETase, it can expertly break down PET (polyethylene terephthalate), one of the most common types of plastic, within days, instead of the over 450 years it takes the synthetic material to decompose naturally....
اقرأ المقالFesto's Bionic Flying Fox Bats And Somersaulting Robotic Spiders Are IncredibleOver the years, Germany’s Festo has engineered some incredibly cool and functional bio-inspired robots, including ones that mimic ants, butterflies, flying jellyfish, and seagulls. On March 27, the electrical automation company added to the impressive list with two new creations — a realistic flying fox bat and a somersaulting robotic spider....
اقرأ المقال"Birdman" Takes To The Skies to Help Flocks Safely MigrateEvery year from March to October, Christian Moullec, aka “Birdman,” takes to the skies aboard his two-seater adapted light aircraft, derived from hang-gliders. However, the 58-year-old Frenchman’s daily 30-minute flight is not just to enjoy the spectacular views, but to guide flocks of lesser white-fronted geese through safe migration paths which the birds can teach future generations....
اقرأ المقالHow Friday The 13th Got Its Spooky ReputationTomorrow is Friday the 13th. While the dreaded combination evokes feelings of unease even among non-believers, for the superstitious, it is the unluckiest day of the year. Their intense fear, dubbed friggatriskaidekaphobia, leads to symptoms that range from mild anxiety to a nagging suspicion of bad luck to full-blown panic attacks. While some of the trepidation can be attributed to the namesake movie series, the day’s ill-fated reputation was well-established long before Jason Voorhees, the film’s hockey-masked villain, first appeared on the big screen in 1980....
اقرأ المقالCan Cold Air Bubbles Prevent Destructive Hurricanes From Forming?With memories of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, which ravaged Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico in 2017, still fresh in their minds, residents of the US Atlantic and Gulf Coast are bracing for yet another busy hurricane season. Researchers at Colorado State University predict a slightly above-average 2018 season with 14 tropical storms, at least three of which are expected to be major hurricanes, Category 3 or higher! Though having the advance warning is helpful, it would be even better if we could find a way to stop the deadly storms from forming altogether. Now, Norwegian researchers may have found the answer in — of all places — air bubbles....
اقرأ المقالNASA Inspired Speed Breeding Technique May Help Feed Earth's Burgeoning PopulationExperts estimate that by the year 2050, the world’s population will swell from the current 7.3 billion to over 9.5 billion, with just nine countries accounting for half the growth. If accurate, conventional farming methods, which revolve around growing one or two crops annually, will be unable to sustain the increase in food demand. Now, some Australian scientists may have found a way to cost-effectively accelerate crop yields with a technique called speed breeding, inspired by NASA’s experiments to grow wheat in space....
اقرأ المقالBritish Artist Sketches Intricate Panoramic Cityscapes Entirely From MemoryThough many artists specialize in cityscapes very few create masterpieces as detailed and intricate as those sketched by Stephen Wiltshire. Even more impressive is that each monochromatic landscape, which takes the British artist just a few days to complete, is drawn entirely from memory, a talent that has earned him the nickname “The Human Camera.”...
اقرأ المقالRevolutionary Vision Correcting Eye Drops Could Replace EyeglassesExperts predict myopia, or nearsightedness, will reach epidemic proportions by the end of the decade, with over a third of the world’s population requiring glasses or contact lenses. However, if a team of Israeli ophthalmologists from Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center has their way, the crisis may be averted with special “nanodrops” created to correct refractive errors responsible for nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), or blurred vision (astigmatism)....
اقرأ المقالChina's Defunct Space Station Meets A Fiery End Over The South PacificReports of an out-of-control space station hurtling towards Earth may sound like a bad April Fools’ prank. However, this was no joke. At 5:16 pm PDT on April 1 (April 2, 00:16 GMT), China’s school bus-sized Tiangong-1 met a fiery end over the South Pacific, ending weeks of uncertainty as to when and where it would land....
اقرأ المقالWatch Out For Easter Pranks — Sunday Is April Fools' DayWhile April Fools’ Day is always fun, this year promises to be even more so. That’s because, for the first time in 62 years, the fun holiday coincides with Easter. This means your chocolate egg may turn out to be a real one, or the plastic ones you worked so hard to find could be filled with frozen peas or, even worse, broccoli!...
اقرأ المقالParkland Students Instigate Worldwide Protest Against Gun ViolenceOn Saturday, March 24, people across the US and worldwide — from London to Paris to Mauritius to Mumbai — took to the streets to protest for stricter gun laws. The mass demonstrations, which took place under the banner “March For Our Lives,” were instigated by Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students to ensure no more innocent lives would be lost to gun violence, like the shooting experienced at the school on February 14....
اقرأ المقالHelp Our Planet By Going Dark For Earth HourDon’t be alarmed if your city, town, or neighborhood goes dark from 8:30 - 9:30 PM local time tonight (March 24). The blackout is not due to a sudden electricity outage, but a voluntary gesture to celebrate Earth Hour, which will be observed worldwide and include iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, and the Sydney Opera House. The simple action, designed to demonstrate what can be achieved if we all unite to help reverse climate change, is the brainchild of the Australian chapter of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)....
اقرأ المقالEarth's Youngest Volcanic Island May Provide Interesting Insights Into MarsWhen the ashes from a December 2014 eruption of a submarine volcano created a 400-foot (120-meter) island in the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga experts predicted it would last a few months at most. However, over three years later, the land mass, situated between the uninhabited Polynesian islands of Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha’apai, is showing no signs of dissipating. Now, NASA scientists believe it may be around for as long as 30 years!...
اقرأ المقالStudy Suggests The Human Brain Stops Making New Cells At Age 13Scientists have always known that a majority of the brain’s neurons, specialized cells responsible for transmitting information throughout the body, are formed at the fetal stage. However, after studies on mammals, like rats, showed that neurogenesis continues in the dentate gyrus, a part of the hippocampus area of the brain vital to memory formation, through adulthood, it was assumed the same was true for humans as well. However, scientists from the University of California, San Francisco are challenging this long-held belief with a new study which asserts the human brain stops adding new neurons by age 13....
اقرأ المقالAmerican Students Stage A National Walkout To Plea For Stricter Gun LawsOn February 14, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz calmly walked into Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and used his legally purchased semi-automatic weapon to kill 17 people. On Wednesday, March 14, exactly a month after the horrifying event, thousands of Americans students paid tribute to the innocent lives lost with an unprecedented nationwide walkout....
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