DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Ship carrying thousands of sheep and cattle held at sea for more than a month as temperatures rise
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The Australian government has pledged to end the live export of sheep but has yet to give a timetable about when that will happen. A long journeyThe MV Bahijah left the port of Fremantle in Western Australia on January 5 for the Middle East, according to a statement from the Australian government. The photos, shared with CNN, show cattle with tags on their ears, sitting and standing and sheep standing in a ventilated area. An image of sheep aboard the MV Bahijah taken said to have been taken a few days ago after the ship's arrival back in Australia. The RSPCA has requested permission for an independent veterinarian to board the ship to assess the animals.

Persons: Bahijah, “, ”, John Hassell, ” Hassell, he’d, Suzanne Fowler, they’ve, Mark Harvey, Sutton, Fowler, it’s, Alex Stambaugh, Akanksha Sharma, Robert Shackelford Organizations: Australia CNN, of Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry, Animal, Western Australian Farmers Federation, CNN, Royal Society for, Animals, Australian Livestock, ’, RSPCA Locations: Brisbane, Australia, Red, Fremantle, Western Australia, Iran, Israel, Gaza, Africa, Perth, WAFarmers, Australian

LONDON (AP) — An American scientist has sparked a trans-Atlantic tempest in a teapot by offering Britain advice on its favorite hot beverage. Bryn Mawr College chemistry professor Michelle Francl says one of the keys to a perfect cup of tea is a pinch of salt. The tip is included in Francl’s book “Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea,” published Wednesday by the Royal Society of Chemistry. Not since the Boston Tea Party has mixing tea with salt water roiled the Anglo-American relationship so much. On the Chemistry World site, Francl said writing the book had “enhanced my enjoyment of a cup of tea” but noted “there were several disquieting discoveries along the way."

Persons: Michelle Francl, ”, boors, Debrett’s, “, Francl, – Organizations: Bryn Mawr College, Royal Society of Chemistry, Boston Tea Party, Twitter, Embassy Locations: An American, Britain, London, States, U.S

☆ Scientists clone second species of monkey
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Meet Retro, a cloned rhesus monkey born on July 16, 2020. Retro is only the second species of primate that scientists have been able to clone successfully. He was not involved in the latest research but has collaborated with some members of the research team on other primate studies. However, a rhesus monkey was cloned in 1999 using what researchers consider a simpler cloning method. Cloned monkeys can be genetically engineered in complex ways that wild-type monkeys cannot; this has many implications for disease modeling.

Persons: Falong Lu, ”, Lu, haven’t, Dolly, Miguel Esteban, Esteban, ” Lu, Zhong Zhong, Hua Hua, Lluís Montoliu, wasn’t, “ Organizations: CNN, Nature Communications, State Key Laboratory, Molecular, Biology, of Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, “, Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine, Covid, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, Royal Society for Prevention, National Center for Biotechnology Locations: Shanghai, Beijing, Spain

☆ Bill Ackman's celebrity academic wife Neri Oxman's dissertation is marred by plagiarism
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-04 | by ( Katherine Long | Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Harvard's president, Claudine Gay, resigned after conservative activists revealed she had plagiarized. But for Bill Ackman, the plagiarism wasn't only cause for Gay's immediate ouster as Harvard's president — it also warranted her total removal from its faculty. AdvertisementGay resigned as Harvard's president on Tuesday. One remains: Kornbluth, the president of MIT, where Oxman wrote her thesis and worked from 2010 to 2020. "Stay tuned @MIT," Ackman replied.

Persons: Claudine Gay, Bill Ackman, —, Ackman's, Neri Oxman, Oxman, Ackman, Gay, Elle, Björk, Brad Pitt, Jeffrey Epstein, Sally Kornbluth, Kornbluth, Liz Magill, Steve Weiner, Daniel Wagner, Peder Anker, Claus Mattheck, Weiner, Wagner, MIT Oxman, George Reid Andrews, Andrews, Christopher Rufo, Magill Organizations: Harvard, Gay, Service, Israel's, Business, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York Times, New York's Museum of Modern Art, MIT, Boston Globe, Pershing Square Foundation, Pershing Square Capital Management, University of Pennsylvania, New York University, Royal Society of London, University of Pittsburgh, New York Post, Harvard Corporation, Ackman Locations: Gaza, Harvard's, New York City, German, New

☆ Research unveils gruesome history of Tasmanian tiger skins in British museum’s collection
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Warning: This article contains disturbing descriptions about the practices of colonial settlers in Tasmania and violence against Tasmanian Aboriginal peoples. “In all, Allport shipped five Tasmanian Aboriginal skeletons to Europe, proudly identifying himself as the most prolific trader in Tasmanian bodily remains,” according to the study. The colonial government allowed settlers to murder Tasmanian Aboriginal people without punishment and, in 1830, even established a bounty for the capture of Indigenous humans and Tasmanian tigers, or thylacines. Some Aboriginal Tasmanian people did survive colonial persecution, Ashby added, though at brutal costs. Their descendants make up today’s Tasmanian Aboriginal community, Ashby said.

Persons: Jack Ashby, Morton Allport, Allport, Ashby, It’s, ” Ashby, Mortan Allport, ”, incentivized Allport, William Lanne, William Crowther, Crowther, Truganini, thylacines, “ We’re, Rebecca Kilner, ” Kilner Organizations: Tasmanian Aboriginal, CNN, Cambridge University’s Museum of Zoology, Tasmanian, Allport Library, Museum of Fine Arts, State, of, Royal Society of Tasmania, Royal Society, British Museum, University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge, University of Cambridge Grappling Locations: Tasmania, United Kingdom, Europe, Belgium, of Tasmania, Great Britain, London, Bass, ”, Brussels, Tasmanian, Cambridge

☆ Virgin Atlantic plane will fly from London to New York with 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel. Experts say it’s not a fix
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —For the first time, a transatlantic flight operated by a commercial airline will be powered by 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) — a type of plane fuel that bears the promise of a much lower climate impact than traditional ones. The flight is the latest in a series of recent tests involving 100% SAF. Days earlier, business jet maker Gulfstream completed what it billed as the world’s first transatlantic flight using 100% SAF. Large twin-engine jets have performed flights using 100% SAF on both engines before, but these flights involved military aircraft. “One flight on 100% alternative fuel isn’t going to change the fact that 99.9% of aviation fuel is fossil fuel and there’s no great option for feedstock (raw materials) that can be scaled up sustainably,” she says.

Persons: Virgin Atlantic, Cat Hewitt, Hewitt, we’re, there’s, Giuseppe Cacace, Graham Hutchings, ”, “, ” Matteo Mirolo, ” Hewitt Organizations: CNN, Aviation Fuel, New York’s JFK, Virgin Atlantic, Boeing, Virgin, SAF, UK Civil Aviation Authority, Emirates, Airbus, Gulfstream, International Air Transport Association, Aviation Environment Federation, An, An Emirates Airbus, Getty, Royal Society, European Federation for Transport Locations: London Heathrow, New York’s, An Emirates, AFP

☆ First long-haul flight fully powered by sustainable aviation fuel takes off
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Flight100, Virgin Atlantic's world first 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) transatlantic flight by a commercial airline is fuelled ahead of its take off from London Heathrow to New York JFK on Tuesday 28 November 2023. LONDON — The first trans-Atlantic flight using 100% sustainable aviation fuel departed London for New York on Tuesday as the industry seeks to prove the viability of greener air travel. Sustainable aviation fuel — also known as SAF — is an umbrella term for non-fossil-derived fuels, including biofuels derived from plant or animal materials, municipal waste and agricultural residues. It still produces emissions, but proponents argue the overall "lifecycle emissions" from the fuel are significantly lower than from regular petroleum-based fuel. There are relatively few SAF production plants or companies transporting it globally, with incentives for producers hampered by low margins.

Persons: Shai Weiss Organizations: Aviation Fuel, SAF, New York JFK, LONDON, New York, Virgin Atlantic's Boeing, AirBP, Virgin, U.K, Civil Aviation Authority, Royal Society, Virgin Atlantic, Government Locations: London Heathrow, New York, London, New

☆ Not All Heroes Wear Capes, but These Termites Did for Science
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Jack Tamisiea | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Their findings, published on Wednesday in the journal Royal Society Open Science, reveal that while the spiders quickly spotted the termites in the striped capes, they rarely attacked the striped termites, providing an explanation for why myriad other species use striking stripes to scare off predators. That’s where jumping spiders come in. With more than 6,500 species found worldwide, jumping spiders are voracious arachnids that feed on just about any invertebrate they come across. Dr. Taylor and her team studied two species of jumping spiders commonly found in Florida — the regal jumping spider, or Phidippus regius, and Habronattus trimaculatus. The researchers placed two termites of each cape variety in a petri dish with a jumping spider and recorded which termite the spiders looked at and which they ended up attacking.

Persons: Taylor, Habronattus, trimaculatus Organizations: Royal Society Open Science Locations: Florida

☆ Comets that bounce around the universe could be delivering the ingredients for life to alien planets
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

They could also have delivered similar building blocks of life to other planets. Scientists at Cambridge University propose that comets may "bounce" around the universe, carrying the essential ingredients to create life on alien worlds. They specifically looked at systems carrying rocky planets around low-mass stars — stars that are smaller than our sun. AdvertisementStill, Bonsor said the research suggests a low-mass planetary system is less likely to carry life than a system with a brighter star. "We're all super excited in the community about the fact that we can find habitable zone planets around low-mass stars.

Persons: —, Richard Anslow, it's, Amy Bonsor, Bonsor, she's Organizations: Service, Cambridge University, Cambridge's Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Royal Society

☆ NYC has a new weapon against rats but it's still probably not enough to stop the impending rodent takeover.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Maiya Focht | Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rats tend to avoid reproducing in cold weather, Jason Munshi-South, a biologist and associate professor at Fordham University, told Insider. "It's going to be an issue," Munshi-South said, "especially in northern cities like New York City. Rats on the rise Efforts to control the rat population have highly mixed results. AdvertisementAdvertisementBy running his own surveys with exterminators around the city, Corrigan concluded, "there are more rats. In previous years, it would've been cold by then and rats would've stopped reproducing," in NYC, he told Insider.

Persons: it's, Jason Munshi, Munshi, Robert Corrigan, Corrigan, we'll, would've Organizations: Service, Fordham University, Anadolu Agency, Royal Society B, Guardian Locations: York City, New York, Anadolu, New York City

☆ Scientists create chimeric monkey with two sets of DNA
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Scientists based in China have created a monkey chimera with two sets of DNA, experimental work they say could ultimately benefit medical research and the conservation of endangered species. It’s the world’s first live birth of a primate chimera created with stem cells, the researchers said. Scientists have created mouse embryos that are part human, and in 2021, scientists reported that they had grown human-monkey chimeric embryos. In September, researchers reported that they had grown kidneys containing mostly human cells inside pig embryos. Then they selected a subset of cells to inject into genetically distinct 4- to 5-day-old embryos from the same monkey species.

Persons: —, ”, Miguel Esteban, chimeras, Zhen Liu, Liu, Jun Wu, hadn’t, Wu wasn’t, Jacob Hanna, ” Hanna, Penny Hawkins, “ Organizations: CNN —, Cell, Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Research, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Weizmann Institute of Science, Royal Society for, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, Covid Locations: China, Health, Research Hangzhou, Israel, United States

Cheetahs are usually daytime hunters, but the speedy big cats will shift their activity toward dawn and dusk hours during warmer weather, a new study finds. While cheetahs only eat fresh meat, lions and leopards will sometimes opportunistically scavenge from smaller predators. But the new study found that on the hottest days, when maximum daily temperatures soared to nearly 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit), cheetahs became more nocturnal — increasing their overlapping hunting hours with rival big cats by 16%. In addition to competition with lions and leopards, cheetahs already face severe pressure from habitat fragmentation and conflict with humans. The fastest land animal, cheetahs are the rarest big cat in Africa, with fewer than 7,000 left in the wild.

Persons: ”, Briana Abrahms, Bettina Wachter, Wachter, Kasim Rafiq, Rafiq —, it's Organizations: Cheetahs, Royal Society, University of Washington, “, Cheetah Research, Leibniz Institute for Zoo, Wildlife Research, Botswana Predator Conservation, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: “ Lions, Namibia, Botswana, Africa, Zambia

☆ Britain to invest 300 million pounds in AI supercomputing
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivers a speech on AI at Royal Society, Carlton House Terrace on October 26, 2023 in London, England. Funding for the "AI Research Resource" will be increased to 300 million pounds ($363.57 million) from a previously announced 100 million pounds, the government said at an AI safety summit aimed at charting a safe way forward for the rapidly evolving technology. "Frontier AI models are becoming exponentially more powerful," British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on social media platform X. "This investment will make sure Britain’s scientific talent have the tools they need to make the most advanced models of AI safe." The machines, which will be running from summer next year, will be used to analyse advanced AI models to test safety features, as well as to drive breakthroughs in drug discovery and clean energy, the government said.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Peter Nicholls, Bristol's, Kylie MacLellan, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: British, Royal Society, Carlton, Terrace, REUTERS, Nvidia, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Dell, SME, Thomson Locations: London, England, Britain, Cambridge, Bristol

☆ The UK is gearing up for a pivotal summit on AI. Here's what you need to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Where it's being heldThe AI summit will be held in Bletchley Park, the historic landmark around 55 miles north of London. What it seeks to addressThe main objective of the U.K. AI summit is to find some level of international coordination when it comes to agreeing some principles on the ethical and responsible development of AI models. The British government wants the AI Summit to serve as a platform to shape the technology's future. They say that, by keeping the summit restricted to only frontier AI models, it is a missed opportunity to encourage contributions from members of the tech community beyond frontier AI. "By focusing only on companies that are currently building frontier models and are leading that development right now, we're also saying no one else can come and build the next generation of frontier models."

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Peter Nicholls, Rishi Sunak's, ChatGPT, Getty, codebreakers, Alan Turing, It's, Kamala Harris, Saul Loeb, Brad Smith, Sam Altman, Global Affairs Nick Clegg, Ursula von der, Emmanuel Macron, Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau, Olaf Scholz, Sunak, —, Xi Jinping, Biden, James Manyika, Manyika, Mostaque, we're, Sachin Dev Duggal, Carl Court Organizations: Royal Society, Carlton, Getty, U.S, Microsoft, Coppin State University, AFP, Meta, Global Affairs, Global Affairs Nick Clegg U.S, Ministry of Science, Technology European, Joe Biden Canadian, Britain, Afp, Getty Images Washington, U.S ., Google, CNBC, Big Tech Locations: London, China, Bletchley Park, British, America, Baltimore , Maryland, Chesnot, U.S, Nusa Dua, Indonesian, Bali, EU

☆ Why we don't have fusion power plants yet, and what it'll take to get clean, limitless energy to market
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Two experts explain how long it could take until fusion power plants are possible. Fusion plants could theoretically produce almost 4 million times as much energy as burning coal or oil — with none of the carbon emissions. It's what Andrew Christlieb, who is part of a US Department of Energy fusion project at Michigan State University, calls "step zero." The US Department of Energy's Fusion Energy Sciences program has a $763 million budget for 2023, which could grow to over $1 billion next year. Achieving commercial fusion power in two decades won't be quick enough to address many countries' goals of adapting clean energy and limiting global warming by 2035.

Persons: It's, Andrew Christlieb, Christlieb, Michael Livingston, PPPL, Jean, Paul Pelissier, it's, Jason Laurea, Lawrence, Jonathan Menard, Menard, Bill Gates, Sam Altman Organizations: Service, Ignition, NIF, US Department of Energy, Michigan State University, Royal Society, Reactor, REUTERS, European Union, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Princeton Plasma Physics, US Department of Energy's Fusion Energy Sciences, Fusion Industry Association, Tech Locations: PPPL, Saint, Durance , Southern France, US, China, Russia, Lawrence Livermore, Princeton

☆ Massive cosmic explosion creates rare elements in space
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The James Webb Space Telescope and other observatories witnessed a massive explosion in space that created rare chemical elements, some of which are necessary for life. Tracking stellar explosionsAstronomers have long believed that neutron star mergers are the celestial factories that create rare elements heavier than iron. What was unusual about this burst is that it lasted for 200 seconds, making it a long gamma-ray burst. One of the pair exploded as a supernova, leaving behind a neutron star, and then the same thing happened to the other star. Finding cosmic elementsAstronomers have been trying to determine how chemical elements are created in the universe for decades.

Persons: James Webb, ”, Andrew Levan, Levan, Webb, Fermi, Neil Gehrels, “, Dmitri Mendeleev, ” Levan, it’s, supernovas, Eric Burns, Om Sharan Salafia, Nancy Grace, “ Webb, Ben Gompertz, ” Gompertz Organizations: CNN, James Webb Space Telescope, Way Galaxy, Telescope, Radboud University, Observatory, Royal Society of Chemistry, Astronomers, Louisiana State University, National Institute for Astrophysics, Institute, Gravitational, School of Physics, University of Birmingham Locations: Netherlands, Italy, United Kingdom

☆ Parthenon sculptures were once elegantly painted with ‘Egyptian blue’
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

But they weren’t always that way, according to a new study, which found the famous 2,500-year-old Parthenon sculptures were colorful, painted with floral patterns and other elaborate designs. Researchers found microscopic traces of paint by using infrared light that is absorbed by the blue paint and appears on camera as a glowing white (right). By illuminating the sculptures with the red light, a pigment known as “Egyptian blue” absorbs the light and appears on camera as a glowing white. “Egyptian blue” was a popular pigment of its time that was made using calcium, copper and silicon, according to the Royal Society of Chemistry. Verri said he hopes that further imaging will soon be developed to find other colors present on the sculptures.

Persons: Giovanni Verri, ” Verri, “ It’s, Lord Elgin, Verri, Dione, Aphrodite, Kekrops, Demeter, Persephone, Dione ,, ”, Michael Cosmopoulos, Louis, William Wootton, conservators Organizations: CNN, British, —, King’s College London, Art Institute of Chicago, British Museum, Royal Society of Chemistry, University of Missouri, Acropolis Museum Locations: Greece, Athens, Ottoman Empire, Verri

☆ Huge ancient solar storm revealed by tree rings in French Alps
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Researchers said on Monday the solar storm - the sun sending a large burst of energetic particles into space - occurred 14,300 years ago. Nine such extreme solar storms now have been identified using tree-ring radiocarbon evidence, with the most recent in 774 and 993 AD. The largest directly observed solar storm, called the Carrington Event, occurred in 1859, wreaking havoc on telegraphs and creating a nighttime aurora so bright that birds sang as if the sun was rising. The effects of solar storms can disable electronics. "If similar solar storms happened today, they could be catastrophic for society, as we are so reliant upon technology," Heaton said.

Persons: Cecile Miramont, eked, Tim Heaton, Heaton, Edouard Bard, Cécile Miramont, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, University of Leeds, Engineering Sciences, Marseille University, Thomson Locations: Gap, Handout, England, France, paleoclimates, Aix, Washington

☆ What the Nobel Prizes get wrong about science
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Peter Brzezinski, the secretary of the committee for the Nobel chemistry prize, said there were no plans to change the rule. He said the Nobel Prize committees, at least for science prizes, are “innately conservative.”DiversityOther criticism leveled at the Nobel Prizes includes the lack of diversity among winners. Of course, these flaws and gaps only matter because the Nobels are far better known than other science prizes, Rees added. The Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine will be announced on Monday, followed by the physics prize on Tuesday and the Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday. The Nobel Prize for literature and the Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Thursday and Friday, respectively.

Persons: Alfred Nobel, Martin Rees, Rees, ”, Jonathan Nackstrand, Rainer Weiss, Barry Barish, Kip Thorne, David Pendlebury, “ Nobel, ” Pendlebury, Nobel’s, Peter Brzezinski, “, ” Brzezinski, John Jumper, AlphaFold, Lasker, Pendlebury, Emmanuelle Charpentier, Jennifer Doudna, it’s, Carolyn Bertozzi, Andrea Ghez, Naomi Oreskes, Henry Charles Lea, ” Rees Organizations: CNN, Royal Society, Getty, Clarivate’s Institute for Scientific, Nobel Foundation, Academy, Google, Harvard University Locations: Swedish, AFP, Stockholm

☆ Some Whales May Have Been Wiped Out by Medieval Europeans
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Industrial-scale whaling in the 19th and 20th centuries nearly drove many whale species into extinction. But it turns out that whaling’s effects on where whales live go back much deeper into human history. As early as 8,000 years ago, humans carved their attempts to capture whales into South Korean cliffs. More recently, medieval texts described the whaling preferences of Europeans. So he and his colleagues examined 719 pieces of whale bones collected at archaeological sites from Norway to Portugal.

Persons: Moby, Dick, ”, Ahab, Ishmael, van den Organizations: Royal Society Open Science, Norwegian University of Science, Technology Locations: Norway, Portugal

Depleted uranium is a dense by-product left over when uranium is enriched for use in nuclear reactors or nuclear weapons. The depleted uranium is still radioactive, but has a much lower level of the isotopes U-235 and U-234 - way less than the levels in natural uranium ore - reducing its radioactivity. The United States, Britain, Russia, China, France and Pakistan produce depleted uranium weapons, which are not classified as nuclear weapons, according to the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons. Ingesting or inhaling quantities of uranium - even depleted uranium - is dangerous: it can depress renal function and raises the risk of developing a range of cancers. A United Nations Environment Programme report on the impact of depleted uranium on Serbia and Montenegro found "no significant, widespread contamination".

Persons: Sergei Ryabkov, Ryabkov, Guy Faulconbridge, Frank Jack Daniel, Tomasz Janowski, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Pentagon, International Atomic Energy Agency, Associated Universities, of, DU, WHO, International Coalition, Uranium, NATO, Royal Society, IAEA, United Nations Environment, TASS, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Tennessee, United States, Britain, Russia, China, France, Pakistan, Yugoslavia, Balkans, London, Serbia, Montenegro, RUSSIA, Washington

☆ What Goes Up a Tree Must Evolve the Ability to Climb Down
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Miriam Fauzia | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Millions of years ago, a simian ancestor of humanity decided to climb a tree. It may have been looking for a meal, escaping a predator or seeking a shady place to rest. Later, like anyone who has ascended high into a forest’s canopy, our relative discovered that getting down in one piece is less simple than it seems. Any human can relate to this, like climbing up a fireman’s pole, for example, is challenging,” said Nathaniel Dominy, an evolutionary biologist at Dartmouth. The researchers posit that this adaptation persisted even as early humans swapped out trees for grassland habitats, their versatile upper limbs now making it possible to forage, hunt and defend.

Persons: ”, Nathaniel Dominy, “, Dominy Organizations: Dartmouth, Royal Society Open Science

☆ 'Urgent warning' in Australia as unusually high temperatures spark early start to snake season
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Caolán Magee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Warming global temperatures are dangerous for people in many ways, but they’re proving ideal for one type of animal: venomous snakes. As Australia’s east coast experiences one of its warmest winters on record, snake season appears to have started early. The Australian Reptile Park has issued an “urgent warning” for people to be on the look out for venomous snakes. A rise in temperatures, coupled with winter rainfall, is the perfect environment for venomous snakes to become more active, the Australian Reptile Park said in a statement. As the world continues to burn planet-warming fossil fuels, and global temperatures soar, Australia’s winters have been steadily warming.

Persons: Billy Collett Organizations: CNN, New, Australian, of Meteorology, Royal Society for, Animals Locations: New South Wales

☆ Crocodiles were played the sound of human babies crying. The higher the infant's distress level, the more the carnivores would respond.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Nile crocodiles react to the cries of infants from species like bonobos, chimpanzees, and humans. Researchers played audio recordings of infants crying to the carnivorous crocodiles and discovered they were drawn to those in the most distress. While humans primarily responded to the pitch of the cries, crocodiles responded based on levels of "deterministic chaos, harmonicity, and spectral prominences." Nile crocodiles can grow to about 20 feet long and can weigh up to 1,650 pounds, per National Geographic. According to the publication, Nile crocodiles generally live close to humans, meaning encounters happen relatively often.

Persons: – Organizations: Service, Royal Society B, Royal, Geographic Locations: Wall, Silicon, CrocoParc, Agadir, Morocco, Saharan Africa, Madagascar

☆ ‘Finding W.H. Hudson’ Review: The Enigmatic Birdman
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Christoph Irmscher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Detail of the portrait of W.H. Hudson by Frank Brooks that hangs above the fireplace at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds headquarters in Sandy, England. A beanpole of a man, decked out in tweeds, waistcoat and laced boots, looking more British than the British, he kept himself cool by carrying a moist handkerchief inside his hat. Some believed that Hudson, sharp-eyed and constantly on the move, was like a wild bird himself—a hawk, perhaps, or an eagle. His laugh sounded like that of the green woodpecker, reports Conor Mark Jameson in his new biography, adding that he could no longer listen to that bird without thinking of Hudson.

Persons: . Hudson, Frank Brooks, Conor Mark Jameson William Henry Hudson, Hudson, Conor Mark Jameson Organizations: Royal Society for Locations: ., Sandy , England, tweeds, British

Search resuls for: "Royal Society"

25 mentions found