All posts tagged: bites

News Bites: From Fake Picassos to Lucy’s 50th Anniversary

News Bites: From Fake Picassos to Lucy’s 50th Anniversary

Published by skeptic

Museum Curator Reveals Fake Picassos. On July 10, 2024, museum curator Kirsha Kaechele admitted that she painted fake Picassos and displayed them in the women’s restroom at the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Tasmania, Australia. When she first hung the paintings, she assumed her trickery would be revealed right away. “I waited for weeks,” she wrote. “Nothing happened. I was sure it would blow up. But it didn’t.” She even “fantasized there would be a scandal.” It took over three years before she finally came clean. (For more, see “‘Childish and Unprofessional’: Art Experts Say MONA’s Fake-Picasso Stunt May Undermine Gallery’s Reputation” at theguardian.com.) ‘Slapping Therapy’ Promoter Found Guilty—Again. On July 26, 2024, a Winchester crown court jury in England found Hongchi Xiao, sixty-one, of California, guilty of the gross negligence manslaughter of seventy-one-year-old Danielle Carr-Gomm, a British woman. Carr-Gomm, who had Type 1 diabetes, stopped taking her insulin and fasted during a “paida lajin” retreat run by Xiao at a country house in Wiltshire. Xiao claimed paida lajin, which involves slapping …

Paralympics Photo of the Day: A Vampire Who Bites Medals

Paralympics Photo of the Day: A Vampire Who Bites Medals

Published by José

David Ramos / Getty Gold-medalist Mauricio Valencia of Team Colombia poses for a photo during the medal ceremony for the men’s shot put F34 final on day 10 of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games. Valencia had his canine teeth modified to look like fangs in order to break down any stereotypes people may have about Paralympic athletes. He says, “I didn’t want to have the same smile as the rest of the world. I’ve always said that Paralympic sport has to be a spectacle.” Previously: September 6: A Show of Camaraderie September 5: Double Gold September 4: Winding Up a Powerful Throw September 3: A Dodge and Parry September 2: Tears of Gold Source link

Air fryer sweet-chilli salmon bites with sesame-garlic broccoli recipe

Air fryer sweet-chilli salmon bites with sesame-garlic broccoli recipe

Published by skeptic

If you want to tone down the spiciness here, omit the cayenne pepper. Or, for extra heat, sprinkle with finely chopped red chilli. I usually serve this with rice or noodles but you could also try it with cauliflower rice for a low-carb alternative.  Timings Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 7 minutes Serves 2 Calories 447 kcal per serving Ingredients 325g wild salmon fillets (skin removed), cut into 2.5cm cubes ½ tsp sweet paprika ½ tsp garlic granules ½ tsp onion granules ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional) ¼ tsp ground ginger olive oil spray 250g broccoli florets 1½ tsp toasted sesame oil 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 1 tbsp soy sauce 3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce To serve 1 spring onion, sliced squeeze of lime juice, plus some wedges pinch of sesame seeds (optional) Method Place the salmon in a bowl with the paprika, garlic granules, onion granules, cayenne pepper (if using), ginger and a pinch of salt and black pepper. Spray with olive oil and toss until evenly coated. In another bowl, toss …

Inflammation drug could be repurposed to treat toxic snake bites

Inflammation drug could be repurposed to treat toxic snake bites

Published by skeptic

A drug used to treat inflammation could be repurposed to treat toxic snake bites from African spitting cobras, a team at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine have discovered.  Indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa, spitting cobras release a potent venom in their bites, resulting in rapid destruction of skin, muscle, and bone – a condition clinically known as dermo-necrosis.  The researchers found that, when applied to the site of a spitting cobra bite, the small molecule drug – clinically known as varespladib – was highly effective in blocking one of the most damaging toxins released by the snakes’ venom, almost completely stopping the onset of symptoms.  Current antivenom treatments are designed to prevent death but do little to address the local effects of snakebites, which often result in permanent disability, said Dr Steven Hall, a lecturer in pharmacology at the University of Lancaster and a co-author of the study.  “The bite of an African spitting cobra is incredibly toxic, causing a huge amount of tissue damage, a lot of pain, and very rapidly that damage creeps …

Chrissy Teigen has ‘one of best bites all year’ as she lavishes praise on Meghan Markle | Royal | News

Chrissy Teigen has ‘one of best bites all year’ as she lavishes praise on Meghan Markle | Royal | News

Published by skeptic

Chrissy Teigen has said that she has had “one of best bites all year” as she became the latest celebrity to try Meghan Markle’s jam. The American model and television personality took to Instagram to share how she devoured the jam, opting to pair it with rustic bread, triple cream brie and thick-cut bacon. Sharing with her 42.6 million followers, Chrissy uploaded the video with Bob Marley’s ‘Jamming’ playing over the clips. Chrissy captioned the video, which also included her daughter Luna, with: “We jammin!! This might have been one of the best bites we’ve had all year – all we used is some rustic bread, salted butter, triple cream brie, thick cut bacon and some @americanrivieraorchard jam! “[It] took about 8 mins total and made us happy for the entire weekend [white-heart emoji].” Chrissy is the latest celebrity to lavish praise on Meghan, with fashion designer Tracy Robbins and socialite Delfina Blaquier also sharing posts on social media last week. Meghan is thought to have sent out a jar to 50 close friends and …

News Bites: From Neuralink to Netflix’s 3 Body Problem

News Bites: From Neuralink to Netflix’s 3 Body Problem

Published by Sam

Odysseus Landing. Credit: Intuitive Machines Neuralink Implant. On January 29, Elon Musk, cofounder of Neuralink, shared the news that the first Neuralink implant has been placed inside a human’s skull with promising results. The stated goal is to give recipients the ability to control a computer with their brain. Musk has been criticized for lack of transparency and for releasing the news on his social media platform. (For more, see “Elon Musk Says the First Human Has Received an Implant from Neuralink, but Other Details Are Scant” from the Associated Press.) New Artificial Intelligence Text-to-Video Generator. On February 15, OpenAI previewed their new text-to-video generator called Sora, which makes brief realistic videos based on just a few words of text. According to a statement on their website, as a safeguard they are “building tools to help detect misleading content such as a detection classifier that can tell when a video was generated by Sora.” (For more, see “Sora Is ChatGPT Maker OpenAI’s New Text-To-Video Generator” by the Associated Press.) FDA Warning over Two ‘Smart’ Devices …

2024 Coachella performer Blxst’s favorite bites at the festival

2024 Coachella performer Blxst’s favorite bites at the festival

Published by skeptic

L.A. hip-hop artist Blxst performed on Coachella’s Outdoor Stage on Saturday, in an early evening set that overlapped with Sublime. But you’d never know it by looking at the crowd that swelled around the platform, gleefully shouting his lyrics back at him. Earning a spot on Coachella’s annual lineup is a career-making achievement for any artist, but holds extra weight for those who hail from Southern California. When the festival debuted in 1999, headliners Beck, Rage Against the Machine and Jurassic 5 all boasted L.A. roots. As Coachella grew — from one day to three days then back-to-back weekends — local artists were often the most anticipated acts, like the double-billing of Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre in 2012 that reincarnated Tupac as a hologram. This year, homegrown Angelenos Tyler, the Creator and Doja Cat are headliners, along with ska-punk band Sublime from Long Beach. Outside of music, Coachella has grown into a veritable food festival in recent years, with L.A.’s best and brightest often tapped to participate. Last year, there was the intimate, multi-course …

‘Rat bites and chronic asthma’: schools on frontline of UK housing crisis | Poverty

‘Rat bites and chronic asthma’: schools on frontline of UK housing crisis | Poverty

Published by skeptic

Some children living in dire housing conditions have been woken up by chesty coughs caused by damp, others by the smell of sewage leaking down their walls. Toby* was woken by rats on his chest. “It was midnight and he came to me crying,” said his mother, who does not want to be named. He is one of more than 3,800 children living in temporary accommodation in Lewisham, the council with the 10th highest number of children living in such housing in the UK. Nationally, 142,000 homeless children are living in places like commercial hotels, converted offices and dingy hostels, an all-time high, after rents and no-fault evictions have soared across the country. Schools have seen the impact of this first-hand. Last week, a National Education Union survey found that 59% of teachers in England and Wales had seen their students experience frequent ill health due to poverty, with housing a major factor. In Lewisham, south London, 11 headteachers have signed a letter to the council declaring a local housing emergency is jeopardising the health …

In Spain, hi-tech hops keep beer bitter as climate bites

In Spain, hi-tech hops keep beer bitter as climate bites

Published by Sam

HALVING THE GROWTH CYCLE The heady scent of hops permeates the air as a huge bine laden with hop cones is cut from its trellis, tumbling to the floor before being carried out to a red harvesting machine. Grown without soil, the bines are fed by a closed system that allows constant reuse of the nutrient-infused water and doesn’t use pesticides, relying instead on tightly controlled access protocols. “In the field, although the cycle is six months, they can only harvest once a year, because you need the correct growing conditions,” said agronomist and chief operations officer Ana Saez. “Here, as we can control and replicate ‘spring’, we’ve reduced the crop cycle to three months.” Multiple trials had shown their hops contained “more alpha acids per kilogram” than those in the field, Saez said, pointing to the abundance of yellow powdery lupulin clinging to the cones. By summer, three grow rooms will be operational with more than 1,000 plants maturing on a staggered basis. “Once we finish learning everything we need to learn in this …

Middle East Starbucks franchisee firing 2,000 workers as Israel-Hamas war boycott bites

Middle East Starbucks franchisee firing 2,000 workers as Israel-Hamas war boycott bites

Published by Sam

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: The Middle East franchisee of Starbucks said on Tuesday (Mar 5) it has begun firing around 2,000 workers at its coffee shops across the region after the brand found itself targeted by activists during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. The Kuwait-based Alshaya Group, a private family firm holding franchise rights for a variety of Western companies including The Cheesecake Factory, H&M and Shake Shack, issued a statement acknowledging the firings at its Middle Eastern and North African locations. “As a result of the continually challenging trading conditions over the last six months, we have taken the sad and very difficult decision to reduce the number of colleagues in our Starbucks MENA stores,” the statement read. Alshaya later confirmed it was firing about 2,000 employees, as first reported by Reuters. Many of its employees in the Gulf Arab states are foreign workers hailing from Asian nations. Alshaya runs about 1,900 Starbucks branches in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and United Arab Emirates. It …