All posts tagged: parts

‘Bone collector’ caterpillar wears dead insect body parts as disguise

‘Bone collector’ caterpillar wears dead insect body parts as disguise

Published by skeptic

Bone collector caterpillars from the Waianae mountain range in Oahu, Hawaii Daniel Rubinoff et al. 2025 The newly described “bone collector” caterpillar species disguises itself with the body parts of dead insects so that it can live among spiders and poach their prey. This is the only caterpillar known to use such grisly camouflage or have spiders as roommates – and it’s a carnivore and a cannibal to boot. Daniel Rubinoff at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and his colleagues discovered the caterpillar while hiking the Waianae mountains in Oahu more than two decades ago. They were searching for other species in the same genus, Hyposmocoma, also known as Hawaiian fancy case caterpillars. “We see this little, tiny sac covered in bug bits, and honestly, we weren’t sure what it was,” says Rubinoff. “And then we take it back [to the lab], and we realise there is a little caterpillar in there.” The newly described species of Hyposmocoma – which has not yet received a scientific name – lives on cobwebs inside tree trunks, …

Trump ‘slurred’ Schumer as a Palestinian. In most parts of the world, it’s a compliment.

Trump ‘slurred’ Schumer as a Palestinian. In most parts of the world, it’s a compliment.

Published by skeptic

(RNS) — Last year, as I arrived in Ireland, the airport customs officer asked me where I was originally from. I told her, “Palestine.” She looked at me, smiled, and said, “Every true Irish person is Palestinian at heart as well.” And with that, she stamped my passport and let me in. On Wednesday (March 12) in Washington, President Donald Trump, sitting beside Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin in the Oval Office, used the word “Palestinian” as a slur to talk down Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. “Schumer is a Palestinian as far as I’m concerned. He’s become a Palestinian. He used to be Jewish. He’s not Jewish anymore. He’s a Palestinian,” Trump said, responding to a reporter’s question about Schumer’s views on corporate taxes. The contrast is striking. The Irish, a people who understand colonialism and occupation in their bones, see Palestinians as their kin. The American political class treats “Palestinian” as something shameful. The Irish aren’t the only ones who talk about Palestinians with respect. This week, meeting with a displaced Gazan family, Mohammad Tahir, the …

Meet 5 types of robots with living body parts

Meet 5 types of robots with living body parts

Published by skeptic

Nicole Xu reached into a Styrofoam tank to grasp a live moon jellyfish. Quickly and carefully, she inserted a tiny electronic device into the animal. “It takes a little bit of practice,” she says. “But once you know how to do it, it’s very simple and very quick.” Xu is an engineer at the University of Colorado Boulder. She handed the jellyfish to a pair of divers waiting in the shallow water off of an ocean pier in Woods Hole, Mass. The divers took the animal down to the bottom of the ocean, then released it. Speedily, it swam up to the surface. Jellies swim by pumping water through their bodies. The device that Xu inserted used electricity to jolt the jellyfish’s muscles so they pumped faster. It reached the surface more than twice as fast as usual. In lab tests, the device tripled the animals’ speed. With its speed-boosting implant, this jellyfish is a biohybrid robot. That means it contains electronics that interact with a living system. Researchers are building biohybrid robots with all …

Plant and fungi parts level up biohybrid robots

Plant and fungi parts level up biohybrid robots

Published by skeptic

action potential: A brief change in the electrical potential on the surface of a cell, especially of a nerve or muscle cell. It happens when the cell is stimulated. This triggers the release of an electrical impulse.  agriculture: The growth of plants, animals or fungi for human needs, including food, fuel, chemicals and medicine.  cell: (in biology) The smallest structural and functional unit of an organism. Typically too small to see with the unaided eye, it consists of a watery fluid surrounded by a membrane or wall. Depending on their size, animals are made of anywhere from thousands to trillions of cells. Most organisms, such as yeasts, molds, bacteria and some algae, are composed of only one cell.   chemical: A substance formed from two or more atoms that unite (bond) in a fixed proportion and structure. For example, water is a chemical made when two hydrogen atoms bond to one oxygen atom. Its chemical formula is H2O. Chemical also can be an adjective to describe properties of materials that are the result of various reactions …

Federal Judge Strikes Down Parts of Arkansas’s Library Laws in Win for First Amendment

Federal Judge Strikes Down Parts of Arkansas’s Library Laws in Win for First Amendment

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Kelly is a former librarian and a long-time blogger at STACKED. She’s the editor/author of (DON’T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD. Her next book, BODY TALK, will publish in Fall 2020. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen. View All posts by Kelly Jensen In 2023, Arkansas passed Act 372, a law that helps facilitate book banning and directly punishes library workers in the process. Among the provisions of the law were that librarians could be held accountable as criminals–a tactic being used in states across the country to punish library workers–for distributing materials some may consider “obscene” or “harmful to minors.” Library workers in violation could face up to a year in prison by allowing access to banned books in the state. By June 2023, 18 plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the new legislation. Plaintiffs included libraries, bookstores, advocacy group such as Democracy Forward, and individual library users. A month later, U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks temporarily enjoined …

Fisher-Price recalls parts of over 2 million ‘Snuga Swings’ following 5 infant deaths : NPR

Fisher-Price recalls parts of over 2 million ‘Snuga Swings’ following 5 infant deaths : NPR

Published by Sam

This photo provided by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission shows an example of a Fisher-Price Snuga Swing being recalled Friday, following the death of five infants. AP/U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission hide caption toggle caption AP/U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission NEW YORK — Fisher-Price is recalling parts of over 2 million infant swings across the U.S., Canada and Mexico due to a serious suffocation risk, following reports of five infant deaths. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission warned that all models of Fisher-Price’s Snuga Swings should never be used for sleep or have bedding materials added. The products’ headrest and seat pad body support insert can increase risks of suffocation, the notice published Thursday said. There have been five reports of deaths involving infants between 1 to 3 months old when the product was used for sleep, according to the commission. In most of those incidents, which took place from 2012 to 2022, bedding material was added to the product and the babies were unrestrained. Consumers are urged to immediately cut off the headrest …

Strongest solar storm in decades hits Earth – as Northern Lights to return to parts of UK tonight | UK News

Strongest solar storm in decades hits Earth – as Northern Lights to return to parts of UK tonight | UK News

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Earth has been rocked by the first extreme geomagnetic storm in two decades, creating a spectacular light show in UK skies and other parts of the Northern Hemisphere – but also posing a threat to communication networks, navigation systems and power grids. Elon Musk’s Starlink, which owns around 60% of the estimated 7,500 satellites currently in orbit, providing internet coverage around the world, has warned of a “degraded service” as a result of the phenomena. Image: Edinburgh. Pic: PA It was the first G5 or strongest rated geomagnetic storm since 2003, which caused blackouts in Sweden and damaged transformers in South Africa. So what caused the extreme geomagnetic storm? A series of strong solar flares spewed from the Sun’s surface have sent a shockwave of magnetically charged plasma directly at the Earth, known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs). The resulting collision has caused a major disturbance to our own planet’s magnetic field. Does it pose a threat? As well as producing extended vivid displays of colour across the skies in places the aurora borealis or …

Founders Fund leads financing of composites startup Layup Parts

Founders Fund leads financing of composites startup Layup Parts

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Scarcely five months after its founding, hard tech startup Layup Parts has landed a $9 million round of financing led by Founders Fund to transform composites manufacturing. Lux Capital and Haystack also participated. The breakneck pace is more than a subtle indication that investors’ appetite for tech-focused solutions to the woes of the American industrial base is not going down. But Layup was likely able to close a large funding round so quickly at least in part because the founders themselves have deep experience with the issues that plague domestic manufacturing. Layup was founded by Zack Eakin, Hanno Kappen and Elisa Suarez; the trio met while working at The Boring Company, Elon Musk’s idiosyncratic effort to transform transportation using tunnels. Kappen went on to work at robotic pizzeria Stellar Pizza while Suarez had stints at Rivian and renewable energy company Heliogen.  Eakin, Layup’s CEO, moved to Anduril in 2021 as director of mechanical engineering. He headed up the mechanical design of the company’s suite of flying drone products, including Roadrunner, which was just “a Palmer [Luckey] …

Northern lights possible in parts of UK over weekend due to solar storm | UK weather

Northern lights possible in parts of UK over weekend due to solar storm | UK weather

Published by skeptic

A strong solar storm headed towards Earth could allow parts of the UK the chance to see the Northern lights this weekend. The Met Office said space weather experts had issued a rare severe geomagnetic storm (G4) warning for this weekend, the first in nearly 20 years. The storm, caused by powerful eruptions known as coronal mass ejections, could trigger spectacular displays of aurora. They could be visible across Scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of northern England and Wales, the Met Office said. Krista Hammond, the Met Office’s space weather manager, said: “Multiple coronal mass ejections from the sun are expected to reach Earth in the coming days bringing the potential for aurora visibility over the UK, particularly on Friday night. “While short nights at this time of year will limit the visibility window, if conditions are right there’s a good chance of sightings on Friday night. “Aurora visibility may persist through Saturday night, but as it stands this is likely to be less widespread than on Friday night with northern parts of the UK …