Tibi Puiu -- author profile on ZME Science

Early bird flew through ancient supercontinet's forests with arrow feathers

Paleontologists have discovered the wonderfully preserved fossil of a prehistoric bird which flew through the forests of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana, some 115 million years ago. The humming bird-sized bird had a spotted, ribbon shaped tail. The remains were discovered in a sedimentary hotspot in nowadays Brazil. It's the first of its kind discovered in South America and one of the oldest birds discovered from Gondwana, a supercontinent that once encompassed Africa, Antarctica, Australia, India and South America.

World's largest telescope to begin construction soon following $500 million funding

High up in Chile's Las Campanas Observatory, right in the middle of the desert, work will soon start to build the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) - the biggest telescope in the world once finished. The site was cleared before, but actual deployment just recently commenced following a $500 million pledge from 11 international partners. The total cost of the project is $1 billion. Once the giant telescope will be open, sometime around 2021, it will be used to peer the sky for neighboring potentially habitable planets, dark matter and dark energy, supermassive black holes and detect some of the first light emitted in the Universe.

The most unhealthy, calorie ridden, sodium rich restaurant meals in America

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit health advocacy group based in Washington, DC, just released its Xtreme Eating Awards. Hint: it's not that kind of award you want to win or even get mentioned. CSPI officials ranked the highest calorie, fat-rich meals served in restaurants across the country. This year, they say, they've been completely blown away by what they found on the table served to Americans.

Military energy report downplays oil in favor of renewable energy

In its “Energy Security and Sustainability Strategy” (ES2 Strategy) report, the US army outlines the steps it should take to increase resilience and adapt to an ever changing world. Energy makes the go world round, and for an army it's literally a matter of life and death. Not surprisingly, the authors note given the current climate of affairs the "army will prioritize solutions that reduce multiple resources. The Army can use energy more efficiently by purchasing energy efficient products, modernizing buildings and utility systems, purchasing energy efficient vehicles, and using more renewable/alternative energy sources." Basically, being dependent on a finite resource (oil) is a security vulnerability, which isn't something new. Military strategists have been aware of this for a long time - maybe the most during WWII when many lives were claimed in battles over oil rigs in North Africa and the Middle East, and oil refineries were being bombed on the clock. What's changed today is the feasibility of renewable energy sources. Drawing the line, in those situations were oil is a liability (and we can only expect these to become ever numerous in the future), it'll be scrapped in favor of renewable energy systems, both for generating and storing energy.

This is what the largest emerald in North America looks like

The Houston Museum of Natural Science is one of the most impressive in the world, curating rare and indigenous wildlife from Texas, a huge sundial and one of the biggest paleontology halls. As expected in a city with some of the richest geologists in the world, we can also find here a large exhibit of over 750 crystallized mineral specimens and rare gemstones. Among these sits the "crown jewel", a 1,869-carat natural emerald crystal, the largest ever discovered in North America.

Meet the world's first robot chef, for the rich and lazy

Tired of cooking your own food, hiring help or eating out? Tired of eating, for that matter? Just kidding. The last one might be for another cyberpunk story. Today, however, I present to you the first robotic chef in the world. For an one time (most likely very hefty) fee, you too could have your very own gourmet chef, at your disposal 24/7. Using its fine mechanical arms, the chef bot from London’s Moley Robotics could potentially cook any kind of food. For instance, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Shanghai this past weekend the robot chef cooked and served crab bisque (soup). Right now this is the dish it knows how to make, but once it'll start shipping it should come complete with 2,000 recipes, according to the developers.

Biologists discover two new marsupial species that have sex until they die. Ironically, they're endangered

A team of biologists from Queensland discovered two new species belonging to a marsupial genus known for mating until it literally dies. The antechinus marsupials look like pouched mice or shrews, but as cute as they may look, they're real beasts in the sack. Typically, once the breeding season starts, males embark in vicious sexual orgies 14 hours at a time, and it doesn't stop for two or so weeks. At the very end, the males suffers from diseases, internal bleeding, their fur falls off and some get ulcer. Ultimately, all that whole lotta love kills them, and rather painful too. Though they've just been discovered, the new antechinus species are considered endangered by the researchers.

Stephen Hawking doubts someone of his talent and condition would be supported today as he was

Speaking at the event that celebrated his 50th year as a fellow at the University of Cambridge’s Gonville and Caius college, Stephen Hawking expressed his doubts whether a young student of similar talents, as well as disabilities, would receive the kinda of support he had. The renowned physicist, now 73 years old, has been living for the past decades with a devastating motor neurone disease that doctors believed would kill him while he was still in his early 20s. His determination to live on despite being confined to a wheel chair all his life is inspiring, but it's unlikely he could have survived to live this day were it not for his fellows and support at Caius College; nevermind his outstanding achievements in physics.

Household gadgets powered wirelessly using a typical Wi-Fi router

A couple of simple gadgets, like a smartphone or low-res camera, along with a couple of sensors were powered wirelessly using a simple Wi-Fi router you can find in any home. Moreover, not only were the gadgets remotely powered, the router also continued to transmit Wi-Fi signals unobstructed. This simple, but powerful demonstration gives to show how the so-called "Internet of Things" might grow to turn your home into an over-sized smart gadget.

NASA's deceleration system for Martian landings looks like an UFO. [UPDATED: launch postponed]

Today, NASA is performing a new test round for its low-density supersonic decelerator (LDSD), which is basically a giant stop and break system for heavy duty crafts landing on Mars. Both the Curiosity Rover (2012) and the twin Viking probes (1976) used the same parachute to slow their supersonic descent and land safely on the Martian surface. These parachutes, however, can't handle more than a tone worth of payload, and if humans are ever to touch the planet's surface they'd need to land 15 to 20 tones of payload. The LDSD system deployed by NASA and slated for a test run above the Pacific might be the technology we've been waiting for.

Amazon holds contest to see who's the best robot that can replace a warehouse worker

Over the weekend, Amazon - a company that employs more than 50,000 people in its warehouses alone - organized a contest where engineering teams from all over the world were invited to present a robot that can fulfill simple warehouse duties. Though some of the bots were quite impressive, all of them failed miserably at some point, even at a task so simple as grabbing an item from a shelf and placing it in a tub. It's not that they couldn't do this, rather they were so slow and clumsy that any warehouse worker witnessing the display might think he's a superhero and his job is safer than the pope in the Vatican. Well, that may be true ... but who knows for how long. After all, any repetitive task can be automated, eventually.

Lightsail responds after eight day of silence in space. Bill Nye: 'it's alive!'

After a successful launch and deploy to Earth's orbit on the back of the powerful United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket out of Cape Canaveral, the LightSail went silent for eight straight days. Spirits were high and nerves tense, but apparently the craft managed to solve the communication glitch all by itself. Like always, "have you tried switching it off and on?" Following the self-reboot, engineers immediately uploaded a new patch and hopefully we'll see Lightsail unravel its photon harvesting wings soon enough. The LightSail, currently strapped to a CubeSat, might then be deployed through and out the solar system.

Scientists light the brain of mice to recall their lost memories

A team at MIT in collaboration with the Riken Brain Science Institute in Japan activated the lost memories of mice, suggesting memory deficiencies like amnesia have more to do with accessing data, than storage itself. Though far from applicable to humans, the research does show that it's possible, in theory at least, to help patients with retrograde amnesia (who'd lost their memories following a trauma or brain injury) live a normal life once more.

Third of endangered saiga antelope population killed by unidentified disease

Some 120,000 critically endangered saiga antelopes were killed by a mysterious disease since mid-May in Kazakhstan, where 90% of the population lives. A third of the endangered saigas died in this sudden lapse that is still leaving veterinarians and researchers in the area scratching their heads. In the past two decades, the long-nosed antelopes went through a number of similar tragedies, both at the hand of disease and over-hunting.

Leaving the nest: early humans migrated from Africa through North, rather than South

Archaic homo sapiens left Africa, the wellspring of humanity, some 60,000 years ago migrating North, via a route passing through what is known today as Egypt, rather than South, through the Arabian Peninsula, as previously proposed. The findings were reported by an international team of researchers which used novel techniques to produce whole-genome sequences from 225 people from modern Egypt and Ethiopia (six modern Northeast African populations). This is far from the last word, but the picture the researchers paint seems to be consistent with other evidence, such as early human-made tools and human fossils found on the proposed route (Israel), and is in better agreement with what we already know about the genetic mixture of all non-Africans with Neanderthals.

Tattoos can cause severe adverse reactions in the skin 1 out of 10 times

One in four people in the US has a tattoo, and if you're part of this statistic you know how painful getting one can be. The problem is that, like the tattoo itself, that pain lasts and in some cases the adverse reactions caused by the foreign body, i.e. the dye, can endure for months and months at a time. This isn't something new per se, but what's surprising is how frequent this happens. Researchers at New York University asked 300 or so people in Central Park if they had a tattoo and whether they experienced anything out of the ordinary following the procedure, like redness and scarring. Almost 10% confirmed they had developed abnormal reactions. Of these 6% had itching, scaly skin and swelling , and 4% claimed they went through pain, itching and infection and these didn't stop for at least four months.

Mice in space grow thinner skin and more hair, but how safe is micro-g for humans?

Six mice were spent 91 days on board the Internationals Space Station in 2009, or seven years in the life of a mouse. Comparing their tissue characteristics with mice living in the same conditions, only on Earth, researchers found micro-gravity induces some peculiar biological changes. For instance, the mice's skin was thinner and their hair grew more. Like humans, mice too suffer from muscle and bone atrophy in micro-gravity, which prompted scientists to consider them as reliable models for studying the effect of living in space for extended periods of time. Previously, human astronauts have complained about skin dryness and irritation and these latest findings seems to suggest that these may indeed be caused by micro-gravity.

Global carbon pricing schemes value climbs to $50 billion - still a trifle compared to oil subsidies

According to the World Bank, the total value of carbon pricing schemes - including emission trading schemes (ETS) and carbon taxes - has climbed to $50 billion worldwide, slightly up from the previous year. This despite Australia repealed its carbon pricing mechanism in July 2014, at the lead of prime minister Tony Abbott. In 2004 less than 1% of the world's emissions were capped or taxed. In 2005 this climbed to 5%, while in 2015 carbon pricing covered around 12% of the world's emissions according to the World Bank report. Though 50 billion might seem like a lot of money, progress is still slow. When you consider oil and gas is subsidized by $5.3 trillion a year, which basically means governments are paying to pollute, it all sounds like a joke.

New research challenges aging consensus by reversing mitochondrial anomalies in 97-year-old cells

A team led by Professor Jun-Ichi Hayashi from the University of Tsukuba in Japan, known as the white lion to his students given his white hair and powerful voice, challenges the current consensus surrounding the mitochondrial theory of aging, proposing epigenetic regulation, and not genetic mutation, may be responsible for the age-related effects seen in mitochondria. When Hayashi and colleagues tested their theory, they reversed the age defects in cell lines collected from 97-year-old Japanese participants. They then singled out two genes involved in glycine production which they believed are responsible for the mitochondria reversal. The findings thus suggest that a glycine supplementation could help curb aging or age-related diseases.

UN: fewer hungry people worldwide, but still a long way to go

The number of hungry people worldwide has dropped to 800 million, down from a billion more than a quarter century ago. Progress in Latin America and East Asia accounts for the massive reduction in the number of undernourished people, but the UN warns there are still many challenges that need to be overcome if world hunger is to end by 2030. The report proposes rich countries divert more of their resources to poorer environments, while vulnerable countries need to invest more in social protection schemes, incentives for rural areas and promote peace in conflict ridden countries like those in Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa still has the highest level of undernourishment in the world - almost one in four people there do not have access to enough food.

Some influential studies are "sleeping beauties", going unnoticed for decades after publishing

A study which combed through millions of research papers published over the span of a century measured their citations and found many obscure studies surfaced much later into attention and were recognized for their true worth. Typically, if a study hasn't received any citations within the first couple of years since it got published, it will likely stay as it is - forgotten and uninteresting. But this is no rule. The exception are those works of science that were ahead of their time. For instance, the statistical model the researchers employed cites one paper published by Albert Einstein and others which didn't became influential until 1994. This insight into the "science of science" will prove useful in assessing citation dynamics in general.

Key protein that prevents Ebola outbreak found. Preventive vaccine now in works

A breakthrough study confirmed what scientists have long suspected: Ebola attaches itself to a singular, "gateway" protein to infect hosts. When mice were genetically engineered to lack the protein, these failed to become infected. Though extremely early, these promising results suggest Ebola outbreaks could be contained using vaccines that inhibit the protein either to stop the spread or prevent infection altogether. Nine out of ten infected Ebola patients die, and last year was the worst outbreak in history killing more than 11,000 people in Africa in official numbers, and likely twice as much in reality.

Ecstasy might be used to relieve Anxiety in Autistic adults in new clinical trial

Some researchers are considering a pilot treatment that involves MDMA, the active psychoactive ingredient in ecstasy pills, to help adults diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) ooze out anxiety. ASD adults typically report difficulties in bonding with other people and often feel nervous in a social setting. Though illegal in the United States, MDMA has been recently explored for psychotherapeutic purposes with promising results reported in battling addiction or post traumatic stress disorder. If it receives approval - and there's a great deal of paperwork that needs to be filled before they get the green light - this would make it the first MDMA-assisted therapy for the treatment of social anxiety in autistic adults.

Scientists make single-molecule diode: the farthest we can go with electronic minituarization

A team at Columbia University School of Engineering designed a new kind of diode comprised of a single molecule capable of halting or releasing current (a diode is basically a valve) that is 50 times better than previous molecular diode attempts. The breakthrough was its novel design: a clever tweaking of the tiny diode's environment, and not the molecule's structure itself as previously described. Though the currents involved are genuinely tiny, it might be enough to make this the first molecule-sized diode worthy of real world applications. Other universities and labs around the world also demonstrated working molecular resistors, switches or transistors. Together, all of these form the basis of a new kind of nano-circuitry that's as miniaturized as it can get. Already, these sort of circuits are plagued by the uncertainties and challenges that follow at the quantum scale. But can we build electronics even smaller than this? it's unfathomable at this point, but imagination must not succumb. Somewhere, there's a common ground between fantasy and reality, and who knows what we'll get

UAE moves to space: new space agency, academic programs and Mars mission in 2020

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced on Monday its strategic framework for a newly established space agency, and also the first academic space program in the federation. The Space Research Center will be the first of its kind in the Middle East, as will be a graduate degree program in Advanced Space Science at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology and Orbital ATK Inc. What's the federation's end game, though? Last year, UAE announced it will launch an orbiting probe around Mars in 2020. Is it all about scientific missions or, like Dubai's towering skyscrapers, merely a show of force, of grandeur? Apparently, it's part science, part showoff, part money. It's hard to tell at this point which weighed more when UAE first considered its new space agency and subsequent missions.

Robot learns by doing. Starts off plain stupid, then grows smarter - just like us

Using a novel deep learning algorithm, a team at UC Berkeley demonstrated a robot that learns on the fly and performs various tasks that weren't pre-programmed. It starts off shy and clumsy, but eventually gets the ahead of it. For instance, after it stomped a bit around its environment, when given a new task, but with no further instructions, the robot learned by itself to assemble LEGO bricks or twist caps onto pill bottles.

LHC back in business after two year hiatus: already breaks record

Two years ago, following the discovery of the Higgs boson - heralded as one of the greatest scientific achievements of this century - the Large Hadron Collider at CERN was shut down for much needed maintenance and upgrades. A few days ago, the massive particle accelerator was shifted into gear and powered up. The first test run wasn't only successful, it set a new record by producing collision energies of around 13 trillion electron-volts. The highest speed that was previously achieved was of only 6.5 TeV. More tests will be made throughout the remainder of this month and June.

Obese teens are much more susceptible to junk food commercials, brain scans reveal

It's no secret that TV food commercials stimulate pleasure and reward centers in the brain, after all advertisers wouldn't pay big money for them to air if they didn't entice people to order more. In fact, food advertising has increased dramatically over the past 30 years. Teenagers are exposed on average to 13 food commercials on any given day. At the same time, childhood and adolescent obesity in the US has been on the rise fast and worrisome, so we can't help but notice the connection. Now, researchers at Dartmouth found overweight teens are disproportionately affected by TV food commercials, as key brain regions that control pleasure, taste and - most surprisingly - the mouth are all much more stimulated than those teens with less body fat. The findings are important since they suggest overweight teens exposed to this kind of environment will experience further difficulties when they try to lose weight. A further insight is that dietary plans should also target subsequent thinking concerning eating food, not just the temptation.

Ocean trek reveals the massive diversity of the oceanic plankton [with photos]

In what's perhaps one of the most amazing marine science study, a team of researchers scoured the world's oceans fishing for microbes, viruses and other tiny life during a three and a half year trip aboard a schooner. The trip was long and arduous for sure, but ultimately it paid out - big time! The team collected 35,000 samples at 210 stations over the voyage, and found 35,000 species of bacteria, 5,000 new viruses and 150,000 single-celled plants and creatures. Most of these are new to science. Only a small fraction of the newly discovered and known species alike had been genetically sequenced, but results so far show just how interconnected and symbiotic marine life is. It also means it's also vulnerable in the face of environmental changes, particularly climate change.

China wants to be the first to land on the Dark Side of the Moon

According to the Chinese Central Television, China wants to land rover on the far side of the moon, also know as the dark side of the moon, by 2020. This would make it the first nation to land a spacecraft of any sort there. First, the rover will orbit the moon piggy-bagged by the Chang'e 4 spacecraft then later deployed to a launch site. The rover will carry out some scientific missions, but the main goal really is to test China's space launching capabilities, but also as a show of force. Flex those muscles, sort to speak. Some analysts, however, speak out that there might be more to it, namely a bid for the moon's resources.

You can't get lower than this: four charities scammed $187m in donations meant for children with cancer

Four cancer charities operated by the same family under a scamming scheme were sued by the Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The group allegedly scammed consumers out of more than $187 million, who in good faith wanted to contribute to a good cause. In some cases, the charities asked people for money that would eventually help children with cancer, one the most vulnerable groups. Instead, only 3% of the money the group raised actually went to charitable causes. The rest was pocketed.

More than meets the eye: Octopus can perceive light directly through its skin

Biologists have long suspected that cephalopods like the squid and cuttlefish have specialized proteins embedded in their skin, very similar to those found in the eye, which they can use to perceive light, and maybe even colour. Where previously attempts failed, a team at University of California at Santa Barbara now offers conclusive evidence that octopuses can 'see' with their skin. Namely, they can definitely perceive light characteristics like wavelengths, brightness and such, but not edges or contrast. So, you might as well add full body vision to the list of awesome octopus features: master of disguise, elegance in chaos, survival in sub-freezing Antarctic temperatures or special untangling switches. But hey, who's counting anymore. As much as octopuses are weird, they're just as fascinating!

A crime in the sky: galaxies die by strangulation

There are two types of galaxies: 'alive' and 'dead' ones. Those galaxies that are still alive are called so because they still produce stars inside, while the dead ones are stripped and devoid of their stellar nurseries. In a case of forensic astronomy of the utmost importance, a team at the University of Cambridge and the Royal Observatory Edinburgh has revealed the leading cause of death for most deceased galaxies of average size: death by strangulation. What remains now is to identify the killer, the researchers say.

The first mind-controlled leg prosthesis is amazing!

A freak accident from his childhood in Iceland caused Gudmundur Olafsson's right ankle to collapse. After 28 years of living in pain and more than 50 surgical operations he decided to amputate his lower leg entirely. For years, he wore the Proprio Foot - a prosthetic motorized ankle developed by an Icelandic company called Ossur which can automatically adjust the angle of the foot using its built-in sensors. Now, Olafsson prosthesis got a major upgrade: his new Proprio is controlled subconsciously by electrical signals sent from his brain to special sensors directly embedded in his muscles, all via the nerves in the muscle itself. Then a decoded signal is sent to a control unit which directs all the fine moving parts that make up his new, robotic leg. All his intentions are translated seamlessly by the sensors and Olafsson, now 48, can walk almost entirely like a normal person. “The first time, to be honest, I started to cry," said Olafsson.

LIGO upgrade signals the hunt for elusive gravitational waves

A dedication ceremony was held today at the Advanced Laser Gravitational Wave Observatories (Advanced LIGO), a lab tasked with detecting gravitational waves. The two LIGO observatories located in the US' northwest - one at Hanford, the other at the LIGO observatory in Livingston, La - have received significant upgrades meant to increase their sensitivity, part of a huge international endeavor which took eight years and $200 million to complete. The discovery of gravitational waves is heralded as a milestone breakthrough in physics and astronomy, one that might teach us a lot about the Universe. This includes supernovae and colliding black holes, that generate the waves.

Some foods taste better (or less atrocious) while flying

The loud noise that usually airline passengers have to deal with in mid-flight can significantly alter how food tastes. According to researchers at Cornell University sweet flavors are inhibited, while savory flavors are enhanced. This might serve to explain why, for instance, tomato juice is such a popular beverage served on flights. German airline, Lufthansa, reports its passengers consumed 1.8 million liters of tomato juice in a single year or just as much as beer. Quite a lot, considering few people actually buy tomato juice back on land.

Teledildonics is here: sex toys linked to virtual reality

Don't make that face. It's not like you didn't see it coming, after all with each technological step forward porn has always shared the ride. Among the oldest surviving examples of erotic depictions are Paleolithic cave paintings and carvings. Prints became very popular in Europe from the middle of the fifteenth century, and because of their compact nature, were very suitable for erotic depictions that did not need to be permanently on display. An earthier eroticism is seen in a printing plate of 1475-1500 for an Allegory of Copulation where a young couple are having sex, with the woman's legs high in the air, at one end of a bench, while at the other end a huge penis, with legs and wings and a bell tied around the bottom of the glans, is climbing onto the bench. The oldest surviving permanent photograph of the image formed in a camera was created by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1826, porn likely soon followed there after. Imagine what happened once film came along. Nevermind the internet. Though the Oculus Rift is still in beta, and only a handful of developers own one, virtual reality is certain to change how people enjoy porn.

Bill Nye, Science Guy: climate change will consume us like WWII did our parents

At his commencement address at Rutgers University, Bill Nye - famous for popularizing science as the Science Guy - said that climate change is the most serious crisis mankind has ever faced, liking the psychological pressure to that experienced by our parents and grandparents during World War II. He then called on the students to rise to the challenge and question those who deny the reality the planet is currently facing out of ignorance or malevolence alike.

Humans bones became lighter and frailer once farming became widespread

Our bones are much lighter and weaker than those of our Paleolithic ancestors (11,000 to 33,000 years ago), but it's not our spoiled modern day lifestyle that's to blame. Instead, a new study which closely compared homo sapiens bones, both ancient and modern, found that the most significant changes occurred once the paradigm shift from hunter-gatherer to agriculture took place, some 10,000 years ago. Humans started forming permanent settlements, worked the land and tended to flocks. Consequently, the lifestyle became more sedentary.

Are these joint-shaped turbines the future of wind power?

A Spanish startup called Vortex Bladeless has been receiving a lot hype recently once it unveiled a prototype for a bladeless wind turbine. Like conventional pin-wheel turbines, their turbine also works by harnessing the kinetic energy of the wind. However, instead of moving blades which in turn rotate a shaft connected to a generator, the "asparagus" turbine uses a magnets to transform oscillating movements into electricity. It's a radical idea, one that might forever change the scenery most of you have already become used to - huge parks of windmills, which personally I'm rather fond of. So far, the engineers behind the project have been rather secretive and the only things we know about the Vortex Mini (the first commercial turbine of this kind set to come out next year) is what has been disclosed by the company. They're boasting an impressive performance - to the point that it might be feasible to forego pin-wheel turbines altogether in favor of the Vortex - but until we seen some independent assessments I believe skepticism is warranted.

Sea Turtle gets a new 3D-printed titanium jaw after being hit by a boat's propeller

A turtle named Akut-3 was fitted with a new, custom made 3-D printed jaw by doctors at the Research, Rescue and Rehabilitation centre at Pamukkale University in Denizli, Turkey. The reptile was found badly injured at sea and brought to the center for rehabilitation. At first, the doctors healed the turtle's wounds and hand fed her, but they knew they had to turn to something more drastic if the animal was to ever fend for herself in the wild again. They turned to a company in Turkey known for custom made prostheses, gave them a detailed CT scan of the turtle's skull, then received a new beak made out of medical-grade titanium. The prosthesis perfectly fit Akut-3, who is aptly named like a cyborg.

A gorgeous blue sunset on Mars

That's the sun setting over the rim of Gale Crater on Mars, as shot by the Curiosity Rover. Notice some differences? Well, first of all, the sun looks a lot smaller. Of course, it should look smaller considering Mars is farther away from the sun than Earth is. This way, the sun looks approximately two-thirds as big as from our own planet. Next, that's a blue-tinted sunset, fading out in a pinkish tinge. In terms of colors, that's more or less the exact opposite of what happens here on Earth where sunsets tend to fade from warm, ruddy colors like orange-red. This can be explained by the differences between airborne particles in the two atmospheres.

Military wants to use swarms of disposable "Cicada" drones: dropping flies behind enemy lines

A mini-drone that fits in the palm of your hand could give the military an upper hand on the battlefield by providing key intelligence readings. Hundreds of these small, plastic drones could be dropped off a flight and left to scatter across the battlezone. Though they don't have any engines, these "Cicada" drones are equipped with sensors that help adjust the gliding pattern, directing the drone towards a dropzone with an accuracy within a couple of feet. These are hard to spot since they easily disguise as a bird from afar and once behind the lines can use their sensors and microphones to spy on enemy positions. These can also prove very useful for civilian missions, most notably for gathering meteorological data.

Flies feel fear too, but do they have other emotions as well?

Fruit flies experience fear, one of the primary emotions, according to a new research that suggests there's much more to flies scattering about in the face of a swatter than a mere robotic reflex. But do the flies feel other emotions too? That's an extremely difficult question to answer, since the researchers themselves aren't even sure what they've been observing is genuine fear. It does, however, bear all the characteristics of fear. The findings are important since the show that other "lesser beings" that have a primitive nervous system like other insects or spiders might also experience fear, and possibly other emotions as well like happiness or sadness. Who knows, maybe love too?