Scientists bring 46,000-year-old worm found in Siberian permafrost back to life

When the microscopic creature was revived, it started having babies via a process called parthenogenesis, in which no mate is required
The worm, from an ‘undescribed species’, is believed to have spent thousands of years in a state of cryptobiosis, where all metabolic processes are paused



Scientists discovered a female microscopic roundworm that has been stuck deep in Siberian permafrost for 46,000 years, The Washington Post reported.
When they revived it, the worm started having babies via a process called parthenogenesis, which does not require a mate.
According to a press release, the worm spent thousands of years in a type of dormancy called cryptobiosis. In that state, which can last almost indefinitely, all metabolic processes pause, including “reproduction, development and repair”, per the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
In a study published on Thursday in the journal PLOS Genetics, scientists reported that after sequencing the worm’s genome, scientists said it belonged to an “undescribed species”.

Previously, Plectus murrayi and Tylenchus polyhypnus nematodes were resurrected from moss and herbarium specimens after a few dozen years, according to Live Science.
This new species, however, called Panagrolaimus kolymaensis, was dormant for tens of thousands of years longer.
Deep sea biologist Holly Bik estimates there are millions of nematode species living in environments as diverse as ocean trenches, tundras, deserts and volcanic soils. Scientists have only described 5,000 marine species so far.
William Crow, a nematologist at the University of Florida who was not involved in the study, told The Washington Post that this worm could belong to a species that has gone extinct in the last nearly 50,000 years.

“However, it very well could be a commonly occurring nematode that no one got around to describing yet,” Crow said.
The fact that the worm survived all of those years is not a shock to scientists, who have known for years that microscopic organisms, like the worm studied here, can stop their biological functions to survive even the harshest conditions, according to the press release.

“Altogether, our findings demonstrate that nematodes evolved mechanisms potentially allowing them to suspend life over geological time scales,” the PLOS Genetics paper said.

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article ... gn=3229331

[lush]

Man Runs 425 Miles in Four Days, Sets New World Record
070623*

Australia’s Phil Gore recently set a new world record at the 2023 Dead Cow Gully Backyard Masters Ultramarathon by running a whopping 425 miles (685 kilometers) in four days.

The Dead Cow Gully Backyard Masters is billed as a ‘race with no finish line’ by its organizers, and that makes sense because the format requires runners to complete a loop of 6.7km every hour and the race continues until only one runner remains. This year’s event was held on a farm in Nanango, 112 miles northwest of Brisbane, Australia. The endurance race began at 7 am on Saturday, June 17th, and ended four and a half days later, when there was only one person still running, Australian Phil Gore. After running the 6.7-km lap no less than 102 times, he was finally declared the winner.


Photo: Hendrik Morkel/Unsplash

“It’s surreal,” Gore told ABC.net.au. “I remember when one of the Belgians had the record at 75 [in 2020], I put that on my plan as a stretch goal, not ever thinking I’d get there. “For me, running is a part of life, I even run to-and-from work.”

Interestingly, the previous world record was 101 laps, set by Belgian runners Merijn Geerts and Ivo Steyaert last October, so as impressive as Gore’s performance this year might seem, one has to wonder how long the record will last.



Runner-up Sam Harvey from New Zealand managed to tie the previous world record with 101 laps, and Harvey Lewis of the U.S. came in third with 90 laps. All three managed to set national records.

Interestingly, temperatures throughout the four and a half days of running fluctuated from -2 degrees Celsius during the night to 22 degrees on sunny days, which made the event even harder. The winner said he prepared for the temperature difference by taking cold showers for two months before the ultramarathon.



For more grueling ultramarathon, check out The Speed Project, and Highland Kings, the world’s first premium ultramarathon.

[johngriffen]

I sometimes get REALLY DEPRESSED reviewing the news these days.
It's always about a global pandemic threatening life as we know it,
protests around the world, stupid politicians, natural disasters,
or some other really bad story.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Welcome to The mobi weekly news magazine
IN OTHER NEWS
SATURDAY JULY 29
What is it?
Here is your chance to become an "ACE REPORTER" for our weekly news magazine.
It is your job to fine weird, funny or "good feel" stories from around the world and share them with our readers in our weekly magazine

How do you play?
Just post a story that you have come across that made you smile, laugh, feel good...
BUT NOTHING DEPRESSING

EXAMPLE POST

​Naked sunbather chases wild boar through park after it steals his laptop bag

A naked sunbather was seen chasing wild boar through a park after it stole his laptop bag.
Amusing photographs from Germany show the man running after the animal to try and claim the plastic bag back.
But the cheeky boar and its two piglets appear to be too quick for the sunbather, who can't keep up with their speedy little trotters.
As the incident unfolds, groups of friends and family sat on the grass watch on and laugh.
Heads are seen turning in surprise and amusement in the hilarious photographs.
The incident happened at Teufelssee Lake - a bathing spot in the Grunwell Forest in Berlin, Germany.

[/quote]
Rules:
Each Edition of IN OTHER NEWS will be open for 7 days...
You can post as many stories as you like, but you will only get paid for One Story in any 24 hour period
So in other words, you can only earn WRZ$ once a day.
Each news day will start when I post announcing it
OR at:
9:00 AM CHICAGO TIME (UTC -6)
3:00 PM GMT (UTC -0)
on those days I space out and forget to post or can't due to Real Life
Stories may be accompanied with images - but No big images, please! 800x800 pixels wide maximum
Videos are allowed, but please keep them short, and post a short summary for those that don't like to click on videos
No Duplicate stories - Where a post has been edited resulting in duplicates, then the last one in time gets disallowed.
And please limit this to reasonably family friendly stories

Reward:
Each news story posted that I feel is acceptable (must be a real story, too few words or simply a headline are not considered acceptable) will earn you 50 WRZ$
If you post multiple stories on any given day, you will only earn 50 WRZ$ for the first story of the Day
All payments will be made at THE END of the weekly news cycle.
Special Bonus - Each week I will award "The Pulitzer Prize" for the best story of the week
The weekly winner of the "The Pulitzer Prize" will receive a 100 WRZ$ bonus
It's just my personal opinion, so my judgement is final

So help bring GOOD news to the members of mobi, and join our reporting team...

IN OTHER NEWS

[ozswede]

Sweet, tangy, and everything you've (n)ever wanted in a candy

Candy brands love dreaming up bizarre varieties – but Skittles may have outdone itself with near universal revulsion for a new flavour.

Vegemite flavoured Cadbury Diary Milk bars may, rightly so, be remembered as the wildest flavour mash up Australia has seen.

But there is competition for the most disgusting confectionary crossover known to man thanks to the Mars-Wrigley Company.

It is launching a limited edition mustard flavour Skittles. That’s correct: mustard.

A select few in the US will get to taste, not the rainbow, but rather the tart tongue tingling tang of mustard Skittles on “national mustard day” on August 5.

Packs will be given away for free via an online sweepstakes and at pop-up events in Atlanta, Washington DC and New York City.

On Facebook, the folks behind French’s mustard said it was “sweet, tangy, and everything you’ve ever wanted in a candy”.

“Everything you’ve NEVER wanted in a candy … there I fixed it,” said one.


French’s classic yellow mustard flavour Skittles

‘That’s a nope’

New varieties is a time honoured way to bring excitement to a brand and encourage finicky consumers to buy up big. But on social media the sentiment was somewhat negative, to say the least.

“Literally nobody asked for this,” said one commenter, who speaks for all mankind.

“That’s a nope,” said another.

“Makes me gag,” was one succinct piece of feedback.

Although some masochists were up for the challenge: “You know what? You’re on! I’m trying them!”


The small packs will be VERY limited edition.

Mars-Wrigley, the owners of Skittles, teamed up with US mustard brand French’s to create the fearsome flavour combination.

“From mustard ice cream to last year’s viral mustard doughnuts, this year marks the fifth time French’s has gone all out with unique, flavourful innovations to celebrate national mustard day,” Valda Coryat, head of marketing for McCormick & Company, French’s owner, said in a press release.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Skittles to deliver our beloved classic yellow mustard tang in a new, fun way to French’s and Skittles fans alike.”


Must avoid the mustard one.

Ro Cheng, marketing director at Mars-Wrigley, said Skittles “was always looking to inspire moments of everyday happiness and deliver unexpected ways for fans to experience the brand”.

Whether mustard Skittles will deliver “happiness,” remains to be seen.

Unfortunately – or possibly very luckily – it’s unlikely mustard flavour Skittles will be available in Australia anytime soon.

[Fatima99]

Roman-era Brits kept lap dogs



The remains of a miniature dachshund-like dog have been found at what was once the villa of a wealthy family, suggesting that people kept pets during the Roman era. The 1,800-year-old remains, among artefacts recovered from a nature reserve near Oxford, suggest that it was 20cm tall at the shoulder, making it one of the smallest Roman dogs found in Britain, said The Times. “We can’t imagine it being used for anything other than a lap dog,” said Maiya Pina-Dacier, an archaeologist at DigVentures.

[goldie0608]

She Quit Her Job to Create Personal Jewelry from Breast Milk and Ashes



Rachel Heinze has an unusual side hustle, on top of her preferred work as a stay-at-home mom of 2.

After an exhausting, problem-filled first year of breastfeeding her oldest Lucas, she got a ring set with a pale-white stone made from a powdered form of her own breast milk and thought it was so cool she decided to take up the activity herself.

Working after her children are put to bed, she makes $30,000 a year since 2021 selling breastmilk jewelry.

She turns clients’ breast milk into powder before making it into the item—and can combine ashes and colored stones into designs too, with the average piece running $200.

“I thought it was weird,” said Heinze. “But having that journey myself, I can definitely see why people want to carry that little part of the journey with them. When I hit that one year of breastfeeding mark I wanted to celebrate.”

Without overly elaborating personal details, breastfeeding Lucas was a struggle in almost all the ways fellow moms have heard of.

“I did everything to continue breastfeeding for a year. It was exhausting,” said Heinze.

She wasn’t trained as a jeweler, designer, metalworker, or in any kind of craft. She was a professional neuroscientist that specialized in concussions before quitting her job to stay at home with the kids. Nevertheless, she jumped at the opportunity to launch a new venture.

“I didn’t know it would be such a big thing—I just thought it would be a little here and there to make a sale,” said Heinze, from Florida. “I had one video on social media, it kicked off, and that’s when it started becoming a big thing.”

“I was getting breast milk given to me from all over the world. I thought: ‘I can actually make this into something big.'”

Rachel spends eight weeks making her designs while juggling her family life, explaining that her background in science helped with the preservation process for the breast milk.

She turns it into powder before allowing it to totally dry over several days, then grinds it into the piece. She has also expanded her business to make jewelry out of ashes.

“I think every stay-at-home mom can vouch for how difficult it is to both work and look after your kids. But it is so worth it to me,” she says. “My business is just a nice thing on top. Mother first, business second. If that means staying up later with a little less sleep, I am OK with that.”

[HogwartsExpress]

'SCHOOL' misspelled as 'SHCOOL' on Massachusetts road



Officials in a Massachusetts town said "SCHOOL" was supposed to have been painted on the road outside a middle school, but the word was accidentally misspelled as "SHCOOL."

The Town of Holden said the word, a warning about the reduced speed limit outside Mountview Middle School, was painted about two weeks ago and contractors have been unable to correct it due to the recent weather conditions.

"We expect it to be corrected shortly and we are eternally grateful for everyone's input on this matter," the town said in a Facebook post.

A follow-up post joked that a "temporary solution" had been found while waiting for the road typo to be repainted. The post included a photo of Mountview Middle School's sign altered to bear the same "Shcool" misspelling.

src::https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2023/07/28/Mountview-Middle-School-road-misspelled-shcool/2641690564527/

A Grand Piano Once Owned by John Lennon Is Coming Up for Sale



A Baldwin grand piano that passed through the hands of two of the most influential artists of the 20th century, John Lennon and Andy Warhol, will go on auction in September at Alex Cooper Auctioneers (ACA) in Towson, Maryland, according to the Baltimore Banner.

John Lennon bought the Concert Grand Model D piano in 1978 from the Baldwin Factory Store in New York City, according to ACA. The following year he gave the instrument to his friend, art dealer and curator Sam Green, who organized Andy Warhol’s first American museum exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. A plaque that reads “For Sam Love from Yoko and John 1979” was added just above the Baldwin logo on the front of the piano.

Green was close to both Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono. The couple often spent time at Green’s home on Fire Island, and Lennon played the piano and wrote songs there, some of which wound up on his 1980 album with Ono, Double Fantasy.

A few years later, in 1983, Green lent the piano to Warhol, who displayed it prominently at the Interview magazine offices in New York City.

In 1988, after its display in the Interview offices, Green loaned the piano to the New York Academy of Art, which was cofounded by Warhol, for use during “special events.” For Green, that turned out to be an unfortunate decision. When, in 2000, he discovered the piano was being “misused” and played by students every day, he asked that it be returned.

But the school was no longer in possession of the piano. They had sold it, along with a collection of other “deaccessioned pianos” that were in the school’s basement, to a piano tuner named Harold Katz, for a meager $3,000.

Green sued the school—which argued that Green had donated the piano, not lent it—for $1.6 million.

The piano was eventually found at the Mercersburg Academy, a college-prep boarding school in Pennsylvania, bought from Katz by an Alabama man named Buddy Bain, for around $100,000, according to the New York Post. Green’s lawsuit was dismissed.

While the piano visibly shows the wear and tear of its travels, dings in the enamel, a circle melted in the finish, possibly from an ash tray or oil lamp, the auction house says the instrument is playable and will be tuned before it’s sold. Bidding opens September 30 with an estimated value of $2 million–$3 million.

Stunning images of actively-forming stars captured by James Webb Space Telescope



The new image is the most detailed one ever captured of two stars collectively called Herbig-Haro 46/47

Scientists operating the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) announced on Wednesday that it had captured the most detailed images ever of two actively forming stars, collectively known as Herbig-Haro 46/47. Using high-resolution infrared light, the JWST managed to catch images of the distant objects despite being roughly 1,470 light-years away.

NASA scientists are particularly intrigued by these images because of the two "lobes" that can be seen jutting out of either side of the disk where the two stars are gathering mass. The smaller right lobe points in the direction of Earth, and both lobes are ejections of dust that astronomers believe are important to shaping the universe.

"All of these jets are crucial to star formation itself," the Webb official website explains. "Ejections regulate how much mass the stars ultimately gather. (The disk of gas and dust feeding the stars is small. Imagine a band tightly tied around the stars.)"

These are far from the only amazing discoveries picked up by JWST in its first year of operation. The powerful telescope has also captured the most detailed images of the distant universe, an iconic quintet of galaxies known as Stephan's quintet and even water vapor on another planet. Speaking with Salon earlier this month, NASA scientist Dr. Michelle Thaller praised the JWST image of Jupiter as "almost like you were at a spacecraft that was orbiting the planet. And you can see all of the different whirls and eddies in the atmosphere, and those are very important for us to study."

https://www.salon.com/2023/07/28/stunni ... telescope/

[PennySerenade]

Oregon Firefighters Rescue Dog While Battling Forest Fire and Reunite Pup with Her Family



A family is grateful to be back with their pet after a fire almost tore their lives apart.

On Sunday, Oregon firefighters continued battling blazes caused by the Golden Fire in Klamath County. The fire began on Saturday and is responsible for destroying approximately 43 homes and 42 outbuildings, according to initial reports published by Central Oregon Daily News. Over 2,000 acres have burned, and hundreds of Klamath County residents have been evacuated.



Amid the mayhem comes a beautiful story. Firefighters from the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District reunited a lost pooch with its loved ones.

"We sent [an] engine to Bly along with the Central Oregon Task Force. While they were working, Fire/Medic David Ward found Ladybird wandering around, apparently lost," a Facebook announcement from the agency began. "They clearly became fast friends! Our crew took care of her, while doing their work, until she could be reunited with her family. Thankfully she had a phone number on her collar that helped to make contact."

The Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District shared several images of Ladybird, including one with the rescued canine kissing Ward. In the other photos, Ladybird appears happy and healthy as she jumps on firefighters and receives pets.

"Low fuel moisture, 90-degree temperatures, and wind gusts up to 20 mph contributed to extreme fire behavior," the Golden Fire Facebook official page stated yesterday about the Golden Fire.

"Our hearts go out to the Bonanza community and those affected by the Golden Fire," Matt Howard, ODF Team 2 Incident Commander, said. "We grieve with the community and your loss. Our goal on this fire has been, and will continue to be, to contain this fire to minimize its impact. Our job now is to fully suppress this fire so the recovery process can begin. That is our commitment to you."



Ladybird's happy ending is similar to another pup who was recently rescued. Matt was taken in by the South Plains Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Lubbock, Texas, this month. The canine was given his name after he was discovered with his fur badly matted to his body. Tori Houston, a foster and volunteer with the South Plains SPCA, spoke exclusively to PEOPLE about how she met Matt.

"When I first got the call, these people had found this dog behind their house in a cornfield, and I got a call by my president [Kim Moyers] to go pick this dog up," Houston began. "And when I arrived, the condition of this dog was probably the worst I had ever seen any dog, ever; he had so much hair you didn't know which was the front, which was the back. He was covered in goat heads. He stunk so bad. You couldn't see any part of his body. He looked like a pile of sheep wool."

South Plains SPCA president Kim Moyers told KLBK-TV, "His hair growth was about five years of matting. It's just awful that he was probably seen in different places and overlooked. I don't see how he hasn't been seen roaming in the condition he was. I've never seen anything like him. It was shocking."

Thankfully, three pounds of fur was removed from Matt's tiny body. "After we had one of our professional groomers — who's also an SPCA foster — groom him, he looked amazing. He is the most gorgeous-looking dog I've ever seen. He's just drop-dead gorgeous," Houston confirmed, adding that Matt is now recovering and preparing to find a loving place to call home.

[Misstee]

Keeping your underwear clean on the Moon
27/07/2023

When astronauts return to the Moon they will be bringing along a new generation of spacesuits, designed to withstand the harsh conditions of the lunar surface. But in keeping their human occupants safe and comfortable, these suits might also become a fertile environment for harmful microbial life – especially as astronauts will potentially be sharing suits with one another.

As part of a larger ESA effort called PExTex, assessing suitable textiles for future spacesuit design, the Austrian Space Forum is leading a project called BACTeRMA, looking into ways to prevent microbial growth in suit inner linings.

The most obvious hazards are the external ones: moonwalkers venturing out of lunar bases will have to contend not only with hard vacuum but also wild temperature extremes, space radiation and highly abrasive dust – which partially jammed the seals of Apollo spacesuits within just a few hours of exposure, while compromising their outermost layers.



That’s why the PExTEx (Planetary Exploration Textiles) project, led by France’s Compagnie Maritime d’Expertises, COMEX, has been assessing novel textiles that did not exist during the Apollo era, such as high-strength Twaron material.

Guided by planetary surface architectures such as the US-led Artemis initiative, the PExTex team have been testing materials for a spacesuit that could withstand at least 2 500 hours of surface use. That involves subjecting them to numerous tests overseen by PExTex partner the German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research, DITF.


- Getting dressed for space

These have included ultra-high vacuum exposure, electrical discharge, temperature shifts and rubbing with simulated moondust – as well as exposing textiles to nuclear accelerator radiation conducted at the MedAustron facility in Austria.

Meanwhile another PExTex partner, the Austrian Space Forum (Österreichisches Weltraum Forum/OeWF), has focused on keeping the insides of spacesuits safe and healthy, through its ‘Biocidal Advanced Coating Technology for Reducing Microbial Activity’, or BACTeRMA for short.

“Think about keeping your underwear clean; it’s an easy enough job on a daily basis, thanks to detergent, washing machines and dryers,” explains ESA materials and processes engineer Malgorzata Holynska. “But in habitats on the Moon or beyond, washing spacesuit interiors on a consistent basis may well not be practical.

“In addition, spacesuits will most probably be shared between different astronauts, and stored for long periods between use, potentially in favourable conditions for microorganisms. Instead we needed to find alternative solutions to avoid microbial growth.”

Traditional anti-microbial materials such as silver or copper might cause skin irritation in the close quarters of a spacesuit, and are likely to tarnish over time.

Instead the BACTeRMA team turned to so-called ‘secondary metabolites’ – which are chemical compounds produced by microbes to protect themselves against competitors or other environmental factors. Typically colourful in appearance, these compounds often have antibiotic qualities.

OeWF worked with BACTeRMA partner the Vienna Textile Lab, which possesses a unique ‘bacteriographic’ collection, to develop biocidal textile processing techniques, such as dying cloth with these bacterial metabolites. These materials were then exposed to radiation, moondust and simulated human perspiration to test their durability.

As a result, the BACTeRMA partners have gained valuable insights into the effectiveness and suitability of antimicrobial substances, such as violacein pigment and prodigiosin – known for its pinkish hue on dirty surfaces – on various textile materials.

Gernot Grömer, OwEF Director, comments: “The findings of PExTex and BACTeRMA lay the foundation for future developments in the areas of antimicrobial treatments and the integration of smart textile technologies. Additionally, these projects could have broader implications for the textile industry, by demonstrating the feasibility and importance of developing innovative textiles with specialized properties.

“The Austrian Space Forum is currently integrating the newly developed textiles in its spacesuit simulator. In March 2024 these materials may undergo their first analog field test as part of our simulation of a crewed Mars mission in Armenia during the AMADEE-24 field campaign.”


- Prodigiosin pigment produced by bacteria

German ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer expressed his appreciation for the PExTex and BACTeRMA results: "Space technology, funded by ESA and developed in Europe, is a crucial step to bolster the expertise of European industry and academia for future human and robotic planetary exploration."

Austrian Space Forum

OeWF is a space research organisation following a citizen scientist approach: different experts across various science domains come together in the OeWF to work on space topics, with a special focus on spacesuit technology.

The idea for the two-year BACTeRMA project was proposed by OeWF in cooperation with the Vienna Textile Lab as subcontractor, through ESA’s Open Space Innovation Platform, seeking out promising ideas for space research from any source.

Geothermal Power is Finally a Reality After Next-Generation Breakthrough of Carbon-Free Energy in Nevada

July 29, 2023


Fervo Energy

A commercial pilot project confirmed a record production of geothermal energy in northern Nevada this week.

Fervo Energy announced it had successfully completed the well test at its full-scale commercial pilot, ‘Project Red’, accelerating the deployment of next-generation geothermal power.

The successful well test confirms the commercial viability of Fervo’s drilling technology and establishes Project Red as the most productive enhanced geothermal system in history.

The 30-day well test, a standard for geothermal, achieved a flowrate of 63 liters per second at high temperature that enables 3.5 MW of electric production, setting new records for both flow and power output from an enhanced geothermal system.

Fervo is the first company to successfully drill a horizontal well into thermal reservoirs of heat to produce commercial geothermal energy, thus “reducing drilling risks”.

“By applying drilling technology from the oil and gas industry, we have proven that we can produce 24/7 carbon-free energy resources in new geographies across the world,” said Tim Latimer, Fervo Energy CEO and Co-Founder.

“The incredible results are the product of many years of dedicated work and commitment from Fervo employees and industry partners, especially Google.”

In 2021, Fervo and Google signed an agreement to develop the next-gen plant with the goal of powering Google’s Cloud servers in Las Vegas with an “always-on,” carbon-free resource that will reduce the company’s hourly reliance on fossil fuels.

According to a company statement, Fervo achieved lateral lengths of 3,250 feet, reaching a temperature of 191 °C.

Fervo implemented an induced seismicity mitigation protocol following best practices established by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and completed the project without incident. Data collected through the course of this pilot will enable rapid advancement in geothermal deployment, with Fervo’s next horizontal well pair planned to achieve more than double the power output of the pilot design.

Google’s Senior Director for Energy and Climate, Michael Terrell, said, “Achieving our goal of operating on 24/7 carbon-free energy will require new sources of firm, clean power to complement variable renewables like wind and solar.”

Fervo says their results show that geothermal energy could supply over 20% of U.S. power needs and compliment wind and solar to achieve a fully decarbonized grid. “With Fervo’s breakthrough, no technological barriers to geothermal deployment remain.”

Jesse Jenkins, leader of the Zero-carbon Energy systems Research and Optimization (ZERO) lab at Princeton University, said, “Fervo’s successful commercial pilot takes next-generation geothermal technology from the realm of models into the real world and starts us on a path to unlock geothermal’s full potential.”


United Downs Geothermal Well in the UK

Currently used in 26 countries, geothermal technology produces electricity by pumping cold water underground, where it is heated up by the Earth’s temperature, and brought back to the surface without emitting carbon or other harmful pollutants.

This summer, Fervo broke ground on its first greenfield development in southwest Utah, adjacent to the DOE’s Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE). Revenue and learnings from Fervo’s Utah project will go toward the development of other projects in new geographies.

[lush]

Ready to Cook – The Controversial World of Featherless Chicken
070723*

Featherless chicken is a relatively new breed of poultry created through selective breeding in order to combat a very common problem – overheating. However, the so-called ‘naked chickens’ have yet to become mainstream.

Commercial broiler chickens are genetically prone to eat more and gain weight very fast which causes their body metabolism to operate at higher temperatures than that of other chicken breeds. Their hearts operate at up to 300 beats per minute, and while the rapid weight gain makes them perfect for the ever-growing meat industry, it also creates a very big problem – overheating. Raising broilers in hot climate regions requires expensive coolers to keep the birds’ temperature in check, but what if there was a more economical way to keep birds cool without using vast amounts of energy? That was the idea that led to the creation of the controversial featherless chicken.



Israeli geneticist and poultry breeding expert Avigdor Cahaner is the man credited for the creation of featherless chickens. Although many speculate that he resorted to some unnatural and unethical genetic modifications, Cahaner has repeatedly clarified that he only did it by selectively crossing a breed with a naturally bare neck with a regular broiler chicken. “This is not a genetically modified chicken, but a natural chicken whose characteristics date back over 50 years,” the Hebrew University of Jerusalem professor said.

Created in the early 2000s, Avigdor Cahaner’s naked chickens got a lot of attention both for their unusual appearance and the touted benefits of the breed, which included, lower feed consumption, faster growth rate, the ability to withstand higher temperatures without the need for coolers, and an evident ease of plucking. However, it’s not all positive with these unusual-looking birds. The lack of feathers makes them more susceptible to parasites, mosquito attacks, skin diseases, sunburns and temperature variations. Plus, the males have trouble mating because they can’t really maintain their balance when flapping their featherless wings.

But the main reason why the naked chicken breed never really took off in the two decades since its creation is that people never really got used to their “unnatural” look. Some have called them “disgusting” and an “example of sick science”, while others claimed that regular chickens suffer enough, and there is no need to create abominations like this that are even more prone to suffering without feathers to protect them from injuries.



A study by Agriallis Magazine has concluded that the acceptance rate of featherless chickens by consumers “will not be successful due to fact of fear of hormonal usage, unusual animals, fear on health impact”.



For more unusual chicken breeds, check out the tiny-but-pompous Serama chicken, and the Jersey Giants, the gentle giants of the poultry world.

Ancient relatives of ‘penis worms’ discovered in China probably had brains
Scientists believe the fossils show definitive examples of prehistoric brain tissue
Whether brain tissue can be fossilised is up for debate, and this new discovery is an important piece of evidence



Contrary to the common jokes that genitalia impedes clarity of thought, a recent fossil from central China revealed that an ancient cousin of the modern “penis worm” may have indeed contained brains.
Scientists found evidence of fossilised brains in a prehistoric animal called Markuelia hunanensis, believed to be an ancestor of priapulids, which are colloquially nicknamed “penis worms”.
The fossils date back to the Cambrian Period (485 – 539 million years ago), and are thought to be about 500 million years old. The fossils were first discovered in Hunan province in central China and the global study included scientists from the country.

Despite the sophomoric nomenclature, the discovery itself could mark a significant breakthrough in palaeontology: it is a rare moment when scientists have found a definitive example of fossilised brain tissue from hundreds of millions of years ago.
The study, published in the Royal Society of Open Science journal in early October, paints a picture of a fossilised brain that would hold up to academic scrutiny and possibly offer hard evidence to support one side of a fierce academic debate, according to Live Science, an online news outlet.
Proving the existence of fossilised brain tissue has been remarkably difficult because the soft tissue in animal brains disintegrates faster than other parts of the body, making it rare to have survived for hundreds of millions of years.
A particular sector of palaeontologists does not believe brain tissue can survive long enough to become fossils we can see today.



However, there have been other moments when palaeontologists claimed they found brain tissue, only to be met with scepticism as many scientists believed nervous tissue was too sensitive to fossilise.

In 2012, a paper purported to have discovered a brain in an ancient arthropod from the Cambrian Period, but the results were debated in the palaeontology community.
In 2016, scientists announced that they had discovered what they believed was the first example of a dinosaur brain fossil.
Speaking on the penis worm discovery, Nicholas Strausfeld, a regents professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Arizona told Live Science: “[The fossil] seems to me, inescapably, a tissue that is not muscle – and it’s not gut either, so what could it be? I would say they are neurons.”
The fossils were surrounded by limestone before being dissolved into micro-fossils that were then analysed. Initially, the fossils were thought to be muscles, but upon further analysis, the scientists found structures that were more similar to brains.
Philip Donoghue, a professor of palaeobiology at the University of Bristol in England, told Live Science that the fossil featured nervous cell tissue that was connected near its head. This, the scientists said, was likely the animal’s brain.

The hypothesis was further supported by the discovery of different fossilised masses towards the tail, which were muscular, providing a distinct comparison to the head and brain.
Ancient penis worms have proven to be uniquely insightful creatures from which scientists learn about how the prehistoric world works.
In November 2021, fossilised specimens of a separate species of worm, called Eximi priapulus, exhibited the first example of “hermiting” behaviour, where it protected itself by hiding within its shell.
Another strange quirk of the Markuelia hunanensis fossils is that scientists have never found an adult specimen of the animal but have discovered hundreds of juveniles.

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-cultur ... pe=article

[Fatima99]

I sometimes get REALLY DEPRESSED reviewing the news these days.
It's always about a global pandemic threatening life as we know it,
protests around the world, stupid politicians, natural disasters,
or some other really bad story.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Welcome to The mobi weekly news magazine
IN OTHER NEWS
SUNDAY JULY 30
What is it?
Here is your chance to become an "ACE REPORTER" for our weekly news magazine.
It is your job to fine weird, funny or "good feel" stories from around the world and share them with our readers in our weekly magazine

How do you play?
Just post a story that you have come across that made you smile, laugh, feel good...
BUT NOTHING DEPRESSING

EXAMPLE POST

​Naked sunbather chases wild boar through park after it steals his laptop bag

A naked sunbather was seen chasing wild boar through a park after it stole his laptop bag.
Amusing photographs from Germany show the man running after the animal to try and claim the plastic bag back.
But the cheeky boar and its two piglets appear to be too quick for the sunbather, who can't keep up with their speedy little trotters.
As the incident unfolds, groups of friends and family sat on the grass watch on and laugh.
Heads are seen turning in surprise and amusement in the hilarious photographs.
The incident happened at Teufelssee Lake - a bathing spot in the Grunwell Forest in Berlin, Germany.

[/quote]
Rules:
Each Edition of IN OTHER NEWS will be open for 7 days...
You can post as many stories as you like, but you will only get paid for One Story in any 24 hour period
So in other words, you can only earn WRZ$ once a day.
Each news day will start when I post announcing it
OR at:
9:00 AM CHICAGO TIME (UTC -6)
3:00 PM GMT (UTC -0)
on those days I space out and forget to post or can't due to Real Life
Stories may be accompanied with images - but No big images, please! 800x800 pixels wide maximum
Videos are allowed, but please keep them short, and post a short summary for those that don't like to click on videos
No Duplicate stories - Where a post has been edited resulting in duplicates, then the last one in time gets disallowed.
And please limit this to reasonably family friendly stories

Reward:
Each news story posted that I feel is acceptable (must be a real story, too few words or simply a headline are not considered acceptable) will earn you 50 WRZ$
If you post multiple stories on any given day, you will only earn 50 WRZ$ for the first story of the Day
All payments will be made at THE END of the weekly news cycle.
Special Bonus - Each week I will award "The Pulitzer Prize" for the best story of the week
The weekly winner of the "The Pulitzer Prize" will receive a 100 WRZ$ bonus
It's just my personal opinion, so my judgement is final

So help bring GOOD news to the members of mobi, and join our reporting team...

IN OTHER NEWS