One of the most difficult natural fibers to acquire is spider silk, because it's very difficult to rear spiders as they have this tendency to cannibalize each other. So being able to produce spider silk in a large scale at a low cost would be extremely arduous, time-consuming, and not to mention would require a huge investment. We're not even talking about the technical aspects of harvesting the silk and processing it to turn it into usable fiber. So far, the only natural animal fiber that we have been able to harvest and use is silk worm fiber. But, the tensile strength, durability, and ductility of spider silk makes it highly desirable.

Now, researchers from China were able to genetically modify silkworms so that they can produce spider silk. They used CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology to insert spider silk protein genes into the silkworms as well as other modifications so that the genes can be adapted into the silkworms' internal system and allow it to properly produce the fiber. This may be a great feat in and of itself, but the researchers are hopeful that this is just a stepping stone and their research can be further built upon toward producing spider silk from both natural and engineered amino acids.

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What makes people happy at their job? Is it the remuneration or the extensive compensation packages? Maybe, a good work-life balance or job security. Perhaps having a great working environment and opportunities for career advancement. Or, it could be that sense of fulfillment and achievement that you get after a hard day's work. Whatever it may be, a survey was conducted by BambooHR, a human resources tech company, across a whole range of industries and companies to evaluate the level of job satisfaction employees had based on factors like wage, flexibility, and opportunities for development to name a few. And the results of the survey is probably not what you would expect.

The company surveyed eight different industries - health care, finance, construction, education, travel and hospitality, food and beverage, and technology - and ranked them based on their scores. If you were to guess which industry ranked the highest in job satisfaction, you would probably go for technology or finance, since, logically speaking, they are most likely paid the highest among all the industries. But surprisingly, those two industries took the second and third place overall. To find out which among the eight industries reported the highest level of job satisfaction, check it out on Reader's Digest.

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After living in Korea, a very highly advanced country, I can say that living in a cashless society makes transactions a lot easier and faster, and depending on the policies and systems in place, a lot safer and more secure. It frees up a lot of space in your pockets and in your wallets. In fact, you don't even need to bring your wallet. All you need to bring is a debit card, or if your bank has a mobile app, then you just need your phone and a good internet connection. Thankfully, if you can find WiFi anywhere, then you're all set.

So, what are the steps toward becoming a cashless society? Australia is currently underway toward becoming one, and even though they are not completely there yet, it only takes a few years to prepare and be fully cashless. But as it stands, there are already players who are invested and are well on their way to taking advantage when the time comes that Australia becomes a cashless society. I'm not sure about America, but from what I can surmise, it might still be a long way before the US can become a cashless society. It's not really a priority at the moment. However, the benefits of transitioning into a cashless economy, I would say, greatly outweigh the costs it would take to fully implement. What are your thoughts on the matter?

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Being a movie extra must really seem cool for those of us outside of the entertainment industry. You'd get to be filmed on camera and you can act alongside some of the biggest names in cinema. However, from an insider's point of view, especially from someone who has experienced being called to take part as an extra in a movie several times, Kimberly Nelson knows the deal with being a movie extra, and though she admits that it's a great feeling to be able to see yourself on screen, even for just a few seconds, everything that happens behind the scenes is anything but glamorous.

She shares with us her forays into the movie extra gig along with the ups and downs, the challenges, the disappointments, and the moments of elation when you finally see yourself in the big screen. Read her story on Chicago Mag.

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Being someone who was born at the cusp of the digital boom, I knew what life was like before the internet or smartphones, and I'm sure a lot of our readers on Neatorama feel the same. But from the 2010s on, I think the ubiquity of smartphones and the internet has taken over our lives. We cannot live without them, although if by some circumstance, we find ourselves without them, we'll most likely find ways to entertain ourselves or make do without them.

There is this joke about Gen Zs that I found quite interesting because I wasn't sure how true or the extent of its reality was. The comedian was saying that the best kind of punishment parents nowadays can implement on their children is by taking away their phones. I have come to realize that it's true that Gen Zs have become totally dependent on technology. I don't have to look any further than my immediate family. My nieces and my nephews almost always have their faces stuck to their phone screens, and you'll be hard-pressed to get them off those screens.

This brings us to this phobia, which I have just recently discovered, called nomophobia referring to phone separation anxiety. A group of researchers have conducted a study on undergraduate students that tried to find what the factors contributing to nomophobia are, and what the possible means could be of alleviating one's separation anxiety from their phones. You might find it an interesting read especially if you know someone who might be experiencing this condition.

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Writers know that being a writer is not a lucrative career path. With the very rare exception of hitting the jackpot, generally writers can live comfortably but not luxuriously. A few writers have definitely made it that I know: JK Rowling is probably top-of-mind for a lot of people in this regard, and another famous one would be Stephen King. However, there are cases in which an author can make a fortune off of a singular work, and live off the royalties of that. And Salman Rushdie is that one author, with his book Satanic Verses.

Recently, Salman Rushdie has been on the news for the attempt on his life, but along with that, some people online have gathered that his net worth is around $10 to $15 million, off of his most controversial novel, and one of the banned books in America. If you want to learn more about the circumstances of how one book earned Rushdie $2 million on the first year of its release, read more about it on Sports Keeda.

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There are several banned books in America, and I have read quite a few of them, all of which have widened my horizons, not only in literature, but also in my perspective of the American culture. Some of my favorite banned books are The Catcher in the Rye and 1984. Being banned books does not mean that the authorities have deemed them worthless, but I would think it's quite the contrary. Perhaps, the reason why they are banned, or were banned, is that they exposed the realities of life and challenge the prevalent mores and perspective in society.

Out of the 50 states, Florida is considered as one of the worst states for having the freedom to read whatever you want, with 13 school districts adding 357 books to their banned list over the past year. In response to that, Banned Books USA has launched an initiative to circumvent the prohibition: they are offering banned books to any and all residents to Florida. You can even go to their website, and donate or send a book to a shipping address in Florida. - via Lithub

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Altruism can be defined as showing selfless concern for the well-being of others. Though it may not look it, we do experience humans expressing altruism in more ways than one. Apart from non-profit organizations or volunteer groups, whose sole purpose is to engage in activities for the welfare of a particular group that they are catering to, there are individuals who have launched their own altruistic initiatives and have found success in helping out others.

Now a study has found that this trait of altruism is not only present in humans, but also in bees. Furthermore, their altruistic nature is not merely instinctive but hereditary. And the way this is expressed is truly fascinating. Since every hive can only have one queen, this begs the question, what do the other female honey bees do? Well, they serve the queen, and they do so by taking care of the queen's offspring. This may sound horrendous for some, but it is in the genetic makeup of the bees that leads to this behavior.

Of course, as humans we probably wouldn't think of giving up our entire life for the service of one particular person, although there are people who do that, and it is quite a noble and honorable thing to do. But I would think a lot more people would have different means of expressing altruism. Salon has distilled the most salient points from the paper which was published on Molecular Ecology.

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Pet owners will know that sometimes our pets will do the silliest random things that will be enough to brighten our day. Perhaps, that's one of the reasons why they do it as they probably feel when we're stressed and need some means of releasing all the pent-up tension within us. At times, they are just instinctively crazy, at least in my opinion. All the same, we love them for their antics and some owners luckily were able to capture their pets' silliest moments and are now sharing them in this latest TikTok trend, where they show videos of their pets' craziest moments with Hamilton's "Dear Theodosia" playing in the background.

The photo above was shared by billyboy_cat on TikTok and for a second, you might think that the box around the cat's head was a filter, but when you look closely, it's an actual box fitted over the cat.

Another photo, uploaded by domesroams, in the same vein as the first shows our little feline friend sporting a plastic bag from a bagel store and giving a whole new meaning to the word catwalk.

And perhaps my personal favorite out of this collection is the one posted by wisaandthecattos with yet another plastic bag draped over their head making it look as though they were a newborn baby. And what a cute baby it is.

For a look at all 50 photos, check them out on Bored Panda.

(Image credits: billyboy_cat, domesroams, wisaandthecattos)

Out in cinemas for the past two weeks now, The Exorcist: Believer is a reboot of the 1973 original directed by the late William Friedkin. Following the tradition of David Gordon Green's reboot of Halloween, The Exorcist: Believer will be a sequel to the original film disregarding other previous sequels. It might seem odd to sort of sever the continuity of The Exorcist franchise, but it makes sense, in that Green wants to build upon the foundation that the original film established using a new set of perspectives, themes, and milieu.

Ellen Burstyn, who starred in the original film, will be reprising her role of Chris MacNeil, but instead of the story revolving around her character, Green takes on a different approach with the concept of synchronized possession. Nevertheless, we will still see Burstyn's character now fulfilling the role of the expert on demonic activity. For other details on the concept of The Exorcist: Believer as well as the technical aspects such as makeup which was highly acclaimed for the original film due to the superb work of the late Dick Smith, check out Martyn Conterio's article on NME.

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After a long day at work, sometimes you just want to kick back and relax while watching your favorite Netflix series, however, you find that there's nothing for you to eat in the fridge. What better way to enjoy your night than with a delicious meal? So, instead of ordering food online, why not try out some of these dinner recipes that will only take you less than 30 minutes to prepare?

From healthily appetizing meals like Citrus Coconut Steamed Cod to savory Salsa Steak Garlic Toasts, you will find all sorts of recipes submitted to Taste of Home by various people all around the United States. Some are even contest-winning recipes like Jennifer Pemberton's Chicken with Mushroom Sauce. Others are delightful hybrids of savory desserts such as Sue Gronholz' Meat Loaf Cups. Take a look at 80 Quick Dinner Recipes at Taste of Home.

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Have you ever gotten a receipt from Costco with a smiley face drawn on it? It seems like a very unusual thing to encounter, and perhaps you have wondered what it actually means. Well, much like Starbucks is known for their baristas writing customers' names on their cups haphazardly, Costco apparently has this tradition of drawing smiley faces on customers' receipts and the reason for them doing this is quite simple than you would expect.

Reader's Digest shares that, for as long as Costco has had the practice of checking receipts as customers are going out the door, Costco employees just want to make people smile in any way they can. Initially, the smiley faces were meant for children but even teenagers and adults found them cheekily enjoyable, as the TikToks on RD show.

Not all Costco stores have this tradition, though, as some stores say that it depends on their employees. Furthermore, there are some branches which have prohibited their employees from continuing to engage in the said practice. However, if you are lucky enough to come across a Costco that still doodles smileys on your receipts, consider yourself lucky.

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When I was a young boy, there were a few things that fascinated me and two of them were insects: spiders and butterflies. I thought spiders were pretty cool and butterflies were pretty. There were a few things that creeped me out and didn't like to have in the house, and even today I still don't like them and I have no holds squashing them the moment I see them, and those are cockroaches. All other critters in between are fine by me. I'd much prefer that they not invade our personal space, and if possible, it's best to release them into their natural habitats.

I have just found out that there are some insects that are totally okay to kill; even scientists encourage it. The reason being these bugs are invasive species and they can disrupt entire ecosystems just by existing. Some may be hard to get rid of though, as my experience with hornets proves, but with the right methods, we can surely eradicate them. Gizmodo has the full list of insects here.

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All things that happen inside our bodies are, in one way or another, connected to the brain, the control tower of the nervous system. Of course, every organ has its own cells and those cells have their own specific functions, but the brain is central in our daily lives. In fact, without it, we couldn't live. Of course, there are instances wherein people fall into a coma (essentially brain-dead) and come out of it after months or years, then recover after much therapy. But the fact still stands that the brain is vital to our bodies. And now, scientists have been able to create the largest-ever map of the human brain so far.

What does this mean? There's so much information that can be taken from knowing the different brain cells and how they work. We can find information about diseases, physiology, anatomy, and much more just by studying the 170 billion cells in our brain. Scientists say that by analyzing all of this new information, we may be able to find the root cause of neuropsychiatric conditions like Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, depression, and even autism.

It is the largest map ever made, but it's not yet all-encompassing. There's still much work to be done, yet this is a major step toward understanding brain physiology and the neural network that explains much of the functioning of our bodies as well as how dysfunctional parts came to be.

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A day or two ago, the "ring of fire" solar eclipse could be seen across the United States. It is called such because of the way that the moon blocks the sun to show a bright yellowish orange glow around the silhouette of the moon. We all know that it's harmful to the human eyes to look directly into a solar eclipse, so we generally look at them through a film to obscure our vision slightly. However, that is not the case for visually-impaired people. Nevertheless, there is one way for them to experience a solar eclipse through sound.

Through a device called "LightSound", members of the BLV (blind or low vision) community, can actually hear what a solar eclipse sounds like. It works by light sensors converts the amount of sunlight passing through the device into sound. As the moon creeps in to cover the sun, the tone will become deeper, and as the eclipse begins to vanish, it will register higher tones. To hear it for yourself, check out the sound bite from TPR. - via NPR

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