With a pancake-like body and a barbed tail, a stingray can be easily recognized when seen in the waters. These fish, which belong to the elasmobranchs class of animals (similar to sharks), are usually found in coastal saltwater environments.

Stingrays range in size from about as small as a dinner plate to as big as 16.5 feet (5 meters) long including the tail, according to National Geographic. The largest species is the giant freshwater stingray (Himantura chaophraya), found in rivers in southeast Asia. Some specimens of freshwater stingray have been known to weigh up to 1,300 lbs (590 kg).

Over the years of examining these sea creatures, we’ve already become quite familiar with them as to what they eat, how they mate, and if they’re dangerous.

Know more about stingrays over at Live Science.

(Image Credit: Albert Kok/ Wikimedia Commons)

I believe that one of the best things that we can do as people is to help other people, especially those who have disabilities. This is why I am amazed at people who try their best in developing devices for them.

A team of researchers at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, has built a bionic device that they say can restore vision to the blind through a brain implant.

The team is now preparing for what they claim will be the world’s first human clinical trials of a bionic eye — and are asking for additional funding to eventually manufacture it on a global scale.

It’s essentially the guts of a smartphone combined with brain-implanted micro electrodes, as TechCrunch reports. The “Gennaris bionic vision system,” a project that’s more than ten years in the making, bypasses damaged optic nerves to allow signals to be transmitted from the retina to the vision center of the brain.

The team also hopes that the system used by this device could also be used by people who have untreatable neurological conditions, and would help them regain their movement.

A trial in July showed that the Gennaris array was able to be transplanted safely into the brains of three sheep using a pneumatic insertor, with a cumulative 2,700 hours of stimulation not causing any adverse health effects.

More details about this over at Futurism.

What are your thoughts about this one?

(Image Credit: Monash University/ Futurism)

A dog finally learns to open the puzzle box. Its reward for doing so is a treat inside that puzzle box. The second time, however, the dog will be given another puzzle box, but unlike the previous box, this would be an unsolvable one. Through this experiment, which was called the “unsolvable task”, researchers found out that dogs would try to shift a nearby human’s attention to the box. In other words, dogs know when to ask for help.

Pigs also happen to be social animals, but when the researchers gave them the same test, they didn’t respond the way dogs did.

“When pigs live in the wild—or even wild boars—these animals live in groups. They need to communicate with their conspecifics to be able to live.”

Which is why the researchers decided to compare pet dogs with pet pigs. While the pigs revealed that they were capable of referential communication, they didn’t actually turn to people for help. Once the task became unsolvable, they acted... determined to find a solution on their own. The results were published in the journal Animal Cognition. [Paula Pérez Fraga et al., Who turns to the human? Companion pigs' and dogs' behaviour in the unsolvable task paradigm]

But why was this the case? Scientists think that the reason for this is the purpose of the domestication of an animal.

More details about this over at Scientific American.

(Image Credit: yairventuraf/ Pixabay)

When a group of reindeer herders on the Siberian island of Bolshoy Lyakhovsky went out in broad daylight, they did not expect to come across a frozen carcass of an extinct species of bear that we haven’t seen face to face for over 15,000 years — a cave bear. It must have been an awesome experience for the herders, who found the carcass in a patch of melting permafrost.

Many of our ancestors knew cave bears (Ursus spelaeus) all too well. At Denisova Cave in Siberia’s Altai Mountains, about 3,600km (2,200 miles) from Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island, a 2019 study of coprolites (fossil poop) and ancient DNA mixed into the cave sediment found that bears had lived in the cave off and on for around 300,000 years, probably alternating with the Neanderthals, Denisovans, and Homo sapiens who also lived there at various times.

In fact, most cave bear fossils have been found inside caves, and paleontologists think these bears probably lived in the caves full-time, rather than just popping in for a quick four-month nap. Across Europe and Asia, bears and people probably competed for the same real estate for around 300,000 years; it probably wasn’t much of a contest, though. These lumbering Ice Age giants stood 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) high when they reared up on their hind legs, and the largest males weighed up to 600 kilograms (1,320 pounds). That’s about the size of a large polar bear or Kodiak bear today. You wouldn’t want to meet one in a dark cave.

This would be the first time that we’ve met a cave bear in the flesh, as we’ve only known the species from the bones and tracks that we’ve found. 

Paleontologists state that they will investigate the carcass “using all modern scientific methods”.

More details about this over at Ars Technica.

(Image Credit: NEFU/ Ars Technica)

You might not believe it, but urine used to be very valuable in Ancient Rome. A lot of people became rich for collecting urine that the Roman government decided to tax them. It might sound absurd and exaggerated, but it was big business at that time.

When it comes to poop, on the other hand, people in the past, from China and Japan, specifically, also had a different way of dealing with them. Back then, they didn’t have toilet papers at their disposal. Instead, they had hygiene sticks.

Know more about how we dealt with our biohazardous wastes throughout history over at Cracked.com.

(Image Credit: Prichardson/ Wikimedia Commons)

When audio engineer Stéphane Pigeon was asked if he would create sounds which are usually heard in the office, his immediate answer was “No, no, no, I will not do it!” Pigeon was very confused by the question. He thought that “people don’t want to listen to those sounds.” He thought wrong.

But Pigeon continued to receive more requests. So when the pandemic hit, he eventually gave in and set to work. Since its release in March, there have been 250,000 streams of Calm Office, making it one of his most popular sounds on myNoise. Users can adjust the volume of certain sound effects and tones using a series of animated sliders. Pigeon is still bewildered that Calm Office’s clackety keys, fax machine whirrs, and distant strains of conversation have become as popular as they are.

After all, people who use sounds to help them concentrate have traditionally veered toward the natural or peaceful: rainstorms, Buddhist gongs, chirping birds. In recent years, “lo-fi chill” and other forms of “focus music” have become so popular that there are now multiple YouTube channels devoted to the genre.

Those channels, however, have traditionally been aimed at college students looking to zone out and hit their study flow without interruptions from their roommates. Quarantine created a need for background noise among white-collar workers, who were used to open office plans and traversing from cubicle to meeting room and back.

It seems that in our long time being stuck in the four corners of our homes, we’ve become officesick. 

What are your thoughts about this one?

(Image Credit: Pixabay)

Most appliances that we use today, such as light bulbs and air conditioning units, produce heat as they work. This heat, called waste heat, especially those produced in high-heat sources such as power plants and automobile sources, could, in theory, be turned into electricity. However...

These “low-grade” sources give off too little heat for current technology to do the conversion well.

Now, researchers have created a device that uses liquids to efficiently convert low-grade heat to electricity. The advance might one day power energy-scavenging devices that can light up sensors and lights and even charge batteries.

“This is a nice piece of work and a very clever idea,” says Ping Liu, a nanoengineer at the University of California, San Diego, who was not involved with the study.

Scientists have known for nearly 200 years that certain materials can convert heat to electricity, and are being explored for use in providing extra electricity for hybrid vehicles. This job is carried out by specialized semiconductors called thermoelectric materials that are fashioned into tiny devices the size of computer chips. When one side of a thermoelectric is hotter than the other, heat and electrons move from the hot to the cold side. Wiring multiple such chips together allows engineers to generate a steady electric current.

Head over at Science Magazine to know more details about this study.

(Image Credit: Pixabay)

Goombas are perhaps the easiest enemies that you can encounter in a Super Mario game. This goomba, however, stands out from his kind. Unlike the others, he has a body, and he wields a sword. It seems that he has been made to avenge his brethren who Mario and Luigi have stepped on. And with that kind of face, you know that he means business.

This custom-made figure [created by KodyKoala] features a Goomba decked out in armor and ready to do battle against any plumbers who dare to jump into the Mushroom Kingdom. He made the 6″ tall figure by cobbling together a bunch of different toys. I love the spiky turtle shells attached to his gauntlets. His green body almost looks like one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but the feet are wrong for that.

This isn’t the first time that KodyKoala has made a custom figure. KodyKoala has lots of custom-made figures and toys, and he sells them over at his Etsy shop. See his creations over at the site.

(Image Credit: KodyKoala/ Technabob)

It seems that astronomers have found some kind of gas in the atmosphere of our neighboring planet Venus. Apparently, this said gas could be a possible sign of life on the planet.

If the discovery holds up, and if no other explanations for the gas are found, then the hellish planet next door could be the first to yield signs of extraterrestrial life — though those are very big ifs.

“We’re not saying it’s life,” says astronomer Jane Greaves of Cardiff University in Wales. “We’re saying it’s a possible sign of life.”

[...]

Phosphine takes a fair amount of energy to create and is easily destroyed by sunlight or sulfuric acid, which is found in Venus’ atmosphere. So if the gas was produced a long time ago, it shouldn’t still be detectable. “There has to be a source,” Greaves says.

More details about this over at Science News.

What are your thoughts about this one?

(Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ Wikimedia Commons)

That’s what scientists found out in their detailed study of the skeletons of the hillstream loach fish family in Asia. This fish family includes Cryptotora thamicola, or the cave angel fish (which is also known as the waterfall climbing cave fish). Scientists also found out that 10 other species probably have the ability to walk as well.

By identifying which species of hillstream loaches can potentially go for a wander on terra firma (ignoring the breathing difficulties for a moment), the researchers hope to learn more about how the very first land-walking vertebrates might have made their way out of the water and onto land.

What makes these fish capable of walking? Find out over at Science Alert.

(Image Credit: Chulabush Khatancharoen/ Wikimedia Commons)

One of the oldest methods of preserving food is by drying. This method is still used to this day, and researchers from Queensland University of Technology are seeking to improve the method.

Published in journal PLOS ONE, researchers used QUT's supercomputing facilities to examine the micromechanical behaviour of plant tissues and how biological cells behave while dehydrated or dried.

Lead investigator Dr Charith Rathnayaka is a computational scientist from QUT's Faculty of Science and Engineering investigating the physics, mathematics, and biology of agricultural cell structures to improve food production.

"By developing the computational model, it is possible to estimate how the cells are being damaged when they are being processed for preservation, storage or packaging," Dr Rathnayaka said.

"This innovation has the potential to influence the future of food drying processes globally in terms of reducing cost, optimising food processing, energy conservation and increasing dried food shelf life."

More details about this over at EurekAlert.

(Image Credit: Jean-Louis Vandevivère/ Wikimedia Commons)

In order to encourage private companies to explore the lunar surface, NASA has taken a big step once again. This time, the agency is asking private companies to collect moon dirt, and it will pay them for doing so.

"The bottom line is, we're gonna buy some lunar soil for the purpose of demonstrating that it can be done," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said today (Sept. 10) during an online presentation at the Secure World Foundation's Summit for Space Sustainability.

The agency just issued a request for proposals (RFP) to this effect, Bridenstine explained in a blog post today. NASA wants private companies, from the United States or abroad, to snag 1.8 ounces to 18 ounces (50 to 500 grams) of lunar material by 2024 and officially transfer ownership of the stuff to the space agency on the lunar surface.

NASA will pay $15,000 to $25,000 for each of these caches, with 80% of the money delivered after sample collection. Companies will get 10% upon signing a contract and 10% after launching their spacecraft, Bridenstine added. 

It is for good reason that they are doing such a thing.

The use of lunar resources is critical to establishing a sustainable human presence on and around the moon, a goal NASA aims to achieve by the late 2020s via its Artemis program of crewed exploration. This lunar work will help the agency prepare for crewed trips to Mars in the 2030s, NASA officials have said.

Still, it is a lot of money.

What are your thoughts about this one?

(Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

In Panama, some 200 critically endangered golden frogs are living inside fish tanks at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). The reason they’re living inside a controlled environment is a superfungus that threatens to wipe them from the face of the earth. The said superfungus has driven some 30 species into extinction.

Believed extinct in the wild, only about 1,500 of the tiny Panamanian golden frogs are found in zoos where they can reproduce.

But the golden frogs are not the only ones threatened by the superfungus. Other amphibians, like the toads, salamanders, and caecilians, are threatened as well.

"In Panama, we can say that about a third of the 225 species of amphibians are threatened in some way," said STRI researcher Roberto Ibanez.

Gina Della Togna, a specialist in molecular and cellular biology at the University of Maryland, described the situation as "critical."

Learn more about this superfungus and how it affects amphibians over at PHYS.org.

(Image Credit: Brian Gratwicke/ Wikimedia Commons)

When these people decided to take a timed photo on their hike, they were not expecting that Mother Nature would join their photo op. Just as the phone snapped a photo of them, a leaf fell down in front of it, covering their faces.

Well, what do you think?

(Image Credit: u/ BringBowlCutBack/ Reddit)

Summer is coming to an end, and it is now time for the leaves to fall from the branches. And what a happy time this is for dogs, who love to play with the falling leaves. Their happiness can not be contained!

Check out the pictures over at Sad and Useless.

(Image Credit: Sad and Useless)