New England, U.S. — Chipmunks were welcomed with plenty of acorns last fall. In fact, there were so many that the rodents couldn’t stash them all for the winter, which meant that, according to small mammal biologist Shevenell Webb, there were still many acorns on the ground waiting for them in the spring. So the chipmunks had lots of food in the spring while they got busy breeding. And when this summer came, these cute creatures became a nuisance to people in the region, “darting to and fro, digging holes in gardens, and tunneling under lawns.”

...They can destroy lawns and gardens with their burrowing, and can even get into homes, Webb said.

“We can’t grow a tulip without them digging it up,” Steven Parren, wildlife program diversity manager for the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, said of the chipmunks in his yard. “They don’t even pause.”

People needn’t get too alarmed over an overpopulation. Small mammal populations tend to explode, then crash and burn.

Such is life near the bottom of the food chain, where food supply ebbs and flows and chipmunks are easy prey for owls, hawks, snakes, foxes and raccoons. Even if their lives aren’t cut short, individual chipmunks tend to live only for three years, Webb said.

(Image Credit: Richardfabi/ AndiW/ Wikimedia Commons)

Beetles are one of the strongest animals in our planet, with some beetle species capable of lifting objects that are over 1,100 times heavier than their body weight (which is comparable to an average human being lifting a 70-ton object!). This makes beetles a promising asset to scientists, as it can wear a camera backpack with ease, and that’s just what the scientists did: they put cameras on two different types of beetles, and both survived in the end. But what were these cameras for?

Find out over at Cosmos Magazine.

(Image Credit: Iyer et al., Sci. Robot. 5, eabb0839/ Cosmos)

Researchers from Caltech have developed a machine-learning algorithm which allows drone swarms to navigate in tight spaces without bumping or hitting into each other. This algorithm, called Global-to-Local Safe Autonomy Synthesis (GLAS) could be useful in fancy drone light shows, as well as vital operations, such as search and rescue operations.

Instead of relying on existing maps or the routes of every other drone in the swarm, GLAS has each machine learning how to navigate a given space on its own even as it coordinates with others. This decentralized model both helps the drones improvise and makes scaling the swarm easier, as the computing is spread across many robots.

An additional tracking controller, Neural-Swarm, helps the drones compensate for aerodynamic interactions, such as the downwash from a robot flying overhead.

Wow!

(Image Credit: Aerospace Robotics and Control at Caltech/ YouTube)

Bees and other insect pollinators such as moths and butterflies are important to our environment because of their major role in plant reproduction. Unfortunately, many of these insects are now endangered because of many factors such as climate change, pathogens, and pesticides. But they don’t have to go extinct, and we can help in our own little ways to prevent that from happening.

Discover Magazine lists six citizen science projects that you can join to help protect these pollinators. See them all over at the site. For now, here are some of them.

• Spot-A-Bee Project
• Bumble Bee Watch

(Image Credit: PollyDot/ Pixabay)

That’s right. Computers aren’t really random. What you get from Google’s random number generator (RNG) is not pure randomness. 

Computers aren’t supposed to generate randomness. The reason for this is software and hardware, both of which run on Boolean logic, and not probability, and this makes deterministic, and not random, outcomes. However, some computer systems have tricks up their sleeves in order to “use and manipulate randomness.” In other words, there may be ways with which we can make deterministic machines generate randomness.

One of the most recent efforts comes from Mansinghka’s group at MIT, which will present an algorithm called Fast Loaded Dice Roller, or FLDR, at the online International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Statistics this August.

More details about this over at Quanta Magazine.

(Image Credit: Pixabay)

It is known that the brain is the central command of the body. It is the part of the body responsible for controlling every move that we make, and the one responsible for processing the thoughts that we have. But just as the other parts of the body depend on the brain, the brain also depends on the body. The connection goes both ways.

If certain internal receptors indicate hunger, for instance, we’re driven to eat; if they indicate cold, we dress more warmly.

However, decades of research have also shown that those sensations do much more than alert the brain to the body’s immediate concerns and needs. As the heart, lungs, gut and other organs transmit information to the brain, they affect how we perceive and interact with our environment in surprisingly profound ways. Recent studies of the heart in particular have given scientists new insights into the role that the body’s most basic processes play in defining our experience of the world.

More about this over at Nautilus.

(Image Credit: Patrick J. Lynch, medical illustrator/ Wikimedia Commons)

For many, prairie dogs are pests that are to be driven away. But for scientists, these creatures are worthy of praise and recognition. With their tiny paws, they shape the landscape in which they live.

Prairie dogs are not big and charismatic like bison, grizzly bears or pandas, but they are just as important and perhaps even more controversial. The cause for their controversy is the same reason that they are so important: these burrowing rodents make a unique and significant impact on the prairie landscape.

Prairie dogs live in huge colonies composed of countless small family groups, called coteries. They are prolific diggers, constructing complex burrow systems with specific areas for sleeping, nursing young, storing food and even disposing of their dead. A single colony’s burrow system can cover thousands of acres, with an average of about 20 prairie dogs per acre in the summer after the young emerge. That’s why these burrow systems are sometimes called prairie dog towns.

And these burrow systems not only house prairie dogs, but also other animals such as black-footed ferrets (which eat prairie dogs), and animals that can’t dig on their own such as rabbits, salamanders, and rattlesnakes.

Know more details about these little creatures and the reason why they’re essential to the environment over at Smithsonian Magazine.

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If you want to always get a cat’s attention, whenever and wherever you are, then consider learning the German language, and the cat is sure to stop in its tracks and have its attention on you, just like what this guy did.

Just kidding! What he just said wasn’t really German. It was just gibberish. But hey, it still works, so why not try it?

(Image Credit: Nennieinszweidrei/ Pixabay)

(Video Credit: g.catt.eng via Surya Pratama/ YouTube)

In 2018, astronomers were alerted by a strange phenomenon detected by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Super-Novae (ASSASN). A supermassive black hole, which belonged in the class called Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), shone 40 times brighter than usual. When they were alerted by the ASSASN, the astronomers quickly pointed their telescopes toward the AGN. Here, things got really mind-boggling.

While observing the AGN in X-ray, optical and ultraviolet light, scientists watched in surprise as the light faded, its brightness dropping by a factor of 10,000 until it was no longer detectable at all. Scientists have never seen a burnout that drastic happen so quickly.

[...]

But that wasn’t the end. Within a few months the light had been rekindled, firing back up almost to its original luminosity, which has also never been seen before.

[...]

“This seems to be the first time we’ve ever seen a corona first of all disappear, but then also rebuild itself, and we’re watching this in real-time,” says Kara. “This will be really important to understanding how a black hole’s corona is heated and powered in the first place.”

While the team may have some speculations on the event, they still couldn’t explain the phenomenon fully, which makes this all the more mysterious.

This just goes to show how much we still don’t know about our universe.

(Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ New Atlas)

There was a time in France where windmills stood proud in the city of Paris. These windmills would grind up the grain from the Americas and turn it into fine flour — an essential recipe for making bread, which, at that time, was the staple food for the poor French families.

During period of abundance, the average wage earner in France spent as much as two-third of his income on bread alone. During shortages, prices could double, dramatically straining the finances of poor French families. As such, grain merchants were often detested and viewed with suspicion. They were accused of adulteration and hoarding grain to artificially raise the price of this vital commodity.

Some say that there were over 300 windmills that stood up in the city. These structures probably had lots of stories to tell, but unfortunately, most of them can no longer be seen in the present day, but there are a few that still stand.

Learn more about these windmills over at Amusing Planet.

(Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Starcraft II. Chess. Go. These are just some of the games that got taken over by AI. Professional gamers and players have been mercilessly beaten by a machine in these games. But there’s still a game that the AI hasn’t mastered yet, and that game could be considered as the most human game of all games in the face of the earth: poker.

While it is true that AI has advanced over the years and is capable of beating professional players in poker, the AI still has lots of room for improvement.

…there’s still much it can’t do: play more opponents, play live, or win every time.

Aside from these things, the AI should also factor in the facial expressions of a player, and then try to identify if he is bluffing or not… and, unfortunately, the AI is not great at doing these things. At least, not yet.

To summarize, “there’s more humanity in poker than [AI] has yet conquered”.

Know more about the story over at Undark.

What are your thoughts about this one?

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You won’t have to switch on a video conferencing platform, as Facebook Messenger adds a new feature that many probably are waiting for: the ability to screen share within the app.

Right now, you can share your screen (or pictures from your camera roll, or your Instagram feed, or whatever you’d like) with up to eight people in group chats or up to 16 people in Messenger Rooms. However, Facebook says it’s working on expanding the feature for up to 50 people in Rooms. The update is available on both Android and iOS.

To share your screen, first make sure you have the latest version of Messenger installed. Then, during a call, swipe up from the bottom of your screen to reveal the call options. Then just click “share your screen,” “start sharing,” and then “start broadcast” (presumably Facebook is giving you that many warnings so you don’t start sharing anything by mistake). After that you can navigate as you like on your phone, or return to the call to stop the broadcast.

It also seems that Facebook has the advantage here, as of many video chat services such as Skype and Zoom, Messenger works with the least issues on iOS and Android devices.

What are your thoughts about this one?

(Image Credit: The Verge)

Don’t we just love and adore cats so much that we decide to buy them gifts to make them feel more comfortable at home? Unfortunately, they don’t use our gifts that much, and oftentimes they don’t use them at all.

At the end of the day, they are the ones who lord over the house, and we’re merely their servants.

Check out these pictures of cats using something better than your gifts over at Sad and Useless.

Has your cat ever slept on its cat bed?

(Image Credit: Sad And Useless)

Have you ever seen your cat blink slowly at you after staring at it for a long time? If you did, then your cat probably feels safe and comfortable with you.

While animal experts can’t say conclusively, the slow blink is probably a good thing. Speaking with Inverse, Mikel Delgado, a cat researcher at the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, says cats often express negative emotions by avoiding eye contact. If they’re afraid or feel threatened, they won’t stare. If they’re focused on something without blinking, chances are they’re feeling aggressive. Therefore, one way cats can hold eye contact without signaling you’re about to be attacked is to blink.

[...]

While it may not exactly be an expression of love, it is likely a sign of contentment. If a cat is feeling comfortable around a human, closing its eyes is an indication it doesn’t need to monitor you as a possible threat.

It is also advised to blink while staring at your cat’s eyes, as staring at the cat without blinking could be perceived as a threat by the feline.

Good to know!

(Image Credit: Chikilino/ Pixabay)

Drug abuse is a major problem around the world. Organizations and governments try their best to solve this problem, and free a portion of their respective population from suffering under substance use disorder. One of the ways that they do this is by creating rehabilitation programs. But it doesn’t mean that a person who has undergone rehab is already out of the woods, as he could experience drug relapse. But maybe with this new method, we could finally make things easier for the former drug user.

"The most difficult part of treating addiction is to prevent relapse, especially for opioids," explains Xiaoke Chen, an associate professor at Stanford University's School of Humanities and Sciences and lead for a new study."To prevent relapse, we really need to deal with the withdrawal."

According to Chen, both the reward of the high and the alleviation of agonizing withdrawal symptoms can serve as memory cues that trigger the drug cravings that lead to relapse. Because of this, he and his team have taken a look at drug addiction as a memory problem.

The method, which had been tested among mice, involves erasing drug-associated memories. This method proved to be promising on mice who became dependent on morphine.

More details about this over at Big Think.

What are your thoughts about this one?

(Image Credit: Robina Weermeijer/ Unsplash)