Curio Cabinet / Daily Curio
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FREESTEM Daily CurioFree1 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Still on the fence about whether climate change is a big problem? Climate scientists are predicting that beer prices will double in the near future because of global warming. A new study in Nature Plants reports that farmers are already adapting to the warming planet by breeding more drought-resistant grains. The scientists predict these efforts will prove profitable—because the aridest regions in the world are likely to suffer droughts so severe they will go multiple years without grain production. Hence, the farmers will have an economic incentive to sell their crops, like barley, as a food source to the drought-affected regions. The study predicts any grain produced in those arid regions will be fed to livestock long before it's made into beer. Climate change is also making certain barley-growing regions wetter, and their winters shorter. This causes the barley to sprout, making it useless for fermentation. Which already happened in 2014. The main U.S.-barley-growing states of Montana, North Dakota, and Idaho experienced an unusually warm and wet winter, destroying the entire barley crop. In 2017 and again in 2018, Pacific Northwest droughts caused hops production to plummet. Bad news for lovers of hoppy microbrews. If you believe the new report, all of this means beer prices are on their way to doubling in the next decade or so. Finally, something to get Joe Sixpack to pay attention to our climate crisis!
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Still on the fence about whether climate change is a big problem? Climate scientists are predicting that beer prices will double in the near future because of global warming. A new study in Nature Plants reports that farmers are already adapting to the warming planet by breeding more drought-resistant grains. The scientists predict these efforts will prove profitable—because the aridest regions in the world are likely to suffer droughts so severe they will go multiple years without grain production. Hence, the farmers will have an economic incentive to sell their crops, like barley, as a food source to the drought-affected regions. The study predicts any grain produced in those arid regions will be fed to livestock long before it's made into beer. Climate change is also making certain barley-growing regions wetter, and their winters shorter. This causes the barley to sprout, making it useless for fermentation. Which already happened in 2014. The main U.S.-barley-growing states of Montana, North Dakota, and Idaho experienced an unusually warm and wet winter, destroying the entire barley crop. In 2017 and again in 2018, Pacific Northwest droughts caused hops production to plummet. Bad news for lovers of hoppy microbrews. If you believe the new report, all of this means beer prices are on their way to doubling in the next decade or so. Finally, something to get Joe Sixpack to pay attention to our climate crisis!
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FREESTEM Daily Curio #1972Free1 CQ
It seems the world is inching closer and closer to dystopia. A facial-recognition startup called Clearview AI, started by Australian native Hoan Ton-That, has been scraping billions of photos from our social media accounts. It's compiled these photos into a massive database, which allows a user to plug in an image of a person and generate the identity and life details of said person. As of now, Clearview AI is predominantly used by over 600 law-enforcement agencies. The startup's technology helps them track down all sorts of criminals, be they shoplifters or murderers. Government databases have enabled police to do this for years, but now all privacy barriers have fallen. Clearview AI built this ominous, all-seeing database by breaking the privacy policies of several social media apps, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Venmo. It's accurate about 75 percent of the time, meaning many individuals it determines to be criminals are actually innocent. Investigations have also revealed that Clearview AI's code is designed to work with augmented reality tech. This kind of technology can superimpose onto virtual reality goggles, glasses, or headsets a computer-generated facsimile of the real world—in this case, the setting of someone's photo. This could allow a Clearview AI user, such as a stalker, to ascertain a person's identity and address. It would allow strangers to virtually step into your backyard. If that doesn't creep you out, I don't know what will.
Image credit & copyright: Reuters/Johanna Geron/Illustration
It seems the world is inching closer and closer to dystopia. A facial-recognition startup called Clearview AI, started by Australian native Hoan Ton-That, has been scraping billions of photos from our social media accounts. It's compiled these photos into a massive database, which allows a user to plug in an image of a person and generate the identity and life details of said person. As of now, Clearview AI is predominantly used by over 600 law-enforcement agencies. The startup's technology helps them track down all sorts of criminals, be they shoplifters or murderers. Government databases have enabled police to do this for years, but now all privacy barriers have fallen. Clearview AI built this ominous, all-seeing database by breaking the privacy policies of several social media apps, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Venmo. It's accurate about 75 percent of the time, meaning many individuals it determines to be criminals are actually innocent. Investigations have also revealed that Clearview AI's code is designed to work with augmented reality tech. This kind of technology can superimpose onto virtual reality goggles, glasses, or headsets a computer-generated facsimile of the real world—in this case, the setting of someone's photo. This could allow a Clearview AI user, such as a stalker, to ascertain a person's identity and address. It would allow strangers to virtually step into your backyard. If that doesn't creep you out, I don't know what will.
Image credit & copyright: Reuters/Johanna Geron/Illustration
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FREEMind + Body Daily Curio #1971Free1 CQ
The city of Bessemer, Michigan, has a problem—it stinks to high heaven. Fortunately for city officials, they recently purchased a long-range Nasal Ranger, or "smell-o-scope," as it's being called. To be clear, Bessemer officials know what's causing the local stench. Recreational marijuana was legalized in December 2018. But it's not exactly recreational users who are causing the overpowering smell. It's recreational growers of marijuana. According to Michigan stipulations, individuals over the age of 21 may grow up to 12 marijuana plants at home, sealed away from the public. The thing is, plenty of people are ignoring the law and planting large amounts in their backyards. So how does Bessemer clean up its odor problem? Enter the Nasal Ranger.
Manufactured by St. Croix Sensory, the Nasal Ranger is a field olfactometer that looks like a megaphone you hold to your nose. It employs a method called dilution to threshold. In other words, the Nasal Ranger inhales rancid air, traps it, and dilutes it with odorless, purified air. Once the smell is reduced in intensity, it's sent off to be inspected by a panel of professional smellers. Sounds silly, right? But the thing is, scientists don't understand how our olfactory receptors translate a smell and determine its pungency and quality. Machines can easily detect when airborne poisons reach dangerous levels, but they can't pinpoint noxious smells. Part of the problem is that olfactory perception is subjective, not unlike how people respond differently to a piece of music. Until we discover an accurate way for machines to quantify the intensity of odors, we're stuck using human panels to determine the funkiness of smells. That being said, Charles McGinley, the inventor of the Nasal Ranger, says cannabis is a "level 7" stench equivalent to "sniffing someone's armpit without the deodorant." To the officials of Bessemer—good luck discerning marijuana fumes from your populace's pits!
Image credit & copyright: St. Croix Sensory
The city of Bessemer, Michigan, has a problem—it stinks to high heaven. Fortunately for city officials, they recently purchased a long-range Nasal Ranger, or "smell-o-scope," as it's being called. To be clear, Bessemer officials know what's causing the local stench. Recreational marijuana was legalized in December 2018. But it's not exactly recreational users who are causing the overpowering smell. It's recreational growers of marijuana. According to Michigan stipulations, individuals over the age of 21 may grow up to 12 marijuana plants at home, sealed away from the public. The thing is, plenty of people are ignoring the law and planting large amounts in their backyards. So how does Bessemer clean up its odor problem? Enter the Nasal Ranger.
Manufactured by St. Croix Sensory, the Nasal Ranger is a field olfactometer that looks like a megaphone you hold to your nose. It employs a method called dilution to threshold. In other words, the Nasal Ranger inhales rancid air, traps it, and dilutes it with odorless, purified air. Once the smell is reduced in intensity, it's sent off to be inspected by a panel of professional smellers. Sounds silly, right? But the thing is, scientists don't understand how our olfactory receptors translate a smell and determine its pungency and quality. Machines can easily detect when airborne poisons reach dangerous levels, but they can't pinpoint noxious smells. Part of the problem is that olfactory perception is subjective, not unlike how people respond differently to a piece of music. Until we discover an accurate way for machines to quantify the intensity of odors, we're stuck using human panels to determine the funkiness of smells. That being said, Charles McGinley, the inventor of the Nasal Ranger, says cannabis is a "level 7" stench equivalent to "sniffing someone's armpit without the deodorant." To the officials of Bessemer—good luck discerning marijuana fumes from your populace's pits!
Image credit & copyright: St. Croix Sensory
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FREEWorld History Daily Curio #1970Free1 CQ
For ages now, anthropologists believed Amazonian warriors were a myth concocted by the ancient Greeks. But a slew of recent discoveries has stacked up evidence that the female warriors not only existed, but were numerous. As a refresher, Amazons were given mythic status in ancient Greek stories. They were reputed to live in a lesbian matriarchy and excel in combat. Along with carrying spears, they allegedly cut off one of their breasts to better fire their bows. The Amazons were also said to have allied with Troy against the Greeks during the Trojan War. The Greek accounts place the Amazonian society in southwestern Russia. This is why a recent archaeological discovery in the western Russian village of Devitsa is so exciting. There, a 2,500-year-old tomb housing four women was excavated. The intombed women, ranging in age from 12-50, were decked out in horseback riding gear and weapons traditionally associated with the Amazons. The oldest woman was buried in a horseback stance and crowned with a basket-shaped headdress called a calathos, which is 65-70 percent gold. This is important because archaeologists confirmed these women were Scythians. Scythians were an ancient nomadic people who lived along the Eurasian Steppe. Most Scythian jewelry is only 30 percent gold. Which means the oldest woman in the tomb was highly regarded. Nearly one-third of Scythian women were buried with weapons, according to recent findings. What makes this particular discovery so special is that the tomb contained multiple generations of women in armor with weapons. This means Scythian society was truly egalitarian in regard to the sexes. Scythian girls were trained alongside boys in combat and horse riding because everyone needed to contribute to survive on the harsh steppes. All the fanciful rumors of a maleless lesbian society that self-mutilated come from the patriarchical Greeks. It's likely that female Scythian warriors both disturbed and fascinated Greek men, who were accustomed to servile Athenian women. Hmm... something tells me the Greeks were insecure about their masculinity (or smitten) when they met Scythian women on the battlefield!
For ages now, anthropologists believed Amazonian warriors were a myth concocted by the ancient Greeks. But a slew of recent discoveries has stacked up evidence that the female warriors not only existed, but were numerous. As a refresher, Amazons were given mythic status in ancient Greek stories. They were reputed to live in a lesbian matriarchy and excel in combat. Along with carrying spears, they allegedly cut off one of their breasts to better fire their bows. The Amazons were also said to have allied with Troy against the Greeks during the Trojan War. The Greek accounts place the Amazonian society in southwestern Russia. This is why a recent archaeological discovery in the western Russian village of Devitsa is so exciting. There, a 2,500-year-old tomb housing four women was excavated. The intombed women, ranging in age from 12-50, were decked out in horseback riding gear and weapons traditionally associated with the Amazons. The oldest woman was buried in a horseback stance and crowned with a basket-shaped headdress called a calathos, which is 65-70 percent gold. This is important because archaeologists confirmed these women were Scythians. Scythians were an ancient nomadic people who lived along the Eurasian Steppe. Most Scythian jewelry is only 30 percent gold. Which means the oldest woman in the tomb was highly regarded. Nearly one-third of Scythian women were buried with weapons, according to recent findings. What makes this particular discovery so special is that the tomb contained multiple generations of women in armor with weapons. This means Scythian society was truly egalitarian in regard to the sexes. Scythian girls were trained alongside boys in combat and horse riding because everyone needed to contribute to survive on the harsh steppes. All the fanciful rumors of a maleless lesbian society that self-mutilated come from the patriarchical Greeks. It's likely that female Scythian warriors both disturbed and fascinated Greek men, who were accustomed to servile Athenian women. Hmm... something tells me the Greeks were insecure about their masculinity (or smitten) when they met Scythian women on the battlefield!
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FREEBiology Daily Curio #1969Free1 CQ
Any middle-aged woman will tell you menopause isn't fun. What nobody knows for sure, though, is why women experience it. Fortunately, a new study published in the journal Current Biology is shedding some light on the subject. The team of researchers, led by University of Exeter behavioral ecologist Darren Croft, sought out answers by conducting a long-term analysis of killer whales in the Pacific Northwest. Killer whales are just one of three species, including humans, who experience menopause. Both humans and killer whales can live up to 100 years, so the fact they experience menopause in their 40s and 50s is a real head-scratcher. For all the female sapiens cursing their luck, there at least appears to be an evolutionary upside. In Curio #1703, we learned about the grandmother hypothesis, which posits that older females pass on crucial survival knowledge and facilitate births among their daughters. But according to Croft's findings, this hypothesis doesn't explain why elderly females would cease reproduction. Elephant mothers, for instance, both shepherd their young and breed their entire lives. Further challenging the grandmother hypothesis is a crucial statistic from Croft's study: older whale mothers' offspring are 1.7 times more likely to perish than their daughters' children. While it's possible older whale mothers are overgenerous and share too much of their food and resources with their daughters' calves, it's just as likely that older mothers simply can't compete with younger mothers in their prime. This possible outcome concurs with another recent study, which found that older whale mothers continue to share fish with their sons, even as the males grow into full-fledged adults. They likely do this to help their sons sire as many children as possible. It's worth noting that killer whales are matrilineal. In other words, females mate with males from other groups but stay with their sons, daughters, and daughters' offspring for life. At a certain point, midway through a cow's life, it behooves her to focus on her sons' genetic successes, while her sturdier daughters take over birthing. This explains why some mothers spoil their sons!
Image credit & copyright: Mark Malleson/Center for Whale Research/AP
Any middle-aged woman will tell you menopause isn't fun. What nobody knows for sure, though, is why women experience it. Fortunately, a new study published in the journal Current Biology is shedding some light on the subject. The team of researchers, led by University of Exeter behavioral ecologist Darren Croft, sought out answers by conducting a long-term analysis of killer whales in the Pacific Northwest. Killer whales are just one of three species, including humans, who experience menopause. Both humans and killer whales can live up to 100 years, so the fact they experience menopause in their 40s and 50s is a real head-scratcher. For all the female sapiens cursing their luck, there at least appears to be an evolutionary upside. In Curio #1703, we learned about the grandmother hypothesis, which posits that older females pass on crucial survival knowledge and facilitate births among their daughters. But according to Croft's findings, this hypothesis doesn't explain why elderly females would cease reproduction. Elephant mothers, for instance, both shepherd their young and breed their entire lives. Further challenging the grandmother hypothesis is a crucial statistic from Croft's study: older whale mothers' offspring are 1.7 times more likely to perish than their daughters' children. While it's possible older whale mothers are overgenerous and share too much of their food and resources with their daughters' calves, it's just as likely that older mothers simply can't compete with younger mothers in their prime. This possible outcome concurs with another recent study, which found that older whale mothers continue to share fish with their sons, even as the males grow into full-fledged adults. They likely do this to help their sons sire as many children as possible. It's worth noting that killer whales are matrilineal. In other words, females mate with males from other groups but stay with their sons, daughters, and daughters' offspring for life. At a certain point, midway through a cow's life, it behooves her to focus on her sons' genetic successes, while her sturdier daughters take over birthing. This explains why some mothers spoil their sons!
Image credit & copyright: Mark Malleson/Center for Whale Research/AP
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FREEHumanities Daily CurioFree1 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Happy May Day! The United States has a long history of refusing to honor the significance of May 1st as a day for workers. As we learned in Curio #1140, on May 1st, 1884, workers in Chicago organized a nationwide strike of luxury Pullman train cars. At the time, labor movements around the world were battling for fair labor practices like the 8-hour workday and the right to unionize. After President Grover Cleveland called in the military to break up the Pullman strike—resulting in mass violence and mayhem in Chicago—he hastily arranged for a bill to be passed declaring Labor Day as a September holiday. He hoped it would distract from the violence he had just caused in Chicago, and quell those calling for May 1st to become an annual day to air workers' grievances. It didn't work. Two years later on May 1st, 1886, workers across the US coordinated strikes for the 8-hour workday. In the ensuing days, one such labor demonstration at Chicago's Haymarket Square turned deadly. A bomb was thrown at police officers, killing one. In the resulting riot, seven more officers and four protesters were killed. Dozens were wounded.
Labor movements around the world took notice of the events in Chicago. In 1889, the Second International socialist organization declared May 1 as International Workers' Day—in honor of the Haymarket Square affair. By 1904, the date was being used to organize "trade unions of all countries to demonstrate energetically." Today it is an especially important holiday in Communist countries like China, North Korea and Cuba. Celebrations in those places feature massive nation-wide parades, often including shows of military power. But here in the US we'll be wrapping ribbons around tall poles and buying mattresses on sale. Consumers of the world, unite!It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Happy May Day! The United States has a long history of refusing to honor the significance of May 1st as a day for workers. As we learned in Curio #1140, on May 1st, 1884, workers in Chicago organized a nationwide strike of luxury Pullman train cars. At the time, labor movements around the world were battling for fair labor practices like the 8-hour workday and the right to unionize. After President Grover Cleveland called in the military to break up the Pullman strike—resulting in mass violence and mayhem in Chicago—he hastily arranged for a bill to be passed declaring Labor Day as a September holiday. He hoped it would distract from the violence he had just caused in Chicago, and quell those calling for May 1st to become an annual day to air workers' grievances. It didn't work. Two years later on May 1st, 1886, workers across the US coordinated strikes for the 8-hour workday. In the ensuing days, one such labor demonstration at Chicago's Haymarket Square turned deadly. A bomb was thrown at police officers, killing one. In the resulting riot, seven more officers and four protesters were killed. Dozens were wounded.
Labor movements around the world took notice of the events in Chicago. In 1889, the Second International socialist organization declared May 1 as International Workers' Day—in honor of the Haymarket Square affair. By 1904, the date was being used to organize "trade unions of all countries to demonstrate energetically." Today it is an especially important holiday in Communist countries like China, North Korea and Cuba. Celebrations in those places feature massive nation-wide parades, often including shows of military power. But here in the US we'll be wrapping ribbons around tall poles and buying mattresses on sale. Consumers of the world, unite! -
FREEBiology Daily Curio #1968Free1 CQ
Tickets for 3D movies always cost more at the box office. But it turns out they come free in the lab—if you're a mollusk. Last week, a team of scientists at the University of Minnesota published a paper in which they fit 3D glasses on cuttlefish and tantalized them with an aquatic movie. It all sounds silly, but there was a legitimate goal in mind. The scientists were interested in understanding the depth perception of cuttlefish, which have 360-degree vision because their eyes are capable of independent movement. Cuttlefish see in such a strange way that researchers figured the animals don't use stereopsis—the method by which differently-placed humans eyes estimate the distance of an object. Still, cuttlefish are adept at estimating the distance of prey and pouncing with deadly precision.
To figure out whether cuttlefish use stereopsis, the scientists had to find a way to get cuttlefish to wear 3D glasses. This was unsurprisingly difficult. First, they tried supergluing the shades to the cuttlefish's skin. But the experiment's four stubborn mollusks—Supersandy, Long Arms, Inky, and Sylvester Stallone—kept playing with them using their eight arms. This risked skin damage. The team overcame the threat by gluing corresponding velcro strips to the fish and their glasses. Once the cuttlefish were decked out, the scientists played them a 3D movie on a wall in their tank. The flick consisted of shrimp, the cuttlefish's favorite snack, rollicking about. The researchers were amazed when the cuttlefish were able to triangulate the shrimp, no matter how varied the visuals were in apparent depth. Which means cuttlefish definitely use stereopsis. Only, it seems their neural circuitry is different from ours and gives them the ability to process 360-degree vision. In recent years, scientists have been performing these kinds of vision tests on animals to create varieties of machine vision suited for different tasks. One example of these animals is the praying mantis (shown below in all its posh glory). Goofy fashion, animal well-being, and fruitful takeaways? These are my kind of experiments.
Below: a photo of a praying mantis wearing similar glasses in a separate experiment.
Image credit & copyright: R. Feord/P Gonzalez-Bellido/Wardill Lab
Tickets for 3D movies always cost more at the box office. But it turns out they come free in the lab—if you're a mollusk. Last week, a team of scientists at the University of Minnesota published a paper in which they fit 3D glasses on cuttlefish and tantalized them with an aquatic movie. It all sounds silly, but there was a legitimate goal in mind. The scientists were interested in understanding the depth perception of cuttlefish, which have 360-degree vision because their eyes are capable of independent movement. Cuttlefish see in such a strange way that researchers figured the animals don't use stereopsis—the method by which differently-placed humans eyes estimate the distance of an object. Still, cuttlefish are adept at estimating the distance of prey and pouncing with deadly precision.
To figure out whether cuttlefish use stereopsis, the scientists had to find a way to get cuttlefish to wear 3D glasses. This was unsurprisingly difficult. First, they tried supergluing the shades to the cuttlefish's skin. But the experiment's four stubborn mollusks—Supersandy, Long Arms, Inky, and Sylvester Stallone—kept playing with them using their eight arms. This risked skin damage. The team overcame the threat by gluing corresponding velcro strips to the fish and their glasses. Once the cuttlefish were decked out, the scientists played them a 3D movie on a wall in their tank. The flick consisted of shrimp, the cuttlefish's favorite snack, rollicking about. The researchers were amazed when the cuttlefish were able to triangulate the shrimp, no matter how varied the visuals were in apparent depth. Which means cuttlefish definitely use stereopsis. Only, it seems their neural circuitry is different from ours and gives them the ability to process 360-degree vision. In recent years, scientists have been performing these kinds of vision tests on animals to create varieties of machine vision suited for different tasks. One example of these animals is the praying mantis (shown below in all its posh glory). Goofy fashion, animal well-being, and fruitful takeaways? These are my kind of experiments.
Below: a photo of a praying mantis wearing similar glasses in a separate experiment.
Image credit & copyright: R. Feord/P Gonzalez-Bellido/Wardill Lab
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FREEMind + Body Daily Curio #1967Free1 CQ
Everyone keeps talking about how robots are stealing people's jobs. While that's the case in factories, it doesn't apply to the restaurant and food services industry. At least not in the San Francisco Bay Area, anyway. Over the last few years, some of the locale's most popular automated restaurants have gone out of business. There was Eatsa, which dispensed food from futuristic blue cubbies. It ended up thousands of dollars in debt. Then there was CafeX, which features terminals that dispense coffee. CafeX still exists, but now only at two Bay Area airport locations. Another one was Zume, which was famous for delivering robotically-constructed pizzas in disco-lit car trunks and mopeds. The company called it quits on pizza just last week. I could go on and on. So what's ailing these automated businesses? If you answered "the lack of human service," there's a strong possibility you're right. Some automated restaurants in the Bay Area, like Creator, still feature robust human presence. Robots slap together the burgers, but real humans greet you, take your order, and fulfill other tasks. Maybe it's no surprise then that Creator is going strong. Sure, the restaurant biz is notoriously tough. But many food critics have consistently rated automated restaurants with at least minimal human contact better than their fully-automated counterparts. I'm sorry robots, but can we get the check? Oh, that's right. I have to ask for it with the tablet!
Image credit & copyright: Zume Pizza
Everyone keeps talking about how robots are stealing people's jobs. While that's the case in factories, it doesn't apply to the restaurant and food services industry. At least not in the San Francisco Bay Area, anyway. Over the last few years, some of the locale's most popular automated restaurants have gone out of business. There was Eatsa, which dispensed food from futuristic blue cubbies. It ended up thousands of dollars in debt. Then there was CafeX, which features terminals that dispense coffee. CafeX still exists, but now only at two Bay Area airport locations. Another one was Zume, which was famous for delivering robotically-constructed pizzas in disco-lit car trunks and mopeds. The company called it quits on pizza just last week. I could go on and on. So what's ailing these automated businesses? If you answered "the lack of human service," there's a strong possibility you're right. Some automated restaurants in the Bay Area, like Creator, still feature robust human presence. Robots slap together the burgers, but real humans greet you, take your order, and fulfill other tasks. Maybe it's no surprise then that Creator is going strong. Sure, the restaurant biz is notoriously tough. But many food critics have consistently rated automated restaurants with at least minimal human contact better than their fully-automated counterparts. I'm sorry robots, but can we get the check? Oh, that's right. I have to ask for it with the tablet!
Image credit & copyright: Zume Pizza
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FREEBiology Daily Curio #1966Free1 CQ
We've already learned that scientists can alter DNA to affect lifeforms. Now, they've found a seemingly simpler way to do the trick. Scientists from Tufts University and the University of Vermont have created what's being called the "first living robots." It's as spooky as it sounds. These robots-lifeforms, dubbed "xenobots," were created from the skin and heart cells of African clawed frogs. An evolutionary algorithm first generated thousands of prospective configurations for the frog cells, each to perform simple tasks. One configuration had tiny legs to swim around, and another a pouch to carry payloads. The scientists then cherry-picked their favorite designs and surgically created them. They call their miniature Frankensteins a "new form of life," something between life and machine. Whatever your opinion of these beings is, they certainly hold promise. They could help us reveal the secrets of cellular life by forming biological structures to study, like replicas of cancer, or replace slow-degrading, pollutive polymers like plastics. They could also be more efficient than conventional machines because they can heal themselves. In regards to medicine, they could also scrape clogged arteries clean or deliver medicines. Or they could be used as biological weapons. That or have many unforeseen consequences on the environment or ourselves. It is worth noting that life is far more chaotic, unstable, and unpredictable than mechanical mediums. Maybe I'm just being pessimistic, but I think a robust ethical and moral framework needs to be produced before we delve further into xeno-robotics. At the very least, their status as "lifeforms" needs to be philosophically and legally analyzed. The bright side, for now, is that these new lifeforms lack the neural tissue needed to produce thoughts or comprehend pain. Hopefully, they stay this way. The only thing scarier than a robot uprising is a microscopic xenobot uprising!
Image credit & copyright: Douglas Blackiston
We've already learned that scientists can alter DNA to affect lifeforms. Now, they've found a seemingly simpler way to do the trick. Scientists from Tufts University and the University of Vermont have created what's being called the "first living robots." It's as spooky as it sounds. These robots-lifeforms, dubbed "xenobots," were created from the skin and heart cells of African clawed frogs. An evolutionary algorithm first generated thousands of prospective configurations for the frog cells, each to perform simple tasks. One configuration had tiny legs to swim around, and another a pouch to carry payloads. The scientists then cherry-picked their favorite designs and surgically created them. They call their miniature Frankensteins a "new form of life," something between life and machine. Whatever your opinion of these beings is, they certainly hold promise. They could help us reveal the secrets of cellular life by forming biological structures to study, like replicas of cancer, or replace slow-degrading, pollutive polymers like plastics. They could also be more efficient than conventional machines because they can heal themselves. In regards to medicine, they could also scrape clogged arteries clean or deliver medicines. Or they could be used as biological weapons. That or have many unforeseen consequences on the environment or ourselves. It is worth noting that life is far more chaotic, unstable, and unpredictable than mechanical mediums. Maybe I'm just being pessimistic, but I think a robust ethical and moral framework needs to be produced before we delve further into xeno-robotics. At the very least, their status as "lifeforms" needs to be philosophically and legally analyzed. The bright side, for now, is that these new lifeforms lack the neural tissue needed to produce thoughts or comprehend pain. Hopefully, they stay this way. The only thing scarier than a robot uprising is a microscopic xenobot uprising!
Image credit & copyright: Douglas Blackiston
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FREEHumanities Daily Curio #1965Free1 CQ
They're universally recognizable, with their furrowed brows and (literally) chiseled chins. Many think they were built by aliens. I'm talking, of course, about moai. There are around 1,000 of these formidable monoliths located on Easter Island, and up until now, their purpose has remained a mystery. In fact, the entire Easter Island civilization has baffled anthropologists for centuries. To the indigenous population, both they and the island are called Rapa Nui. The Rapa Nui people are believed to have settled the site around 1200. In spite of Rapa Nui, the island, only being 63 square miles, the local population swelled to tens of thousands and produced rongo rongo, the only documented Polynesian writing system. But by the time Europeans discovered Rapa Nui in the 1700s, the island's population had plummeted to just 3,000. Rapa Nui was barren by then, and European scientists believed the surplus of locals had exhausted its meager resources. The Europeans were also captivated by the moai, which they correctly theorized to symbolize prosperity. Just recently, this was proven geologically.
In a recent study led by UCLA archaeologist Joanne Van Tilburg, scientists tested the soil around the quarry where the Rapa Nui gathered moai rock. The quarry, called Rano Raraku, is situated at the island's center. Supplies from its bed are estimated to account for 95 percent of the moai. So why did the Rapa Nui drag rock down from the center of the island to its shores? According to Tilburg, the soil at Rano Raraku is remarkably fertile. Her survey of the quarry hints that bananas and sweet potatoes once flourished in the area, making the soil and rock abundant in clay, as well as phosphorus and calcium. As Rapa Nui miners excavated rock from Rano Raraku and hauled it to the coasts, they fertilized much of the island. This is likely why the moai became associated with prosperity: their very creation sustained Rapa Nui's delicate ecology. Unfortunately, the uncontrolled growth of Rapa Nui's population eventually outpaced the moai fertilizing effect. Even today, however, the moai still bring prosperity to Rapa Nui—only in the form of tourism revenue from 150,000 annual visitors. If that number doesn't keep the moai's chins up, I don't know what will.
Image credit & copyright: Alamy
They're universally recognizable, with their furrowed brows and (literally) chiseled chins. Many think they were built by aliens. I'm talking, of course, about moai. There are around 1,000 of these formidable monoliths located on Easter Island, and up until now, their purpose has remained a mystery. In fact, the entire Easter Island civilization has baffled anthropologists for centuries. To the indigenous population, both they and the island are called Rapa Nui. The Rapa Nui people are believed to have settled the site around 1200. In spite of Rapa Nui, the island, only being 63 square miles, the local population swelled to tens of thousands and produced rongo rongo, the only documented Polynesian writing system. But by the time Europeans discovered Rapa Nui in the 1700s, the island's population had plummeted to just 3,000. Rapa Nui was barren by then, and European scientists believed the surplus of locals had exhausted its meager resources. The Europeans were also captivated by the moai, which they correctly theorized to symbolize prosperity. Just recently, this was proven geologically.
In a recent study led by UCLA archaeologist Joanne Van Tilburg, scientists tested the soil around the quarry where the Rapa Nui gathered moai rock. The quarry, called Rano Raraku, is situated at the island's center. Supplies from its bed are estimated to account for 95 percent of the moai. So why did the Rapa Nui drag rock down from the center of the island to its shores? According to Tilburg, the soil at Rano Raraku is remarkably fertile. Her survey of the quarry hints that bananas and sweet potatoes once flourished in the area, making the soil and rock abundant in clay, as well as phosphorus and calcium. As Rapa Nui miners excavated rock from Rano Raraku and hauled it to the coasts, they fertilized much of the island. This is likely why the moai became associated with prosperity: their very creation sustained Rapa Nui's delicate ecology. Unfortunately, the uncontrolled growth of Rapa Nui's population eventually outpaced the moai fertilizing effect. Even today, however, the moai still bring prosperity to Rapa Nui—only in the form of tourism revenue from 150,000 annual visitors. If that number doesn't keep the moai's chins up, I don't know what will.
Image credit & copyright: Alamy
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FREESTEM Daily CurioFree1 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Bling alert. Geoscientists from UNLV have found a kind of ice known as ice-VII for the first time on our planet. It was discovered inside the crystalline structure of diamonds. Their discovery, published this month in the journal Science, was entirely by accident. The scientists were scanning diamonds with high-intensity x-rays looking for carbon dioxide molecules. But instead, they found water molecules where the oxygen atoms were arranged in an odd pattern. Normal ice, called ice-I, has oxygen atoms arranged in hegaxons—but these were arranged in cubes. The scientists knew that ice, unlike most solids, has very low compressibility. That is, when it is under extreme pressure, the molecules don't just scooch closer together. Instead, they form new patterns. Put ice-I under intense pressure and it forms ice-II, which has rhombohedral structures. A little more pressure and it forms ice-III, then IV, then V, then VI and eventually VII, all with different structures. While scientists believe these phases of ice are abundant on ice moons like Europa, on Earth they have only been created in labs. That's because the only natural place where the pressure is great enough to form them is 400 miles or deeper inside the Earth's mantle, where it is way too hot for ice. But diamonds are also formed there, and they seem to have used a trick called inclusion to pull off the impossible. As diamonds are made from highly-pressurized molten carbon, they often include small pieces of their surrounding environment. The study's authors say this can sometimes include bubbles of pressurized steam. Once the diamonds form and move towards the Earth's surface, the water cools. But because the internal molecular structure of diamonds maintains the pressure from its formation, the water turns into ice crystals. Ice crystals that are sometimes under so much pressure they become ice-VII. So if you own any diamond bling, your "ice" might actually contain some ice-VII.
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Bling alert. Geoscientists from UNLV have found a kind of ice known as ice-VII for the first time on our planet. It was discovered inside the crystalline structure of diamonds. Their discovery, published this month in the journal Science, was entirely by accident. The scientists were scanning diamonds with high-intensity x-rays looking for carbon dioxide molecules. But instead, they found water molecules where the oxygen atoms were arranged in an odd pattern. Normal ice, called ice-I, has oxygen atoms arranged in hegaxons—but these were arranged in cubes. The scientists knew that ice, unlike most solids, has very low compressibility. That is, when it is under extreme pressure, the molecules don't just scooch closer together. Instead, they form new patterns. Put ice-I under intense pressure and it forms ice-II, which has rhombohedral structures. A little more pressure and it forms ice-III, then IV, then V, then VI and eventually VII, all with different structures. While scientists believe these phases of ice are abundant on ice moons like Europa, on Earth they have only been created in labs. That's because the only natural place where the pressure is great enough to form them is 400 miles or deeper inside the Earth's mantle, where it is way too hot for ice. But diamonds are also formed there, and they seem to have used a trick called inclusion to pull off the impossible. As diamonds are made from highly-pressurized molten carbon, they often include small pieces of their surrounding environment. The study's authors say this can sometimes include bubbles of pressurized steam. Once the diamonds form and move towards the Earth's surface, the water cools. But because the internal molecular structure of diamonds maintains the pressure from its formation, the water turns into ice crystals. Ice crystals that are sometimes under so much pressure they become ice-VII. So if you own any diamond bling, your "ice" might actually contain some ice-VII.
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FREECars + Motorcycles Daily Curio #1964Free1 CQ
They're everywhere—littering sidewalks, weaving through traffic, and burning red lights. They're also deathtraps. I'm talking, of course, about electric scooters. Over the last few years, e-scooters have swept the streets of American cities, and more and more people are getting hurt on them. Between 2014-2018, the number of e-scooter related injuries soared by 222 percent, or up to 39,000 injuries. The rate of hospital trips also jumped up 365 percent, to around 3,300. From 2017-2018 alone, the annual number of injuries tripled from 8,016 to 14,651. A third of these patients experienced head trauma. Which shouldn't be surprising, considering so few e-scooter motorists wear helmets. One study from last year found that just five percent wear protective headgear. Other common injuries include contusions and abrasions (23 percent) and lacerations (14 percent). Findings like these, which continue to pour forth, have researchers calling for better safety features for both private and rental e-scooters. Whether that includes rental helmets and pads, or proof of your own safety gear to rent remains to be seen. A simple alternative is banning e-scooters, which France, Singapore, and the United Kingdom have already done to varying degrees. In the meantime, be safe piloting these things. They're fun, sure, but you'll never catch me riding one out in frenzied Californian traffic!
Image credit & copyright: Martin-DM/E+/Getty Images Plus
They're everywhere—littering sidewalks, weaving through traffic, and burning red lights. They're also deathtraps. I'm talking, of course, about electric scooters. Over the last few years, e-scooters have swept the streets of American cities, and more and more people are getting hurt on them. Between 2014-2018, the number of e-scooter related injuries soared by 222 percent, or up to 39,000 injuries. The rate of hospital trips also jumped up 365 percent, to around 3,300. From 2017-2018 alone, the annual number of injuries tripled from 8,016 to 14,651. A third of these patients experienced head trauma. Which shouldn't be surprising, considering so few e-scooter motorists wear helmets. One study from last year found that just five percent wear protective headgear. Other common injuries include contusions and abrasions (23 percent) and lacerations (14 percent). Findings like these, which continue to pour forth, have researchers calling for better safety features for both private and rental e-scooters. Whether that includes rental helmets and pads, or proof of your own safety gear to rent remains to be seen. A simple alternative is banning e-scooters, which France, Singapore, and the United Kingdom have already done to varying degrees. In the meantime, be safe piloting these things. They're fun, sure, but you'll never catch me riding one out in frenzied Californian traffic!
Image credit & copyright: Martin-DM/E+/Getty Images Plus
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FREEMusic Theory Daily Curio #1963Free1 CQ
When it comes to music, everyone gets into the groove. But how does certain music affect us, and does it affect us all similarly? These were some of the questions researchers at Duke University had when they recently analyzed how 2,800 U.S. and Chinese test subjects reacted to music. To be exact, each study participant listened to several of over 2,100 instrumental samples. These samples, each just a few seconds long, included some classics. Everything from the "Star-Spangled Banner" to Queen and Lizzo were featured, as well as some traditional Chinese music. In the first phase of the experiment, test subjects were tasked with rating 40 music samples on their emotional impact. To do so, the subjects were given 28 different categories of emotion and positivity-negativity scorecards to attribute to each snippet. Around 1,000 individuals from both China and the U.S. took part in the first phase. Their responses validated just 13 of the 28 prospective categories of emotion. Some surviving categories include "dreamy," "annoying," and "anxious/tense." The Clash's hit Rock the Casbah riled people up, fitting it in the "energizing/pump-up" group. Israel (Iz) Kamakawiwoʻole's frolicsome Somewhere over the Rainbow was unsurprisingly "joyful/cheerful." Although both American and Chinese audiences overlapped in how they ascribed emotions to songs, they differed in whether they viewed those emotions, by song, as positive or negative. This likely stems from cultural differences, like China's collectivism and the U.S.'s individualism. The experiment's second phase, largely a replica of the first, validated the final 13 emotional categories. Interested in seeing how your favorite music scores emotion-wise? Locate it on the researchers' interactive audio map. Just be careful not to spend too much time exploring the "scary/fearful" section!
Image credit & copyright: Helge Øverås
When it comes to music, everyone gets into the groove. But how does certain music affect us, and does it affect us all similarly? These were some of the questions researchers at Duke University had when they recently analyzed how 2,800 U.S. and Chinese test subjects reacted to music. To be exact, each study participant listened to several of over 2,100 instrumental samples. These samples, each just a few seconds long, included some classics. Everything from the "Star-Spangled Banner" to Queen and Lizzo were featured, as well as some traditional Chinese music. In the first phase of the experiment, test subjects were tasked with rating 40 music samples on their emotional impact. To do so, the subjects were given 28 different categories of emotion and positivity-negativity scorecards to attribute to each snippet. Around 1,000 individuals from both China and the U.S. took part in the first phase. Their responses validated just 13 of the 28 prospective categories of emotion. Some surviving categories include "dreamy," "annoying," and "anxious/tense." The Clash's hit Rock the Casbah riled people up, fitting it in the "energizing/pump-up" group. Israel (Iz) Kamakawiwoʻole's frolicsome Somewhere over the Rainbow was unsurprisingly "joyful/cheerful." Although both American and Chinese audiences overlapped in how they ascribed emotions to songs, they differed in whether they viewed those emotions, by song, as positive or negative. This likely stems from cultural differences, like China's collectivism and the U.S.'s individualism. The experiment's second phase, largely a replica of the first, validated the final 13 emotional categories. Interested in seeing how your favorite music scores emotion-wise? Locate it on the researchers' interactive audio map. Just be careful not to spend too much time exploring the "scary/fearful" section!
Image credit & copyright: Helge Øverås
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FREEMind + Body Daily Curio #1962Free1 CQ
Tumbleweeds: they usually bring to mind swinging saloon doors and dueling cowboys. But on New Year's Eve last week, it looked like the spherical plants were part of a disaster movie. Near Richland, Washington, on a tract of State Route 240 roughly three football fields in length, a horde of tumbleweeds was responsible for a 10-hour traffic jam. Motorists looked on in terror as the jagged spheres hurtled around in winds of 40-50 miles per hour. Exacerbating the situation was the fact that this stretch of 240 was wide open and flat. In just 30 minutes, drivers and their vehicles were "completely encased." Any attempt to abandon a car and flee on foot would have been deadly; the maelstrom of tumbleweeds was whipping about so violently it shredded paint off vehicles. The heaps of tumbleweeds reached as tall as 20 feet high in some places. Snowplows were called in to fight back the horde. It took rescue crews around 10 hours to excavate motorists from the bristly pile-up. Even when the drivers and their cars were safe, it wasn't as if authorities and rescue personnel could torch the tumbleweeds or hurl them into woodchippers. The first option risked wildfires, and the latter further airborne debris. Responders had to remove the tumbleweeds the old fashioned way: with their hands and some industrial gloves, to protect their skin from pricking. So how did tumbleweeds become this formidable? Surprisingly—despite their strong associations with early Americana—tumbleweeds originated from Russia around 1870 C.E. There, in the Motherland, varieties of the plant are known as Russian Thistle. It's likely they arrived in America from East Eurasia. And they didn't need much help. A single tumbleweed carries as much as 250,000 seeds, and scatters them as it somersaults across open environments, like plains or steppes. Stories of ranchers fleeing their farms in the wake of tumbleweed invasions were once common. Despite our best attempts to rid ourselves of the pests, they still endure from the coasts of California to New York. Sorry, but it doesn't look like we're driving these spiny rascals out of town any time soon. Rollin', rollin', rollin'—rawhide!
Image credit & copyright: Chris Thorson
Tumbleweeds: they usually bring to mind swinging saloon doors and dueling cowboys. But on New Year's Eve last week, it looked like the spherical plants were part of a disaster movie. Near Richland, Washington, on a tract of State Route 240 roughly three football fields in length, a horde of tumbleweeds was responsible for a 10-hour traffic jam. Motorists looked on in terror as the jagged spheres hurtled around in winds of 40-50 miles per hour. Exacerbating the situation was the fact that this stretch of 240 was wide open and flat. In just 30 minutes, drivers and their vehicles were "completely encased." Any attempt to abandon a car and flee on foot would have been deadly; the maelstrom of tumbleweeds was whipping about so violently it shredded paint off vehicles. The heaps of tumbleweeds reached as tall as 20 feet high in some places. Snowplows were called in to fight back the horde. It took rescue crews around 10 hours to excavate motorists from the bristly pile-up. Even when the drivers and their cars were safe, it wasn't as if authorities and rescue personnel could torch the tumbleweeds or hurl them into woodchippers. The first option risked wildfires, and the latter further airborne debris. Responders had to remove the tumbleweeds the old fashioned way: with their hands and some industrial gloves, to protect their skin from pricking. So how did tumbleweeds become this formidable? Surprisingly—despite their strong associations with early Americana—tumbleweeds originated from Russia around 1870 C.E. There, in the Motherland, varieties of the plant are known as Russian Thistle. It's likely they arrived in America from East Eurasia. And they didn't need much help. A single tumbleweed carries as much as 250,000 seeds, and scatters them as it somersaults across open environments, like plains or steppes. Stories of ranchers fleeing their farms in the wake of tumbleweed invasions were once common. Despite our best attempts to rid ourselves of the pests, they still endure from the coasts of California to New York. Sorry, but it doesn't look like we're driving these spiny rascals out of town any time soon. Rollin', rollin', rollin'—rawhide!
Image credit & copyright: Chris Thorson
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FREESTEM Daily Curio #1961Free1 CQ
What's the hottest, or um, coolest toy on the market? If you answered Legos, you'd be correct. Scientists from England's Lancaster University recently cooled everyone's favorite building blocks to 1.6 millidegrees above absolute zero, or minus 459.67 Fahrenheit. That's roughly 200,000 times colder than room temperature! If that number doesn't stop you cold, the next fact will: that's also at least 1,000 times more frigid than the reaches of deep space. In the experiment, Lancaster's Ultra-Low Temperature Group employed one of their dilution refrigerators. Designed at Lancaster University since the '60s, these tubular cryogenic chambers sustain cold temperatures near absolute zero, thanks to a liquid nitrogen bath and liquid helium. This helps calm the atoms in materials so scientists can analyze the subtleties of quantum mechanics and better develop tech like quantum computers. But back to the Legos. The team of scientists placed a Lego explorer and a handful of bricks into the dilution refrigerator and subjected them to four millikelvin. Surprisingly, all the Lego pieces survived virtually unscathed, even the "cryonaut" figurine. It turns out Legos are remarkable insulators at low temperatures. And considering a 2x2 Lego brick can withstand up to 950 pounds of pressure, scientists are now very interested in using ABS plastic, the key ingredient in Legos, to build new lines of dilution refrigerators. Check out the well-edited video below for more details. Next time you catch your toddler mashing and thrashing their toys, stop and consider the possibilities. Maybe they're on the brink of a new ground-breaking scientific discovery!
Below: a video from Hamster Productions documenting the recent experiment.
Image credit & copyright: Lancaster University / Hamster Productions
What's the hottest, or um, coolest toy on the market? If you answered Legos, you'd be correct. Scientists from England's Lancaster University recently cooled everyone's favorite building blocks to 1.6 millidegrees above absolute zero, or minus 459.67 Fahrenheit. That's roughly 200,000 times colder than room temperature! If that number doesn't stop you cold, the next fact will: that's also at least 1,000 times more frigid than the reaches of deep space. In the experiment, Lancaster's Ultra-Low Temperature Group employed one of their dilution refrigerators. Designed at Lancaster University since the '60s, these tubular cryogenic chambers sustain cold temperatures near absolute zero, thanks to a liquid nitrogen bath and liquid helium. This helps calm the atoms in materials so scientists can analyze the subtleties of quantum mechanics and better develop tech like quantum computers. But back to the Legos. The team of scientists placed a Lego explorer and a handful of bricks into the dilution refrigerator and subjected them to four millikelvin. Surprisingly, all the Lego pieces survived virtually unscathed, even the "cryonaut" figurine. It turns out Legos are remarkable insulators at low temperatures. And considering a 2x2 Lego brick can withstand up to 950 pounds of pressure, scientists are now very interested in using ABS plastic, the key ingredient in Legos, to build new lines of dilution refrigerators. Check out the well-edited video below for more details. Next time you catch your toddler mashing and thrashing their toys, stop and consider the possibilities. Maybe they're on the brink of a new ground-breaking scientific discovery!
Below: a video from Hamster Productions documenting the recent experiment.
Image credit & copyright: Lancaster University / Hamster Productions
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FREEWork Daily CurioFree1 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Do you like to nap at work? Then move to Japan! The practice is so common there, it has its own word: inemuri. Literally, “sleeping while present.” Workers from all occupations partake in the doze-fest. It’s not unheard of to see fully-suited businessmen and women catching shut-eye at their desks or in meetings. What, are Japanese workers not getting enough rest? The National Sleep Foundation conducted a global study in 2013 which found the Japanese sleep the least: 6 hours and 21 minutes on average per night. And while you might be forgiven for thinking that inemuri makes up for the nation’s sleep debt, it isn’t really sleeping in the common sense. One specialist in Japanese studies likens inemuri to a kind of daydreaming. The proper decorum of inemuri mandates fitting in with one’s environment—especially in body posture and dress code. If you want to get in a full-blown power nap, you’d best trek over to a “nap cafe.” Yes, they have those in Japan also.
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Do you like to nap at work? Then move to Japan! The practice is so common there, it has its own word: inemuri. Literally, “sleeping while present.” Workers from all occupations partake in the doze-fest. It’s not unheard of to see fully-suited businessmen and women catching shut-eye at their desks or in meetings. What, are Japanese workers not getting enough rest? The National Sleep Foundation conducted a global study in 2013 which found the Japanese sleep the least: 6 hours and 21 minutes on average per night. And while you might be forgiven for thinking that inemuri makes up for the nation’s sleep debt, it isn’t really sleeping in the common sense. One specialist in Japanese studies likens inemuri to a kind of daydreaming. The proper decorum of inemuri mandates fitting in with one’s environment—especially in body posture and dress code. If you want to get in a full-blown power nap, you’d best trek over to a “nap cafe.” Yes, they have those in Japan also.
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FREEBiology Daily Curio #1960Free1 CQ
If you think that's a flower, think again. Shown above is crinoid, or sea lily, a spindly creature made of calcite plates that's related to starfish. For nearly two centuries, the evolutionary history of the sea lily was a mystery—until now. The story begins with Tom Guensburg, who worked as a geologist for Getty Oil in the '80s. He was a casual paleontologist in his spare time, until he noticed a section of Utah's Great Basin had all the makings of a fossil-studded jackpot. He dialed up a former advisor of his at the University of Illinois, paleontologist Daniel Blake. The basin became a frequent stop of theirs, where they collected sea lily specimens. Guensburg came to learn more and more about these animals by looking at their fossils and through his own reading. Sea lilies are in the taxonomic family of echinoderms, which include starfish, sand dollars, sea cucumbers, and urchins. They arose hundreds of millions of years before the first dinosaurs. Since 1846, scientists have figured that echinoderms evolved from now-extinct invertebrates called cystoids, which also resembled gangly stalks with arms. But in a recent paper by Guensburg, he shows that's not the case. He has discovered a remarkable 480-million-year-old sea lily fossil that contains skeletal plates in its arms, unlike its modern counterparts. Which means the species has lost bone structure over millennia, rather than developed more of it to transcend supposed cystoid ancestors. These strange internal bones, combined with sea lilies' complex digestive tracts and nervous systems, point to them having more in common with vertebrates like us than invertebrates like cystoids. Still, it's no coincidence that sea lilies resemble extinct cystoids. Both bottom-feeders developed to look similar not because they were related, but because they had the same evolutionary strategy: sitting in place as they trap plankton in their arms. If anything, the rise of sea lilies coincides with the fall of cystoids. Their success likely involved out-performing cystoids. It's another reminder that looks can be deceiving in evolutionary study. What's that saying? Never judge a creature by its cover, but by its fossils?
Image credit & copyright: NOAA Ocean Exploration & Research/CC By 2.0
If you think that's a flower, think again. Shown above is crinoid, or sea lily, a spindly creature made of calcite plates that's related to starfish. For nearly two centuries, the evolutionary history of the sea lily was a mystery—until now. The story begins with Tom Guensburg, who worked as a geologist for Getty Oil in the '80s. He was a casual paleontologist in his spare time, until he noticed a section of Utah's Great Basin had all the makings of a fossil-studded jackpot. He dialed up a former advisor of his at the University of Illinois, paleontologist Daniel Blake. The basin became a frequent stop of theirs, where they collected sea lily specimens. Guensburg came to learn more and more about these animals by looking at their fossils and through his own reading. Sea lilies are in the taxonomic family of echinoderms, which include starfish, sand dollars, sea cucumbers, and urchins. They arose hundreds of millions of years before the first dinosaurs. Since 1846, scientists have figured that echinoderms evolved from now-extinct invertebrates called cystoids, which also resembled gangly stalks with arms. But in a recent paper by Guensburg, he shows that's not the case. He has discovered a remarkable 480-million-year-old sea lily fossil that contains skeletal plates in its arms, unlike its modern counterparts. Which means the species has lost bone structure over millennia, rather than developed more of it to transcend supposed cystoid ancestors. These strange internal bones, combined with sea lilies' complex digestive tracts and nervous systems, point to them having more in common with vertebrates like us than invertebrates like cystoids. Still, it's no coincidence that sea lilies resemble extinct cystoids. Both bottom-feeders developed to look similar not because they were related, but because they had the same evolutionary strategy: sitting in place as they trap plankton in their arms. If anything, the rise of sea lilies coincides with the fall of cystoids. Their success likely involved out-performing cystoids. It's another reminder that looks can be deceiving in evolutionary study. What's that saying? Never judge a creature by its cover, but by its fossils?
Image credit & copyright: NOAA Ocean Exploration & Research/CC By 2.0
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FREEHumanities Daily Curio #1959Free1 CQ
The Chinese Communist Revolution might have failed without lessons learned from its predecessor, the Taiping Rebellion. The latter lasted from 1850-1864 C.E., and was started by Messianic prophet Hong Xiuquan. Born on today's date in 1814, near Hong Kong, Hong lived as a peasant during the Qing Dynasty. Young Hong wanted nothing more than to become a Confucian scholar, but failed his imperial examinations. Unable to afford a retry, he was forced to return home, to toil on his family's farm. He subsequently fell into a deep depression. Then a vision came: that of a bearded man telling Hong to eradicate Earth's demons. Meanwhile, as he was caught up this epiphany, the British won the First Opium War against China. Western culture and drug trafficking flooded China's ports soon after. This brought a Bible into the hands of Hong, who started believing the Christain God was the man from his vision. Proclaiming himself the brother of Jesus Christ, he gave syncretic Christian sermons to the poor masses. And they were well-received. China was then riding two centuries of economic growth which contributed to an unsustainable population boom. This, coupled with the British-imposed opium crisis, had led to societal destitution. But the Qing upper class was only getting richer. Against this backdrop, Hong easily amassed an army of over 100,000 destitute men and captured the city of Nanjing from the Qing army. Nanjing became the capital of Hong's new "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom." From his throne, Hong instituted societal reform. Vices, classism, and various non-Christian lifestyles were banned. The state would own all land and distribute it equally. This got the attention of European colonial powers. Britain and others offered military advisors and weaponry to the Qing, in hopes of keeping China corrupt, disorganized, and submissive to abuse. Total war broke loose, killing around 30 million people. Hong eventually grew sick and died, and the Taiping were defeated. To ensure Hong's total erasure, Qing leaders cremated him, mixed his ashes with gunpowder, and fired his remains from a cannon. Roughly 60 years later, Communist revolutionaries would take pointers from Hong's revolution. Unlike him, Mao and other Communist leaders carefully and methodically dealt with their wealthier enemies. Today, China still deals with plenty of riots led by common folk. Roughly 100,000 substantial riots a year. This, coupled with the ghost of the Taiping Revolution, is why the Chinese government strictly regulates its internet usage. Never underestimate the power of the common people!
The Chinese Communist Revolution might have failed without lessons learned from its predecessor, the Taiping Rebellion. The latter lasted from 1850-1864 C.E., and was started by Messianic prophet Hong Xiuquan. Born on today's date in 1814, near Hong Kong, Hong lived as a peasant during the Qing Dynasty. Young Hong wanted nothing more than to become a Confucian scholar, but failed his imperial examinations. Unable to afford a retry, he was forced to return home, to toil on his family's farm. He subsequently fell into a deep depression. Then a vision came: that of a bearded man telling Hong to eradicate Earth's demons. Meanwhile, as he was caught up this epiphany, the British won the First Opium War against China. Western culture and drug trafficking flooded China's ports soon after. This brought a Bible into the hands of Hong, who started believing the Christain God was the man from his vision. Proclaiming himself the brother of Jesus Christ, he gave syncretic Christian sermons to the poor masses. And they were well-received. China was then riding two centuries of economic growth which contributed to an unsustainable population boom. This, coupled with the British-imposed opium crisis, had led to societal destitution. But the Qing upper class was only getting richer. Against this backdrop, Hong easily amassed an army of over 100,000 destitute men and captured the city of Nanjing from the Qing army. Nanjing became the capital of Hong's new "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom." From his throne, Hong instituted societal reform. Vices, classism, and various non-Christian lifestyles were banned. The state would own all land and distribute it equally. This got the attention of European colonial powers. Britain and others offered military advisors and weaponry to the Qing, in hopes of keeping China corrupt, disorganized, and submissive to abuse. Total war broke loose, killing around 30 million people. Hong eventually grew sick and died, and the Taiping were defeated. To ensure Hong's total erasure, Qing leaders cremated him, mixed his ashes with gunpowder, and fired his remains from a cannon. Roughly 60 years later, Communist revolutionaries would take pointers from Hong's revolution. Unlike him, Mao and other Communist leaders carefully and methodically dealt with their wealthier enemies. Today, China still deals with plenty of riots led by common folk. Roughly 100,000 substantial riots a year. This, coupled with the ghost of the Taiping Revolution, is why the Chinese government strictly regulates its internet usage. Never underestimate the power of the common people!
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FREEHumanities Daily CurioFree1 CQ
Welcome to our Top 15 of 2019 countdown! As the year comes to an end, we're looking back at this year's most loved Curios across all categories. Enjoy the walk down memory lane in your entire Curio Cabinet.
"Even a hunter cannot kill a bird that flies to him for refuge." This Samurai adage inspired one of the great unknown heroes of the 20th Century: Chiune Sugihara. He was a Japanese diplomat sent to Lithuania in 1939 to run the consulate there. Soon after, his office was flooded with Jews fleeing Nazi-occupied Poland. Thousands of Jewish refugees huddled outside his office. They were desperate for travel visas to any country not in Hitler's path. Sugihara cabled the Japanese embassy repeatedly asking for permission to issue visas to all refugees. He received the answer in no uncertain terms: "absolutely not [...] stop no exceptions stop no further inquiries expected stop." But Sugihara could not ignore the desperate plight of so many people. After talking it over with his wife and children, he decided to go rogue. He began handwriting visas and stamping them with his government-issued seal. His office issued more visas in a day than were normally granted in a month. Years later, refusing to accept any credit for his actions, Sugihara said it was what any decent person would have done and was no more than a lot of "handwriting work." His wife massaged his hands every night. When Japan closed down the embassy in 1940, Sugihara took his stationery and stamp with him and continued issuing visas. In total, Sugihara issued over 6,000 visas for immigrants to travel through Japan to other destinations around the world. In many cases entire families traveled on a single visa. Historians estimate over 40,000 people are alive today solely because of the Sugiharas.
Born on the first day of the last century, Mr. Sugihara would have been 119 years old today. Is it too much to hope that his act of opening his heart instead of closing his doors might inspire our current leaders to do the same? That's my new year's wish for 2019!Welcome to our Top 15 of 2019 countdown! As the year comes to an end, we're looking back at this year's most loved Curios across all categories. Enjoy the walk down memory lane in your entire Curio Cabinet.
"Even a hunter cannot kill a bird that flies to him for refuge." This Samurai adage inspired one of the great unknown heroes of the 20th Century: Chiune Sugihara. He was a Japanese diplomat sent to Lithuania in 1939 to run the consulate there. Soon after, his office was flooded with Jews fleeing Nazi-occupied Poland. Thousands of Jewish refugees huddled outside his office. They were desperate for travel visas to any country not in Hitler's path. Sugihara cabled the Japanese embassy repeatedly asking for permission to issue visas to all refugees. He received the answer in no uncertain terms: "absolutely not [...] stop no exceptions stop no further inquiries expected stop." But Sugihara could not ignore the desperate plight of so many people. After talking it over with his wife and children, he decided to go rogue. He began handwriting visas and stamping them with his government-issued seal. His office issued more visas in a day than were normally granted in a month. Years later, refusing to accept any credit for his actions, Sugihara said it was what any decent person would have done and was no more than a lot of "handwriting work." His wife massaged his hands every night. When Japan closed down the embassy in 1940, Sugihara took his stationery and stamp with him and continued issuing visas. In total, Sugihara issued over 6,000 visas for immigrants to travel through Japan to other destinations around the world. In many cases entire families traveled on a single visa. Historians estimate over 40,000 people are alive today solely because of the Sugiharas.
Born on the first day of the last century, Mr. Sugihara would have been 119 years old today. Is it too much to hope that his act of opening his heart instead of closing his doors might inspire our current leaders to do the same? That's my new year's wish for 2019! -
FREEMind + Body Daily CurioFree1 CQ
Welcome to our Top 15 of 2019 countdown! As the year comes to an end, we're looking back at this year's most loved Curios across all categories. Enjoy the walk down memory lane in your entire Curio Cabinet.
Last week, the East African country of Ethiopia took a huge step in the fight against climate change. Volunteers across the nation planted over 350 million trees in 12 hours. The monumental effort was part of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's "Green Legacy Initiative," which aims to counteract environmental damage inflicted on Ethiopia's wildlife since the beginning of the 20th century. At that time, roughly 30 percent of the country was forested. Today, trees cover less than four percent. The mass planting spree wasn't just to preserve Ethiopia's natural beauty, though. Local farmers have been struggling with land degradation and desertification over the last few decades due to overfarming. Reforestation has been shown to reverse these trends, and also help farmers diversify their crops and attain better living conditions. To this end, Ahmed beseeched his citizens to take part in a mass planting spree, and they answered his call. And they're just getting started. Between the months of May and October, Ethiopia plans to re-green its environment with four billion indigenous trees. Other African countries, such as Nigeria, have also pledged to engage in reforesting efforts as members of the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative. The ecological cooperative seeks to restore 386,000 square miles of Africa's land by 2030. Here's hoping the rest of the world follows Ethiopia lead on this one!
Image credit & copyright: Aron Simeneh
Welcome to our Top 15 of 2019 countdown! As the year comes to an end, we're looking back at this year's most loved Curios across all categories. Enjoy the walk down memory lane in your entire Curio Cabinet.
Last week, the East African country of Ethiopia took a huge step in the fight against climate change. Volunteers across the nation planted over 350 million trees in 12 hours. The monumental effort was part of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's "Green Legacy Initiative," which aims to counteract environmental damage inflicted on Ethiopia's wildlife since the beginning of the 20th century. At that time, roughly 30 percent of the country was forested. Today, trees cover less than four percent. The mass planting spree wasn't just to preserve Ethiopia's natural beauty, though. Local farmers have been struggling with land degradation and desertification over the last few decades due to overfarming. Reforestation has been shown to reverse these trends, and also help farmers diversify their crops and attain better living conditions. To this end, Ahmed beseeched his citizens to take part in a mass planting spree, and they answered his call. And they're just getting started. Between the months of May and October, Ethiopia plans to re-green its environment with four billion indigenous trees. Other African countries, such as Nigeria, have also pledged to engage in reforesting efforts as members of the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative. The ecological cooperative seeks to restore 386,000 square miles of Africa's land by 2030. Here's hoping the rest of the world follows Ethiopia lead on this one!
Image credit & copyright: Aron Simeneh