Sinwar: The More Civilian Deaths in Gaza, the Better

The Hunter Biden Verdict is In

A team doing follow-up investigations into seven potential candidates for Dyson spheres has found that they have likely been misidentified.Dyson spheres are hypothetical alien megastructures built around (or partially around) stars in order to harness their energy. Finding one would be unlikely (sorry to break it to you, but we have found zero aliens to date) but we do have a few possible ways to search for them.Though we are not yet capable of beginning construction on such a megastructure (unless we're willing to sacrifice Mercury), we can take a look at the signatures that would be observed when looking at a star surrounded or partially surrounded by such a project.      Astronomers are looking for two things: variable luminosity as the structure passes in front of the star from our perspective, and an excess of infrared light caused by heat waste that could be emitted by a megastructure. This gets complicated, as dust can occlude stars and make them (briefly) look like megastructures, and stars with extreme debris fields can cause an excess of infrared light.However, both recent papers focused on looking for excess infrared radiation that could be worth a second glance, with one paper identifying seven candidates for further investigation, and another finding 53.One paper focused on searching for partial Dyson spheres – megastructures that do not entirely surround the star – and looked at a catalog of around 320,000 stars, identifying "seven sources displaying mid-infrared flux excess of uncertain origin". Surprisingly, these candidates appeared to be M-dwarf stars in their main sequence, or stars smaller in mass than our Sun that are in the main stable period of their lifespan. Stars of this age would not be expected to have extreme debris disks."M-dwarf debris disks are very rare objects, and up to date, only a reduced number has been confirmed," the team explains, adding that proposed explanations for this lack of debris disks include detection and age biases, or different processes taking place around these smaller stars."However, the temperature and the fractional infrared luminosity [...] of our candidates are different from those of typical debris disks, which tend to be cold (10 - 100 K) and to have low fractional luminosities [...] These high fractional luminosities [...] is a feature more compatible with young disks compared to those of ordinary debris disks [...], but the lack of variability seems to be inconsistent with the young-star scenario," the team writes, adding that there are several natural explanations for excess infrared, though none of them could clearly explain what is going on with these candidates, given that they are M-dwarfs."Are our candidates’ strange young stars whose flux does not vary with time? Are these stars M-dwarf debris disks with an extreme fractional luminosity? Or something completely different?" they question.Unfortunately, another team has taken a look at those seven candidates and suggests that they are likely the result of nearby DOGs and hot DOGs."We propose that DOGs [dust obscured galaxies] lying close to the line-of-sight of these M-dwarf stars significantly contribute to the measured WISE [Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer telescope] mid-IR flux densities in the WISE W3 and W4 wavebands," the team explains in their paper. "These three stars have therefore been misidentified as DS candidates. We also note that with an areal sky density of 9 × 10−6 per square arcsecond, Hot DOGs can probably account for the contamination of all 7 DS candidates drawn from an original sample of 5 million stars."While disappointing, the search is still worthwhile. Even if we do not find any megastructures, we could find other unusual star systems, and learn about extreme debris disks, potentially caused by collisions between rocky planets.The first study is published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the second is published in Research Notices of the American Astronomical Society.

Around 2,400 meters (7,874 feet) below the Jinping Mountains in China’s Sichuan Province, the world’s deepest laboratory is quietly unraveling the mysteries of the universe. The China Jinping Underground Laboratory (CJUL) became fully operational in December 2023, swiping the title of the “world’s deepest lab” from another dark matter lab called SNOLAB, located around 2,000 meters (6,562 feet) below the surface of Ontario, Canada.Along with being the world's deepest, CJUL is also the world’s largest underground laboratory with a total area of 330,000 cubic meters (11.7 million cubic feet).It serves as a hub where multiple research projects and universities carry out several different experiments, all of which aim to answer one question: what the hell is dark matter?Dark matter does not emit, absorb, or reflect light, nor any other forms of electromagnetic radiation, making it "invisible" and tricky to detect. We know it exists, however, because we can see the gravitational effect it seems to have on visible matter. Somewhere between 1 to 10 percent of the universe is made of familiar “normal” atomic matter, while the rest is made up of dark energy and dark matter.One of the best approaches to sniff out this mysterious stuff is to head underground. Dark matter laboratories are typically located below the Earth to shield them from cosmic rays and other background radiation that bombard the surface. These high-energy particles can interfere with the sensitive detectors used to search for dark matter interactions, creating false signals that muddy the waters.               Going underground doesn’t totally erase this problem, though. Radon is a radioactive gas that is constantly seeping out of surrounding rocks and can be a major source of interference in deep underground experiments. As such, the surface of the CJPL is coated with a thick layer of special materials that blocks out 99 percent of the radon gas.Deep within the CJUL, sheltered by kilometers of rock, the cosmic ray rate is under 0.2 muons/m2/day, making it the best-shielded underground laboratory in the world. This ideal setting provides the potential to gather some of the sharpest insights into dark matter yet. The US has a similar facility called the Sanford Underground Research Facility, located 1,478 meters (4,850 feet) beneath the Black Hills of South Dakota. Scientists are still yet to make a direct detection of dark matter – we don’t even really understand its precise properties – but it is underground labs like CJUL and the Sanford Lab that are trailblazing the way into the unknown."Whether we will find dark matter or not, every step we take is a step into the unknown, so every small step forward is a huge leap," Liu Jianglai, chief scientist of the PandaX group, one of the research projects at the CJUL, said in a statement.

Indulge me, if you will, in a little hypothetical situation. The Earth has suffered a major catastrophic event, human life as we know it has been wiped from the face of the planet and only a few species of living things remain, but which species are up to the task of surviving such an apocalypse? We explore our top five contenders. TardigradesFirst on our list has to be everyone's favorite microscopic creature. While we at IFLScience stan a tardigrade, there’s more science to their survival than meets the eye. Tardigrades have been known to survive in just about every extreme environment Earth can throw at them. According to National Geographic, they are the "most indestructible animal on Earth". They can claw their way through sand dunes, survive being frozen, and even live at high altitudes. Scientists have figured out that a protein called Dsup can protect the genetic material in each of a tardigrade's cells making a tiny shield against dangerous particles. They can survive high levels of radiation that most other creatures could not – there is even some suggestion they could be on the Moon.  CockroachesMoving onto our second animal, it would be a shame not to mention the humble cockroach. Since they survived the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs, they’ve got a pretty good chance of surviving the next global catastrophic event. Part of the reason for their success is both their size and their dietary habits. These flat-bodied insects can squeeze themselves into tiny crevices other critters can’t reach for protection, including inside soil. Plus, rather than relying on one type of food source, they will pretty much consume anything even if it isn’t technically food. Cockroaches are also incredibly resistant to toxins such as insecticides, making them one of Earth’s harder creatures to get rid of. VulturesDepending on the conditions of the disaster, some animals could actually benefit from a global crisis. Vultures, for example, may also be able to survive something like a zombie apocalypse and with plenty of undead carrion around, could even thrive. They even have specially adapted stomachs with acid capable of digesting some pretty nasty bacteria, so potentially would be able to stomach some zombie guts.SharksWe’ve not turned our attention to the sea until now. All manner of frankly unusual looking creatures survive down there and are specially adapted to life in the darkness and extreme pressure that comes from the deep ocean. While a potential apocalypse could cause all sorts of issues for the ocean, such as acidification or extreme sea level rise, some creatures might just cling on. Greenland sharks are extremely long-lived, with known individuals surviving more than 400 years. They are known to have lived through both World Wars and nuclear weapons tests and the evidence is right there in their eyes.  Sharks have also been around on Earth since before trees, and before Saturn had rings, so there's a good chance at least one of the 500 species of shark would survive. Emperor penguinsTrying to include larger animals in this list is especially difficult. Many have evolved especially niche adaptations and would not survive in a habitat changed by global disaster. Something like a bear, while it could hibernate through winter, would still need a lot of food to survive once it finished hibernating. Camels are also capable of surviving without food or water for periods and can survive heat extremes. On the opposite side of the scale, the wildcard entry at number five is the emperor penguin. Emperor penguins can survive some of the most brutal cold temperature extremes the Antarctic can throw at them, including wind speeds of 200 kilometers (124 miles) per hour and temperatures of −50°C (−58°F). They can also survive several weeks without eating by living off fat reserves. They occupy some of the most remote areas on Earth and therefore could be able to avoid zombies or disease spread by simple logistics. 

If we want to live in the modern world, we can’t help but be reliant on space. Satellites whizzing about over our heads provide us with telecommunications and precise positioning, as well as keeping us safe with weather forecasting and many other analyses, like keeping an eye on wildfires, floods, ice, and pollutants released into the atmosphere.But the population of satellites has skyrocketed (pardon the pun) in the last several years, and this has changed the landscape (skyscape?) of what is going in orbit. As of today, June 11, there are 11,780 satellites orbiting our planet according to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA). Most of them are functioning and in low-Earth orbit.The number of satellites in orbit has massive increased in the last few years.Image credit: © IFLScienceGeostationary orbit (GEO) is also known as geosynchronous orbit, and it is located 35,786 kilometers (22,236 miles) in altitude above Earth's equator. A satellite placed there will follow the same spot on the Earth’s surface as it moves around the planet with the same period it takes the Earth to spin. There are currently 552 satellites there. Communications and weather forecasting satellites are often placed in GEO.Then there is medium-Earth orbit (MEO), a vast region from 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) up all the way to GEO. This is a prime location for navigation satellite constellations such as the Global Positioning System, Galileo, GLONASS, and BeiDou. There are 199 satellites currently in this orbit, but some space internet providers are considering moving here.And the reason for that is that low-Earth orbit (LEO) is getting crowded. There are currently 8,110 satellites in LEO and 6,050 of them are from SpaceX’s megaconstellation Starlink. The project from Elon Musk’s company aims to double its current number to reach nearly 12,000 satellites. And it could be expanded even more, to 34,400 satellites.There are many concerns about the deployment of so many satellites, especially in LEO. One major concern is how it is changing the night sky both for advanced astronomy but also just in terms of light pollution, even in areas that do not have artificial lights.The other concern is the massive increase in space junk. Space is big for sure, but interesting and valuable orbits are a small subset of that. Satellites need to have their orbits readjusted often, and all these movements lead to some of them crossing paths. But what happens when the satellites are no longer working? There are almost 3,000 objects like that! Their orbits will continue to change but with no ability for us to control them (there are some proposed countermeasures though).    A collision is space could herald worse to come. Collisions beget collisions simply because a piece of space junk breaking apart becomes a swarm of space junk. Scientists are concerned that we could end up in a Kessler Syndrome situation, where the number of collisions and amount of space debris grow exponentially. This scenario could render entire regions of near-Earth space a danger to pass through.

Every so often, a piece of information splits society into two parts: the people for whom it’s brand new and eye-opening, and those who can’t believe anyone didn’t know it in the first place. Did you know, for example, that ketchup is meant to live in the refrigerator? Because two-fifths of us don’t. Barely anyone knows what the padlock icon in your URL bar means. Apparently, there are people who don’t even know what screensavers are for, despite the answer pretty literally being in the name.And, if a spate of recent headlines are to be believed, now it’s the turn of laundry labels to blow some people’s minds while rolling the eyes of others. Apparently, people are only just realizing what the triangle symbol on clothes’ labels means.Now, despite IFLScience being unable to find any actual examples of people amazedly discovering what this housekeeping hieroglyph means, it’s nevertheless completely possible that you may not speak laundry – and that can be a problem. “You risk destroying your clothes by not following the laundry care instructions,” Alicia Sokolowski, president and co-CEO of Aspen Clean, told Reader’s Digest back in February. “What might happen if you put a dry-clean-only garment in a washing machine? The garment could shrink – not just a little, but significantly,” she explained. “Garments made of wool can shrink two to three sizes or more, and drapes can shrink to half their size.”Luckily for us, however, the international laundry industry has figured out a standard code to help us wash our clothes without disaster. They even often turn up in the same order: there’s a washing tub, then the mysterious triangle, then an iron, then a circle, and finally a square.Some of those are pretty self-evident. The washing tub symbol refers to, well, washing the garment: it tells you the maximum recommended temperature for a cycle using either dots – the more dots, the higher the temperature – or by flat-out giving you the temperature in numbers. You may also see lines underneath the tub, which indicates whether any special cycle needs to be used: “the more lines under the washtub, the more careful you should be,” fashion stylist Leena Alsulaiman told the Digest.Similarly, the iron symbol is kind of obvious: it’s telling you whether you can iron a garment. Like the washing tub, it can be modified by one, two, or three dots to indicate the maximum temperature to use, while a bunch of dots splaying out underneath like steam means… well, it means you can steam the garment.The other three symbols, however, are more cryptic. How would you guess, for example, that an empty circle means “this garment can be dry cleaned”? Or that a square with two diagonal lines in the top left corner means you should air dry it in the shade?In fact, in comparison to the myriad variations of drying symbols – that’s what the square denotes, by the way; the most important thing to remember there is that a square with a circle inside means a garment can be tumble dried – the elusive triangle glyph is beautifully easy to decipher: it tells you whether an item can be bleached. See an empty triangle on the label? Go ahead and bleach that bad boy. Is there a triangle with a couple lines inside? Be careful: you can bleach it, but not with chlorine bleach.And if you see a triangle – or indeed any of the symbols we’ve seen so far – with a big cross through it? Yeah, it means what you think. “When a symbol is crossed out,” Alsulaiman warned, “that’s your sign not to do that thing.”So – laundry care labels: not as cryptic as you thought. Wash away!

In the ordinary woods near Lexington, Kentucky, a set of footprints has ignited a fresh wave of speculation about the legendary Bigfoot. The discovery was made by local resident Aaron Thiel, who stumbled upon the unusual prints along a woodland track. The footprints, which pressed deep into the muddy trail, clearly displayed five distinct toes. Thiel shared his experience on Facebook, describing his 2-mile trek through the forest where he encountered no other people. “As I was coming out of the woods on the trail, I noticed a weird footprint that had toes,” Thiel wrote. “I took a picture and kept walking, then saw more fully formed humanoid footprints. My boot is in the photo for comparison.” Thiel added details to emphasize the strange nature of the find. “My boot is size 12. It was muddy and definitely not a path to walk barefoot on. And they were fresh with no water in them…it doesn’t make sense to me. I’m 300 pounds, wearing size 12 boots, and I barely left an imprint compared to these prints.” The photographs Thiel posted quickly garnered attention on social media, with some users suggesting he may have uncovered evidence of a juvenile Sasquatch. Others, however, were more skeptical, accusing Thiel of staging a hoax. As the debate continues, the mystery of the barefoot footprints near Lexington remains unresolved, adding yet another chapter to the Bigfoot legend. The post Mysterious footprints near Lexington spark Bigfoot speculation appeared first on Anomalien.com.

On a sunny afternoon, Rose headed to Walmart, expecting an ordinary shopping trip. However, as she approached the entrance, she noticed a small crowd gathered at the front of the store, their voices rising in concern. Intrigued and a bit worried, she made her way through the throng and was astonished to find three tiny... The post Woman rescues puppy dumped at Walmart and then goes on ‘mission’ to reunite her with siblings appeared first on Animal Channel.

Reunions are always heartwarming, especially when they involve our beloved pets. After a month apart, a family reunited with their pitbull and cat, showcasing a delightful contrast in their reactions. The excitement was evident as the pitbull couldn’t contain his joy, while the cat, in typical feline fashion, displayed a more subdued demeanor. This reunion... The post Dog and cat reunite with owners after month away and their ‘differing’ responses are hilarious appeared first on Animal Channel.