Everyone deserves to feel included. That’s why it’s so important that places like this ASL Starbucks continue to open. You may be wondering, “What is an ASL Starbucks” — and I’d be happy to explain! This is a branch of the coffee company that is employed by folks who are fluent in American Sign Language (ASL). Fittingly, the store is located just down the street from Gallaudet University. This is a bilingual institution for Deaf and hard of hearing students (English and ASL). It’s no wonder, then, that TJ and his Deaf daughter, Kylee, had to check this place out when visiting Washington D.C. — this father-daughter duo have become quite popular on social media! Together, they make all sorts of fun content. This includes educational videos related to being deaf and using sign language. For example, in the video below, we see Kylee experience the joy of getting coffee from a place where every employee can easily communicate directly to her! @cargo_shorts_dad How cool is this? #fatherdaughter #deaf #starbucks #deafcommunity #wholesome #fypシ #kybyeee ♬ Happy Mood – AShamaluevMusic Kylee already has a huge smile on her face before she even walks into the Starbucks. Part of the reason why is because, on the outside, there’s a sign that spells out the name of the store in ASL! Seemingly small details like these truly mean the world to folks like Kylee! Deaf Girl Can’t Stop Smiling During Her First Visit to the ASL Starbucks Once inside, the smiles continue as Kylee chats with the employees. Seeing the pure joy on her face is absolutely priceless! With this store being the first of its kind in the United States, it goes to show we have a long way to go to make this experience more common. Seeing this little girl’s face alone should be motivation enough! “No words can describe how excited Kylee was when we went to the signing Starbucks!” TJ shares in the comments of his video. “She loved every second she was there.” You can find the source of this story’s featured image here! The post Dad Brings Deaf Daughter To ASL Starbucks For Beautifully Inclusive Experience appeared first on InspireMore.

'But they're worried that President Biden is not the strongest candidate that we can put forward'

Astronomer David Kipping, of Cool Worlds fame, has urged other astronomers to use their telescope time to observe a particularly unusual star that appears to have a very strange or "seemingly impossible" chemical abundances. In recent years, we have observed some stars acting seriously strangely. The classic example is KIC 8462852, better known as Boyajian's star, or just the "alien megastructure" star. In 2016 and 2017, the star dimmed in unusual ways, leading some to suggest it could have a "Dyson sphere" around it, created by some advanced alien civilization. It turned out to be dust obscuring our view of the star, which is of course disappointing to anyone hopeful of detecting advanced alien life. But it is not the only star that has recently captured astronomers' attention. One – HD 101065, or "Przybylski's Star" – has pretty much all other stars beat for its weirdness. Even if it isn't aliens (and we should assume that it is not, until all other natural explanations are exhausted), it could be doing something almost as cool. The star, though it has been largely ignored, has recently caught the attention of Jason Wright, professor in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics in the Eberly College of Science at Pennsylvania State University; and David Kipping, assistant professor of astronomy at Columbia University and originator of some pretty awesome ideas including the Halo Drive and turning the Earth into a telescope.             HD 101065 was first discovered in 1961 by Polish-Australian astronomer Antoni Przybylski, and was immediately noticed to be unusual. The star, thought to be a little hotter than our Sun, is known as an "Ap" star, meaning a type A star that is chemically peculiar.A-type stars themselves are pretty strange. Unlike stars such as our Sun, hot A-type stars usually do not have a magnetic field to slow their incredible rotation speeds imparted on them as they were formed. As a result, they usually retain their incredible spin, making it difficult to analyze their spectra. But Ap stars are different. They do have a strong magnetic field, and rotate slowly. This allows us to get a really good look at the chemical makeup of their atmospheres, Wright explains in a blog post on the topic. When we do analyze the light from these stars, it shows that they contain abundances of silicon, chromium, strontium, europium, and other rare Earth elements in their upper atmosphere.But Przybylski's star is stranger still, and appears to contain elements it really shouldn't, at least by any mechanism we have come across in nature. "It is believed to be an extreme member of a class of stars whose surface chemical peculiarities are generally thought to be a consequence of chemical separation," one team wrote of the star in 2004. "This theory alone, however, would not account for the presence of elements with no long-lived stable isotopes."For instance, it appears to contain promethium. This is really weird. No known isotope of promethium has a half-life longer than 17.7 years, meaning that it must be produced by some continuous process if we are to see it in Przybylski's star. Further analysis showed it contains actinium, protactinium, neptunium, plutonium, americium, curium, berkelium, californium, and einsteinium. These are difficult to confirm because they do not occur in nature (except, it seems, in Przybylski's star). "Unfortunately, these spectra have been poorly studied," one team, which found short-lived elements in the spectra, explained. "For example, the wavelengths of only 22 lines are known for the singly ionized californium, which has been relatively well studied. Virtually all tables of spectral lines contain no data on technetium, promethium, and elements with atomic numbers Z > 83, save for thorium and uranium."Einsteinium was first discovered in 1952 during the first detonation of a hydrogen bomb and is considered a synthetic element, or one that could only be created by humans, and we have not produced a lot of it – and yet it has been tentatively detected in the star. Californium is also considered a synthetic element and was only discovered as a product after bombarding curium-242 with helium ions. Meanwhile, iron – usually one of the clearest lines seen in the light from stars – is barely seen at all.So what the hell are these elements, many with short half-lives on astronomical timescales, doing in abundance in the atmosphere of an already unusual type of star? Despite over 60 years of knowing about the star, and some big leaps in astronomy techniques, we still do not know what's going on. There are a few ideas, some sensible but weirdly unlikely, and a few very exciting explanations indeed. One possible explanation proposed was that the star has a neutron star companion, which bombards the upper atmosphere of Przybylski's star, causing reactions that produce the elements we observe. But the star does not look like it has such a companion, which leaves us with a few other (far more exotic) explanations.One, which is outlined in a 2017 arXiv paper, is that the unusual elements are the result of the decay of undiscovered heavy elements in the hypothetical "island of stability" predicted by physicists, where elements could be stable once more."Spectral lines belonging to the short-lifetime heavy radioactive elements up to Es (Z=99) have been found in the spectra of the Przybylski’s star," the paper explains. "We suggest that these unstable elements may be decay products of a 'magic' metastable nucleus belonging to the [...] island of stability where the nuclei have a magic number of neutrons N = 184."The team suggests that this could have been produced in a nearby supernova. If correct, and more study would of course be needed, that would be pretty awesome. But there is another suggestion – whispered about, according to Wright – that it could be the sign of intelligent life. There have been suggestions in the past that alien species could dispose of waste on the surface of their stars, which could be an explanation, though that seems unlikely. But it has also been suggested by Carl Sagan and Iosif Shklovskii that advanced alien civilizations could purposely put unusual and clearly manufactured elements into their stars in order to attract attention.   Sending signals out into the cosmos is energy-expensive, and given the distances involved, you do not know whether your signal will reach a civilization you believe could be there based on your observations, or a civilization that died in the interim. It might make more sense instead, for a civilization bored of being alone, to simply place unambiguous signs that any other civilizations who have done their science will know is a sign of tampering. Why spend energy contacting every possible star, when you can simply place a huge sign saying "We are here" or, at least, one saying "Take a closer look at this star, something interesting is going on"?That's pretty speculative of course, and there will very likely be a natural explanation, such as the island of stability – which, let's face it, is also really awesome. Or it could be that astronomers are misinterpreting these lines, which would also be useful to know. Finding out will require more observations of the star. Though Kipping does get access to telescopes, observations will need to take place in the global south in order to actually see it."I don't understand why that hasn't happened and I hope that us talking about it and my video and your podcasts actually inspire an astronomer out there to spend an hour of their precious telescope time [...] just seeing do you at least see the same spectral features," Kipping told the Event Horizon podcast. "That's the first question and then if you do see the same spectral features the next question is okay, we believe them, but what are those lines? Is there any alternative to these radioactive elements? Could it be something else?"[H/T: Cool Worlds]An earlier version of this article was published in July 2024.   

In the year 1181, a new star appeared in the sky in the constellation of Cassiopeia. It was a “guest star”, what we now call a supernova. For 180 days it was bright enough to be seen before disappearing, lost for centuries. When it was rediscovered in 2021, astronomers were able to work out what happened and now thanks to new research it is clear that it was something quite unique.The supernova is a Type Iax (pronounced One-a-x) which involves two white dwarfs slamming into each other. A white dwarf is the exposed core of a star like the Sun having reached the end of its life. The collision should have annihilated the two, turning everything into energy but instead, it results in a new peculiar white dwarf, spinning very fast on its axis.White dwarfs colliding makes for a spectacular eventImage Credit: ESO/L. CalçadaThe team conducted several observations of the region Pa 30 – what the supernova remnant was called before getting the new name of SNR 1181. They found two shock regions around the object, an old one following the supernova and a more recent one.White dwarfs that form as a result of a Type Iax supernova are expected to release stellar wind, but the team couldn’t work out the source of the more recent shocks. Computer simulation of the object suggests that over the last 20 or 30 years, the stellar wind has picked up again. Possibly, it’s due to material falling on the white dwarf increasing its temperature and density beyond the threshold needed to restart burning.“If the wind had started blowing immediately after SNR 1181’s formation, we couldn’t reproduce the observed size of the inner shock region. However, by treating the wind’s onset time as variable, we succeeded in explaining all of the observed features of SNR 1181 accurately and unraveling the mysterious properties of this high-speed wind. We were also able to simultaneously track the time evolution of each shock region, using numerical calculations,” lead author Takatoshi Ko, a doctoral student from the Department of Astronomy at the University of Tokyo, explained in a statement.The appearance of the supernova is reported in a record of the Genpei War in Japan (1180-85) called the Azuma Kagami. The war led to the establishment of the shogunate and this text chronicled the important events but also the day-to-day occurrences including the appearance of a new star in the constellation of Cassiopeia.“There are many accounts of this temporary guest star in historical records from Japan, China, and Korea. At its peak, the star’s brightness was comparable to Saturn’s. It remained visible to the naked eye for about 180 days, until it gradually dimmed out of sight. The remnant of the SN 1181 explosion is now very old, so it is dark and difficult to find,” explained Ko.The team will now conduct more observation of SNR 1181 with different types of telescopes to better understand its behavior and ideally confirm what the simulation suggests: that this dead star is having a resurgence.A paper describing the result is published in The Astrophysical Journal.

Chessboards have inspired many brainteasers over the years. For example: given a standard chessboard and a knight, is it possible to move the piece such that it visits every square once and only once? The answer is yes – and that fact might end up helping in the struggle against climate change.In mathematical terms, this “knight’s tour”, as the problem is known, is an example of something called a Hamiltonian cycle. But what if, rather than a regular chessboard, the knight was traveling round something more, well, wonky? Something like… a quasicrystal?If you haven’t heard of quasicrystals, that’s not surprising. Only three have ever been discovered occurring naturally, and all of them were found in a 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite in a remote corner of Siberia. Technically, the term refers to a structure that is ordered but not periodic, the atoms form a pattern but the pattern does not repeat perfectly – to put it crudely, it looks like a regular crystal, so long as you squint.But this irregular nature means that any tour around a quasicrystal will be very special indeed: they’re fractal in nature. “When we looked at the shapes of the lines we constructed, we noticed they formed incredibly intricate mazes,” explained Felix Flicker, Senior Lecturer in Physics at the University of Bristol and lead author of a new paper on the discovery, in a statement. “The sizes of subsequent mazes grow exponentially – and there are an infinite number of them,” he said.So why is this important? Well, finding these Hamiltonian cycles around the atoms of crystals is normally a difficult-to-the-point-of-intractable problem – which is a shame, because it has some really important applications. Adsorption, for example: no, that’s not a spelling mistake – it’s a chemical process in which atomic particles are removed from gases or liquid solutions by becoming adhered to the surface of a solid. It’s also indispensable throughout industry. Adsorption is key in the dyeing process; in softening hard water and conserving it where water is scarce; in pharmaceutical manufacture and the food industry; it’s even the process that makes activated charcoal such a mixed blessing. In the modern, climate-change-addled world, it also has one particularly intriguing application: it can be used for carbon capture and storage, keeping dangerous CO2 molecules from entering the atmosphere.The problem is that, so far, industrial adsorption relies on crystals – the regular, non-quasi kind. So the discovery that using their slightly higgledy-piggledy cousins can not only simplify the problem of finding Hamiltonian cycles, but also massively ramp up the efficiency of the process, is one that is rather exciting, to say the least.“Our work […] shows quasicrystals may be better than crystals for some adsorption applications,” said Shobhna Singh, a PhD researcher in Physics at Cardiff University and co-author of the new paper. “For example, bendy molecules will find more ways to land on the irregularly arranged atoms of quasicrystals.” “Quasicrystals are also brittle, meaning they readily break into tiny grains,” Singh added. “This maximizes their surface area for adsorption.”The paper is published in the journal Physical Review X.

This week, 51,200-year-old narrative rock art is the oldest of its kind, paleolithic humans may have invented underwear 40,000 years ago, and scientists built LEGO bricks out of ancient celestial material to test Moon construction possibilities. Finally, we explore the surprising animals that can mimic human speech.Subscribe to the IFLScience newsletter for all the biggest science news delivered straight to your inbox every Wednesday and Saturday. We Might Owe Wine To The Asteroid That Killed The Dinosaurs 66 Million Years AgoResearchers looking for fossilized grape seeds across Colombia, Panama, and Peru have found seeds between 60 and 19 million years old – and one specimen is from the oldest grape ever found in the Western Hemisphere. The team thinks that the proliferation of grapes might have come as a result of the changes in the environment following the extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs. Read the full story hereOldest Narrative Rock Art Discovered With Mind-Blowing Age Of 51,200 YearsAmong the towering rock walls of an Indonesian island, archaeologists have discovered the earliest known example of artwork that tells a story, highlighting a “key development in art history” and a major milestone in the history of humankind. Read the full story hereHippos Can’t Swim, But It Turns Out They Can FlyNew research has discovered that the bodacious bodies of hippos go airborne when they trot, building up enough speed to get all four of their trotters off the ground simultaneously. They might not be giving Superman a run for his money, but the discovery has revealed that these animals are more athletic than we give them credit for, even if they can’t swim. Read the full story herePalaeolithic Humans May Have Invented Underwear 40,000 Years AgoWhether you prefer briefs, a thong, or even a jockstrap, the garments with which you furnish your undercarriage may descend from an ancestral pair of undies that were first worn in a chilly Siberian cave 40,000 years ago. At least, that’s the conclusion of a new analysis of the world’s earliest eyed sewing needles, which date back to the Last Glacial Maximum in the famous Denisova Cave. Read the full story hereMeteorite Billions Of Years Old Turned Into LEGO Bricks For Moon Habitat TestOne of the biggest goals for the future exploration of the Moon is to build a permanent base using material found there. Scientists have experimented with creating bricks using different materials, including blood and potatoes. European Space Agency (ESA) researchers have just tested a different method. They made 3D-printed LEGO bricks out of a billions of years old celestial material. Read the full story hereTWIS is published weekly on our Linkedin page, join us there for even more content.Feature of the week: From Orcas To Ducks – The Surprising Animals That Can Mimic Human SpeechAnimals mimicking different sounds is nothing new in the natural world: some birds can mimic the sounds of car alarms and camera shutters, while some predator species may have learned the calls of their prey. However, some species have gone a step further and learned to mimic human speech. We’re not talking about the standard parrots – we're talking about those animals you wouldn't normally expect. Read the full story here More content:Have you seen our e-magazine, CURIOUS? It’s just turned 2! Issue 24 July 2024 is available now. Check it out for exclusive interviews, book excerpts, long reads, and more.PLUS, the first episode of season 4 of IFLScience's The Big Questions Podcast is out now. 

To create a fire-breathing animal, you would need to combine features found in a cow, a beetle and an eel.