Camping is a normally peaceful and serene activity many people enjoy, but what happens when things go wrong and bizarre phenomena occur while enjoying the outdoors? Read on for some terrifying experiences from campers whose trips were anything but normal and peaceful. 

Tulip trees have a category-busting wood structure unlike anything scientists have seen before. Although more research is needed, this could enable them to store carbon more efficiently than other species, which might come in very useful.Tulips do not of course grow on trees, although during the infamous mania someone might have spread claims they do. However, the two surviving members of the ancient Liriodendron genus are known as the tulip tree and Chinese tulip tree and can grow to 30 meters (100 feet) high.Dr Jan yczakowski of Jagiellonian University led a team that put tulip tree wood under low temperature scanning electron microscope so they could study it in close to its natural state. They found the trees’ nanostructure was unlike anything seen before. Trees’ secondary cell walls contain long parallel fibers arranged in layers known as macrofibrils, which are primarily made of smaller cellulose fibers. They provide most of the bulk and strength of wood, growing after the thin and flexible primary cell walls, and make up the largest single store of carbon among organisms, living and dead.“We show Liriodendrons have an intermediate macrofibril structure that is significantly different from the structure of either softwood or hardwood. Liriodendrons diverged from Magnolia Trees around 30-50 million years ago, which coincided with a rapid reduction in atmospheric CO2. This might help explain why Tulip Trees are highly effective at carbon storage,” yczakowski said in a statement. A comparison of the cell walls and macrofibrils of tulip trees with a typical hardwood and softwood.Image credit: Jan J yczakowski and Raymond WightmanHardwood trees have small macrofibrils, and the team think the tulip trees' larger structure might be why they can grow faster than hardwoods. yczakowski noted that both tulip trees have already been recognized  as efficient carbon absorbers. For the trees, this would have been a useful trait when carbon dioxide was in short supply, but from our perspective it could be attractive for the opposite reason. “Some east Asian countries are already usingLiriodendronplantations to efficiently lock incarbon, and we now think this might be related to its novel wood structure,” yczakowski said.Locking carbon in wood has limitations when trees burn or die of old age, particularly if they’re not part of a sustainable forest, which usually requires mixed species. However, even a temporary carbon soak that gives us time to work out longer term solutions has appeal.Their external shapes might have been a hint that tulip trees (Liriodendron tulipifera) have intriguing structure to their wood cells.Image credit: Kathy Grubeyczakowski thinks the significance of the work extends beyond two tree species that survived on opposite sides of the Pacific Ocean when the rest of their genus died out. “Despite its importance, we know little about how the structure of wood evolves and adapts to the external environment,” he said. For this reason, he collaborated with Cambridge University Botanic Garden on a survey of the wood structure of 33 species, which the authors think is the largest of its type ever conducted.Gnetum gnemon in Cambridge Botanical Garden and its cell walls under a microscope. This is a species related to softwood with a structure like a hardwood.Image credit: Jan J yczakowski and Raymond Wightman“We made some key new discoveries in this survey – an entirely novel form of wood ultrastructure never observed before and a family of gymnosperms with angiosperm-like hardwood instead of the typical gymnosperm softwood,” yczakowski said in reference to two gnetophyte species. Although not related to hardwoods, by convergent evolution the gnetophytes the have found a similar small macrofibril structure best suits their environmental niche. Liriodendrons and gnetophytes aside, all the hardwoods studied had macrofibrils with similar diameters, about half those of softwoods.The study is published in the wonderfully named journal New Phytologist.

Concrete is pretty much the most common construction material, but it is far from being the most green option. As such, scientists and engineers have been searching for alternatives that are more environmentally friendly, and now they may have a solution: cement-free concrete.The global production of cement, a fundamental component of concrete, is the third-largest source of anthropogenic carbon emissions in the world. However, in recent years, various alternative methods for creating greener concrete have emerged. Some have included using industrial waste and steel slag to lower CO2 additives in the mixture, while others have suggested using spent coffee grounds to create stronger concrete with less sand.But now one company has developed a method to create concrete without cement that can be used in commercial businesses. The concrete is potentially carbon-negative and may prevent around 1 ton of carbon emissions for every ton used. If this is true, the cement-free binder will be a significant alternative to Portland cement. As reported by BGR, the new concrete also meets all the industry standards of traditional cement concrete, meaning there is no trade-off in terms of strength and durability.Although it is still early days, the situation appears promising. C-Crete Technologies, a materials science company and the patent holders of the new concrete, have used around 140 tons of the new cast-in-place (pourable) concrete in new construction projects. In September 2023, the company received nearly $1 million, quickly followed by another $2 million, from the US Department of Energy to further develop its technology. It has also received various other awards that are helping it expand its operations.The wider introduction of cement-free concrete into future construction projects has the potential to drastically change the industry's impact on the environment, and while C-Crete appears to be in the minority when it comes to experimenting with these new options at this scale, there is certainly potential that we will see others joining its ranks in the coming years.  

A Colombian resident posted a video on Reddit (see below) of a mysterious incident that he claims happened a few days ago in his unnamed hometown. A mysterious object—whether it was an inanimate object or a living creature remains unclear—flew into the open door of a house at high speed and knocked down a man standing at the entrance. The impact was so strong that the man was thrown out and landed near the steps. He sustained serious cuts from the fall and had to be taken to the hospital, where he received 24 stitches. Weird object knocks out a man. byu/kamm03 inParanormalEncounters The incident was captured on a surveillance camera, and despite multiple viewings in slow motion, the nature of the fast-moving object remains completely unclear. Skeptical internet users believe the description of the video is fictitious, suggesting the video simply shows the coincidental flight of an insect and a person falling out of the door. Others are convinced that something strange genuinely happened. Firstly, the person is propelled out of the door with such force that it appears as if he was hit by a speeding car, and he falls in a way that suggests multiple broken bones. Secondly, a couple of seconds before the mysterious object flies by, a white light flashes in the window of a parked car, suggesting a reflection of the flying object. This indicates it was not merely an insect flying in front of the camera. One user reasonably noted that it would be preferable if the video were fake, as the alternative is unsettling. In the comments, the person who posted the video mentioned that the injured man claims he does not remember what hit him. The author also noted that the house where this occurred is located about 400 meters from the road, meaning it could not have been an object like a wheel accidentally flying off a truck. Additionally, nothing unusual was found in the house after the incident. The post Strange object flew into the door of a house and threw a man out appeared first on Anomalien.com.

Researchers have traced cell origins critical to vertebrate evolution by studying a group of primitive, bloodsucking fish called lampreys.

(Natural News) While the left is trying it’s hardest to recast Kamala Harris as a moderate Democrat – quietly scrubbing her public record over the past 5 years – her actual…

Top O' the BriefingHappy Wednesday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. Orborro talked a good game, but his irrational fear of manatees had begun to wear on his fellow Hoyt Axton Appreciation Society…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Hamas has confirmed its leader, Ismail Haniyeh, has been killed in Tehran, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said early on Wednesday. Israel had vowed to…

In Episode 299, we do a rebroadcast of one of our popular “storyboard” episodes where we outline what a novel would look like for a particular scenario. In this episode, which originally aired on January 31, 2024, the scenario is a Hamas-style attack and the aftermath. We give the ending to the story in the After Show, available exclusively for Patreon supporters.  Please support our sponsors Survival Garden Seeds, ProOne Water Filters, Gibbz Arms,  EMP Shield, Numanna Foods, Backwoods Home Magazine, and Ammo Squared. We are part of the Firearms Radio Network. Learn more about our podcast at Prepping 2-0.com

“Now more than ever the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption.” – James A. Garfield The post The Editors’ Quote of the Day: appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.