A dog was found and rescued by a team of US Coast Guard marine inspectors during a routine inspection of shipping containers at the Port of Houston on Wednesday‚ January 31.

Finland Getting Serious About Preparing for War

Food Costs Eat Into Your Income at a Level Not Seen in 30 Years

More than 100 new species have been discovered on an underwater mountain range off the coast of Chile. Among the never-before-seen critters seen on the expedition are corals‚ glass sponges‚ sea urchins‚ amphipods‚ lobsters‚ plus a gaggle of peculiar fish and squid that are already known to science (but no less strange).The discoveries come from an international group of scientists who recently explored the seamounts along the Nazca and Salas y Gómez Ridge‚ a 2‚900-kilometer (1‚800-mile) long chain of underwater mountains that stretches from offshore Chile to Rapa Nui‚ aka Easter Island.Led by Dr Javier Sellanes of the Universidad Católica del Norte‚ the scientists used an underwater robot to cruise to depths of 4‚500 meters (14‚763 feet) below sea level and collect data from 10 of the 200 seamounts.A seamount is an underwater mountain with steep sides that are typically the remnants of extinct volcanoes. These fascinating features often become hives of biodiversity since they provide wildlife with a solid surface to live upon‚ supplying them with food and nutrients.A squat lobster – likely to be a new species – documented in coral at a depth of 669 meters (2‚194 feet).Image credit: Schmidt Ocean InstituteRemarkably‚ each seamount studied by the researchers was found to be home to a completely different ecosystem. This includes swathes of thriving deep-sea coral reefs and sponge gardens‚ many of which may already be vulnerable. The team hopes their findings will help show the urgent need to protect marine environments in the Pacific and beyond. “We far exceeded our hopes on this expedition. You always expect to find new species in these remote and poorly explored areas‚ but the amount we found‚ especially for some groups like sponges‚ is mind-blowing‚” marine biologist Sellanes said in a statement sent to IFLScience.A rarely-seen whiplash squid (Mastigoteuthis) documented at 1‚105 meters (3‚625 feet) depth.Image credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute“These thriving and healthy ecosystems indicate that the Nazca-Desventuradas and Juan Fernández Marine Parks effectively protect delicate marine habitats‚” explained Sellanes.To confirm which species have never been identified before‚ the team is closely analyzing the specimens’ physiology and genetics to confirm whether they are‚ indeed‚ new to science.“Full species identification can take many years‚ and Dr Sellanes and his team have an incredible number of samples from this amazingly beautiful and little-known biodiversity hotspot‚” explained Dr Jyotika Virmani‚ Schmidt Ocean Institute Executive Director.Oblong Dermechinus urchins documented at a depth of 516 meters (1‚692 feet).Image credit: Schmidt Ocean InstituteThis Saturday‚ February 24‚ a second expedition along the Salas y Gómez Ridge will begin aboard the research vessel Falkor (too). Best of all‚ you’ll be able to watch a live stream of the underwater dives on Schmidt Ocean Institute's YouTube channel.Who knows‚ perhaps even more new species will be uncovered for the first time.    “Schmidt Ocean Institute is a partner with the Nippon Foundation – Nekton Ocean Census Program‚ which has set a target of finding 100‚000 new marine species in the next 10 years and‚ once identified‚ these new species will be a part of that‚” said Dr Virmani. 

Around 26‚000 light-years from Earth‚ at the center of our galaxy‚ lies Sagittarius A* – a supermassive black hole 4.1 million times the mass of the Sun.While it poses no threat other than to the nearby stars it demolishes‚ it's still nice to know where it is at all times. A new app for the iPhone‚ made by designer and space enthusiast Matt Webb using ChatGPT‚ does just that for you.      IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.Webb explained in a blog post that he had once trained himself to track the location of the galactic center throughout the day‚ and over the course of the year."I would end up pointing through the pavement‚ or down a street‚ and thinking‚ huh‚ that’s where it is‚" Webb wrote.     However‚ over the years‚ he lost his ability to find it. In 2021‚ he thought about making an iPhone app or website to help‚ but concluded that there was too much to learn for him to be able to do it properly. But in 2024‚ he picked up the project again‚ using ChatGPT to assist him in creating the app. Of course‚ this isn't a matter of simply asking the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot to create the app for you."The generated code is not obscure to me. I’m not asking ChatGPT for huge goals with multiple steps and pasting in code unseen – that wouldn’t work‚" Webb explained in his blog post announcement. "The experience is more like very‚ very good autocomplete‚ or very‚ very good spellcheck: I can understand the output even if I couldn’t get there on my own."Webb made the app‚ figuring maybe a few other people would want it too‚ but it has proven surprisingly popular around the world.      IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.The app‚ named Galactic Compass‚ is available on Apple's App Store for free. It really is neat to load it up and know where you are in relation to the center of the Milky Way.[H/T: ArsTechnica]

The elementary charge is a fundamental constant of the universe. We call it simply e. Protons have a value of +e and electrons are -e. Depending on how familiar you are with physics‚ you might have heard that the quarks that make protons have a fractional charge‚ but we do not worry about that because they are never by themselves. And electrons don’t have components‚ so the elementary charge is truly elementary in all material interactions. Well‚ until it isn’t‚ as a new study has demonstrated. Overwhelmingly across materials and phenomena‚ the charge of an electron is -e‚ but some materials experience the fractional quantum Hall effect. In a handful of systems‚ under very high and carefully tuned magnetic fields‚ an exotic electronic state develops where its charge is no longer -e.The new work uses graphene‚ which is considered a very interesting material. It is a single layer of carbon atoms‚ but it is incredibly strong and a good conductor. In this experiment‚ the team stuck five layers of graphene together like steps on a staircase‚ stamped them between two hexagonal boron nitride layers‚ and put the hybrid material at extremely low temperatures. The team saw something very weird as they sent electrons through this material.Electrons passed through it as fractions of the total charge - but there was no external magnetic field. It is therefore the first evidence of the fractional quantum anomalous Hall effect in crystalline graphene‚ deemed anomalous because it does not have a magnetic field. Researchers were not expecting graphene to be able to do that."This five-layer graphene is a material system where many good surprises happen‚" study author Long Ju‚ assistant professor of physics at MIT‚ said in a statement. "Fractional charge is just so exotic‚ and now we can realize this effect with a much simpler system and without a magnetic field. That in itself is important for fundamental physics. And it could enable the possibility for a type of quantum computing that is more robust against perturbation."This is not the first time that the team witnessed something peculiar in a pentalayer of graphene. They reported last year that it also exhibited a "multiferroic" state. Twisted graphene is also superconductive at a very low temperature – just 1.7 Kelvins above absolute zero. The lab had a new fridge installed just last summer to make these investigations."The day we saw it‚ we didn't recognize it at first‚" said lead author Zhengguang Lu. "Then we started to shout as we realized‚ this was really big. It was a completely surprising moment.""This was probably the first serious samples we put in the new fridge‚" added co-first author Tonghang Han. "Once we calmed down‚ we looked in detail to make sure that what we were seeing was real."The group will continue to explore how multilayers of graphene might showcase different and rare electronic states."We are diving in to explore many fundamental physics ideas and applications‚" Ju added. "We know there will be more to come."The study is published in the journal Nature.

You may think of granite as little more than a fancy material for making kitchen countertops out of‚ and that’s… not wrong‚ exactly. But it’s not the whole story. Granite is born in the Earth’s molten mantle‚ and turns up just about everywhere on the planet. It’s hard and durable‚ so good for building; it can be shined and polished into works of art; it’s even‚ technically‚ radioactive.“Over 40 percent of dimension stone quarried is granite. Crushed granite is used as a durable construction material in asphalt and concrete used in highway and infrastructure projects‚” notes the Minerals Education Coalition.“It is widely used for architectural facades‚ construction materials‚ ornamental stone and monuments‚” they write. “Because it can be smoothed to a very high polish‚ granite has found extensive use in memorials‚ headstones‚ monuments‚ carved decorations on buildings‚ statues and the like.”Ancient graniteThanks to this incredible versatility and strength‚ granite has been one of humanity’s best friends in terms of construction throughout the years. And we really mean years: drilled and worked granite survives from as long ago as the third millennium BCE‚ with buildings constructed from the unworked stone dating from even earlier than that. If you’ve been to London or New York‚ you may have seen some of the most famous examples of this ancient‚ ancient granite: Cleopatra’s Needles‚ originally created in the 15th century BCE before eventually being gifted to the two cities in the 1800s‚ are both sculpted from granite from the quarries of Aswan – now recognized archeological sites due to their historical importance.Traditionally‚ this has provoked some disbelief. How could the creators of‚ say‚ the sarcophagus of Prince Akhet-Hotep have been technologically advanced enough to drill a rock roughly as hard as steel‚ some seven centuries before the invention of actual steel?“Today‚ quarrymen cut and carve granite using saws with diamond-edged blades and steel chisels. But ancient Egyptian quarrymen and stonemasons didn't have these modern tools‚” explained PBS NOVA way back in 2000. “How‚ then‚ did they quarry and cut such clean lines in their obelisks and other monumental statuary?”Luckily‚ the ancient stonemasons left us one pretty big clue as to their techniques – and when we say “big”‚ we mean about 42 meters (137 feet) long and nearly 1100 tonnes (1‚200 tons) in weight.It’s called the Unfinished Obelisk‚ and that’s for two reasons: it’s an obelisk‚ and it’s unfinished. Had it ever been completed‚ though‚ it would have easily been the largest such erection in the ancient world; even left as it is‚ horizontal in the ground and still attached to its parent rock‚ it’s one of the largest monoliths in the world‚ and the largest known of Ancient Egypt.“Archeologists know that the ancient Egyptians had the skills to forge bronze and copper tools‚” noted PBS – but experiments have proven that this level of tech simply wouldn’t be good enough to carve granite. “We're losing a lot of metal and very little stone is falling off‚” observed stonemason Roger Hopkins upon trying to carve the stone with a copper chisel.The solution? An ingenious use of a resource Egypt has always had in abundance: sand. “We're going to put sand inside the groove and we're going to put the saw on top of the sand‚” experimental archeologist Denys Stocks explained. “Then we're going to let the sand do the cutting.”That sand is polydispersive – that is‚ made up of grains of many different sizes – and generally speaking at least 40 percent quartz‚ making it around as hard as granite itself. “The weight of the copper saw rubs the sand crystals […] against the stone. A groove soon appears in the granite‚” noted PBS. “It's clear that this technique works well and could have been used by the ancient Egyptians.”From Egypt to RomeThe Romans conquered Egypt in 30 BCE and fell in love with the ancient culture they had found there. Along with Egyptian art‚ mythologies‚ and ideas‚ Rome exported more practical things from their new African province: grain‚ glass‚ papyrus – and granite.“Granite was highly valued by the Romans‚ who‚ after the establishment of the Empire‚ extensively exploited it for monolithic columns‚” noted Michael J Waters‚ Assistant Professor of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University‚ in a 2016 paper on Roman architecture.“The predominant use of large granite columns in Rome‚ where they were erected by the thousands and adorned some of city's most spectacular buildings‚ including the Pantheon‚ the Forum of Trajan and the Baths of Caracalla and of Diocletian‚ made them a hallmark of the imperial capital‚” he wrote.But what happened to these multitudinous columns? Well‚ the thing about history is that there’s only so much of it you can fit in one place. So‚ Waters explained‚ “as the Roman marble industry declined in the third century CE‚ the quarrying of hard stones largely ceased. Consequently‚ builders in Rome from late Antiquity onward came to reuse ancient granite columns for the construction of new buildings‚ a practice generally known […] as spoliation.”In other words‚ if you ever find yourself admiring one of Rome’s ancient buildings‚ look a little closer. Chances are‚ you’re seeing something even older than you realize.Wonders of the worldWithout granite‚ the planet would be a much less interesting place. Some of the most iconic buildings and constructions in the world owe their existence to the rock: Europe’s castles and churches – including France’s Mont-Saint-Michel‚ Lisbon’s Évora Cathedral‚ or Spain’s Santiago de Compostela Arch cathedral Basilica – are built from granite; so too are classic postcard-fodder like Tower Bridge and (parts of) the Great Wall of China. Mont Saint Michel.Image Credit: alexseb/Shutterstock.comIn Scotland‚ an entire city sparkles with the rock: Aberdeen‚ on the Northeastern coast of the country‚ owes so much of its infrastructure to granite that it’s literally nicknamed “the Granite City.”The Brihadisvara Temple‚ in Southern India‚ is granite‚ and truly remarkable in its scope and construction. It was built at the turn of the 11th century and is still one of the tallest in the region. Not for nothing is it called the “Big Temple” by locals: it’s 16 stories high and rises more than 60 meters (197 feet) into the sky.It was with the Industrial Revolution‚ though‚ that the use of granite – along with everything else‚ let’s be real – took off. With the development of new‚ heavy-duty transportation options like steamships and trains‚ as well as modernized techniques for working the material‚ granite grew from a nice local amenity into the bedrock of Empires.“Granite has been used for buildings and monuments in Devon and Cornwall from prehistoric times‚” wrote Ewan Hyslop and Graham Lott‚ petrologists and building stone specialists with the British Geological Survey‚ in a 2007 article for The Building Conservation Directory. But “the introduction of steam ships stimulated the Cornish granite industry from about 1840‚ with large quantities used to build docks throughout southern England‚” they explained‚ “and from this time these granites were used extensively in London for numerous monuments‚ buildings and many of the 19th century commercial dock schemes and bridges. Examples include Nelson's Column (Foggintor granite) and […] construction of the Thames Embankment.”But can granite stay as important as it once was? Well‚ probably‚ yeah – the worldwide market shows no sign of slowing down. Even with concrete wildly outpacing granite as a building material‚ and bronze more popular for sculpture‚ granite is just so darn useful to us that it’s unlikely to be going anywhere soon.

In the Cretaceous Period‚ dinosaurs were big‚ and mammals were small. At least‚ that’s been the general view – until very recently‚ when a slew of larger ancient fuzzies started turning up in the fossil record. None‚ however‚ come anywhere close to the size of Patagomaia chainko: a brand-new Late Cretaceous mammal reckoned to have possibly weighed as much as 26 kilograms (57 pounds).Discovered in southern Patagonia‚ South America‚ the new species is represented by just fragments of its hindlimb and pelvis. Nevertheless‚ that’s enough for experts to estimate its size and likely general appearance: “Estimates of the body mass of Patagomaia were made by taking measurements of the postcranial remains‚” the researchers write‚ “using regressions that have already been used in other fossil mammals.”The verdict: the remains “belong to a medium-sized mammal‚ comparable in size to […] the canid Lycalopex culpaeus‚” the team determined. That’s the Latin name for the culpeo‚ or Andean fox – though it’s actually more closely related to a wolf or a jackal than a real fox – or to put it another way: P. chainko was larger than a red fox‚ but smaller than a coyote.That may seem at odds with the 26-kilo estimate. There’s a good reason for that: it’s a maximum weight‚ rather than an average or likely one for the species. In fact‚ the team write‚ “we estimated a body mass of ~ 14 kg [30.8 pounds] for the holotype specimen‚” which they think “likely represents the maximum ones that this animal could have reached.”That‚ however‚ is still highly noteworthy. Most Northern Hemisphere mammals from the era have a body mass below 100 grams (0.22 pounds)‚ they point out‚ with 99 percent not even reaching 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds). Even the largest previously known species from the period – the Early Cretaceous Repenomamus and the Late Cretaceous Vintana – topped out at roughly 10 and 8.9 kilograms (22 and 19.6 pounds) respectively. Based on the specimen’s femur‚ tibia‚ hips‚ and hip sockets‚ the researchers were also able to gather a few clues about the animal’s potential form. It doesn’t seem to have much in common with monotremes such as the platypus‚ for example‚ though it shares some similarities with badgers and porcupines.Cladogram showing the phylogenetic affinities of Patagomaia chainko‚ geographic location‚ and paleohistological images; Map showing the fossil locality; Transverse section of the femur (left); tibia (right) in polarized light with lambda compensator.Image Credit: Chimento‚ N.R.‚ Agnolín‚ F.L.‚ García-Marsà‚ J. et al.‚ Scientific Reports‚ (CC BY 4.0)In total‚ the creature is undoubtedly a therian mammal: its remains show a wide range of features that practically always turn up in other known examples of the class‚ and virtually never outside of it. Overall‚ however‚ the creature is fairly unique‚ even for its time – and not only because of its size.“Although Patagomaia reveals therian affinities‚ it differs from Paleogene South American representatives of this clade‚” the researchers note. “In sum‚ Patagomaia does not exhibit morphological features that may ally it with any of the mammalian clades […] frequently recorded in Cretaceous and early Paleogene beds from South America.”“This new discovery demonstrates that Late Cretaceous mammalian faunas from South America were taxonomically diverse‚ not only including gondwanatherians‚ dryolestoids and monotremes‚ but also early therians‚” the team concludes. “Patagomaia also reveals that the evolution of large body size among Late Cretaceous mammals was more complex than previously understood.”The paper is published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.

In the tranquil expanses of North America’s woodlands and grasslands‚ a silent but concerning phenomenon is unfolding: chronic wasting disease (CWD). The condition‚ often dubbed “zombie deer disease”‚ is stealthily spreading among deer populations‚ sparking concerns among scientists‚ conservationists and the public alike. This neurological affliction‚ characterised by myriad symptoms‚ such as drooling‚ lethargy‚ stumbling and a vacant gaze‚ has now been detected in over 800 samples of deer‚ elk and moose in Wyoming alone‚ highlighting the scale and urgency of the issue. At the heart of the CWD puzzle lies a peculiar culprit: prions. Prions are misfolded proteins that can cause normal proteins in the brain to misfold as well‚ leading to neurological degeneration. This unique feature makes prion diseases particularly concerning as they are notoriously resilient and can persist in the environment for years‚ resisting traditional disinfection methods such as formaldehyde‚ radiation and incineration at extreme temperatures. The spread of CWD poses significant ecological and potentially human health risks. While there is no conclusive evidence that CWD can directly infect humans‚ the possibility remains a point of concern. Prion diseases‚ such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans and “mad cow disease” in cattle‚ have shown that they can cross the species barrier – with devastating consequences. The outbreak of mad cow disease in Britain‚ for instance‚ resulted in the slaughter of millions of cattle and led to 178 human deaths attributed to the human variant of the disease since 1995. Despite the lack of confirmed cases of CWD in humans‚ concerns persist due to several factors. First‚ studies have shown that prions responsible for CWD can infect and propagate within human cells under laboratory conditions‚ raising the spectre of potential transmission. Second‚ humans are already inadvertently exposed to potentially infected animals by hunting and eating them. Reports suggest that between 7‚000 to 15‚000 CWD-infected animals were consumed annually by humans in 2017‚ with projections indicating a 20% annual increase. In regions where CWD prevalence is high‚ such as Wisconsin‚ thousands of people may have unwittingly consumed meat from infected deer‚ underscoring the urgency for measures to mitigate risks. Also‚ the inherent difficulties associated with detecting and diagnosing prion diseases in humans further complicate the situation. Unlike conventional infectious agents‚ prions do not trigger an immune response‚ making them difficult to detect through conventional means. This poses a significant obstacle to early intervention and containment efforts. The potential for CWD to affect human health is not limited to direct transmission. The environmental persistence of prions means that humans may also be exposed through indirect routes‚ such as contaminated soil‚ water and other environmental sources. Given the resilience of prions and their ability to persist in the environment for extended periods‚ the long-term consequences of CWD on human health remain uncertain but warrant serious consideration. Beyond the immediate health concerns‚ the spread of CWD also poses significant ecological and economic risks. Deer hunting is not only a popular recreational activity but also a vital source of sustenance and livelihood for many communities. The proliferation of CWD threatens to disrupt this delicate balance‚ potentially decimating deer populations and compromising food security in affected regions. Furthermore‚ the ecological effects of CWD extend beyond deer populations‚ affecting entire ecosystems. Deer play a crucial role in shaping vegetation dynamics (how plant communities change and evolve over time) through browsing and grazing. And their decline could have cascading effects on plant communities‚ soil health and other wildlife species that depend on deer as a food source or habitat modifier. In Europe too It is noteworthy that while there have been no outbreaks of CWD in the UK‚ in 2016 it was diagnosed in wild deer in Norway‚ marking the first cases of CWD in Europe. This development underscores the potential for CWD to spread beyond its current range and highlights the need for international cooperation in monitoring and controlling the disease. Addressing the many challenges posed by CWD requires a comprehensive and coordinated approach. This includes bolstering surveillance and monitoring to track the spread of the disease‚ and implementing stringent biosecurity measures to prevent further transmission – such as controlling the movement of deer and elk populations‚ conducting regular testing to monitor disease prevalence‚ and promoting responsible hunting practices to minimise the risk of transmission. More research is also needed to better understand the disease’s transmission dynamics‚ its ecological effects and potential human health implications. Ultimately‚ the spectre of CWD underscores the interconnectedness of ecosystems and human health. By heeding the warnings of scientists and taking decisive action to mitigate risks‚ we can strive to protect both wildlife and human populations from the insidious grip of CWD and other emerging zoonotic diseases. In doing so‚ we honour our commitment to safeguarding the health and wellbeing of our planet and its inhabitants for generations to come. Samuel J. White‚ Senior Lecturer in Genetic Immunology‚ Nottingham Trent University and Philippe B. Wilson‚ Professor of One Health‚ Nottingham Trent University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The post Zombie deer disease is spreading and it could jump to humans appeared first on Anomalien.com.

Dr. Steven Greer‚ a prominent figure in the realm of ufology and consciousness exploration‚ has dedicated his life to unraveling the mysteries of the universe. As a medical doctor turned UFO researcher‚ Greer has been a tireless advocate for the disclosure of classified information regarding extraterrestrial phenomena and their potential connection to human consciousness. Born on June 28‚ 1955‚ Dr. Steven Macon Greer began his career as an emergency room physician. However‚ his life took a transformative turn in the early 1990s when he founded the Center for the Study of Extraterrestrial Intelligence (CSETI) and later the Disclosure Project. Greer’s… This premium content is for PLUS+ members only. Visit the site and log in/register to read. The post Extraterrestrials‚ consciousness and the Universe – what connects them all? appeared first on Anomalien.com.