Species within ecosystems are intrinsically linked. Whether they time the birth of their offspring with the sea ice or have evolved to live aboard another organism‚ these connections can be found time and time again in nature. Now‚ on a beach on North Padre Island off the coast of Texas‚ yet another example has appeared in the form of tiny blue dragons‚ and experts are warning people not to touch them.These blue dragons are also known as blue glaucus (Glaucus atlanticus)‚ a sea slug and a species of nudibranch that lives in the open ocean. While they might look impressive – and indeed they are – these are tiny dragons‚ rarely measuring more than 3 centimeters long (1.2 inches). However‚ don't be fooled‚ they have a sting stronger than a Portuguese man o’ war.The Harte Research Institute for Gulf Of Mexico Studies shared images on their Facebook page this week of both man o' wars and nudibranchs that had blown onto the beach in strong winds. The Institute called this arrival the “blue wave” and expects more such discoveries as the weather changes.  IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.These bright blue creatures can be found on the surface of the Atlantic‚ Pacific‚ and Indian Oceans in temperate waters‚ writes One Earth‚ and have even been seen swimming in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The tiny critters use special sacs on their stomachs to hold air to keep themselves afloat.While they might be small they do have a few tricks up their tiny sleeves. The nudibranchs feed on the Portuguese man o’ war. While the venom of this species is excruciatingly painful‚ according to NOAA it is rarely deadly. But unlike humans‚ the blue dragons are immune to the toxins within the man o' war. Instead‚ the blue glacus is able to siphon off the stinging cells from the siphonophore‚ which are called nematocysts‚ and store them itself within the frilly ends of its body. The blue glaucus is capable of holding so many of these stinging cells within that‚ when touched by a human or predator‚ the dragons release stinging cells full of these toxins into their attacker‚ making them even more dangerous than the man o’ war itself.                 IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.Even more extraordinarily‚ the blue glaucus is a simultaneous hermaphrodite‚ possessing both male and female reproductive organs. According to Oceana‚ 16 eggs are laid‚ which take roughly three days to hatch and then live around a year. 

A magnificent fossil find was made in the Italian Alps in 1931. The specimen retrieved was thought to show remarkable preservation of an ancient reptile’s soft tissues‚ but that wasn’t the whole story. Now‚ a new study has revealed what makes this unusually well-preserved fossil so unusual: that “soft tissue” is‚ in fact‚ just black paint on a carved surface.The specimen‚ believed to be around 280 million years old‚ was classified as a reptile of the Protorosauria group based on its morphology and preserved soft tissues that had a dark coloration. Thought to be skin‚ it was held up as a shining example of exemplary preservation in multiple publications following its discovery‚ but nobody had ever taken that close a look at its composition.Technology‚ as we know‚ marches on‚ and armed with tech that wasn’t available at the time of the fossil’s discovery‚ a team of researchers decided to take a closer look. Ultraviolet (UV) photography revealed the first clue that all was not as it seemed when it showed that it had been treated with some kind of coating material. This wasn’t yet the “aha!” moment‚ however‚ as they figured that it may have been a conservation technique (coating fossils with varnish used to be common practice) and hoped that palaeobiological treasure was sitting just beneath the surface. However‚ further examination revealed that those soft tissues really were just paint‚ though the fossil – belonging to Tridentinosaurus antiquus – wasn’t a total fake.Dr Valentina Rossi with an image of Tridentinosaurus antiquus.Image credit: Zixiao Yang“We now know that this fossil is not complete and definitely not exceptionally preserved‚ meaning that it doesn't have soft tissues preserved‚” said study lead Dr Valentina Rossi of the Museum of Nature South Tyrol in Bolzano‚ Italy‚ to IFLScience. “We discovered however that some bones and osteoderms are preserved so potentially there is more that we can do in the future‚ including do more fieldwork to find new and better-preserved specimens.”Fraudulent fossils have been a common theme among palaeontological hoaxes‚ with the Piltdown Man being one of the greatest in the history of science. The forged remains of an animal that was “part human‚ part ape” gripped the attention of palaeontologists for the first half of the 20th century before it was exposed as a fake in 1953.  Beyond being a waste of time‚ partial and complete fakes have the potential to skew our understanding of natural history‚ so uncovering them Scooby-Doo style is a crucial step toward discovering the truth. Fortunately‚ studies such as this one go to show that we have the tools in our arsenal to recognize forgeries for what they really are.“This discovery was a total surprise‚ but I think the story here is very powerful‚” added Rossi. “Forged fossils are a big problem because these are often produced en mass in developing countries and then sold to the black market. So it's crucial for paleontologists to be able to recognize them and most importantly be aware of what materials may be used to produce a fake fossil.”The study is published in the journal Palaeontology.

Have you ever wondered if the sun‚ the moon‚ or the stars have feelings? Or if the rocks‚ the trees‚ or the clouds have thoughts? Or if the atoms‚ the electrons‚ or the quarks have experiences? If you have‚ then you are not alone. Many philosophers throughout history have entertained the idea that everything in the universe has some form of consciousness‚ or a mind-like quality. This idea is called panpsychism‚ from the Greek words pan (all) and psyche (soul or mind). Panpsychism is one of the oldest philosophical theories‚ dating back to ancient Greece‚ where thinkers like Thales‚ Plato‚ and Spinoza proposed that all things have a soul or a mind. Panpsychism was also popular in the 19th century‚ when philosophers like William James‚ Alfred North Whitehead‚ and Bertrand Russell argued that consciousness is a fundamental and ubiquitous feature of reality. However‚ panpsychism declined in the 20th century‚ when logical positivism and physicalism dominated the philosophy of mind. Logical positivists claimed that only statements that can be verified by empirical observation are meaningful‚ while physicalists claimed that only physical entities and properties exist. But in recent years‚ panpsychism has experienced a revival of interest‚ thanks to the hard problem of consciousness and the developments in neuroscience‚ psychology‚ and quantum physics. The hard problem of consciousness is the question of how physical processes in the brain give rise to subjective experiences‚ such as seeing colors‚ feeling emotions‚ or having thoughts. This problem seems to resist a satisfactory explanation by physicalism‚ since there seems to be an explanatory gap between the objective facts about the brain and the subjective facts about consciousness. Some philosophers have suggested that panpsychism can offer a solution to this problem‚ by positing that consciousness is not a product of complex physical systems‚ but rather a basic property of all physical entities. One of the main arguments for panpsychism is based on the principle of simplicity or parsimony. This principle states that we should prefer simpler explanations over more complex ones‚ all else being equal. Panpsychists claim that their view is simpler than physicalism‚ because it does not require any additional ontological categories or explanatory mechanisms to account for consciousness. Instead‚ it assumes that consciousness is already present in all physical things‚ albeit in different degrees and forms. Panpsychists also claim that their view is simpler than dualism‚ because it does not require any non-physical substances or properties to account for consciousness. Instead‚ it assumes that consciousness is an intrinsic aspect of all physical things. Another argument for panpsychism is based on the principle of continuity or naturalism. This principle states that we should avoid postulating any radical discontinuities or breaks in nature‚ unless there is compelling evidence for them. Panpsychists claim that their view respects this principle better than physicalism or dualism‚ because it does not assume that consciousness emerges suddenly or mysteriously from non-conscious matter at some point in evolution or complexity. Instead‚ it assumes that consciousness is a gradual and natural feature of all matter‚ varying in degree and quality according to its organization and structure. Is there any evidence of panpsychism? According to Roy Smith‚ Computer Engineer‚ our understanding of matter and consciousness is far too tangled in Cartesian Dualism for us to even begin to understand the structure of reality. We must completely eject our belief in an external objective reality of matter “out there” if we are the grasp the true meaning of panpsychism. Neuroscientists like Christof Koch are embracing panpsychism because they have realized that it is virtually impossible for consciousness or subjective experience magically pop out of unconscious complex matter. They’ve adopted panpsychism as the only logical choice. Unfortunately‚ they are still mired in the materialistic belief in matter as a separate‚ external reality. Their panpsychism is really Materialism 2.0. The only way to truly understand panpsychism is through its most advanced development in A.N. Whitehead. According to Whitehead‚ the true units of reality are not the materialist notion of random bits of brute matter floating in space‚ but in what Whitehead calls “occasions of experience”. In other words‚ these occasions of experience are the only “real” things that exist. Matter is just a construct of our own mental apparatus. Whitehead asserts that‚ “‘I hold that these unities of existence‚ these occasions of experience are the really real things‚ which in their collective unity compose the evolving universe ever plunging into the creative advance.'” The entire universe and everything in it‚ including brains‚ is a relationship between consciousness and unconsciousness. These represent two mutually attracting poles that underpin everything‚ particles‚ atoms‚ stars‚ galaxies‚ humans‚ etc. Consciousness at one pole represents all future potentials and probabilities. It is known as the mental pole. At the other pole is vacuum space‚ the unconscious matrix out of which matter forms. The matter matrix has the characteristic of what we call the standard model in physics. It’s a rule set in consciousness that governs the formation of “stuff” in the universe. This “stuff” exists in a past relationship to the mental or consciousness pole. The material pole is characterized by time and space. The mental pole does not exist in a spacial dimension‚ it just “Is”. The relation between the material pole and the mental pole is only in the time dimension. In other words‚ matter follows mind. Whatever mind creates‚ matter follows. Whitehead calls these material forms‚ “concretions”. Whitehead derived his panpsychism from an intimate knowledge of quantum mechanics and intuition about existence. He was the brilliant mathematician who with his student Bertrand Russell authored what is possibly the most important mathematics text‚ the Principia Mathematica‚ which is still used today. He understood that quantum theory and experimentation shows us that consciousness is fundamental at quantum scale. When we make a quantum measurement we are collapsing a probabilities “wave” into a particle‚ and this is how consciousness causes the concretion of forms. Consciousness produces waves in the matrix of vacuum space and the waves in turn collapse into concretions of forms. It takes a finite amount of time for waves to “wave” so the concretions appear in a past relationship to the actual movement of consciousness. It is these concretions that give us the physical universe and its myriad forms. So‚ in answer to the question‚ we may say that the best “evidence we have for panpsychism comes from quantum mechanics. Of course I’ve only briefly touched upon the principles of Whitehead panpsychism but we can gather from it that we must utterly change our clunky materialist concept of brute matter existing objectively in external space as false. To really understand how consciousness interacts with matter we must utterly change our point of view to that of consciousness and its “occasions of experience” as the only reality there is. Panpsychism is not without its challenges and objections One of them is the combination problem: how do the microphenomenal experiences of simple physical entities combine to form the macrophenomenal experiences of complex physical entities? For example‚ how do the experiences of billions of neurons in the brain combine to form the unified experience of a human being? Or how do the experiences of trillions of atoms in a neuron combine to form the experience of a neuron? Panpsychists have proposed various solutions to this problem‚ such as emergentism (the idea that new levels of experience arise from lower levels)‚ holism (the idea that higher levels of experience are not composed of lower levels)‚ or neutral monism (the idea that there is a common substance underlying both physical and mental aspects). Another objection to panpsychism is the incredulous stare: how can we seriously believe that everything has consciousness? Isn’t this just a fanciful or absurd idea? Panpsychists respond by pointing out that their view is not as implausible as it may seem at first glance. They argue that we should not anthropomorphize or project our human-like qualities onto other things‚ but rather recognize that there are different kinds and degrees of consciousness. They also argue that we should not dismiss an idea just because it goes against our common sense or intuition‚ but rather examine it on its own merits and evidence. How consciousness interacts To understand how consciousness interacts withe the human brain‚ we must refer to the quantum mind theory of consciousness developed by Roger Penrose and Stuart Hameroff‚ which is based on the Whitehead model. Consciousness interfaces with the brain by means of quantum vibrations in brain neuron microtubules. It is these quantum vibrations or waves of consciousness in brain microtubules that set up the quantum computing states of the dipole protein arrays that make up the structure of microtubules‚ setting up appropriate code for axon firing and other operations that control body and brain. There name of this theory‚ which has experimental evidence‚ is Orch OR. Panpsychism is an ancient idea that has regained popularity in modern times. It is a bold and radical theory that challenges our conventional views on reality and consciousness. It offers a simple and naturalistic account of how consciousness pervades everything in existence and also raises questions about the nature and origin of mind‚ matter‚ and life. The post Panpsychism: The Radical Idea That Everything Has a Mind appeared first on Anomalien.com.

A mystical incident recently occurred at Mberi Primary School‚ Zengeza Community‚ Zimbabwe. In the classroom‚ right during lessons‚ we saw a ghostly shadow figure behind a classroom desk. According to local news site H-Metro‚ it happened during a 4th grade lesson. Behind one of the desks a shadowy silhouette suddenly appeared‚ the figure resembling a woman. This ghost‚ or whatever it was‚ was immediately noticed by both the students and the teacher‚ and they were all terribly scared‚ immediately running in panic from the office. They were so terrified that there was a stampede at the door‚ in which one of the girls was almost crushed. Fortunately‚ she did not suffer any serious injuries. The students who jumped out immediately hurried to tell everyone they met about what they had seen‚ so that soon the whole district knew about it. The school was surrounded by a crowd of people‚ including parents of students. Some of them were alarmed and aggressive‚ and one was even arrested by the police. “Something scared our children at school. They saw a shadow-like silhouette in the shape of a woman at the table‚ which forced the students and teacher to run out of the class. And when other students and teachers entered this class‚ there was nothing there anymore “‚ says one of the parents. He added that they suspect that one of the school employees is interested in Satanism‚ which is why a ghost or demon appeared in the class. Education officials said they were investigating the case‚ including one named Kureva who arrived at the school and inspected it just before journalists visited. Journalists tried to ask him questions about the incident‚ but the answer was meager. “I am not in a position to comment on this‚ it is better for you to consult with the Ministry later‚ after we have prepared the report.” The post Ghost or shadow person sparks chaos at Zengeza primary school appeared first on Anomalien.com.

Saturn’s largest moon Titan has long been of interest to scientists and astronomers who hoped to find signs of life there. However‚ the latest research conducted by astrobiologist Catherine Neish indicates the absence of life on Titan. Neish and her team’s research suggests that Titan’s underground ocean is likely uninhabitable. The discovery has major implications for the search for extraterrestrial life in the outer solar system‚ where the giant planets Jupiter‚ Saturn‚ Uranus and Neptune are located. Geosciences professor Catherine Neish notes that the scientific community had high hopes of finding life on the icy worlds of the outer solar system. However‚ new evidence suggests that this may be much less likely. One of the key factors influencing the possibility of life existing is the availability of water. Life requires the presence of water as a solvent. Therefore‚ planets and moons with large amounts of water are of particular interest to scientists. Titan’s underground ocean is believed to have a large volume of liquid water‚ more than 12 times the volume of Earth’s oceans. That is why Titan attracted the attention of planetary scientists and astronomers. However‚ Neish and her team’s research showed that the amount of organic molecules that could be transported to Titan’s underground ocean is very small. Using data from impact craters and the estimated frequency of impacts on Titan’s surface‚ scientists determined that the mass of organic matter transported in this way is insufficient to support life. One reason for this is the difficulty of transferring carbon from Titan’s surface to its underground ocean. Carbon is an essential element for life‚ and its presence along with water in one place is key to habitability. However‚ icy worlds such as Titan‚ Europa and Ganymede contain virtually no carbon on their surfaces‚ and the amount of carbon in their depths remains unknown. “We assumed that the majority of melt deposits — 65% — would sink all the way to the ocean‚” Neish told Space.com. “Recent modeling work suggests that this is very likely an overestimate‚ but even in this most optimistic scenario‚ there is not enough organics moving into Titan’s ocean to support life there.” For planetary scientists‚ astronomers and space agencies such as NASA‚ the discovery was a major disappointment. However‚ scientists hope that further research may shed light on other factors in the habitability of the outer solar system. The post Titan’s underground ocean is likely uninhabitable appeared first on Anomalien.com.

Whenever you set up a liberal journalist or panel of liberal journalists to address “the role of the media in the 2024 election‚” it’s going to reflect the questions inside their bubble‚ so it’s mostly about Donald Trump. How does he get away with so much? How does he gain advantage from 91 felony indictments? Can we cover his speeches live? Do we quote his social-media posts? People on the Left don’t believe in fairness or balance or giving both parties a chance to speak. They believe they are democracy and Republicans are the end of democracy. They will save the planet from climate catastrophe‚ and the Republicans are climate deniers. They are the ones who believe in diversity and inclusion…but they won’t include any Republicans‚ unless they provide that Liz Cheney echo of your biases. NPR media reporter David Folkenflik moderated a panel for something called the “News Literacy Project‚” which clearly signaled they are aligned with the liberal media‚ since their guests on an Election 2024 panel were the alphabet of networks: ABC’s Mary Bruce‚ CBS’s Major Garrett‚ NBC’s Kristen Welker‚ and PBS’s Geoff Bennett. Folkenflik shared one often-shared leftist theory from New York University professor Jay Rosen: focus on “the stakes‚ not the odds.” Don’t cover the horse race and obsess over polls; warn people that re-electing Trump is an epic disaster. It’s the argument we have witnessed for eight years now. “Fair and balanced” is like favoring “dead and buried.” A journalist can’t “normalize” Trump‚ can’t let him speak live on camera. It’s like allowing a deadly virus to infect democracy. That goes for Trump-friendly Republicans as well. Folkenflik asked Welker about leftists who were furious that she didn’t push back on Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) when she described January 6 prisoners as “hostages.” Welker said she would probably act differently in retrospect‚ but she likes to let guests “finish their thoughts.” That’s not what she practiced in her Trump interview. Then Folkenflik “balanced” it by asking Garrett about George Stephanopoulos asking Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) if a president can defy Supreme Court rulings. Folkenflik mischaracterized the Vance answer‚ and Stephanopoulos cut Vance off‚ saying “you made it very clear you believe the president can defy the Supreme Court.” Garrett sided with the Democrat hack: “I’m not gonna flyspeck George Stephanopoulos here or anywhere else. George has earned his reputation as one of the best interlocutors in live television…full stop.” Conservatives never have a point about being mistreated. Folkenflik briefly touched on pro-Trump voters and whether the “mainstream” media can educate them‚ but later Garrett was blunt: “We can’t service those who have decided to opt out. And if you watch Newsmax‚ you’ve opted out. You have said… ‘mainstream media‚ you don’t meet my needs.’” The NPR reporter pushed back‚ that maybe they’ll get contrasting information from social media. Garrett dismissed it: “If you’re a dedicated Newsmax watcher‚ you’re not going to be someone even inclined -- even if something comes in the side door of your feed‚ through Instagram or Facebook or X or TikTok‚ and it says ‘CBS’ on it‚ you have already decided‚ ‘probably not.’” What’s fascinating is his lack of introspection‚ that he’s saying “if something comes to me from Newsmax‚ I’ve already decided ‘probably not.’” Liberals think the conservatives are the ones who can’t process an opposing opinion and consider whether it’s legitimate. We’re automatically illegitimate‚ and argue in bad faith. Liberals organize unanimous panel discussions‚ in front of unanimous audiences who think conservatives would “benefit” from more liberal bias. The liberal bubble is real‚ and it's thick.

Is Diablo 4 on Game Pass? Given Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard‚ it's only natural to want to know which‚ if any‚ of the ActiBlizz IPs are going to make it to Game Pass. We don’t blame you for wanting to know if the RPG game is on Microsoft’s subscription service - after all‚ it's a fair chunk of cash you could be saving if you're still waiting to meet Lilith in Sanctuary. We know that games comes and go to Game Pass all the time‚ so we've got the latest information on D4 on Game Pass‚ and you can prepare yourself by checking out what the devs say are the best Diablo 4 builds‚ as well as our definitive guide to the Diablo 4 classes‚ as well as our Diablo 4 review if you're still on the fence about playing. Continue reading Is Diablo 4 on Game Pass? MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Diablo 4 builds‚ Diablo 4 review‚ Diablo 4 classes

Red Dead Redemption 2 DLC feels like it hardly got started. The superb 2018 open-world western remains one of Rockstar’s best games to date‚ far superior‚ so far as I’m concerned‚ to Grand Theft Auto 5. And yet‚ it’s never received even close to the same amount of love. Red Dead Online has been more or less abandoned. There are dailies‚ and Rockstar occasionally recycles an old seasonal pass or something‚ but a full‚ substantial update‚ with meaningful new material for RDR2 and RDO‚ hasn’t materialized since 2021. Nevertheless‚ we live in hope - perhaps the world of John Marston and Arthur Morgan could have one last rodeo before riding off in the sunset. With GTA 6 on its way‚ Rockstar seems to be up to something. The Red Dead Redemption 2 Steam backend has been very active lately… Continue reading Red Dead Redemption 2 update hinted‚ as Rockstar makes hidden changes MORE FROM PCGAMESN: The best story games on PC‚ Best western games‚ Best sandbox games

PowerWash Simulator VR is about to get better as the Muckingham Files are coming‚ free of charge to all players. These six levels add a ton of new content to enjoy‚ showing that long-term support across PC and VR is at the forefront for developer FuturLab. In our PowerWash Simulator VR review‚ we were enamored with the port of the popular indie game stating that it "sets a new standard for the care and attention to detail that devs must now meet when porting their games into virtual reality". PowerWash Simulator ultimately landed itself on our list of the best Meta Quest 3 games too. Continue reading 9/10 VR game gets free DLC and a big discount for new players MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best simulation games‚ Best co-op games on PC

Things got seriously intense In the last Boruto chapter! Shikamaru was caught up in a sticky situation‚ dealing with political pressure and trying to figure out what Boruto was up to. Koharu and Homura were all over him‚ suggesting some pretty drastic stuff‚ and Shikamaru got to keep his cool. Meanwhile‚ Boruto was in the middle of a major showdown with Mitsuki. The action sequences were off the charts‚ with Boruto showing off some seriously cool moves and thinking on his feet.