Ever seen a bee slap an ant? We imagine the answer to that is “no”, but if you’re now desperate to know what that looks like, well, today’s your lucky day.Researchers from the National Institute for Environmental Studies in Japan have discovered that, in the face of unwanted visitors, Japanese honey bees (Apis cerana japonica) can take to slapping them away with pretty spectacular force – and they nabbed some footage of it.Whilst this behavior had been described before in anecdotes, this study marks the first time that “wing-slapping”, as it’s been dubbed by the researchers, has been captured in such detail.Using a high-speed camera, the team recorded interactions between Japanese honey bee colonies and Japanese pavement ants (Tetramorium tsushimae) and were able to play the footage back in slow-motion, revealing exactly how the bees slapped the ants away.“Our results show that the bees slap the ants through direct contact with their wings,” the researchers write. “Specifically, the worker bees executed the slap behavior by first tilting their bodies toward the ants, then flapping their wings while simultaneously turning their bodies.”Whilst this might be a reasonably effective way of getting rid of the pavement ants – the success rate was around one in two or three attempts – there’s a possibility the success of wing-slapping might be species specific. The team also observed the behavior in response to Japanese queenless ants (Pristomyrmex punctatus) and Japanese wood ants (Formica japonica) and found the success rate was relatively low for the latter, which they suggest might be because this species is bigger and faster, and thus more difficult to flick away.Though impressive, wing-slapping is only the latest in a long list of defensive techniques known to be used by Japanese honey bees, some of which frankly make slapping an ant so hard it falls off the ant-equivalent of a cliff seem relatively tame.We’d argue the most metal of these involves roasting giant hornets alive. Sadly, bees don’t have money so they can’t buy an oven to lob invading hornets in, but what they do have is an affinity for teamwork; they swarm around the giant hornet and vibrate, with the insect inside unable to tolerate the toasty 47.2°C (117°F) temperature that action generates.So why use wing-slapping against ants when there are other, spicier behaviors to choose from? More research needs to be done, but the researchers suggest that may come down to cost and simplicity.“Wing-slapping behavior might have evolved among Japanese honey bees as a relatively low-energy, generic defense against the threat of ant incursion,” the team conclude. The study is published in Ecology.

The Last Supper with Jesus is one of the iconic stories in the Bible. 2 thousand years later, archaeologists believe that they have found the exact location of the house where the Last Supper took place, writes Daily Mail . Researchers believe the biblical supper took place in the “upper room” of a two-story house with limestone walls and a red sloping roof. This building still stands in the city. The fact is that the site of the Last Supper was depicted in detail on several works of art dating back to at least the 4th century BC. The Bible also described in detail the story of the Last Supper in 33 AD, when Jesus gathered with his 12 apostles and said that one of them would betray him, and the death of Jesus himself was inevitable. It is known that the upper room of the biblical building, also known as the upper room, was a prayer room that could accommodate more than 120 people. Luke 22:11-13 briefly described this room when Jesus asked for a large, furnished upper room where he and his disciples could have the Passover meal. Vaulted ceiling of the Upper Room. Credit: biblicalfrchaeology.org The upper room is located in the old city of Jerusalem on Mount Zion, which is located above the southern gate. Columns support the building’s vaulted ceiling and sloping red roof. At the moment, archaeologists cannot excavate at this site, so they cannot accurately confirm the history of the building. Back in 1884, Greek Orthodox Christians found one of the earliest maps of Jerusalem. The discovery was made during the construction of a new church in Madaba, Jordan. The map was created in 560 AD as a depiction of the Holy Land, which had a Cardo Maximus (main street) running down the center, as well as two sacred structures at the southern end (lower right), identifiable by their red roofs. All objects were labeled in Greek, including the Damascus Gate and the square on the left side, the southern Jaffa Gate at the bottom and Bethlehem on the right. But it wasn’t until 2017 that University of North Carolina religious scholar David Christian Clausen noticed something unusual on the map. The building had the same red slanted roof as the Upper Room, and it was located in the same place. This is what led scientists to believe that the Upper Room was the site of the Last Supper, but more evidence was still needed. Ancient map. Photo: biblicalfrchaeology.org And they appeared in a 6th century drawing discovered in Italy in 1846. The drawing shows Jesus riding through the southern gate of the city on a donkey, with the Upper Room in the background. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) decided to test the theory in 2019 using laser technology and advanced photographic images. Using technology, scientists wanted to remove all the renovations that the Upper Room had undergone over the years in order to see what it was like during the Last Supper. “I felt like I was in Dan Brown’s book The Da Vinci Code. There were ancient symbols to decipher,” says Amit Reem, Jerusalem district archaeologist at the Israel Antiquities Authority. The researchers mapped every corner of the room to create an accurate model of the space, which pointed out interesting features of the Upper Room. They displayed little-known works of art such as symbols of the Agnus Dei, or “Lamb of God,” and the Lion of Judah on the ceiling. “The lion was the symbol of King David, and according to ancient scriptures, Jesus was a descendant of King David,” explains Reem. Archaeologists still need to do more research, he said. There is still no archaeological evidence that the Upper Room was the site of the Last Supper. The post Archaeologists Claim Discovery of Jesus’ Last Supper House appeared first on Anomalien.com.

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Microsoft Glitch Brings Worldwide Halt to Business and Government Operations

The Blue Screen of Death is impacting thousands of Windows machines today, as a faulty update from cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike is forcing those machines into a recovery boot loop, so they can't start properly. As reported by The Verge, the issue first affected Australian banks, airlines, and TV broadcasters, but it spread to Europe as the business day started. Among the companies affected, Ryanair had issues with a "third-party IT" impacting flight departures, the FAA is assisting American airlines due to communication issues, Berlin airport is also having difficulties, and so on. On X, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said the company was aware of this issue: “CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack.” https://x.com/George_Kurtz/status/1814235001745027317 Even though the issue seems to have been identified and a fix has been deployed, it seems IT admins will have a busy day. According to The Verge, the "root cause appears to be an update to the kernel level driver that CrowdStrike uses to secure Windows machine." While CrowdStrike has reverted the faulty update, it doesn't appear to help machines that are already presenting the Blue Screen of Death. A Reddit thread mixes possible solutions and workarounds with a lot of humor, as IT admins are already considering this issue a historical day, and fixing this boot loop isn't that simple. That said, if you work on a Mac or Linux machine, you might get double the work this Friday, as you're not affected by this outage. BGR will continue to follow up on this issue, and we'll update the article if we learn more. Don't Miss: Apple’s longest-running series isn’t on TV+, but it just got a new episode The post Massive global Windows PC failure is crippling thousands of businesses appeared first on BGR. Today's Top Deals Best Ring Video Doorbell deals for July 2024 75+ leftover Prime Day deals you can still shop today Today’s deals: $169 AirPods Pro 2, $21 Philips Sonicare toothbrush, $35 Sony Bluetooth speaker, more Today’s deals: Galaxy Z Flip 6 & Fold 6 offers, $30 Blink Video Doorbell, $25 Amazon Echo Buds, more

There's a new breed of premium robot vacuum and mop combo devices that has finally breathed some life into the somewhat stagnant market. For years, we saw little more than smartphone-like iteration, with new models offering nothing but a power bump and a few tweaks here and there. Now, however, devices like the roborock Qrevo Master robot vacuum and mop have come along and changed the game. Roborock's Qrevo Master is a powerful robot vacuum. It's also an intelligent autonomous mop. But this model's most impressive features aren't immediately apparent until it starts cleaning. That's when you come to appreciate things like the FlexiArm side brush and mop, as well as the auto-fill and auto-cleaning base station. The Qrevo Master is the ultimate roborock robot, and it's currently on sale with a massive $500 discount in a last-minute Prime Day 2024 deal. roborock Qrevo Master Robot Vacuum and Mop, 10000Pa Suction, FlexiArm Design Side Brush & Mop,… Price: $1,099.99 Buy Now I won't bother going over the basics when it comes to the roborock Qrevo Master's specs and features. If you're shopping for an ultra-premium robot vacuum and mop combo device like this one, you obviously already know how these devices work. There are a few key things that are worth highlighting, however. The roborock Qrevo Master has a powerful motor with suction that goes up to 10,000Pa in boost mode. That ranks this model among the most powerful robot vacuums on the market right now. It also has all the bells and whistles you might want when it comes to navigation and AI-powered obstacle avoidance. Plus, it has dual rubber rollers with a decent tangle-free design. In my testing, however, I did notice that dog hair still tends to get wrapped around the ends of the rollers sometimes. Now, let's talk about what makes the roborock Qrevo Master special. First, we have roborock's FlexiArm design, which I love. Most robot vacuum and mop models have stationary side brushes and mopping pads. On the Qrevo Master, the side brush and one of the mop pads are on special arms that extend outward. This way, they can extend into the corners of your floors as well as other hard-to-reach spaces. It's an awesome feature, and it's rare to find a single robot with a side brush and a mop that both extend. roborock Qrevo Master Robot Vacuum and Mop, 10000Pa Suction, FlexiArm Design Side Brush & Mop,… Price: $1,099.99 Buy Now The other thing I absolutely love about the roborock Qrevo Master is roborock's new Multifunction Dock 3.0. This new base station from roborock has two large tanks of water, one clean and one dirty. As the robot mops, it returns to the base station to have the dirty water sucked out. Then, the clean water tank refills the robot so it can go back to mopping. When the roborock Qrevo Master is finished cleaning, the base station automatically washes the mop pads. It also dries them with 113-degree F hot air. That way, you don't have to worry about smells or bacteria. There's also a third space in the Multifunction Dock 3.0 underneath the water tanks for roborock's extra-large debris bag. The base station sucks all of the dirt, dust, and hair out of the robot and stores it in a bag. It holds up to seven weeks' worth of dirt, or even more, depending on how dirty your floors get. That way, you only have to worry about changing the bag every 1.5-2 months. roborock Qrevo Master Robot Vacuum and Mop, 10000Pa Suction, FlexiArm Design Side Brush & Mop,… Price: $1,099.99 Buy Now Now, we come to what is really the only downside with the roborock Qrevo Master: the price tag. At $1,599.99, this model is one of the most expensive high-end robot vacuum and mop combo devices you can buy. Needless to say, all of that power and all of those awesome cutting-edge features come at a price. Still, if it's within your budget, you're not going to find a better flagship robot vacuum than the roborock Qrevo Master. It's worth noting that this model is currently on sale with a massive $500 discount for Prime Day 2024. That drops the price to $1,099.99, which is an all-time low for the Qrevo Master. Since Prime Day is technically over, however, I don't expect this deal to stick around much longer. If you've been on the fence but the high price was making you balk, now is absolutely the time to pull the trigger. Don't Miss: 75+ leftover Prime Day deals you can still shop today The post roborock Qrevo Master is like nothing you’ve seen before, and it’s $500 off for Prime Day appeared first on BGR. Today's Top Deals Stunning Yaber T2 Outdoor Projector has a massive Prime Day discount Best Apple deals for July 2024 Best Ring Video Doorbell deals for July 2024 Amazon gift card deals, offers & coupons 2024: Get $375+ free

As President Joe Biden faces a growing drumbeat of pressure to drop his reelection bid, a majority of Democrats think his vice president would make a good president herself.

France's outgoing parliament president Yael Braun-Pivet won a second mandate on Thursday, in a vote that President Emmanuel Macron's camp hopes will boost their chances to run the government and defeat the left.Braun-Pivet scored 220 ballots while her main rival for the...

An Iranian-made drone sent by Yemen's Houthi rebels struck Israel on Friday, leaving one person dead and at least 10 wounded in a neighborhood near the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv.The aerial strike - the first lethal Houthi attack in Israel - rumbled through the center of the...

Scientists consider Last Chance Lake to be an analog for lakes that may have existed on Earth 4 billion years ago and contained the ingredients for early life on our planet.