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Over the decades‚ guitarist Steve Conte has impacted numerous acts to sublime perfection. Be it the New York Dolls‚ Michael Monroe’s solo ensemble‚ or his solo career‚ one thing is sure: Conte is a philosopher of all things guitar. In serving up buffets of musical perfection‚ Conte’s multi-layered‚ genre-defying approach to his instrument supplies listeners with fresh perspectives and‚ more importantly‚ damn good music. If you missed Conte’s former band’s Company of Wolves‚ Crown Jewels‚ or the Conte’s‚ you’ve got your marching orders for musical retrospection. But in the meantime‚ Conte’s latest record‚ The Concrete Jungle‚ is available across all streaming The post Steve Conte of The Michael Monroe Band: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

Out in the islands of the Galápagos Archipelago live 1.5-meter (5-foot) long yellow lizards who have a history – and a future – linked to the islands of Baltra‚ North Seymour‚ Fernandina‚ Isabela‚ South Plaza‚ Santa Cruz‚ and Santiago. Meet the yellow iguanas.Also known as Galápagos land iguanas (Conolophus subcristatus)‚ these impressively yellow lizards are one of four iguana species found sunning themselves across seven islands of the many in the Galápagos. This large reptile‚ once noted as “numerous” on Santiago by Charles Darwin in 1835‚ went extinct in the early 20th century because of competition and predation by introduced pigs‚ cats‚ and goats. "Like their brothers the sea-kind‚ they are ugly animals‚ of a yellowish orange beneath‚ and of a brownish red color above; from their low facial angle they have a singularly stupid appearance‚" wrote Darwin‚ clearly not impressed by these large reptiles.  The iguanas also had a population on Baltra‚ but also went extinct there as well because of introduced cats. However‚ on North Seymour‚ the iguanas were introduced by military personnel from Baltra around the time of World War II and grew to a large population of around 4‚000.However‚ this population is thought to be too big for the island to sustain since they were never natively found on North Seymour.  There has also been some suggestion that this population has caused a decrease in the flora of the island – they are known to eat at least 30 different plant species. These iguanas have very little access to fresh water and receive almost all their moisture from consuming vegetation‚ in particular cacti. After the war‚ the iguanas were introduced back onto Baltra and grew to a population of around 2‚500 in the 1930s. The team at the Galápagos Conservancy surveyed Santiago to review it as a possible site for yellow iguana reintroduction. They also hoped that by reintroducing the iguanas to the island they could help restore the ecological health of Santiago. Iguanas are thought to be important seed dispersers for the native plants as well as being interlinked to the bird species that live there. “The land iguana is a herbivore that helps ecosystems by dispersing seeds and maintaining open spaces devoid of vegetation‚” said Danny Rueda‚ the park authority’s ecosystems director told the Guardian.                    In 2019 around 1‚400 iguanas were released back onto the island‚ and after some delays due to the COVID pandemic‚ researchers were eventually able to return to monitor the population. They were pleased to discover juvenile iguanas and breeding taking place 187 years after the species went extinct there. “This is a major conservation achievement‚ and strengthens our hopes of restoring islands that have been severely affected by introduced species‚” said Danny Rueda Córdova‚ of Galápagos National Park‚ on the Galápagos Conservation Trust website.

You could do worse than to end up with a wedding ring made of the zombie fungus Cordyceps sinensis‚ a parasite that’s touted to be worth more than its weight in gold to the right buyer. Coveted for medicinal use‚ it’s a crucial form of income for some people‚ but one that’s under threat due to climate change and overharvesting.Zombie fungi seize their hosts‚ manipulating their nervous system so that they behave in a way that's beneficial for spore dispersal. Cordyceps was the inspiration for The Last Of Us‚ but as of yet‚ it has – thankfully – never parasitized a human. As for caterpillars? Well‚ just ask the ghost moths‚ Hepilus fabricius.Ghost moth larvae are victimized by the highly prized caterpillar fungus that’s found at altitudes above 4‚500 meters (14‚700 feet) in Bhutan‚ China‚ India‚ and Nepal. It’s known as yartsa gunbu or DongChongXiaCao‚ and translates to winter worm – summer grass.The caterpillar never makes it to the surface‚ but its brain-exploding mushroom does.Image credit: Mr.Karan Nandee / Shutterstock.comThe haunting name about hits the nail on the head as its spores invade the bodies of caterpillars‚ directing them toward the soil’s surface where they die. Cordyceps remains dormant in the winter‚ and then bursts out of the caterpillar’s head into the sunshine come spring.Spores escaping the mushroom are free to float into the environment‚ further infecting more caterpillars. The long stick-like protrusions that burst out of their heads were once confused for worms‚ but it’s actually the fruiting body of Cordyceps sinensis.Valued at around $150‚000 per kilogram in China with a global market value of $11 billion‚ reports New Scientist‚ yartsa gunbu turns quite the profit‚ but harvesting it isn’t easy. It requires foraging at an elevation almost the same as Everest’s Base Camp‚ attracting a “wormrush” each year as people flock in search of fruiting bodies.Know your fungus.Image credit: posmguys / Shutterstock.comWith a limited harvesting window of two months‚ and many collectors reliant on Cordyceps income‚ overharvesting has met with climate change to deliver a sucker punch to their numbers. Each year it gets harder to find the parasitized caterpillars‚ feeding into a cycle that’s turning winter worm–summer grass into the world’s most expensive fungus.Companies are now exploring the possibility of cultivating Cordyceps artificially as it's been found they have similar nutritional contents to their wild and scarce counterparts. While a solution to the issue of sustainability‚ it’s not a sustainable approach for the pickers who rely on the caterpillars for income.  It's a fine line to tread between conserving this unique zombie fungus and a traditional practice that's persevered for a thousand years‚ but one that's worth our consideration. After all‚ as they say‚ even a worm will turn.

Ginger Zee‚ who indicates on social media that she is chief meteorologist and chief climate correspondent with ABC News‚ posted a photo of the aftermath of what she described as a "smash &; grab."The theft appears to have occurred in Oakland‚ California‚ as her Instagram and Facebook posts about the crime indicate the city is the location relevant to the posts.While she noted that the theft felt "violating‚" she said that she felt sadness for those who engage in such unlawful activity. See on Instagram "Smash &; grab was NOT what we had on our bingo card … that’s for sure. Grateful to be safe‚ the stuff they stole will be replaced… but it makes me sad for the folks that do this. Whatever circumstance gets someone to that choice of crime‚ I hope you know you stole things that are very meaningful to me too— items my kids made me I travel with etc‚ passport‚ my glasses - all of which I’m sure is trashed and the tech is being sold‚" she wrote in an Instagram post.The vehicle was apparently a rental."Something we learned and I want to pass on: they have been targeting rental vehicles &; specifically hatchbacks. Our items were not in plain sight‚ low‚ covered etc and we were only grabbing food and using the bathroom. 20 min tops‚" Zee wrote. "Car was parked right across the street from the salad joint we stopped at between shoots. It was a beautiful sunny day‚ about 2 pm."In a post on X‚ Zee noted that "the rental car place said they get up to ten a day! It's wild." — (@) Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A previously unknown and unpublished sketch depicting soldiers and camp followers marching through Philadelphia in 1777‚ has been donated to the Museum of the American Revolution. The soldiers were troops from the North Carolina Brigade‚ and this pen-and-ink drawing is the first depiction of them known. It is the second known eye-witness drawing of camp followers. The sketch captures the North Carolina Brigade going through Philly on August 25‚ 1777‚ on their way to join the Continental Army before the Battle of Brandywine (September 11‚ 1777). Two soldiers walk in front of a large open wagon. The wagon driver is on horseback between them and an officer on horseback takes up the rear. The wagon carries two women‚ one holding a baby. The inclusion of female camp followers – who shared life on campaign with enlisted husbands and fathers and supported the troops by sewing‚ doing laundry‚ and selling food – exemplifies a direct defiance of known regulations at the time about how women following the army could use wagons. Earlier in August‚ before the march depicted in the sketch took place‚ Washington himself brought up issues of women and children slowing down his troops‚ calling them “a clog upon every movement.” The reverse of the page has sketches of five men in dynamic action‚ three of them captured drawing their swords from different angles‚ two throwing punches. The scene was identified by an inscription written underneath it: “an exact representation of a waggon belonging to the north carolina brigade of continental troops which passed thro Philadelphia august done by …” Unfortunately‚ the name of the artist was lost in an old attempt to repair the paper. Museum curator Matthew Skic analyzed the handwriting and compared the style of the drawing to other works from the period‚ ultimately identifying the artist as Pierre Eugène du Simitiére‚ a portrait painter‚ naturalist and coin collector born in Geneva‚ Switzerland‚ in 1737 who became a naturalized citizen of New York in 1769. He moved to Philadelphia in 1774. It’s more than fitting that this unique view of history penned by du Simitiére should join the collection of the Museum of the American Revolution. He was a dedicated collector. He founded the first museum of natural history in the Unites States from his private collection of specimens and his coin collection was the first to be sold in America. He assiduously documented the Revolution as it happened‚ before it was even a revolution‚ in fact. He collected ephemera (pamphlets‚ broadsides‚ communications‚ newspaper stories) of democratic uprisings in America going back to the 17th century. He attempted to publish his massive history of the American Revolution‚ but his appeal to Congress for financial report failed. His art put food on the table‚ and even then he was deeply involved in the newly-independent country. He was a consultant for the committees who designed the Great Seal of the United States‚ and he added the Eye of Providence to the pyramid. “We were thrilled to piece together the many illuminating and significant parts of this sketch’s history through our unparalleled scholarship here at the Museum of the American Revolution‚” said Dr. R. Scott Stephenson‚ President and CEO of the Museum. “As we round out our celebration of Women’s History Month‚ we revel in the discovery of this new depiction of female camp followers as highlighting the lesser-known stories and critical roles of women throughout the American Revolution are at the heart of the Museum’s offerings.”

These compounds can kill methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)‚ a bacterium that causes deadly infections. Using a type of artificial intelligence known as deep learning‚ MIT...

This affordable telescope is $30 off at Best Buy‚ and is perfect for this month's eclipse.

The Maya created a complex calendar system to regulate their world — one of the most accurate of pre-modern times.

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