If you’re the kind of person who likes rare things‚ then the toromiro tree would be a truly exceptional addition to your ornamental garden. That’s the only place you’re likely to find the toromiro these days‚ 70 years after it went extinct on its native island of Rapa Nui—which most people are likely to know […] The post The Story of How Rapa Nui Lost a Flowering Tree‚ and How Humans Ensured its Survival appeared first on Good News Network.

News The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon AMC Offers a Quick Peek at The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon—The Book of Carol Everyone is always trying to find everyone else on these shows By Molly Templeton | Published on April 1‚ 2024 icon-comment 0 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed Everybody gets a “Book of” these days. (Yes‚ I’m looking at you‚ Boba Fett.) This summer‚ Carol (Melissa McBride) returns to the world of The Walking Dead in—take a deep breath—The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon—The Book of Carol. It doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue‚ does it? But even a person who gave up on the original TWD many‚ many seasons back might feel a small twinge of excitement at the little teaser that AMC released for this series. Carol was always one of the best parts of the original series‚ and now she’s back‚ having turned up in the very end of Daryl Dixon‘s first-season finale. And she seems very determined to find her friend. AMC released a short clip that follows up on that last scene—one that begins with Daryl (Norman Reedus)‚ who is‚ per usual‚ in a nasty spot of trouble. (Good thing all the guys on his side have really good aim.) The focus then switches to Carol‚ who tries to play nice with a bunch of strangers‚ asking about a bike that once belonged to Daryl. The strangers are not forthcoming‚ and Carol switches tactics—with the help of a conveniently placed crossbow. The logline for the season doesn’t say much that isn’t implied by these scenes: “The new season picks up where The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon left off‚ with both confronting old demons while Carol struggles to find her friend and he struggles with his decision to stay in France‚ causing tension at the Nest.” The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon—The Book of Carol premieres this summer (they haven’t gotten more specific yet) on AMC and AMC+. [end-mark] The post AMC Offers a Quick Peek at <;i>;The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon—The Book of Carol<;/i>; appeared first on Reactor.

Book Recommendations Science Fiction Five SFF Books About Idealistic Pursuits That Failed True believers can change society—though not always in a positive way‚ according to these SFF stories… By James Davis Nicoll | Published on April 1‚ 2024 icon-comment 0 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed Who among us has not envisioned a more perfect society? One that will be realizable if only everyone (masses and elites alike) could be convinced to adopt the one true path? One realizable if all of us were to follow the inspired leaders who promise perfect happiness! A few science fiction authors have written to advance their views as to the perfect society (ahem‚ Ecotopia‚ cough cough). But it has been as common‚ or perhaps more common‚ for authors to imagine either flawed utopias (The Dispossessed) or dwell on the miseries that follow mistaken idealism. Here are five books about idealistic pursuits that failed. The Mercenary by Jerry Pournelle (1977) Fearing nuclear war‚ the United States of America and the Soviet Union formed the CoDominium‚ dividing Earth between them. This cynical power-sharing arrangement has thus far succeeded in its two goals: world peace and entrenched power for the American Unity Party and the Russian Communist Party. Of all the American parties‚ only the Unity Party is willing to make the compromises necessary to keep the CoDominium functioning. The Unity Party is threatened in the polls by the pugnacious Patriot Party and the idealistic Freedom Party. If the voters are too irresponsible to vote Unity‚ the only choice for continued world peace‚ then it is the duty of men like the Honorable John Rogers Grant to protect voters from their own terrible judgement. That this will keep Grant in office is but a trifling side effect. I apologize to modern readers for whom the idea of an American political party making common cause with the Russians in exchange for short-term political is absurd. It was the Cold War! There were lots of odd ideas floating around. In the Unity Party’s defense‚ their belief that they’re America’s only bulwark against nuclear war does prove correct… unfortunately for most of the inhabitants of the Northern hemisphere. In the Hands of Glory by Phyllis Eisenstein (1981) When the unworkably vast Stellar Federation bowed to reality and dissolved itself‚ the officers of the Stellar Patrol found themselves suddenly unemployed. This was unacceptable to General Bohannon of the 36th Tactical Strike Force. His force easily conquers the agrarian world of Amphora—just the first step in Bohannon’s grand plan for the future of the galaxy. Eighty years later‚ Lt. Dia Catlin has been loyally playing her part in achieving the vision of the long-dead Bohannon. Captured by Amphoran rebels still not reconciled to Patrol rule‚ Dia’s eventual rescue turns her into a Patrol hero. This in turn puts Dia in a position to discover the undisclosed portion of Bohannon’s glorious plan… an “Are we the baddies?” revelation sufficiently alarming to compel Dia to switch sides. Points to Bohannon for setting in motion a social movement still active long after his death. However‚ as characters in the novel observe‚ his grand scheme is basically a less workable version of the Federation‚ which‚ as was previous established‚ never managed to successfully administer a realm on a galactic scale. Shadows of the Short Days by Alexander Dan Vilhjálmsson (2014) Garún is determined to see the rise of a just‚ egalitarian society in Kalmar-occupied Reykjavík. Garún works tirelessly in the cause of reform despite the considerable personal risk involved. Garún is one of the half-human and despised huldufólk; in the eyes of the Kalmar Commonwealth‚ Garún and her people have no rights that need to be respected. Should she be detained by the authorities‚ she can expect punishment that will be even more dire than the dismal fates meted out to fully human dissidents. Garún’s ex-boyfriend Sæmundur has a cause of his own. Sæmundur is determined to master the forbidden esoteric secrets of galdur‚ magic by another name. In Sæmundur’s hands‚ galdur could transform Garún’s revolutionary quest. Should Sæmundur succeed in his aims—and nothing seems sufficient to deter him—nobody will call Sæmundur “Sæmundur the Mad” again. Quite possibly because there will be nobody left alive in Reykjavík to do so. Garún is a legitimately inspirational figure. Alas‚ her ex‚ Sæmundur the Mad‚ is the sort of deranged researcher who gives vainglorious tampering in domains that have been forbidden to humans for good reason a bad name. Not only is he determined to undermine reality itself‚ the means by which he funds his research are socially irresponsible at best. These Fragile Graces‚ This Fugitive Heart by Izzy Wasserstein (2023) Mid-21st century Americans enjoy the full benefits of climate change and corporate domination without the distraction of functioning state or federal governments. Kay refused to serve the oligarchs. Kay also refused to simply starve. Instead‚ she founded a commune. Under Kay’s leadership‚ the commune has survived while remaining loyal to its founding principles… despite considerable pressure to compromise. Kay’s death seems to be suicide. Kay’s ex-girlfriend Dora is certain that Kay was murdered. Worse yet‚ Dora believes that the killer had to be a member of the commune. Dora is not quite correct about what’s going on. The situation is actually much worse than Dora fears. This novella is admittedly something of an outlier to my theme‚ in that the idealists aren’t the problem. The pragmatists are. Further‚ Kay has somehow managed to keep the commune on mission without becoming some sort of cult leader. Due to the focus of the story‚ we don’t see how she managed that trick. There has to be more to it than sincerity and hard work… Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan (2024) Forced from their traditional homelands by human-caused climate change‚ Fathomfolk are grudgingly granted refuge by those same humans. Relegated to second-class status‚ Fathomfolk are a valuable but despised underclass. Half-siren Mira has spent her career proving herself a loyal‚ hard-working guard. She is eventually the first Fathomfolk promoted to captaincy of the border guard. Too bad for Mira that the job largely involves keeping her fellow Fathomfolk in line. Mira’s sister-in-law Nami cares nothing for incremental social progress. Nami believes in deeds not words! Nami believes in revolution‚ not evolution! Nami also believes that hunky revolutionary Firth is far too handsome to be as evil as his actions suggest he is. Nami means well. Too bad for everyone near Nami. Many will suffer for Nami’s belief in the redeeming effect of Firth’s irresistible cheekbones. Not Nami herself. Nami has the most annoying ability to convince those around her to give Nami second chances. This might make Nami a greater threat to the public good than Firth. Idealists and their selfless drive to change less-than-perfect societies have often transformed such societies… though not always in positive ways. Not only that; their example has inspired authors to pen compelling stories. Idealists abound in SFF. I may have missed some of your favorites. If so‚ feel free to remind me of them in comments.[end-mark] The post Five SFF Books About Idealistic Pursuits That Failed appeared first on Reactor.

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If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties‚ subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Scotland’s contentious “hate crime” legislation‚ widely criticized as an affront to free speech‚ is now in effect. Critics have voiced concerns that these new measures‚ while designed to address the alleged harm inflicted by hatred and bias‚ may inadvertently act as a tool to suppress freedom of speech and be abused. Implemented on 1 April under the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act‚ the laws aim to bolster protections for individuals and communities vulnerable to hate crimes. These laws offer a unifying structure that both consolidates current legislation and introduces new offenses. Now‚ any threatening or abusive conduct intended to inflame hate‚ rooted in prejudice towards various characteristics like age‚ disability‚ religion‚ sexual orientation‚ and transgender identity‚ constitutes wrongdoing. The law‚ applicable even within the boundaries of private family homes‚ penalizes behavior devised to incite hatred‚ a provision previously only applicable to racial matters in Scotland. Humza Yousaf‚ Scotland’s First Minister‚ stated emphatically that a “zero-tolerance approach” is needed to combat hate. He expressed his confidence in the police’s ability to handle investigations related to alleged hate. The majority of the Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) approved the legislation in 2021. High-profile figures like J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk have publicly expressed their disapproval of the act‚ highlighting its threat to free speech. A recent letter to Holyrood’s criminal justice committee from the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents (ASPS) raised concerns that an activist fringe might “weaponize” the law. Police Scotland has pledged to examine every hate crime reported. The First Minister reaffirmed his “absolute faith” in the abilities of the police force to filter out frivolous complaints at the First Minister’s Questions session. He dismissed criticism of the law as “disinformation‚” alleging its compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights and its provision for an explicit clause safeguarding free speech‚ among other defenses. Conservatives have called for the removal of the act‚ suggesting that the resources should instead be utilized for frontline policing. Russell Findlay MSP‚ the shadow justice secretary for the Scottish Conservatives‚ criticized the timing of the law’s implementation and its potential consequences for Scots. Findlay also expressed dissatisfaction that many police officers have yet to receive training on the new law and voiced concerns about access to training material by the criminal justice committee. The post Scotland Implements Controversial Hate Legislation That Damages Free Speech appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

Democrats Abandoning Biden Over Border Crisis

Eclipse fever is not just for those looking forward to spectacular sights next week. NASA will launch three sounding rockets to see how the temporary blocking of sunlight affects the upper atmosphere as part of APEP (Atmospheric Perturbations around Eclipse Path‚ but also the name of the Egyptian Sun God’s nemesis).Starting 90 kilometers (55 miles) up‚ the ionosphere is well above the highest clouds‚ so it‘s usually exposed to sunlight throughout the day. Eclipses are the one exception‚ and provide an opportunity to study it in ways dusk does not. Most eclipses lack suitable launch sites‚ at least in the path of totality – but the eclipse of April 8 passes conveniently close to some major American sites.The APEP team‚ led by Professor Aroh Barjatya of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida‚ has put new instruments on three sounding rockets they launched from White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico during the 2023 annular eclipse. These will explore the ionosphere to a height of 420 kilometers (260 miles) during the eclipse’s peak‚ as well as 45 minutes before and after.The ionosphere is "an electrified region that reflects and refracts radio signals‚ and also impacts satellite communications as the signals pass through‚” Barjatya said in a statement. “Understanding the ionosphere and developing models to help us predict disturbances is crucial to making sure our increasingly communication-dependent world operates smoothly.”The ionosphere during an ordinary day/night cycle. Red and yellow represent high-density ionized particles‚ seen during the day. The purple dots represent neutral‚ relaxed particles at nightImage Credit: NASA/Krystofer KimSunlight‚ of course‚ affects all parts of the atmosphere – but the ionosphere is a creation of that light. High-energy photons separate atoms into electrons and positively charged ions. At night they recombine‚ so the ionosphere declines. Weather conditions lower down in the atmosphere also play a part‚ creating a more complicated picture.Satellites have revealed an even bigger impact from eclipses‚ but those suitably equipped with instruments are seldom in the right place at the right time for observations. The rockets‚ on the other hand‚ can be timed at scientists’ will. The path of totality passes to the west of the Wallops Island‚ Virginia‚ launch site. However‚ the APEP team consider it close enough to get the data they need.The waves created by ionized particles during the 2017 total solar eclipseImage Credit: MIT Haystack Observatory/Shun-rong ZhangObservations of previous events reveal atmospheric waves that affect the entire path of the eclipse‚ as well as more localized disturbances known as perturbations‚ which can interfere with radio signals. The changes can be seen in variations in both temperature and plasma density.The rockets will compare the density of charged and neutral particles at the three points during the eclipse. “Each rocket will eject four secondary instruments the size of a two-liter soda bottle that also measure the same data points‚ so it's similar to results from fifteen rockets‚ while only launching three‚” Barjatya said. The work will be further supported using high-altitude balloons‚ ground-based radar‚ and some satellite observations.   The rockets’ launch during the 2023 annular eclipse is shown above. A steep drop in plasma density on that occasion was reported at the American Geophysical Union conference.  “We saw the perturbations capable of affecting radio communications in the second and third rockets‚ but not during the first rocket that was before peak local eclipse‚” said Barjatya. “We are super excited to relaunch them during the total eclipse‚ to see if the perturbations start at the same altitude and if their magnitude and scale remain the same.”

Despite being the last continents on Earth to be inhabited by humans (excluding Antarctica)‚ the Americas are thought to have been home to around half of all language families ever spoken. Tracing these dialects back to their prehistoric roots‚ the author of a new study has revealed that every North American language can be linked to one of two ancient Siberian mother tongues‚ which were brought to America 24‚000 and 14‚000 years ago respectively.In the millennia before the first words of English‚ Spanish‚ French‚ or Dutch were uttered on North American soil‚ the continent was abuzz with the sound of around 200 separate language families‚ making it an incredibly verbally diverse region. The first of these vernaculars is thought to have been imported when glaciation opened up a passage from Siberia to Alaska in the late Pleistocene‚ although how this language spread and evolved over the years is a difficult story to tell.In an attempt to unravel this oral history‚ renowned linguist Johanna Nichols from the University of California‚ Berkeley‚ compared the semantic features of 60 different North American languages spanning all language families and the entire geographical range of the continent. To group these languages together‚ Nichols looked at “16 linguistic structural features that are known or likely to be good markers of families‚ areas‚ or underlying types.”Examples of such features include gendered nouns‚ numeral classifiers‚ and n-m pronouns‚ whereby the first-person singular pronoun has an "n" as its first consonant while the second-person singular form has an "m" instead.Ultimately‚ Nichols was able to trace all languages back to two founding populations‚ the first of which appeared along the west coast of North America with two waves of Siberian immigrants that arrived 24‚000 and 15‚000 years ago. At a time when glaciation made human settlement north of the Columbia River impossible‚ these two groups of newcomers mingled in California and Oregon‚ giving rise to the first distinct group of American languages.According to Nichols‚ this dialect is notable for its prominent use of n-m pronouns and preceded the arrival of the second Siberian language type‚ which appeared among the first inland communities following the formation of an ice-free corridor around 14‚000 years ago. Characterized by polysynthesis - whereby sentence-like words can be built by stacking up affixes - this second founder population gave rise to the languages spoken by the famous Clovis culture which occupied parts of North America prior to 10‚000 BCE.Speakers of these dialects then mixed with a fourth wave of Siberian entrants around 12‚000 years ago‚ ultimately giving rise to a family of languages that were distinct from those spoken in California and Oregon‚ and which became the lingua franca of the earliest settlers of the Pacific Northwest.Overall‚ therefore‚ Nichols concludes that “structural profiles imply that two linguistically distinct and internally diverse ancient Siberian linguistic populations provided the founding American populations.”Amazingly‚ she writes that “the dominant structural properties among the founder languages are still reflected in the modern linguistic populations‚” which means the distribution of North American languages continues to be defined by the ancient glaciation events that led to the opening of these entry windows.The study has been published in the American Journal of American Anthropology.

Interstellar space is not too far. We have already sent two probes beyond the heliosphere – the region where the Sun dominates with its solar wind. Our foray into the space between the stars has brought crucial new insights but remains too limited to provide a deep understanding of our place in the galaxy.One important aspect that we are completely ignorant of is the shape of the heliosphere. The name suggests a spherical shape but we are not actually sure it is. Models suggest that it might be stretched‚ or even crescent-shaped‚ instead of spherical. Researchers have now worked out where best to send a probe to understand the heliosphere."Without such a mission‚ we are like goldfish trying to understand the fishbowl from the inside‚" first author Dr Sarah A. Spitzer‚ from the University of Michigan‚ said in a statement."We want to know how the heliosphere protects astronauts and life in general from harmful galactic radiation‚ but that is difficult to do when we still don't even know the shape of our shield‚" added Dr Marc Kornbleuth‚ a research scientist at Boston University and co-author of the study.The galactic radiation affects the shape of the heliosphere‚ making it directional. There’s the nose side in the solar direction of motion‚ where the heliosphere is closest to the Sun. And there’s the tail‚ that extends a bit like the wake of a boat. A mission proposal in 2021 considered possible direction and assumed a probe 45 degrees from the nose was optimal. This new work disagrees.Spitzer and colleagues crunch the numbers of six possible trajectories with the idea of maximizing scientific outputs. After all‚ it would take many years to leave the heliosphere. They found that going through the flanks would be a great position to study interstellar space and get a better idea of the shape of the heliosphere.The two spacecraft in interstellar space are Voyager 1 and 2. They were not designed for this purpose‚ but to study the giant planets‚ so their ability to study the interstellar plasma has been limited. And they do not get too far off the nose. At the tail‚ the interstellar plasma might be able to be injected into the heliosphere. But we can’t be sure unless we can get a proper look at it from the outside."If you want to find out how far back your house extends‚ walking out the front door and taking a picture from the front sidewalk is likely not your best option. The best way is to go out the side door so you can see how long it is from front to back‚" said Kornbleuth."A future interstellar probe mission will be our first opportunity to really see our heliosphere‚ our home‚ from the outside‚ and to better understand its place in the local interstellar medium‚" added Spitzer.Voyager 1‚ which is currently experiencing a major computer problem‚ has traveled about 163 astronomical units (AU) from us. One AU is the Earth-Sun distance and a probe that takes the path drawn by Spitzer and her team would travel to 400 AUs with an expectation that it would survive over many decades to 1‚000 AUs."This analysis took a lot of persistence. It started small and grew into a great resource for the community‚" said Susan Lepri‚ a professor of climate and space sciences and engineering at the University of Michigan and the senior author of the study.A paper describing this work is published in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences.

The yellow-bellied toad is sure to win the hearts of even the most hesitant of anuran appreciators‚ being an adorable little amphibian with heart-shaped pupils. Exactly what the pupil shape means in terms of the toad’s vision isn’t known for certain‚ but the staggering diversity of anuran pupil shape has taught us that previously held associations of pupil shape with lifestyle might not apply to amphibians.Yellow-bellied toads‚ Bombina sp.‚ are well suited to muddy life‚ being sediment-brown on top with bright – you guessed it – yellow bellies. They hibernate for a long period over the winter and then emerge in spring for the mating season. As they go in search of love‚ their vision is guided by heart-shaped pupils that are just one of many strange pupil shapes seen in anurans‚ which is the group of amphibians that encompasses frogs and toads (some of the rarest of which can be seen at ZSL London Zoo’s new Secret Life Of Reptiles And Amphibians house).A study decided to hop into the strange world of anuran pupil shape by looking at images of 3‚200 species. Doing so revealed that the pupil in anurans is a highly plastic structure that’s evolved seven main shapes during the history of the group. They did not find a significant correlation between pupil shape and the animals’ habits‚ except that aquatic anurans appeared to more often have circular pupils.Get a load of those peepers.Image credit: Matthijs Hollanders / Shutterstock.com“Some authors tested the association of pupil shape and diel activity for some amniote clades‚” wrote N. Cervino et al. “They showed a significant correlation between pupil shape and ecological niche (diel activity‚ foraging mode)‚ where herbivorous (prey) mammals are likely to have horizontal pupils‚ diurnal predators‚ circular pupils and nocturnal and arrhythmic ambush predators‚ vertical slit pupils. However‚ our results suggest that in anurans‚ these inferences do not hold‚ indicating the need to explore other potential drivers of pupil evolution.”One of those authors was principal investigator Marty Banks of the Banks’ Lab‚ UC Berkeley’s visual space perception laboratory‚ who told IFLScience that there was a curious outlier in the animal pupil shapes they studied.“There’s one very clear exception for which we have no explanation: the mongoose‚” said Banks to IFLScience. “It’s a small carnivorous mammal that has eyes on the front of its head. So‚ you’d expect them to have either a vertical slit pupil or a round pupil‚ but they have horizontal pupils. That animal does not fit our account at all.”Heart-shaped or horizontal‚ it’s clear there’s more to the pupil than meets the eye.[H/T: Snopes]