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With a penis that’s seven times too large to fit inside the vaginal opening of its species‚ the serotine bat‚ Eptesicus serotinus‚ has had to get creative when it comes to sexual reproduction. It’s physically impossible for the massive appendage to achieve penetration post-erection‚ but video footage has revealed how they’ve evolved to achieve contact mating by wielding their enormous penises like an arm.Looking at a serotine bat‚ you might not realize that it’s concealing some intimidating genitals. These fluffy mammals are fairly large Eurasian bats‚ about the size of a lemon‚ and under that fur‚ the males are packing a penis that’s too big to function.“By chance‚ we had observed that these bats have disproportionately long penises‚ and we were always wondering ‘how does that work?’‚” said first author Nicolas Fasel of the University of Lausanne in a statement. “We thought maybe it's like in the dog where the penis engorges after penetration so that they are locked together‚ or alternatively maybe they just couldn't put it inside‚ but that type of copulation hasn’t been reported in mammals until now.”Typically considered a penetrative organ in mammals‚ it would seem the species was doomed given that the males’ penises are seven times longer and wider than the average vaginal opening and canal of the females. With a heart-shaped tip‚ it could’ve all been so romantic were it not so disproportionate. The bats made the researchers' lives easier by *ahem* standing to attention while under anesthesia.Image credit: Olivier GlaizotIf you’re wondering how you come about such precise measurements of a bat’s penis‚ the species comes with the convenient quirk of getting an erection while under anesthesia‚ a trait shared by several vesper bats. Awkward for the anesthetist‚ but convenient for research.Despite the ill-fitting puzzle pieces of their genitalia‚ serotine bats persist‚ so how are they making baby bats without the kind of penetration that typically characterizes mammalian sexual reproduction? Mating is a behavior we know little about in a lot of bat species‚ but researchers were able to obtain footage of mating serotine bats with a few choicely placed cameras.The resulting footage captured 97 mating events that took place in a bat rehabilitation in Ukraine and a church attic in the Netherlands. Watching them back revealed that the pats don’t engage in penetrative sex‚ luckily for the females‚ and that instead‚ the males were wielding their erect penises a bit like an arm to clear the way so they could make better contact with the vulva.Female serotine bats have tail membranes they can use as a form of protection against unwanted male attention. It’s possible that the enormous penis size may have been an adaptation for the males to overcome this barrier‚ by forcibly pushing it out of the way with their huge erections.They may look cute‚ but serotine bats have some pretty pushy mating tactics.Image credit: Alona ShulenkoOnce in position‚ the mating pairs stayed still in an embrace that could last from 53 minutes to 12.7 hours. You’ve got to admit‚ the serotine bat doesn’t do things by halves.The researchers noticed that the females’ abdomens appeared to be wet after the extensive hugging episodes‚ indicating that semen may have been exchanged. However‚ further research is needed to confirm if this is indeed the source of the wetness.Fortunately‚ the researchers are already creating the perfect tool for a serotine bat peep show.“We are trying to develop a bat porn box‚ which will be like an aquarium with cameras everywhere‚” said Fasel.The study is published in Current Biology.

A deep space experiment traveling on NASA’s Psyche spacecraft has just beamed a message via laser to Earth from far beyond the Moon for the first time‚ an achievement that could transform how spacecraft communicate.In the farthest-ever demonstration of this type of optical communication‚ the Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) beamed a near-infrared laser encoded with test data from its position around 16 million kilometers (10 million miles) away – which is around 40 times farther than the Moon is from Earth – to the Hale Telescope at Caltech’s Palomar Observatory in California.The DSOC is a two-year tech demonstration riding along on Psyche as it makes its way to its prime target‚ asteroid Psyche. The demo achieved “first light” on November 14‚ according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)‚ which manages both missions‚ thanks to an incredibly precise maneuver that saw its laser transceiver lock onto JPL’s powerful uplink laser beacon at its Table Mountain Observatory‚ which allowed the DSOC’s transceiver to aim its downlink laser at Caltech’s observatory 130 kilometers (100 miles) away.   “Achieving first light is one of many critical DSOC milestones in the coming months‚ paving the way toward higher-data-rate communications capable of sending scientific information‚ high-definition imagery‚ and streaming video in support of humanity’s next giant leap: sending humans to Mars‚” Trudy Kortes‚ director of Technology Demonstrations at NASA HQ‚ said in a statement.Optical communications have been used to send messages from Earth orbit before‚ but this is the farthest distance yet by laser beams. In a laser beam‚ the beam of photons is moving in the same direction at the same wavelength. Laser communication can transmit vast amounts of data at unprecedented speeds by packing data into the oscillations of these light waves‚ encoding an optical signal that can carry messages to a receiver via infrared (invisible to humans) beams.You can see the DSOC's gold-capped flight laser transceiver on Psyche when it was sat in NASA's Astrotech Space Operations facility back in December 2022.Image credit: NASA/Ben SmegelskyNASA usually uses radio waves to communicate with missions farther than the Moon‚ and both use electromagnetic waves to transmit data‚ but the advantage of laser beams is that much more data can be packed into much tighter waves. According to NASA‚ the DSOC tech demo aims to show transmission rates 10-100 times greater than current top radio communication systems.Allowing the transmission of more data will allow future missions to carry much higher-resolution science instruments as well as allow for faster communications on potential deep space missions – video live streams from the surface of Mars‚ for example. “Optical communication is a boon for scientists and researchers who always want more from their space missions‚ and will enable human exploration of deep space‚” said Dr Jason Mitchell‚ director of the Advanced Communications and Navigation Technologies Division within NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program. “More data means more discoveries.”However‚ there are some challenges to test out first. The farther the distance optical communication has to travel‚ the more difficult it gets‚ as it requires pinpoint precision to point the laser beam. Also‚ the photons' signal will get fainter‚ taking longer to reach their destination‚ eventually creating lag times in communication. During the test on November 14‚ the photons took around 50 seconds to travel from Psyche to Earth. By the time Psyche reaches its farthest distance‚ it will take around 20 minutes for them to travel back – this is long enough for both Earth and the spacecraft to have moved‚ so the lasers on both need to adjust for this change of position.So far‚ the record-breaking technology demonstration has been very successful. “[The] test was the first to fully incorporate the ground assets and flight transceiver‚ requiring the DSOC and Psyche operations teams to work in tandem‚” said Meera Srinivasan‚ operations lead for DSOC at JPL. “It was a formidable challenge‚ and we have a lot more work to do‚ but for a short time‚ we were able to transmit‚ receive‚ and decode some data.”Or‚ as Abi Biswas‚ project technologist for DSOC at JPL put it: “[We] were able to exchange ‘bits of light’ from and to deep space.” Exchanging bits of light to and from deep space could be the game-changing future of how we communicate in space exploration.

Earlier this month‚ two astronauts were on a repair mission outside the International Space Station (ISS) when they dropped a tool bag. While it’s easy to think spotting the dropped object from space could be a bit tricky‚ with the help of a telescope‚ it’s now been photographed in action.The image of the tool bag was captured on November 15 by Gianluca Masi‚ founder of the Virtual Telescope Project. “The image above comes from a single 2-second exposure‚ unfiltered‚ remotely taken with the ARTEC250+Paramount ME+C3Pro61000EC robotic unit‚” said Masi in a statement. “The telescope tracked the extremely fast‚ 1‚000 [inches per second]‚ apparent motion of the bag. The object looks like a sharp dot of light in the center‚ as the telescope tracked it‚ so stars left long trails on the background.”The tool bag is reflective‚ making it easier to spot when the Sun’s light is shining on it‚ despite its small size. As a result‚ the bag can even be spotted with a pair of binoculars by following the path ahead of the ISS‚ although you’ll need clear and relatively dark skies to do so. IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.It was dropped during a repair mission on November 1‚ when astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O'Hara were replacing an element of the station’s solar arrays. Luckily‚ they’d already finished the job when the mishap occurred‚ and the tools weren’t needed for the remainder of the spacewalk. NASA also stated at the time that “Mission Control analyzed the bag’s trajectory and determined that risk of recontacting the station is low and that the onboard crew and space station are safe with no action required.”Since it was dropped‚ the tool bag has been gradually appearing farther away from the ISS as it rapidly loses altitude. If you’re now concerned that an outer space tool bag might suddenly fall on your head‚ you’ll be pleased to know that it’s likely the bag will stick around in orbit for a few more months‚ gradually losing height until it burns up in Earth’s atmosphere.

If you’ve ever wondered what the world looked like to an ancient Roman‚ now’s your chance to cruise over the ancient vista and explore its many grand sites. A new 3D digital model of ancient Rome has been launched that allows users to virtually explore the capital of the Roman Empire in the fourth century CE. The fourth iteration of Rome Reborn: Flight over Ancient Rome was released this month by Flyover Zone‚ a US-based educational company that offers virtual tours of ancient historical sites. The latest version features better graphics and allows users to explore the city from a bird's-eye view plus a ground-level perspective that features expert descriptions of 43 monuments and buildings‚ including the Colosseum‚ Pantheon‚ Baths of Caracalla‚ and the Roman Forum. The tour of Rome Reborn 4.0 shows the ancient capital as it stood in 320 CE. This was a crucial time after the Western Roman Empire had passed its heyday – the “Pax Romana” – and cracks were just beginning to show. It was still the most populous city in Europe by a long shot‚ home to around 1 million people who lived and worked in approximately 7‚000 buildings spread over 13.6 square kilometers (5.3 square miles). Aerial view of the city from the southeast. In the foreground are the Baths of Caracalla. In the middle ground can be made out the Circus Maximus (the 600-meter-long (1‚968-foot) racetrack in the center of the image) and the Colosseum (to the right). In the distance is the Tiber River.Image credit: Copyright 2023 Flyover Zone‚ Inc. All rights reserved.Remarkably‚ an estimated 99 percent of the ancient city has vanished‚ leaving behind just a small scattering of ruins. If you’ve ever had the opportunity to visit Rome‚ the city you walked around is found some 7 meters (22 feet) above the ancient city seen in these maps.The map is based on a digital scan of a physical model held at the Museum of Roman Civilization in Rome. To ensure the map remains accurate‚ the team enlisted the help of a team of archaeologists‚ historians‚ architectural experts‚ and engineers.  If you want to access the tour‚ you’ll need to sign up for the company’s streaming platform‚ Yorescape. In light of this latest release‚ the company is offering one week of free access at: https://yorescape.page.link/rome. You can catch a sneak peek of the tour in the video player above. “Yorescape Rome Reborn 4.0 is the culmination of more than 27 years of collaborative international work in using digital tools to research cultural history and bring it to life. By making the Rome model available through the virtual tour called Flight over Ancient Rome‚ we hope to make it easy and enjoyable for people to learn about the ancient world city and its cultural heritage‚” Bernard Frischer‚ archaeologist and founder of Flyover Zone‚ said in a statement.  “Teachers can use this and other tours on Yorescape to take their students on virtual field trips to the cultures they are studying. Armchair travelers can explore great heritage sites without having to leave home. Yorescape can help travelers to prepare for a trip to Rome‚ get more out of a trip by using it once they have arrived‚ and keep their memories alive once they return home. Our goal is not to replace real-world tourism but to enhance it‚” added Frischer.

Using satellite images and aerial photography‚ archaeologists have uncovered a network of previously unknown and huge Bronze Age sites at the heart of Europe. The team believe these newly identified structures could explain how contemporary megaforts‚ the largest prehistoric constructions made before the Iron Age‚ came into being. The research was led by archaeologists from University College Dublin and colleagues in Serbia and Slovenia‚ who “stitched together” the images and photos to give an impression of the prehistoric landscape of the southern Carpathian Basin. Through this work‚ they were able to find over 100 sites that belonged to a complex ancient society. It is likely that their use of defensible enclosures served as precursors to the large hillforts that have become iconic examples of Bronze Age construction. “Some of the largest sites‚ we call these mega-forts‚ have been known for a few years now‚ such as GradiÅ¡te IoÅ¡‚ Csanádpalota‚ Sântana or the mind-blowing CorneÅŸti Iarcuri enclosed by 33 km [21 miles] of ditches and eclipsing in size the contemporary citadels and fortifications of the Hittites‚ Mycenaeans or Egyptians‚” lead author Associate Professor Barry Molloy‚ UCD School of Archaeology‚ said in a statement.“What is new‚ however‚ is finding that these massive sites did not stand alone‚ they were part of a dense network of closely related and codependent communities. At their peak‚ the people living within this lower Pannonian network of sites must have numbered into the tens of thousands.”All the sites discovered by this work were located in the hinterlands of the Tisza river‚ a major river in Central and Eastern Europe‚ which now extends through several national boundaries. As such‚ the previously unknown communities of people who lived at these sites are being collectively referred to as the Tisza Site Group (TSG).  The Tisza Site Group (TSG) are thought to have been a sophisticated community that lived and cooperated along the banks of the Tisza river.Image courtesy of Professor Barry Molloy‚ University College DublinAlmost all of the TSG sites are within 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) of one another and lie along a river corridor created by the Tisza river and the Danube. This has led the archaeologists to believe that the communities were likely cooperative‚ allowing them to spread out like this. Interestingly‚ the research indicates that the TSG were important centers of innovation in prehistoric Europe and functioned as a major hub for the region at a time when the Mycenaeans‚ Hittites‚ and New Kingdom Egyptians were at their height – around 1500 to 1200 BCE. This is commonly regarded as a major turning point in prehistoric Europe’s story. During the second millennium BCE‚ so it appears‚ the advanced military and earthwork technologies of the society spread across Europe once they collapsed around 1200 BCE. The importance of this group of people now helps explain why material culture and iconography from across Europe was so similar at this time. “Our understanding of how their society worked challenges many aspects of European prehistory. It would be extremely unlikely for each of these 100+ sites to have been individual chiefdoms competing with each other‚” Molloy added.“Uniquely for prehistoric Europe‚ we are able to do more than identify the location of a few sites using satellite imagery but have been able to define an entire settled landscape‚ complete with maps of the size and layout of sites‚ even down to the locations of people’s homes within them. This really gives an unprecedented view of how these Bronze Age people lived with each other and their many neighbours.”“However‚ this was no peaceful time of plenty. Major innovations in warfare and organised violence took place at this time. The scale of this society indicates it was relevant and powerful on a European stage and between force of arms and major defensible features at settlements‚ they were well equipped to defend their gains.”How it's doneArchaeology is more than just trowels and holes. To identify these new sites‚ the team used a barrage of cutting-edge imaging technologies to map out this ancient landscape.Armed with the findings from the satellite images‚ the team could begin their excavations on the ground.Image courtesy of Professor Barry Molloy‚ University College Dublin“We tested the findings from satellite images on the ground using survey‚ excavation‚ and geophysical prospection‚” Molloy explained. “The vast majority of sites were established between 1600 and 1450 [BCE] and virtually all of them came crashing down around 1200 [BCE]‚ being abandoned en masse.”“1200 [BCE] was a striking turning point in Old World prehistory‚ with kingdoms‚ empires‚ cities‚ and whole societies collapsing within a few decades throughout a vast area of southwest Asia‚ north Africa‚ and southern Europe.”“It is fascinating to discover these new polities and to see how they were related to well-known influential societies yet sobering to see how they ultimately suffered a similar fate in wave of crises that struck this wider region.”The paper is published in PLOS ONE.

Once upon a time‚ there was a young girl named Sonoma Blakely‚ whose world revolved around the thunderous beats of horse hooves. At just seven years old‚ Sonoma wasn’t just riding horses; she was racing them‚ feeling the exhilarating rush of wind as she traversed miles of terrain. By the age of 12‚ she had... The post Teen adopts unwanted colt off Craigslist and turns him into the Tevis Cup champion appeared first on Animal Channel.

Last night‚ Fox's Family Guy attacked prominent Republicans such as Ted Cruz‚ implying they were worse than the Unabomber‚ in an episode that also pushed pro-abortion propaganda. Sunday's episode‚ "Boston Stewie‚" opens with Meg frosting cupcakes‚ announcing "I'm celebrating. Oh‚ last night I had my period or miscarriage. Not sure which. Either way‚ happy un-birthday."  A message then pops up on the screen stating‚ "Fun Fact: You can legally report that joke to the Texas Attorney General and collect a $10‚000 bounty!" Chris: Hey Meg. What's with the cupcakes? Meg: I'm celebrating. Oh‚ last night I had my period or miscarriage. Not sure which. Either way‚ happy un-birthday. Where's my phone? I got to text Patty and let her know she can have half of these for her cat's funeral. Coltrane's wake is gonna be lit. Pics to follow. What the hell? What happened?  Chris: [Phone chimes] Hey‚ Meg‚ no Turkey dinner is complete without a little under-nut squash. [Cackles]  Meg: What a jerk. Oh‚ well. Time to go transport a Texas resident to her reproductive health appointment.  The lie that pro-life laws‚ like the one in Texas‚ prevent treatment of miscarriage is a particularly harmful piece of anti-women propaganda spread by abortion activists. Fearmongering is the tactic du jour of the pro-abortion movement‚ so Family Guy naturally regurgitates it without question. The episode then segues into baby Stewie's search for a newly discovered half-brother. Stewie learns that Lois donated her eggs to an IVF clinic when she was in college and one of the eggs was used. A DNA search reveals his half-brother lives in Cambridge‚ Massachusetts. He finds his sibling urinating outside the Harvard University campus. A montage follows of famous Republicans who graduated Harvard....plus the Unabomber. Half-brother: [Boston accent] Eat my wizz‚ you Harvard fruit bags. [Zips]  Stewie: Oh‚ my God‚ that must be him. And‚ hey‚ don't do that. Harvard is a respected institution that only produces our nation's finest. ♪ The boys are back in town‚ the boys are back in town ♪ ♪ I said the boys are back in town. ♪ Our apologies to the Unabomber. It was a cheap shot to include him.  Family Guy routinely targets former President Donald Trump‚ Republicans and MAGA voters. With the presidential election less than a year away‚ last night was likely just a taste of the nastiness that will continue to ramp up against Republican targets in the months ahead.