An Idaho resident was scratched by a rabid skunk, triggering an exceptionally rare and fatal chain of events that resulted in the deaths of two individuals, including the initial bite victim and an organ transplant recipient, as announced by federal authorities.
This incident marks the fourth case of rabies transmission via organ transplant in the U.S. since 1978, according to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC reported, “Our investigation indicates a possible three-step infection chain where a rabid silver bat infected the skunk, which subsequently infected the donor, and then the kidney recipient.”
The agency noted that the Michigan man “underwent a left kidney transplant from an Idaho donor at an Ohio hospital” in December and passed away approximately six weeks later.
The CDC confirmed that “viral RNA was found in the saliva, nuchal skin, and brain tissue samples” of those affected by rabies.
New interviews with the families of Idaho organ donors revealed “information not captured in the DRAI questionnaire,” referring to the “Donor Risk Assessment Interviews.”
Investigators determined that, in late October 2024, a skunk “approached and scratched a donor who was holding a kitten in a rural outbuilding” in Idaho.
The donor died roughly six weeks later, exhibiting symptoms such as “confusion, difficulty swallowing and walking,” along with “hallucinations,” as reported by the CDC.
Officials indicated that the Idaho man’s corneas were extracted and “three patients, one each from California, Idaho, and New Mexico,” received transplants in December and January.
As investigations proceed, three “corneal recipients underwent preventive graft removal,” and “plans for a fourth corneal graft for a patient in Missouri have been halted,” according to the CDC.
All three patients are currently reported to be asymptomatic.
A variety of websites, such as LinkedIn, Zoom, and Downdetector, experienced outages on Friday morning due to another incident involving Cloudflare. This marks the company’s second disruption within a month.
Cloudflare reported that the outage was triggered by adjustments made to their firewalls intended to protect customers from a widespread software vulnerability disclosed earlier this week, clarifying it was not the result of a cyber attack. Previously, another issue was observed concerning their application programming interface.
The incident lasted approximately 30 minutes, concluding shortly after 9 a.m. Japan time. This follows a larger Cloudflare outage in mid-November that impacted platforms like X, OpenAI, and Spotify, along with online games such as League of Legends.
The underlying issue was identified as “configuration files that are automatically generated to manage threat traffic,” which exceeded expected sizes, leading to a crash of the software system responsible for handling traffic across various Cloudflare services.
Friday’s malfunction appeared relatively minor, affecting sites including Canva, Shopify, and the India-based brokerage firm Groww, alongside LinkedIn, Zoom, and Downdetector, which tracks online service issues. Downdetector recorded over 4,500 reports related to Cloudflare once the services resumed.
Given the recent series of prominent internet outages, some businesses might be reevaluating their reliance on Cloudflare’s offerings.
Stephen Murdoch, a computer science professor at University College London, noted, “Given these two outages within such a brief timeframe, it’s likely people will begin to question their reliability. They’re not satisfied, and Cloudflare isn’t happy either. They apologize, but it’s premature to determine if there’s a systemic problem, like software misuse, or just unfortunate timing.”
Murdoch emphasized that Cloudflare, known for its global cloud services and cybersecurity, promotes itself on its reliability. Businesses utilize its services for enhanced immunity against specific cyber threats, improved website performance, faster load times, and greater resilience to server failures.
The recent outages from Amazon Web Services, including one in October that affected over 2,000 businesses globally, have sparked discussions among experts about whether major internet services are becoming overly centralized and thus more vulnerable.
“There’s significant centralization occurring,” Murdoch stated. “Cloudflare offers an excellent product and is widely used, which introduces potential vulnerabilities.”
“This highlights yet again how exposed the major tech internet is,” remarked Michał “Risiek” Wojniak, an expert on DNS and internet infrastructure. “This marks the fourth major global outage since October 20th that has drawn the attention of media outside of the tech sphere and affected everyday users around the globe.”
According to Cloudflare, around 20% of all websites utilize its services in one form or another. The company boasts nearly 300,000 clients in 125 countries and claims to thwart billions of cyberattacks against its users on a daily basis, generating over $500 million (£440 million) each quarter.
Wojniak stated that the recent outages raise questions about Cloudflare’s marketing strategy, which promotes reliability and resilience alongside the common belief that larger enterprises are safer partners than smaller infrastructure providers.
“These companies are growing too large to fail, and their extensive traffic handling means that when they do encounter issues, it leads to significant problems very quickly,” he added.
Conversely, Murdoch suggested that the outages could be an opportunity for Cloudflare. “When AWS went down, its stock price actually increased because people recognized the scale of its usage. [The outage] serves as effective marketing, demonstrating the widespread reliance on Cloudflare.”
Do you really need to invest in a new TV? The allure of the latest features and massive screen sizes is strong, but exercising a bit of patience could save both money and the planet. You can enhance your viewing experience with some straightforward tips and tricks.
It’s understandable to feel Fomo. In the past, buying a new TV was typically only necessary when the old one failed completely. Back then, all TVs seemed quite similar, offering nearly the same features.
The landscape today is vastly different. Every year introduces a new selection of high-tech flat screens that surpass previous models in clarity. What was once a simple box is now a sophisticated piece of technology, often displayed on your wall as art.
But I can relate to your frustrations. It doesn’t take long for even the latest screen’s brilliance to feel a bit lackluster. My smart TV’s picture quality seems to fade, and its operating system feels sluggish with each passing month. Apps lag, and navigating menus seems cumbersome. And in the back of my mind, the thought of a shiny new OLED creeps in.
But is that truly necessary? I’m here to suggest that you can delay that purchase and enhance your TV experience with a few adjustments and perhaps some budget-friendly gadgets.
Upgrade Your Smart TV OS
One of the telltale signs that a TV is nearing the end of its useful life is its smart platform. All reputable shows today connect to streaming services and smart home functionalities, but as more advanced software emerges, older platforms naturally fall out of favor. If your streaming apps no longer receive updates and the interface feels sluggish, it’s a sign.
While it’s disappointing, your TV doesn’t have to head to the landfill just yet. You can breathe new life into it by simply adding an affordable streaming dongle. Devices like Amazon’s Fire TV Stick, Roku’s Streaming Stick, or Google TV Streamer, plugged into a spare HDMI port, can revamp your streaming setup with quicker interfaces, contemporary services, and handy voice search features.
Amazon offers both HD and 4K streaming sticks, with the basic 1080p option priced at £39.99 and the 4K model starting at £49.99.
Amazon Fire TV Stick HD
£39.99 on Amazon £39.99 at John Lewis
Not an Amazon Prime member? Consider the Roku 4K UHD Stick instead. It provides a wide array of streaming apps and services for under £50. The Google TV streamer with built-in Chromecast serves a similar purpose at £99.
Roku 4K Streaming Stick Plus
£24.99 at Argos £39.99 at Currys
Most TVs have a spare USB port for powering the stick, so you won’t even need an extra cable plugged into the outlet.
Alternatively, elevate your viewing experience by opting for Sky Stream. This compact device offers a full suite of premium Sky channels, including movies and sports, plus built-in apps like Netflix, Apple TV, Disney+, Prime Video, and UK broadcasters. The basic subscription starts at £15 per month and includes Sky Atlantic, Netflix, and Discovery+.
The innovation lies in its reliance on your Wi-Fi network, eliminating the need for a dish or antenna. Unlike traditional satellite boxes, it doesn’t come with a built-in hard drive—your recordings are stored on your personal video recorder (PVR) in the cloud, so you won’t run out of space.
Smart Tricks That Actually Work
It might seem unusual, but if you aren’t facing specific tech issues, consider adjusting the lighting in your room for an improved viewing experience. Rearranging lamps to avoid glares and replacing harsh ceiling lights with softer backlighting can create a more enjoyable atmosphere. Installing lights behind the screen can lessen eye strain and enhance perceived contrast. This technique, known as bias lighting, is used in professional settings.
For a bigger view, try moving closer to your TV. While it may sound odd, there’s a clear link between screen resolution and viewing distance.
In the era before HD, lower resolutions often justified a greater distance. However, modern 4K UHD and even 8K TVs feature such high pixel densities that you can sit much closer without eye fatigue.
Ideally, your couch should be placed 1.5 times the distance from the screen. For a 55-inch TV, this translates to a distance of about 2 meters. If comfortable, don’t hesitate to sit closer. Watching native 4K content provides you with richer detail and textures.
Best Times for Watching Movies with Lights On
Ambient lighting can significantly enhance the visual quality of some shows and movies. Photo: SeventyFour/Getty Images
If you enjoy dark, atmospheric films but find that your LED TV appears washed-out in low light, you don’t need to rush for an OLED upgrade. There’s a simple solution.
LED backlighting enables vibrant images under bright conditions, but in dim settings, it enhances the visibility of backlighting and softens the black levels. Watching your LED TV in a room with ambient light can lead to a more natural image, helping black tones stay genuinely black instead of gray.
Maximize Your Current Setup
If your TV’s visuals appear dull or unnatural, it’s possible that the backlighting may be weakening. For a quick adjustment, navigate to the settings menu.
You’re likely viewing the Standard Picture setting, which is typically the default. Try switching to Dynamic or Vivid mode. This can enhance the colors in your visuals and give them more vibrancy.
Not All HDMI Settings Are Created Equal
If the image still seems muted, double-check your HDMI configuration. When consuming HDR content from external devices like set-top boxes, game consoles, or UHD Blu-ray players, an underwhelming visual experience may indicate that HDR isn’t being utilized.
[画像] or [一般設定] Check the HDMI settings in your menu. This is generally labeled as either standard or optimal (or enhanced). Selecting Optimal will let you view both 4K UHD and HDR signals coming from the source.
Conversely, if your HDR content appears too dark and you picked your TV up at a bargain during Black Friday, it may not possess the necessary brightness for effective HDR viewing (despite marketing claims). In this scenario, setting HDR to standard will yield a brighter overall image while retaining 4K resolution.
Enhance Your TV Audio With a Soundbar
If your TV’s audio is less than ideal and clarity is slipping, a soundbar could be the simplest and most effective upgrade.
It’s common for flat-screen TVs to produce mediocre sound quality. Even the latest models often struggle due to their slim designs, which leave minimal space for robust speakers, resulting in disappointing audio. A well-chosen soundbar not only increases volume but also improves clarity and creates a rich soundstage, restoring a full auditory experience missing from built-in TV speakers.
For smaller TVs (around 43 inches), the Sharp HT-SB700 is a solid choice. This Dolby Atmos soundbar, spanning only 640mm, delivers 140W and represents fantastic value.
Sharp HT-SB700
£89 at Tesco £89.99 at Currys
For larger TVs, consider the £999 Samsung HW-Q990F. This impressive soundbar is 1,309mm wide, houses 23 speakers, outputs a total of 756W, and comes equipped with a wireless subwoofer and two wireless rear speakers for a fully immersive cinematic sound experience.
Samsung HW-Q990F Soundbar
£999 at John Lewis £999 at Currys
When All Else Fails – It Might Be Time to Invest in a New TV
That said, certain scenarios warrant upgrading to a new TV. If it tumbles from its stand and you find yourself watching through what resembles 80’s retro visual effects, it’s time to recycle it (and we encourage you to do so) recycle electrical products.
Likewise, if the design feels outdated (I’m referring to those bulky TVs with absurdly wide bezels), an upgrade is justifiable. Wide bezels are unlikely to return to fashion. And if you’re truly drawn to OLED technology, I won’t deter you. The allure of OLED screens is so captivating that they can make even the dreariest TV shows seem appealing.
However, if your concerns stem merely from performance inconsistencies with your trusty older model or a desire for a smarter, interconnected user experience, considering alternative solutions may be a more prudent route to avoid an unnecessary major purchase.
For additional insights, check out our articles on when to upgrade your laptop and how to extend the life of your smartphone.
Steve May is an expert in technology and home entertainment, with over 30 years of experience covering all things television; from the slimmest, brightest screens to sound systems that rival commercial cinemas. When not delving into tech, you’ll often find him binge-watching series or organizing his Blu-ray collection.
New York City’s skyline may undergo significant changes as major cities continue to sink.
Gary Hershorn/Getty Images
Over 20 of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States are experiencing subsidence, impacting thousands of structures and millions of residents.
This phenomenon has been noted especially in coastal areas. However, utilizing satellite technology that gauges the duration it takes radar signals to reach the Earth’s surface and return, researchers discovered that 25 out of the 28 largest cities in the country are affected.
“By analyzing multiple images taken over time from the same region, we can identify subtle vertical shifts in the ground that can reach several millimeters annually,” explains team member Manoochehr Shirzaei from Virginia Tech. “It’s akin to capturing a high-resolution time lapse of the Earth’s surface, revealing whether it is rising or sinking over time.”
Fort Worth, Houston, and Dallas demonstrate the highest rates of subsidence among major cities, averaging over 4 millimeters per year. Cities like New York, Chicago, Houston, Columbus, Seattle, and Denver show average subsidence rates surpassing 2 millimeters annually.
“Houston, the fastest sinking city among the 28 most populous in the US, has 42% of its land area sinking at rates greater than 5 mm per year, with 12% sinking faster than 10 mm annually,” researchers reported.
Most subsidence is attributed to groundwater extraction, although cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC, primarily experience sinking due to “glacial isoplasm regulation.”
“During the last glacial period, these regions were covered by massive ice sheets. The considerable weight of the ice compressed the Earth’s crust, akin to resting on a memory foam mattress,” says Shirzaei. As the ice melted thousands of years ago, the pressure released and the terrain began to slowly recover,” he explains.
“However, this rebound isn’t uniform,” Shirzaei notes. “In some areas, particularly along the East Coast and in the Midwest, the land is subsiding rather than rising due to the residual weight of nearby ice and their proximity to regions currently collapsing.”
In Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco, plate tectonics may account for some of the subsidence.
“We must address sinking as a gradually unfolding disaster,” Shirzaei argues. Researchers also noted that cities can sink at varying rates in different locations or sink continuously in one area while other regions remain stable. “This uneven movement can create angular distortions and stress, resulting in cracks in walls and foundations, misalignments in windows and doors, or even significant structural failures,” Shirzaei warns.
Jesse Cars from Kyoto University in Japan demonstrated similar findings using satellite data, showing that many cities in New Zealand are also experiencing subsidence. “A crucial challenge for the geophysical community remains understanding how the observed trends stem from particular causes, whether they are artificial or naturally occurring geological processes,” he states.
Broadcast journalist Gale King and singer Katy Perry were set to embark on a brief journey to space on Monday aboard a flight operated by Jeff Bezos’ private company Blue Origin. This marks the first all-female crew going to space since 1963.
Their flight on Blue Origin’s New Shepard Rocket was scheduled to launch from Blue Origin’s launch site 1 in West Texas, approximately 120 miles southeast of El Paso. The launch could occur as early as 9:30 am Eastern Time.
This flight will be the 11th human flight for the New Shepard program, having carried 52 individuals, including repeat astronauts. Above the Kalman Line, which marks the internationally recognized boundary of the universe approximately 62 miles (100 kilometers) above Earth.
The New Shepard Rocket flight, offering minutes of weightlessness, will be piloted.
Bezos’ fiancée, former broadcast journalist Lauren Sanchez, was also slated to be part of the NS-31 Mission. The couple’s wedding reportedly is set to take place in Venice this summer.
Another passenger is Aisha Bowe, a former NASA rocket scientist. Elle Magazine reported that she is the first person of Bahamian heritage to venture into space. Also onboard are film producer Kerianne Flynn and Amanda Nguyen, a research scientist at Bioastronauts and a prominent advocate for sexual assault survivors.
According to Blue Origin, Nguyen will be the first Vietnamese woman to travel to space.
“It’s a dream come true, and for me, it was a dream deferred,” Nguyen shared with Elle.
After studying astrophysics and working for NASA, Nguyen shifted her focus to activism following a traumatic event of sexual assault.
“Gender-based violence is a significant factor leading many women in STEM to discontinue their training. I was one of them,” she stated, referring to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
This marks the first space flight featuring an all-female crew since Valentina Tereshkova’s solo flight for the Soviet Union in 1963, making her the first woman in space.
However, there are critics questioning whether all-female crews truly represent moments of feminist progress. The New Shepard program, a cornerstone of Blue Origin’s Space Tourism Business, is seen as a venture for the wealthy and powerful to access space.
Actress Olivia Munn was criticized as being “somewhat tone-deaf” while appearing as a guest host on Today with Jenna and Hoda earlier this month.
“I know this isn’t fashionable, but there are so many other important issues in the world right now,” Munn remarked. “What exactly are you going to do in space?”
During an interview on CBS Morning with an interview aired on Friday, host Vladimir Dutier asked King if she had concerns that the flight may be seen as an advertisement for Amazon founder Bezos. Dutier highlighted the scrutiny Bezos faces due to Amazon’s business practices and ownership of The Washington Post.
Amazon warehouse workers and delivery drivers have raised concerns about unsafe working conditions. In 2023, the Federal Trade Commission and 17 states filed lawsuits against Amazon, alleging monopolistic practices in online retail.
The Washington Post has seen a wave of resignations in recent times amid concerns about leadership, notably Bezos redirecting the newspaper’s opinion section to advocate for “personal liberty and free markets.”
“I share those concerns as well,” King acknowledged. “There have been questionable decisions made.”
“But in this instance, Vlad, this is much larger than one individual and one company,” she continued. “I have chosen to separate the two.”
Bezos has invested billions in Blue Origin and envisions a future where humans inhabit space colonies. He was part of Blue Origin’s inaugural suborbital passenger flight in 2021.
The New Shepard Rocket is named in honor of Alan Shepard, the first American to journey into space in 1961 and one of the moon-walking astronauts.
The average TikTok user is approximately 1 hour every day on the app. However, the app is set to be banned in the US, and US users' screen time is about to decline rapidly.
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal against a law banning social media platforms, citing national security concerns. TikTok's China-based parent company ByteDance had challenged the law, arguing that it violated free speech protections for its more than 170 million users in the United States. But the ruling was upheld by a unanimous vote, requiring the app to find an approved buyer for the U.S. version by Sunday or be blocked. Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden has said he has no intention of enforcing the ban, instead deferring to that decision. President-elect Donald Trump's administration. While there are rumors that the ban may still be thwarted, a major U.S. exodus has already begun as users flock to alternative Chinese video-sharing app Red Note.
many Users have been Post a “Farewell TikTok” video. The app was first released in the US in 2016. Some of them satirize or mock national security concerns as users bid farewell to “China's personal spies.” Others are more heartfelt, such as a video montage of a teenager turning 18 or a newborn puppy growing into a white-haired dog. Many comments said, “I grew up with this app.”
But that is“What I learned on TikTok that changed my life” video that is the most attractive. While social media is regularly criticized for spreading fake news and harming mental health, these videos show there is a more positive side, at least for some people.
When life gives you lemons… Photo: TikTok
one video by Brigitte Muller piled up Over 1 million views. Her advantage is to use a yoga mat underneath sofa Use cushions to prevent them from slipping off, spray vodka on vintage clothing, etc. Gets rid of musty odor. Thousands of users flocked to the comments section to learn everything from recognizing the characteristics of neurodivergence to making jammy eggs. Some people describe TikTok as the parent or grandmother they never had.
So, in honor of TikTok's final hours (at least in the US), I'm sharing nine of my own favorite lessons.
1. Always roll limes and lemons before squeezing them to maximize the amount of juice. I also ditched the glass lemon squeezer and replaced it with a fork.
4. You are tying the dressing gown incorrectly. Remove the tie and rethread it through the loop so that it hangs in front of you. after that Instead of tying it at the back, Pull the ends together at the front and voila! It will not open unexpectedly again.
Let's tie…the correct way to tie a dressing gown. Photo: TikTok
5. A former American POW tells us How to keep a bag of potato chips fresh without using rubber bands or clips. TLift the bag and fold the two corners so that the top forms a triangle. Next, roll the other side under and curl it completely, creating two “pockets” on the other side. Turn it over and keep it in place Clips are never stale again.
6. Instead Do you leave your cosmetics scattered near the sink? I dumped my bag by the front door when I entered the house and now follow this mantra: “Don’t put it down, please put it away.” IIf you use something and then immediately put it back in its original place, No need to organize it later.
7. How to use Turntable – aka Lazy Susan – Storing spices means they don’t have to be rooted deep in the back of your cupboard That particular seasoning seemed like I would never find it.
Say cheese…turn the grater sideways. Photo: TikTok
8. Turn the box mold to make it easier to grate the cheese. put the grater aside. The same goes for can openers. put it on top of the canrather than using it from the side. Stops sharp and jagged edges.
9. Hair dryer helps remove stubborn stains glass and plastic adhesive labels. You can also remove address labels from cardboard boxes. Very useful for reusing after purchasing on eBay or Vinted.
The Summer Game Fest this year was lacking major announcements but featured plenty of indie titles. One noteworthy reveal was the announcement that Civilization 7 is set to launch in 2025.
This legendary strategy simulation series, which first debuted in 1991, has not seen a new release in eight years. Publisher 2K accidentally leaked the news. Along with this announcement, fans were treated to a video of designer Sid Meier showcasing new projects.
Meier expressed his excitement for fans to witness Civilization VII, the culmination of three decades of strategic innovation. The game will be available on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch, but the exact release date is yet to be revealed.
Harry Potter, LEGO Horizon Adventures, etc.
The event kicked off with host Geoff Keathley addressing the challenges faced by the gaming industry in the past year. Among other announcements, LEGO Horizon Adventures was officially unveiled, a cooperative game featuring protagonist Aloy.
Additionally, Warner Bros. and Unbroken Studios announced Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions, a simulation of the magical sport set to release on September 3 for various platforms.
New trailers for Monster Hunter Wild, Slitterhead, and Dune Awakening were also released, building up anticipation for these epic games. Ubisoft teased Star Wars Outlaws, featuring familiar characters from the Star Wars universe.
Indie Summer
The indie developers were the spotlight of the show, showcasing games like Cuffbust and Wonder Stop. Exciting new projects from studios like Nomada Studio were also presented, offering unique and innovative gaming experiences.
Big companies like Blumhouse and InnerSloth announced their support for indie studios, unveiling new games and funding opportunities. Despite the lack of major triple-A announcements, the focus on indie developers brought hope for the future of gaming.
The promise of remote work in today’s world is enticing – being able to work from anywhere, whether it’s a coffee shop in Manhattan or a beach in Bali, thanks to the power of your laptop. But in reality, our laptops may be outdated, slow, and incapable of keeping up with the demands of modern technology. Now is the perfect time to consider upgrading to the new Samsung Galaxy Book4 series, built to meet the challenges of 2024.
Whether you’re crunching numbers, editing videos, or unwinding with games, the evolving trends in laptop technology are worth noting.
Thinner, faster, quieter – Today’s laptops are impressively thin yet powerful, with the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro and Ultra series leading the way with slim profiles and robust performance, including dedicated graphics cards for gaming on the go.
Incredible screen – The Galaxy Book4 Pro and Ultra models boast cutting-edge 16-inch dynamic AMOLED 2X touchscreens that offer vibrant colors, crisp visuals, and adaptive display technology to optimize viewing in any environment.
Flexible form – Modern laptops like the Galaxy Book4 360 series offer convertible designs that allow for seamless transitions from laptop to tablet mode, complete with touch-enabled screens and stylus support for note-taking and sketching.
AI revolution – Intel Core Ultra processors powering the Galaxy Book4 series feature dedicated neural processing units for handling AI workloads efficiently, enabling users to leverage AI-driven features like Microsoft’s Copilot for enhanced productivity.
All about the ecosystem – Today’s laptops are part of a larger digital ecosystem, with seamless integration between devices like the Galaxy Book4 series and Samsung Galaxy smartphones, offering mobile connectivity, data sharing, and enhanced productivity tools for users on the go.
Ready to embark on your digital nomad journey with the Samsung Galaxy Book4 series? samsung.com/uk/galaxy-book
AI Features may require the purchase, subscription, or activation of additional software by the software or platform provider and may have specific configuration or compatibility requirements. intel.com/performance index. Your results may vary.
1 Adobe subscription required. 2 Requires a Galaxy smartphone with One UI 1.0 or later. 3 A Microsoft account is required. 4 A Samsung account is required. Features available 5 March.
Today, not one, but five asteroids are hurtling past Earth, all at their closest approach.
The largest one was discovered just a few weeks ago. Potentially Dangerous 2024 BR4. Measuring between 140 and 300 meters in length, it is a sizable chunk of space rock. At its highest estimate, it would be about the size of an oil tanker, six Olympic-sized swimming pools, or as tall as New York City's Chrysler Building.
And just like the box of chocolates you might stuff your cheeks with, we have a few more surprises in store for you on the day. Dr. Darren Baskillan astronomer at the University of Sussex, said:
“On Wednesday, February 14, 2024, a total of five asteroids will pass Earth, all within 5 million kilometers.”
It may seem like a long way, but from an astronomical perspective, it's just a stone's throw away.
“The closest of these five is asteroid 2024 CU1, which is scheduled to pass about 52 percent further away than the Moon and is about 20 meters in diameter.”
In 2024, CU1 will be closest at 1:31 PM GMT (+/- 1 minute). However, it is only 20 meters in diameter, much smaller than the much talked about “city killer” called 2024 BR4.
How close will asteroid 2024 BR4 get?
Asteroid 2024 BR4, one of a group of asteroids that will fly past Earth today, will make its closest approach at a distance of 4.6 million km (2.86 million miles). In terms of AU, this is approximately 0.03 AU, well within the criteria for designation as a potentially hazardous object (see Meaning of a “Potentially Hazardous” Asteroid below).
(To convert kilometers per mile to AU, divide the distance in kilometers per mile by the distance in 1 AU of the same unit.)
Closest approach is expected to occur at 11:03 GMT today (±1 minute).
Will asteroid 2024 BR4 collide with Earth?
The Valentine's Day asteroid is hurtling through space at about 44,880 kilometers per hour (27,887 miles per hour), only slightly faster than the average speed recorded by Galileo during his six-year mission to Jupiter, but we… No need to worry. About influencing our heavenly oasis.
It passes us safely and poses no immediate threat to Earth.
“Asteroid 2024 BR4 will pass close to Earth 12 times further away than the Moon,” Baskill explains.
What do we know about Asteroid 2024 BR4?
Unfortunately, there are very few. In general, the larger the object, the brighter it is (the brighter the object, the lower the magnitude). NASA assigned asteroid 2024 BR4 a magnitude of 21.457.. It's not very bright.
However, we also need to know the object's albedo (surface reflectance), which is currently unknown. Current best estimates place the asteroid's size between 140 and 300 meters in diameter. But we know its trajectory with relative certainty. And today's visit will bring us the closest in 120 years to realizing BR4 in 2024.
Griffiths appears to have demonstrated to her how education is done. “He pointed to a hanging sphere in the science museum that changed its appearance from planet to planet and declared, 'This is Mars!'” An employee gently informed him that it was actually the sun. All I had to do was give it to you. Still, Griffith exclaimed, “That's Saturn!” As the Earth changes. The employee interjected. “No, no, that’s Jupiter.”
Back in 1991, one of the first Ig Nobel Prizes was awarded to then-U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle. Quayle was given additional duties, and he became the chairman of something called the National Space Council. He was often in the news for educating the masses. statement Something like:
“[It’s] The time has come for humanity to enter the solar system. ”
“We saw the pictures [of Mars] We believe that where there are canals, there is water. ”
“Really, very strange people can get into sensitive positions and have a huge impact on history.”
Ig Nobel Prize Quote explained He praised Quayle for being a “consumer of time and occupier of space” who “demonstrated the need for science education better than anyone else.”
As we watch Vim for Education spread from country to country, the feedback is encouraging. No matter where the sky is, the sky is the limit.
base notes
Andy Howe celebrates a somewhat musical discovery about fish that spend much of their time on the muddy ocean floor. Does Andy Howe delight in details? And how! He said: nature communications) This concerns the apparently suspicious noises of the Plainfin Midshipman, a species also known as `california singing fish'`. They are endowed with a “sonic swim bladder” that allows them to communicate through modulated, trumpet-like hums and growls. There is a double resonance here as the lead author is his A Bass. ”
“Bass” is Andrew Bass, a professor of neurobiology and behavior at Cornell University in New York. When Bass isn't out at sea chasing fish, he spends his time at the office. mud hole. I can't help but notice that Bass's feedback is imbued with nominative determinism.
light entertainment
Retired internist John Innes rallies in Call for Feedback (December 9, 2023) to refute the old adage that “Medicine is primarily about entertaining the patient; nature cures disease.” or asked for first-hand testimony in the affirmative.
He sets the scene first. “In the 1890s, Faroese and Danish physician Niels Finsen showed that ultraviolet light could treat tuberculosis (TB) in the skin. This work earned Finsen the Nobel Prize in 1903. The first studies used artificial ultraviolet light, which was widely used to treat tuberculosis in the 1920s and 1930s.
“However, it was already known that natural ultraviolet light was present in sunlight. This was one of the factors that encouraged the development of sanatoriums for the treatment of tuberculosis. In the 1950s, antibiotics were introduced. After its introduction changed the treatment of tuberculosis, ultraviolet light therapy was lost to history.
John then describes his experiences as a physician specializing in infectious diseases in Birmingham, England in the 1980s: At that time, all new entrants to nurse training were to be offered the tuberculosis vaccine if they had not already done so. In her case, an ulcer appeared at the injection site and gradually enlarged over two months to about 8 centimeters in width. I recommended antibiotics. However, she did not have time to pick up her prescription because she was scheduled to go on vacation the next morning. So I told her to postpone her treatment and come back in 4 weeks.
“She came back after spending two weeks sunbathing on the beach near Tangier. The ulcer had healed and she didn't need anything more. So she left it alone while nature healed her illness. was enjoying it.”
loop soup
What is loop soup? It's hard to say. It's difficult to say succinctly.
Wojtek Furmanski and Adam Kolawa of the California Institute of Technology appear to have injected the phrase into the world of physics in 1987 in the middle of a 35-page paper called `Yang-Mills vacuum: an attempt at lattice loop calculus`Published in the magazine Nuclear Physics B.
Loop soup is only mentioned once. This is their word. “This medium is still far from an asymptotic ‘loop soup’ and is beyond our reach.”
This text may be incomprehensible to those without a deep education in nuclear physics. Still, the phrase stuck. Just 33 years later, Valentino Voigt and Matthew Kleban of New York University `New recipe for Brownian Loop Soup`This may definitely whet your appetite.
Mark Abrahams hosted the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony and co-founded the magazine Annals of Improbable Research. Previously, he was working on unusual uses of computers.his website is impossible.com.
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Domestic cats have been recorded to eat more than 2,000 other species, and the actual number of species they eat is probably much higher. This is the result of a first attempt to create a comprehensive list.
“We know that cats eat a lot, but I don’t think anyone has really looked into the full story,” he says. Christopher Lepczyk At Auburn University in Alabama. “We started thinking, how big is this problem? Are there any animals that cats aren’t eating?”
Based on scientific papers, his team created a database of what cats ate and where they ate. This list includes 981 birds, 463 reptiles, 431 mammals (including humans), 119 insects, 57 amphibians, and 33 species belonging to other groups.
Of these 2,084 species, 347 are considered endangered or already extinct in the wild, including the western quoll, green turtle, and Newell’s shearwater, including the Stevens Island wren. But the study didn’t consider how big a role cat predation played in these cases, Lepczyk said.
These numbers are far from telling the complete story, he says. “We are just the tip of the iceberg.”
For example, in many cases where cats were recorded eating insects or other invertebrates, the species was not identified.
“The range of cats’ diets far exceeds what we’ve seen in many other carnivores and predators,” Lepczyk said. “There are few things cats won’t eat.”
Some of the species included in the database are also scavenged by cats, which is part of the reason why the list includes species too large for cats to kill. But in some cases, such as green sea turtles, cats can catch juveniles, Lepczyk said.
The study did not consider what could be done to reduce the amount of wildlife killed by domestic cats. However, some helpful measures include keeping your cat indoors or in a fenced yard, microchipping, and having your cat spayed or neutered.
It was also recently discovered that cats can spread the brain-altering parasite that causes toxoplasmosis to both wildlife and humans.
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