Tag Archives: Odd

What’s Behind the Return of the Odd Cold War Hoverboat?

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Concept illustration for the US DARPA Liberty Lifter initiative

Aurora Flight Science

This isn’t a boat or an airplane; it’s an advanced marine cleaning vehicle known as the Ecranoplan.

Echoing Cold War-era Soviet technology, these substantial craft are resurfacing as both China and the US explore modern adaptations amid rising military tensions in the Pacific Ocean.

The large sea skimmer resembles an aircraft, but as Malcolm Davis from the Australian Institute for Strategic Policy explains, “it operates similarly to a fast naval vessel, gliding just above the water’s surface.” These vehicles leverage the “ground effect,” utilizing cushions of air between the low-flying craft and the ocean to enhance lift and decrease drag.

Ocean skimmers typically outpace conventional ships (approaching aircraft speeds) and can potentially evade surface and aerial radar, Davis notes. This capability allows for covert and expeditious transport of goods or troops over substantial oceanic distances typical of the Indo-Pacific area, or for surprising enemy naval forces with missile strikes.

This technology became notorious during the Cold War when the Soviet Union developed the Ecranoplan, notably featuring a prototype dubbed the “Caspian Sea Monster.” However, due to funding issues and limited practical utility, these designs were never fully realized, according to Davis. Renewed interest in sea skimmers aligns with China’s military ambitions to assert its influence over Taiwan and the South China Sea.

Since the early 2000s, China has been working on prototypes of ocean skimmers, states Ben Lewis, an Independent Defense Analyst based in Washington, DC. A recent June 2025 photograph circulating online showcases a large waterborne craft with four jet engines mounted on its wing, as reported by Navy News. China is also seeking expertise from Russian technologists involved in Ecranoplan designs during the Soviet era, as highlighted by the New York Times.

Similarly, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) had been funding the Liberty Lifter project since 2022, aimed at developing analogous seaplanes. However, this program concluded in June 2025 without yielding a successful craft; instead, DARPA intends to leverage lessons from Liberty Lifter to encourage private sector involvement and broaden military applications.

On a different note, US company Regent Craft is currently testing an all-electric sea glider variant of this technology for commercial potential, which has piqued the interest of the US Marines.

As manufacturing and technological advancements continue, these ocean skimmers “may present a cost-effective alternative to more expensive traditional aircraft,” according to Brendan Mulbany from the U.S. Air Force China Aerospace Research Institute in Alabama. However, he cautions that “they won’t be the backbone of any military force and are unlikely to survive in high-intensity engagements.” Conditions in regions like the Taiwan Straits can complicate their operation, notes Lewis.

Nevertheless, these sea skimmers could contribute to a broader Chinese military strategy to counter the US-allied navy projected to support Taiwan, argues Davis. The US is responding by fostering military partnerships with regional allies such as South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines, while also bolstering military presence on Pacific Islands as bases. Lewis points out that the possibility of conflict has escalated the need for innovative capabilities to gain an “additional edge.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

In Kachin amber, we discovered preserved odd parasitic wasp species

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in paper Published in the journal BMC Biologypaleontologists described an extinct species of the parasite hornet, found in the cretbone system in the Kachin region of Myanmar. It has been named Sirenobethylus charybdisthis species may have used abdomen like Venus’ flight laps to capture and immobilize prey.

Sirenobethylus charybdis. Scale bar – 0.5 mm in (a), 0.3 mm in (b), 0.2 mm in (c). Image credits: Woo et al. , doi: 10.1186/s12915-025-02190-2.

“Insects are the most diverse group of animals on the planet, with more than a million described species, and perhaps fewer than several times listed,” said Taipingao, a paleontologist at a regular university in the capital.

“Recent estimates suggest a total of about 5.5 million species.”

“Their highly adaptable exoskeletons have enabled them to radiate and colonize a wide range of habitats and develop highly efficient and innovative solutions to the various challenges posed by their surroundings.”

“Among other mechanisms, carnivorous insects have evolved a variety of prey capture mechanisms.”

“However, insect predation strategies in the fossil record are still poorly understood.”

In the new study, the author examined 16 adult women Sirenobethylus charybdis Found on Kachin Amber.

The new species lived in the mid-Cretaceous period, about 99 million years ago.

Form of Sirenobethylus charybdis It indicates that the insects were parasites – insects that cause larvae to live as parasites and ultimately kill their hosts.

“Modern parasitic wasps from Superfamily Chrysidoidea include cuckoo and vetirido hornets,” the researchers said.

“but, Sirenobethylus charybdis The specimen has a unique venous pattern in the hind wing suggesting that the species belongs within its own family, Sirenovetiridae. ”

Scientists also discovered that this species is likely to be Koinobion. This is a parasitic wasp that allows the host to continue to grow during the host’s diet.

“A hornet specimen has an abdominal device made up of three flaps, and its decay forms a paddle-shaped structure with dozens of hair-like hairs that are visually reminiscent of the Venus flight lap plant,” they explained.

“Abdominal device Sirenobethylus charybdis Unlike that of known insects, it may have served as a mechanism to temporarily suppress the host during egg sales. ”

“The wasps were unable to pursue their prey over long distances, so potential hosts would have opened their devices and waited to activate the capture response.”

“Easy grasping devices are permitted Sirenobethylus charybdis Target highly mobile prey such as small, winged or jumping insects. ”

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Q. Woo et al. 2025. Cretaceous flight lap? Remarkable abdominal modifications in fossil hornets. BMC Biol 23, 81; doi:10.1186/s12915-025-02190-2

Source: www.sci.news

Signs of a Deepfake: Dirty chins, strange hands, and odd numbers

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This is a crucial election year for the world, with misinformation swirling on social media as countries including the UK, US and France go to the polls.

There are major concerns about whether deepfakes – images and audio of key politicians created using artificial intelligence to mislead voters – could influence election outcomes.

While it has not been a major talking point in the UK elections so far, examples are steadily emerging around the world, including in the US, where a presidential election is looming.

Notable visual elements include:

Discomfort around the mouth and jaw

In deepfake videos, the area around the mouth can be the biggest clue: There may be fewer wrinkles on the skin, less detail around the mouth, and a blurry or smudged chin. Poor syncing between a person’s voice and mouth is another telltale sign.

The deepfake video, posted on June 17, shows Nigel Farage simulating the destruction of Rishi Sunak’s house in Minecraft. Deepfake satire trend A video showing politicians playing online games.

A few days later, Another Simulation Video Keir Starmer was seen playing Minecraft and setting up traps in “Nigel’s Pub”.

Dr Mhairi Aitken, an ethics researcher at the Alan Turing Institute, the UK’s national AI lab, says the first feature of Minecraft deepfakes is, of course, the “absurdity of the situation”, but another sign of AI-generated media and manipulation is the imperfect synchronization of voice and mouth.

“This is particularly clear in the section where Farage is speaking,” Aitken said.

Another way to tell, Aitken says, is to see if shadows fall in the right places, or if lines and creases in the face move in the way you expect them to.

Ardi Djandzheva, a researcher at the institute, added that the low resolution of the overall video is another telltale sign people should look out for because it “looks like something that was quickly stitched together.” He said people have become accustomed to this amateurish technique due to the prevalence of “rudimentary, low-resolution scam email attempts.”

This lo-fi approach also shows up in prominent areas like the mouth and jawline, he says: “There’s an excessive blurring and smudge of facial features that are the focus of the viewer’s attention, like the mouth.”

Strange elements of the speech

Another deepfake video featured audio edited from Keir Starmer’s 2023 New Year’s speech pitching an investment scheme.

If you listen closely, you’ll notice some odd sentence structure: Starmer repeatedly says “pound” before a figure, for example “pound 35,000 per month”.

Aitken said the voice and mouth were again out of sync and the lower part of the face was blurred, adding that the use of “pounds” before the numbers suggested a text-to-speech tool had probably been used to recreate Starmer’s voice.

“This mirrors typical spoken language patterns, as it is likely a written-to-speech tool was used, which has not been confirmed,” she says. “There are clues in the intonation as well, which maintains a fairly monotonous rhythm and pattern throughout. A good way to check the authenticity of a video is to compare the voice, mannerisms and expressions to a recording of a real person to see if there is consistency.”

Face and body consistency

This deepfake video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky calling on civilians to lay down their arms to Russian forces was circulated in March 2022. The head is disproportionately large compared to the rest of the body, and the skin on the neck and face is a different color.

Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley and an expert on deepfake detection, said this is “a classic deepfake.” The immobile body is the telltale sign, he said. “The defining feature of this so-called Puppet Master deepfake is that the body is immobile from the neck down.”

Discontinuities throughout the video clip

The video, which went viral in May 2024, falsely shows U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller telling a reporter that “there are virtually no civilians left in Belgorod,” justifying the Ukrainian military’s attack on the Russian city of Belgorod. The video was tweeted by the Russian embassy in South Africa and has since been removed, according to Russian media. BBC journalist.

Source: www.theguardian.com