Author

Nicole Bell

Light Bio has launched free sale of luminous houseplants

by Nicole Bell

written by Nicole Bell

Light Bio has announced the start of taking pre-orders for the biosynthetic plant “Firefly Petunia”. It is a genetically modified organism that differs from a regular petunia in that it glows in the dark on its own. What was previously the subject of experimentation is now available to everyone and for only $29.
The first artificial glowing plants were created back in the 80s of the last century. Then scientists introduced genes of fireflies into them. Modern technology has gone a step further and allows not just moving genes, but also pre-editing them to achieve the best effects. The Light Bio team is made up of experts in this field who have decided to monetise their developments.

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Animals

A raccoon deprived 7,000 Toronto residents of electricity

by Nicole Bell

written by Nicole Bell

Thousands of people lost their lights after a raccoon damaged equipment at a major power company’s plant in downtown Toronto, Canada. A few hours after the incident, the power supply was restored.

A similar case occurred in Sacramento (USA): the population was left without electricity due to a turkey that got tangled in the wires and damaged them.

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Animals

A pigeon suspected of being a spy has been released in India

by Nicole Bell

written by Nicole Bell

The feathers under the wings of the pigeon had hieroglyphs on them that looked very similar to Chinese characters. In addition, the feathers under the wings of the pigeon had Chinese characters on them. Law enforcement officials suggested that the bird could have been sent by Celestial residents to gather intelligence. The police even initiated a criminal case, but after a few months, all charges against the feathered bird were dropped.

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Animals

Penguins have started dying in Subantarctica due to bird flu

by Nicole Bell

written by Nicole Bell

The Scientific Committee for the Study of Antarctica, in a publication on its official website, is sounding the alarm that a highly contagious variant of avian influenza has caused the demise of populations of king and sub-Antarctic penguins that inhabit the Falkland Islands as well as the South Georgia Archipelago.

It is noted that this variant of the H5N1 virus got to Subantarctica last autumn. As of the current moment, it is known that the victims of the disease were several dozen representatives of these species. We are talking about those cases that have already been confirmed, as well as the alleged victims of bird flu.

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Animals

The secret of the owl’s silent flight has been discovered

by Nicole Bell

written by Nicole Bell

The Japanese University of Chiba devoted a study to the flight characteristics of owls and learnt how this bird of prey manages to remain silent in motion.
It turned out that there is a special microscopic “fringe” on the wings of owls, and it is this fringe that has a key role in “noise cancellation” during flapping.

Experts created models of owl wings, one of which was without a fringe, and tested them on an aerodynamic stand, simulating the real speed of the bird.

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Animals

Scientists have discovered that insects aren’t attracted to light – they just get dizzy

by Nicole Bell

written by Nicole Bell

Everyone has wondered at least once in their life why insects are so fond of swarming around artificial lights and even batting against them. Scientists from Florida International University and Imperial College London have found the answer to this question by using high-speed cameras and motion capture technology to generate a 3D map of insect flight.

In the course of their research in laboratories and jungles of Costa Rica, the researchers found that insects are not generally attracted to artificial light. According to their data, because of him suffer navigation systems of beetles, which have been honed over tens of millions of years of evolution.

It is noted that insects perform aerial manoeuvres because they cannot rely on their sense of gravity to keep track of where the top is and where the bottom is, resulting in them focusing on the sky as the brightest point to maintain the correct position – with their backs to the light.

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Nature

El Niño has triggered widespread forest fires in Chile

by Nicole Bell

written by Nicole Bell

More than a hundred deaths have been recorded as a result of severe forest fires that have engulfed a densely populated area in central Chile. By the second week of February, the fire had already destroyed about 1,100 residential buildings.
According to the head of the Chilean Interior Ministry Carolina Toha, 92 fires have not yet been eliminated in the central and southern regions. Their cause was abnormally warm weather.
The most dangerous fire occurred in Valparaiso. In order for fire engines and medics to reach the disaster zone, citizens were instructed not to go out into the streets. Hard-to-reach mountainous areas on the outskirts of Viña del Mar were also affected.

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Nature

China has figured out how to achieve significant reductions in ammonia emissions

by Nicole Bell

written by Nicole Bell

In their research, experts from SUSTC University in Shenzhen, China, assessed ammonia emissions that are directly associated with rice, wheat and maize production and identified the potential to reduce these emissions.

Data on ammonia emissions, soil characteristics and fertiliser use practices from nearly 2,800 locations around the globe were used to obtain the necessary information. The Chinese experts then used machine learning technology to generate a map of ammonia flows in farmland.

The researchers found that as of 2018, ammonia emissions from three key cereal crops are estimated at 4.3 ± 1.0 million tonnes per year, of which around three million are exclusively in Asia, namely China and India. They are followed by European and North American countries, with the USA leading the way in terms of emissions.

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Nature

How can you tell the difference between the Arctic and the Antarctic? And why are they called that?

by Nicole Bell

written by Nicole Bell

Many people get the North and South Poles of the Earth confused. To remember which is which, some people remember the animals that live there. For example, polar bears are found at the North Pole, in the Arctic, while penguins are found at the South Pole, in Antarctica.

There is a simpler way. The name Arctic comes from the Greek word “arktos”, which means “bear”. You may have already guessed that the prefix “ant-” (“anti-“) means “opposite” and characterises the other continent as “bearless”.

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Nature

There was a leak of radioactive water at Fukushima

by Nicole Bell

written by Nicole Bell

A leak of contaminated water has been detected at the infamous Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. According to a report by TEPCO, the corporation that runs the plant, the leak was found in one of the pipes, and the cumulative volume reached 5.5 tonnes with 22 billion becquerels of radioactive material in its composition.
Late last summer, the Japanese government decided to begin discharging treated water from the plant into the ocean. Officials claim that this process is absolutely safe for the environment, as only tritium in permissible proportions remained in the water. Despite protests from a number of neighbouring countries, Japan has disposed of at least 1.5 million tonnes of water in this way.

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