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The AI2027 superAI scenarios are tracking a bit slower but we are still heading quickly to SuperAI. Risk milestones are arriving ahead of the capability milestones that were supposed to produce them. There is a AI2027 tracking website and they observed capability predictions were running a bit behind but the SWE Verified benchmark caught up. ...

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CALIFORNIA, USA, 2nd August 2026, CyberNewswire

Your success in life will be determined largely by your ability to speak, your ability to write, and the quality of your ideas. In that order. (Patrick Winston)

We humans have norms that are anti-domination, but pro-prestige, and it is often hard to tell the difference. So even though we give lip service to egalitarianism, we often strongly promote inequality. One key way is that we insist on our leaders being elite. That is, on their having many status markers of eliteness, such as looks, money, fame, family, connections, charisma, wit, degrees, and other elite affiliations.

In fact, the main function of management is plausibly to seem high enough in prestige to make workers feel okay submitting to their actually dominating by giving orders. Org decisions can often be decentralized; but focal prestigious leaders cannot. We require eliteness not only of our managers and folks high in our organizational hierarchies, but also of those who lead us in politics, culture, ideas, and innovation.

This makes a big problem for our world of ideas (and innovations), as ordinary non-elite folks can pollute new ideas by publicly arguing for them, which then makes elites less able to and willing to support them, which makes ordinary people also less willing to so support. First, ordinary people seem more willing to follow elite leaders who they think were the original source of relevant ideas. Second, elites are more willing to lead when they can claim credit for ideas, as they gain more status in that case if their leadership venture succeeds.

This seems to have happened in history; ideas proposed by lower status folks were less accepted until higher status folks reintroduced them, in part via putting some (often illusory) distance between their bids and those of first proposers. For example, Richard Stallman’s software concept wasn’t accepted until rebranded as “open source”, Semmelweis’s hand-washing was rejected until Pasteur and Lister’s reintroduction, continental drift was first rejected by geologists due to Wegener being an outsider, Mendel’s genetics was ignored until insider Botanists pushed it, and Democrats rejected Republic health insurance individual mandate proposals until Obama claimed his version was fundamentally different.

This “stigma pollution” seems to be a problem for relatively low status folks like me who choose to focus on finding and publicly arguing for new ideas and innovations. Would the world be better off if we shut up and waited for our betters to find and publicly argue for such things? Yes, if that would happen far later, maybe the world is better off with your initial pollution, soon washed off by elite rebranding, but how sure can you be that they’d take so much longer to find it? Of is it that some other low status person would pollute soon anyway, so you might as well grab credit now?

Besides just shutting up, other possible responses include publishing new ideas in places more likely to be seen by elites seeking ideas to back than by others, and describing ideas in ways that make it easier to rebrand them and claim they are fundamentally different. Should we make private exchanges where low status people could privately pitch deals re their ideas to high status folks able to effectively back them? Yes, it might be better if ordinary folks didn’t so prioritize eliteness and originality in idea backers, but changing human nature so deeply might be quite hard.

There’s a similar issue re social skills, such as abilities to flatter, befriend, project power, make people feel heard, etc. If you publish an idea but your poor social skills results in your being less able to make it appealing to various possible allies, you might hinder the later acceptance of that idea in ways similar to your polluting ideas with your low status. So, similarly, should folks with poor social skills not publish new ideas, or make their ideas easier to rebrand, or post in places seen more by people with better social skills? Or trade ideas in a private exchange?

By the way, I asked 3 LLMs to score the relative importance in 5 areas, for influence/impact of your leadership bid, of your status, your social skills, and your judgement re the actual topic of your leadership (e.g., good ideas, arguments, slogans, designs, plans, group strategies). Their median % estimates:

Then I asked them to focus on “who is selected or is influential in the short run, not who becomes famous in the long run”, and to consider if they have any concrete basis for seeing judgment as mattering more re intellectuals and innovation. Their revised median % estimates:

It seems that we are biased to neglect these problems.

Earlier this month, Cape Wildlife Center in southeast Massachusetts posted a call for help on social media. The animal rescue service was asking for donations for their rescued animals. That request isn’t unusual, but what they needed that money for certainly was. 

“We have to admit, this is a strange request even for us. We’re asking you to help us buy… mice,” reads the post, featuring a photograph of two fluffy owls. 

The wildlife center went on to explain that for many years, a special partnership has provided them with lab mice that were no longer necessary in the laboratory. These donated mice were then eaten by both Cape Wildlife Center’s wildlife hospitals’ patients and a significant number of their ambassador animals. 

The dynamic “quietly helped save thousands of wild lives.” But “unfortunately, that donation has come to an end.” And it couldn’t have come at a worse time—during baby season and Cape Wildlife Center’s busiest year ever. 

Every year, their hospital patients and ambassador animals chow down on around 31,725 frozen mice. If the organization buys them on the open market, it will cost their yearly budget an extra estimated $30,000 to 45,000. And as they rightfully point out on their social media post, food for their animals isn’t an expense that can be put on hold.    

“Every hawk, owl, fox, snake, and weasel that comes through our doors depends on a species-appropriate diet to heal. We can’t substitute something else, and we can’t ask them to wait until the budget catches up,” they wrote. “Feeding them is simply part of the care they need.”

The social media post wrapped up with a request for donations, and a happy update about a donor who will match all dollar donations to the mouse fund up to 10,000 dollars. Receiving that news mouse-t have made their day.  

The post Wildlife center needs 31,725 frozen mice a year appeared first on Popular Science.

When AI compresses the information edge and hands everyone roughly the same high-quality financial insights, pure “knowing more” stops being a reliable source of alpha. The remaining edge shifts to the parts that are still scarce. Judgment under uncertainty, creative synthesis, structural positioning, behavioral discipline, and the ability to act when others cannot. The Ken ...

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Claude Opus 4.6 can work for twelve hours. It can work reliably for seventy minutes. Mythos and likely Fable 5 can work for 16 hours at 50% correctness and 2-3 hours at 80%. Both numbers describe the same model doing the same kind of work, measured by the same organization. The gap between them is ...

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Sebastien Bubeck of OpenAI says “yes, nonsofic groups exist”—as an example of “many new beautiful results” from Astra, next major OpenAI model. OpenAI published a page and PDF detailing ten advances across pure math and theoretical computer science. The arguments were generated by an internal version of Astra (total compute cost ~$2,000 at their Sol ...

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Just north of Kittery in Maine, the Center for Wildlife is currently caring for a very unique  North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum). This iconic hairy mammal features a strong tail, short legs, and quills everywhere besides on its belly and legs. They are two to three feet long and weigh in at around 25 pounds. 

North American porcupines typically have dark-colored bodies with lighter-colored quills, but not the one that arrived at the Center for Wildlife. This baby porcupine was completely snow white with pinkish paws, making it a rare albino North American Porcupine. These bright, spiky mammals are exceedingly rare. In approximately 10,000 porcupine births, just one pops out albino, according to the wildlife center. 

The baby porcupine is recovering at Main’s Center for Wildlife. It is a private 501(c)(3) non-profit wildlife medical clinic and nature-based education center that receives no state or federal funding. To learn more about the organization and our work, please visit www.thecenterforwildlife.org. Image: Center for Wildlife.

“This baby porcupine was discovered after some dogs were attempting to chase it. Thankfully, his rescuer was able to step in before any serious injuries occurred,” the center wrote. “Due to his unique coloring, his young age, and potential injury from the dog interaction, the baby porcupine’s rescuer decided it was best to bring him in for care.”

While this particular baby porcupine appeared fine upon arrival, the team noted that he had crusty eyes. Shortly after, they spotted crust build-up on the animal’s arm and thought it could be a case of mange, a skin condition caused by tiny mites. It was indeed mange, The crusty eyes got worse and even started to form on his front paws. His nose also started to leak, and his breath became raspy. Luckily, there are treatments for the condition. 

“Our clinic team is working hard and keeping a close eye on him as they administer medication to fight off the mange infection. Daily cleanings occur as well in order to keep the crust away as best as possible,” the Center for Wildlife added. “We hope to see some improvements soon and hopefully have this little guy on his way to recovery!”

The post Rare baby albino porcupine rescued in Maine appeared first on Popular Science.

The airline industry is entering an era of aerial endurance. Just 10 years ago, only one commercial airline offered a one-way flight topping 17 hours. Now, passengers are filing onto hundreds of these “ultra-long-haul flights,” which transport travelers to distant corners of the globe without any dreaded layovers. Pretty soon, these grueling long-haul flights may be measured not in hours, but in days.

Just this week, Australian carrier Qantas reportedly broke the record for the longest-ever flight by a commercial-style aircraft. The 24-hour, 24-minute odyssey began on July 23 in Melbourne, and ended July 24 in Toulouse, France, where plane-maker Airbus is headquartered. It was the latest in a series of tests for Airbus’ new A350-1000ULR model, which is being designed specifically to serve Qantas’s new Project Sunrise routes connecting Sydney to London and New York as soon as next year. Prior to this test, the mantle for longest belonged to a one-off, special delivery flight between Hong Kong and London. That flight, flown in a Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner, took 22 hours and 42 minutes.

Qantas may have broken the record for longest commercial flight, but given current trends, it’s unlikely to hold that record for long. Innovation in more advanced twin-engine aircraft and fuel capacity over the past decade or so has led to a surge in ocean-crossing long flights. And while a handful come close to reaching the 20-hour mark, there’s an even larger cohort operating in the 15-to-17-hour range. Just this year, new long-haul routes were added connecting Atlanta to Riyadh, Sydney to Las Vegas, Jordan to Dallas, and Egypt to Chicago and Los Angeles.

But those can seem like a brief stroll in the park compared to the longest flights currently available. Unsurprisingly, given their unique remoteness, Australia and Singapore are frequent destinations for long-haul flights. A handful of some of the longest commercial flights currently available, which will test even the most battle-hardened frequent flier’s resolve are listed below.

Project Sunrise: 24 hours and 24 minutes  

July’s record-breaking flight landed with a sparse cabin made up primarily of pilots and test engineers. By this time next year, Qantas hopes to pack these planes with 238 paying customers. Those seats will be spread out across four cabins: six in first class, 52 in business class, 40 in premium economy, and 140 in coach. All of those passengers will also have access to a “wellbeing zone,” where people can walk about, access self-service food stations, and stretch their legs. That focus on health is  not an after-thought. Stretching is so critical for personal health on long journeys like this that this area may as well be called a survival zone.

As the name suggests, passengers on this globe-spanning haul will see several sunrises and sunsets.  A massive 5,300-gallon rear center fuel tank makes this whole endeavor possible. Airbus estimates this tank will extend the jet’s range by 1,000 nautical miles. That extended range alone is roughly the distance from Austin to Miami. 

The new A350-1000ULR will also reportedly come equipped with “highly sensitive sensors” to constantly monitor fuel flow and make sure nobody’s nightmare of running out of fuel mid-flight becomes reality.

Singapore (SIN) to New York (JFK): 18 hours and 10 minutes

The 9,542-mile journey from New York to Singapore takes nearly 19 hours. Passengers gazing out the window can see the Atlantic Ocean, parts of Europe, and India before finally reaching their destination. That is, of course, if the route decides to go east to west, which isn’t actually decided until close to the flight’s departure. This flight is made possible  by a massive Airbus A350-900 run by Singapore Airlines. The route began in 2021 and now runs every single day.

Singapore (SIN) to Newark, New Jersey (EWR): 18 hours and 30 minute 

It’s a testament to the economic and cultural gravitas of New York and Singapore that the next entry on this list is only about an hour’s drive away from one of the previous takeoff points. This flight, also operated by Singapore Airlines, runs from Newark, New Jersey, to Singapore. It  takes somewhere between 17 hours and 50 minutes and 18 hours and 30 minutes, depending on the end destination and winds. Like the JFK flight, this one also utilizes an Airbus A350-900.

Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) to New York (JFK): 17 hours and 30 minutes 

New Zealand has seen a staggering rise in American tourism in recent years, thanks in no small part to its depiction in fantasy films, and its growing reputation as a hideout for Silicon Valley elites. Getting to the remote Oceanic island remains tricky, though. Air New Zealand made that a bit easier in 2022, when it began offering nonstop trips between  JFK airport and Auckland. The 8,842-mile trip takes about 17 hours and 30 minutes if heading to New Zealand, and just over 16 hours if arriving in the U.S.. 

Despite its length, the flight seems quite popular. The U.S. Department of Transportation reported that Air New Zealand carried 53,573 round-trip passengers between the two cities between November 2024 and November 2025.

A Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner passenger aircraft of Air New Zealand arrives from Auckland at JFK International Airport in New York as the Manhattan skyline looms in the background on February 5, 2024. Image: Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images. Perth, Australia (PER) to London (LHR): 17 hours and 15 minutes 

Aussies and Brits have a long history matched maybe only by the time it takes to travel between the two countries. Until relatively recently, this epic 9,010-mile journey took multiple days and refueling stops.It even had its own name: the Kangaroo Route. That started to change in 2018, when Qantas began offering a non stop flight from Perth to London’s Heathrow  airport. 

The flight takes just over 17 hours when flying to London, and just under 17 hours if heading toward Australia. A  Boeing 787 Dreamliner carrying around 236 passengers makes this flight possible.

Paris, France (CDG) to Perth (PER): 17 hours and 20 minutes 

Brits aren’t the only Europeans interested in getting closer to the outback. In 2024, Qantas kept up its run of expanding travel to Australia by introducing the first nonstop flight connecting Paris and Perth. The trip takes about 17 hours and 20 minutes on a Boeing 787-9 to get to Paris, and slightly less time going if landing in Perth. The 8,878-mile route was completed just in time for sports fans to make their way to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in France.

Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 aircraft as seen on final approach flying over the houses of Myrtle Avenue in London, a famous location for plane spotting, for landing at London Heathrow Airport LHR. The long range wide-body airliner Boeing 777-300ER Extended Range passenger airplane has the registration 9V-SNB and is powered by 2x GE General Electric jet engines. Image: Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images. Doha, Qatar (DOH) to Auckland (AKL): 17 hours and 15 minutes 

Long-haul air travel has truly blossomed in just the past 10 years. In 2018, Qatar Airlines had just launched a route linking Dohja, Qatar to Auckland, New Zealand. At the time, this 17 hour and 15 minute ride was the longest flight in the world. Now it doesn’t even crack the top five. 

Like several others on this list, Qatar Airlines uses an Airbus A350-1000 (though initially a Boeing 777) for the trip. And while the route was initially popular, it was dropped several years later due to a steep decline in travel caused by Covid-era travel restrictions. Qatar Airlines did eventually end up resuming the route in 2024.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates (DXB) to Auckland (AKL): 17 hours and 10 minutes 

Emirates Airlines was one of the first carriers based in the Gulf states to start exploring ultra-long-haul air travel. Its longest route from Dubai to Auckland, takes just over 17 hours on a double-decker Airbus A380-800 (the route initially used a Boeing 777-200LR). 

When the route began in 2016, it was the longest commercial flight in the world. The 8,834-mile trip begins by crossing over Arabian Sea, before flying over the southernmost tip of India and crossing the Indian Ocean. The plane then flies over the entire continent of Australia before landing in New Zealand.

Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas (DFW) to Sydney, Australia (SYD): 17 hours 

Until relatively recently, Texans looking to make their way Down Under had to ready themselves for a multi-legged, often multi-day journey. That ended in 2011, when Qantas started operating a direct route from Dallas to Sydney. But it’s still not a walk in the park. The 8,578 mile journey takes around 17 hours aboard an Airbus A380. Thankfully for those travelers, the return flight is often quite a bit shorter, clocking in around 15 hours and 15 minutes.

Shenzhen, China (SZX) to Mexico City, Mexico (MEX): 16 hours 

The final entry into the list is a bit of an outlier. It is the only route that includes China and any country in Latin America. In 2024, state-run carrier China Southern introduced a new, 8,789 mile route connecting the southeastern city of Shenzhen to Mexico City. The flight takes about 16 hours and is only nonstop  when traveling from China to Mexico. The return flight makes a refueling stop in Tijuana, Mexico though passengers reportedly stay on board rather than changing planes. 

Chinese officials said the route was more relevant than ever due to the country’s increased economic interest and development both with Mexico and other countries in Latin America.

Bon voyage!

The post The 10 longest airplane flights on Earth appeared first on Popular Science.

What becomes free and abundant stops being where the money is and becomes less important. Tap water is essential and it is not an industry. If Jason is right that Deepseek and Other Open Source AI are indistinguishable for 95% of queries. The consequence is not that corporations buy hardware and run open source. 95% ...

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Okunoshima Island in Japan’s Hiroshima Prefecture is famous for its huge population of free-range rabbits. Tourists travel to the island to meet and feed the giant bunnies, who were introduced to the island following World War II and its use as a poison weapons testing ground. While it’s only one of countless similar wildlife feeding spots around the world, a recent study published in the Journal of Ecotourism highlights how these seemingly casual human-animal interactions may restructure ecosystems more than scientists expected.

In the case of the Okunoshima Island rabbits, it’s even possibly developing into a matter of life and death. But it’s not the visitors who are threatening them—it’s the wild boars.

“When we first heard that a wild boar had preyed on a live rabbit, we were surprised,” Shingo Kaneko, a study co-author and Fukushima University ecologist, said in a statement. “Wild boars are known to scavenge animal carcasses, but they are not generally regarded as animals that actively hunt live prey.”

So how are the boars developing a taste for rabbits? The local population isn’t native to the island; they’re European domestic rabbits previously introduced onto Okunoshima. There are so many rabbits now mostly due to tourists feeding them, which has actually allowed the rabbits to exceed what the natural ecosystem would otherwise support. The animals are such an influence on the island that much of the area features a clear “rabbit line” where low-growing tree branches and vegetation is almost completely eaten away.

The illustration depicts an unusual event observed on Okunoshima Island, where wild boars have been seen capturing rabbits. Researchers suggest that tourist feeding, high rabbit densities, and the availability of leftover food and carcasses may be contributing to these novel interactions. Credit: Eri Kondo

After examining the environment, Kaneko’s team observed how all these rabbits are also affecting other animal species. For example, wild boars, crows, and black kites are increasingly snacking on leftover rabbit food—and leftover rabbit carcasses. According to the researchers, some of the hogs have even started occasionally hunting rabbits as prey.

“Food left by tourists may be attracting wild boars into the areas heavily populated by rabbits. High rabbit densities may increase the availability of rabbit carcasses and may also lead to frequent encounters between the two species,” explained Kaneko.

The study’s authors made clear that new predators are not the central concern. Instead, they hope to highlight how wildlife tourism has the potential to alter otherwise natural and stable ecosystems. To combat the worst-case outcomes, Kaneko’s team suggests stricter feeding regulations, rabbit population monitoring, and vegetation analysis. Meanwhile, educating public officials and the tourists on the issue could lead to greater safeguards.

“We were struck by how closely wild boars, rabbits, and humans were interacting on the island,” said Kaneko. “Within this isolated environment, events unlike those we usually observe elsewhere appeared to be occurring throughout the island.”

The post Wild boars develop taste for beloved rabbits on popular island in Japan appeared first on Popular Science.

An archaeological survey ahead of some planned roadwork in Gloucestershire, England, revealed numerous artifacts spanning thousands of years of history. But one item particularly stands out from the rest. Preservationists discovered a rare, phallic-decorated nail cleaner that dates back to the late Roman era around 300 to 400 CE near the town of Cheltenham about 85 miles west of London. But while only a handful of the personal hygiene tools have been documented, Rome’s penchant for penis motifs is evident throughout the ancient empire.

Similar to today’s bathroom accessories, the two-pronged copper-alloy tool was crafted to remove dirt from underneath the fingernails. Many were made small enough to carry alongside other useful items, such as tweezers and ear cleaners, including the Cheltenham examples. A tiny hole in the middle of the object allowed its owner to thread it onto a strap or thin rope for optimal on-the-go utility.

The buckle was crafted from a single piece of copper-alloy. Credit: Archaeological Research Services Ltd.

At first glance, an untrained eye may have difficulty discerning the tool’s purpose based on its design, but it’s hard to mistake the handle’s decorative flourish. The metal is clearly shaped to resemble a penis. Phallic imagery wasn’t rare in ancient Rome, and not stigmatized as it is in many cultures today. Instead, male genitals were considered symbols of good fortune, fertility, and protection. Men, women, and even children all regularly carried amulets and jewelry displaying phallic images. Military equipment and weapons frequently featured penis adornments, while houses often showcased similar decor.

The livery button’s animal decoration is likely associated with a local family from the 19th century. Credit: Archaeological Research Services Ltd.

Aside from the nail cleaner, archaeologists also excavated a nearby belt buckle and plate made from a single piece of copper-alloy decorated with geometric designs. Other finds from the era included household waste, agricultural evidence, and a well. These discoveries stretched far beyond ancient Rome, as well. Researchers documented more recent items like Royal Navy “dandy” buttons from the 18th century, as well as animal-decorated 19th century livery buttons possibly connected with prominent local families. 

Taken altogether, the recent archaeological objects showcase over 1,600 years of life, cultural shifts, and fashion choices—even if some of the more phallic examples may turn heads today.

The post 1,600-year-old phallic nail cleaner discovered near roadwork in England appeared first on Popular Science.

It may be a habitat more fit for alligators, mosquitoes, and a banjo-strumming frog, but Georgia’s Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (aka the Okefenokee Swamp) is officially a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the 27th World Heritage Site in the United States, the first in the Peach State, and the first new natural World Heritage Site in the U.S. added in over 30 years.

North America’s largest blackwater swamp, the Okefenokee is a biodiverse wonderland. Thirty-nine fish, 37 amphibians, 64 reptiles, 234 birds, and 50 mammal species call it home. 

The refuge’s 353,981 acres are also dotted with 620 species of plants. Some of those plants truly fit the definition of bizarre and beautiful. Here are five plants that you may stumble upon when visiting this newest World Heritage Site.

The pitcher plants are hungry Pitcher plants can be over two-feet-tall. Image: Larry Woodward/USFWS.

While most planes make their food from sunlight and water, some like pitcher plants are carnivores. Pitcher plants like the park’s famed Okefenokee giant hooded pitcher plant (Sarracenia minor var. okefenokeensis) look like something that would make Seymour and his Little Shop of Horrors proud. Most grow to about five- to 14-inches-tall and eat the swamp’s various insects. 

The sundews are sticky Sundews have digestive slime and they know how to use it. Image: Larry Woodward/USFWS.

Though smaller than the pitcher plant, sundews are just as deadly—and sticky. To lure bugs, they secrete a sticky goo into a little bowl-like structure that it uses to trap and suffocate flying insects. Once a bug is stuck in his digestive slime, the sundew snaps its leaves shut and kills and eats the insect.  The red sundew (Drosera capillaris) is the Okefenokee’s best known sundew species, and they are commonly called “sticky flypaper.”

The Spanish moss is not a moss  Spanish moss uses scales instead of roots to get all of its nutrients. Image: Larry Woodward/USFWS.

Names can be deceiving—jumbo shrimp, Greenland, and a moss that is not technically a moss at all. Spanish moss (Tillandsia usenoides) is a flowering epiphyte, a plant that grows on other plants for support and access to sunlight. This is why it is often seen in swamps and around trees. Instead of using roots, Spanish moss uses scales to collect moisture and nutrients to make food from air, rainwater, and the debris that lands on it.

In a June 1909 issue of Popular Science, Roland M. Harper, elegantly chronicled the swamp’s natural wonders, including Spanish moss. “There the long moss (Tillandsia usneoides) drapes every tree, though it never grows as luxuriantly as in calcareous or alluvial regions in the same latitude,” he wrote. 

The water has lilies  Water lilies open during the day and close at night. Image: Larry Woodward/USFWS.

The Okefenokee is home to two main species of flowery water lilies—the American white lily (Nymphaea odorata) and yellow bonnet lily (Nuphar advena). They thrive in more shallow bodies of water, so that their stems can grow under the green pad to root in the soil below. They are also the ultimate sun worshippers. Their flower petals open in the morning and close at night to protect their pollen.

The bladderworts are fast—really fast The fastest predator on earth is this delicate-looking yellow plant. Image: Larry Woodward/USFWS.

Don’t let the dainty yellow petals fool you, bladderworts (genus Utricularia) are among Earth’s fastest predators. They can grab and eat insects in mere milliseconds. By one estimate, the Okefenokee’s bladderwords capture and digest at least 400,000,000,000 small aquatic animals every single year. 

The name comes from the seed-like bladders it uses to trap invertebrates. When a small aquatic critter plants on it, it triggers trap doors on the bladders. The animal is then sucked inside and digested by the plant’s digestive enzymes. 

The post 5 gnarly plants in the Okefenokee Swamp, from digestive slime to Earth’s fastest predator appeared first on Popular Science.

August 1The Summer TriangleAugust 12Six Planets in AlignmentAugust 12Full Solar EclipseAugust 12–13Perseids Meteor Shower Predicted PeakAugust 27–28Partial Lunar EclipseAugust 28Full Sturgeon Moon

If you’re one of our European readers, then August is potentially a particularly big month. A full solar eclipse will sweep across parts of several countries including Spain and Iceland on August 12. But even if you’re not, there’s still plenty to see this month, from a new planetary parade to a Lovecraftian horror lurking in plain sight. Let’s get started. 

August 1: The Summer Triangle

If it’s summer—and boy, is it ever summer—then it must be time for the Summer Triangle. If you look skyward as another long day recedes into another hot, sleepless night, you’ll see the triangular formation. The stars Vega, Deneb, and Altair shining bright in the southern sky form this seasonal shape.

As the Farmer’s Almanac explains, although the stars appear close from our perspective, they’re actually a long way from one another. Altair is 17 light-years away, and Vega is another eight light-years out, putting it at 25 light-years away from Earth. While Deneb appears similar to its two companions, it’s actually orders of magnitude further away. Estimates of exactly how far vary from about 1,400 light-years to 2,600 light-years.

The reason it looks as bright to us as Vega and Altair is because it’s huge. It’s an extremely rare blue supergiant. Deneb is anywhere between 55,000 and 196,000 the mass of our sun. If it magically replaced the sun, Deneb would swallow the planets Mercury and Venus whole. If our upper estimates on the star’s size are correct, it would swallow Earth too—and if not, never fear, it’d simply cook our planet into blasted uninhabitability.

If you’re still up for looking at the relatively benign Altair and Vega, along with the cosmic horror that is Deneb, crane your neck upwards, look south, and be glad that the star at the apex of the triangle you see is a long, long way away.

August 12: Six Planets in Alignment

From a triangle to a … hexagon? Sort of. August 12 is a big day for those of a stargazing persuasion.  It begins with a chance to see six planets in alignment. But wait, who’s missing? Venus has thumbed her regal nose at this month’s gathering—the Goddess of Love prefers to shine on her own, thank you very much.

That leaves Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus left at the planet party. They’ll stretch across the sky like a string of Christmas lights than the regular hexagon that you’ll find in a geometry textbook. But look, if its internal angles sum to 720°, we’re claiming it.

As per Starwalk, the best time to catch the planets on parade will be just about an hour before dawn on August 12, with the planets rising in the eastern sky and moving southwest. The two easiest planets to spot will be Mars and Saturn, both of which should be visible with the naked eye.  

August 12: Full Solar Eclipse

If you happen to be in Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia or northern Spain, then a genuinely profound experience is heading your way. Popular Science was lucky enough to catch the total solar eclipse visible from North America in April 2024, and it’s a remarkable feeling to watch the sun disappear, replaced by a black disc and a ghostly silver corona, while darkness sweeps across the landscape. Birds stop singing, the temperature drops, and for a moment it’s midnight. And then it’s over.

NASA has details on exactly when and where the path of totality falls this time around. 

August 12–13: Perseids Meteor Shower Predicted Peak

As if a planetary parade and a total solar eclipse weren’t enough for one day, the night of August 12 and early morning of August 13 will also be the best time to see this year’s Perseids meteor shower. 

This will be a particularly good year to spot this iconic meteor shower, given that the meteors will be streaking through a moonless sky. Look to the constellation Perseus, which will be high in the northeastern sky. EarthSky suggests looking just before dawn for the best chance of seeing the shower in all its glory.

August 27–28: Partial Lunar Eclipse

Look, it’s not a solar eclipse, but for those of us in North America who’ll miss out on the spectacle of the disappearing sun, there’s a pretty decent consolation prize in the form of an almost-full lunar eclipse.

A lunar eclipse happens when the moon falls into the Earth’s shadow. Instead of disappearing completely, the moon turns a deep shade of red, which is why these eclipses are often called “blood moons”. (Why? All the answers you seek are here.) 

This one will begin at around 10:30pm ET, with the maximum eclipse—where 96.2 percent of the moon’s surface will be covered in shadow—reached at 12:12 a.m. EDT on August 28. It will be visible across the entire contiguous United States and in Hawaii. Only the western part of Alaska that misses out.

August 28: Full Sturgeon Moon

One  day after its encounter with the Earth’s shadow, almost to the minute, the moon will reach peak illumination for this month. At 12:18 a.m. EDT, the full Sturgeon Moon will shine in all its glory. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the name comes from the giant fish that once swam in abundance in the Great Lakes of North America. The arrival of European settlers led to a predictable and depressing decline in their numbers, and the once-common lake sturgeon is now considered Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Remember that you’ll get the best experience gazing at the cosmos if you get away from any sources of light pollution, give your eyeballs some time to adjust to the darkness, and review our stargazing tips before setting out into the night.

The post August stargazing: A planet parade, two eclipses, and one scary star appeared first on Popular Science.

US Admiral Brad Cooper has presented a plan for another intensive 10-14 campaign to reduce Iran’s missiles. Ship-to-ship transfers off Oman and the UAE have surged, satellite images show tankers lining up to quietly hand off crude outside the danger zone, and Bloomberg data shows volumes climbing back toward 4–7 million barrels a day for ...

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Super Micro Computer has a complete Data Center Building Block Solutions® (DCBBS). They have a comprehensive portfolio of racks engineered specifically for mission-critical, high-density AI data center deployments. The ORv3 standard allows Supermicro to offer customers a range of racks which simplify the integration of liquid cooling solutions for high compute-density systems, resulting in a ...

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We humans love our pets, but we aren’t the only great apes who buddy up with other species. Researchers have documented multiple instances of primates forming bonds with different animals, but a recent study indicates these relationships may be even more common than expected. In a first-of-its-kind comprehensive review published in the journal Primates, anthropologists at the University of Oxford explored various instances of monkeys and apes carrying, grooming, playing, and sometimes actually adopting other creatures.

The data pool sources 303 cases across available scientific literature, 66 primatologists surveys, and 58 media accounts describing cross-species interactions involving humans’ close relatives. Situations included tufted gray langurs (Semnopithecus priam) petting squirrels in Sri Lanka, snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) playing with domesticated pigs in China, and even one case of capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) in Brazil raising an infant marmoset for months.

While anthropologist and study-coauthor Cyril Grueter cautioned against viewing these situations as identical to pet ownership in humans,they potentially hint at traits that developed millions of years ago, long before Homo sapiens arrived on the planet.

“They may represent some of the evolutionary building blocks from which human-animal companionship eventually emerged,” he said in a statement. “More broadly, these findings provide new insights into the evolution of empathy, social flexibility and the remarkable capacity of primates to engage with animals beyond their own species.”

These inter-species relationships are found throughout nature, but most of them develop out of purely practical reasons. For example, different types of fish may swim together in large, blended schools to increase their odds of survival, while ostriches and zebras hang around each to avoid predators thanks to their respective scent and sight capabilities. 

However, these examples of mutualism are markedly different from those reviewed by Grueter and colleagues. Primates napping next to another animal or playing with them offers no readily apparent rewards—suggesting that this innate curiosity and friendliness is more deeply ingrained in humanity’s evolutionary journey.

Beyond a better understanding of positive inter-species relationships among apes and monkeys, the researchers say further analysis could also benefit mixed animal facilities at wildlife sanctuaries and zoos.

“Humans have long been considered unique in forming close social relationships with other species,” said Grueter. “Our study shows that many primates also display remarkable curiosity, tolerance, and even caregiving towards animals that are not their own species.”

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FundaAI’s 8 GW framing combined with the latest Minihard/Macrohard details indicate 8GW of SpaceXAI is doable by end of 2027-mid 2028. They indicate the 8 Gigawatts of chips and the 8GW of power are available to SpaceXAI 8 GW Demand (compute/chip-order side is locked in) as FundaAI calculates demand-side power need at ~8 GW total ...

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Smallpox began decimating Indigenous populations shortly after European colonizers arrived in the Americas during the late 15th century. Along with other infectious diseases like diphtheria, influenza, typhus, and measles, historians estimate10 to100 million people died in these epidemics within only a few centuries. But although smallpox’s European origins are clear based on the timeline of its devastation, epidemiologists have yet to identify strong genetic evidence to support this arc.

However, researchers believe they finally located the missing link. According to a study published today in the journal Science, a team at Trinity College Dublin has identified the oldest viral smallpox DNA in the Americas from a pair of 500 to 600-year-old Chilean mummies.The team says the molecular analysis indicates that the strains existed in a now-extinct variola virus lineage that bridges Old World European strains with its later variants.

“This discovery provides the first molecular confirmation that smallpox was carried to the Americas during the colonial period,” said pathogen geneticist and study co-author Shigeki Nakagome.

By comparing the mummies’ viral traces with historical examples, Nakagome and colleagues saw that the virus experienced an extended period of genetic alterations until the 16th century. It then began stabilizing during the 17th and 18th centuries, amid the apex of colonial expansion and throughout smallpox’s multiple largescale epidemics.

“This suggests that the virus may have reached an evolutionary optimum, allowing it to spread successfully with little further adaptation—possibly aided by the lack of immunity newly exposed populations had,” explained microbiologist and study co-author Lara Cassidy.

With the first confirmed genetic proof that Old World smallpox strains existed among Indigenous communities during the Colonial era, researchers have some of the strongest evidence yet that Europe directly introduced the virus into the Americas. It also supports the existing theory that pathogens often stabilize while passing through large and vulnerable populations instead of continuing to morph. Viral evolution may also frequently kickstart once again following the deployment of vaccines.

While Edward Jenner discovered the first smallpox vaccine in 1796, the disease still killed 300 to 500 million people during the 20th century. Thanks to extensive public health campaigns, the last documented naturally transmitted case occurred in 1977. TheWorld Health Organization officially declared smallpox eradicated only three years later. It still remains the only human infectious disease to be globally eliminated.

While smallpox is no longer a daily concern, the latest DNA discoveries can help public health officials, biologists, and epidemiologists prepare for and fight future disease outbreaks. A better understanding of pathogen evolution allows experts to plan more effective vaccination rollouts, as well as trace the spread of a disease. 

“Taken together, the findings show how major historical events including colonization, population change, and vaccination likely shaped the evolution of one of humanity’s most devastating infectious diseases,” added study co-author and pathogen researcher Bruno Romero González.

The post Chilean mummies prove Europeans brought smallpox to the Americas appeared first on Popular Science.

SpaceX is building a new Minihard data center adjacent to Macrohard and Macrohardrr at the Memphis campus. It is the same 220,000 GB300s as Macrohardrr, packed into roughly 25% of the floor area. The claim is that Colossus 2’s campus ends up with the original 550k-GPU building plus two 220k-GPU buildings — close to a ...

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