MUTTS
Mutts Cartoon
News
Archaeologists discover ancient Mayan city at México construction site
Researchers estimate the city, which features the Mayan Puuc style of architecture, to have been occupied from 600 to 900 AD. The ruins of a Mayan site, called Xiol, have been uncovered on a construction site near Mérida, México. Photograph: Lorenzo Hernández/Reuters – …
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft safely touches down in New Mexico
Starliner parachutes down in New Mexico. Boeing – By David Szondy 2022 May 25 – Boeing’s Starliner passenger spacecraft has successfully returned to Earth. At 4:49 pm MDT, the uncrewed capsule landed at the US Army’s White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico at …
What is monkeypox? A microbiologist explains what’s known about this smallpox cousin
Monkeypox causes lesions that resemble pus-filled blisters, which eventually scab over. CDC/Getty Images – By Rodney E. Rohde, Regents’ Professor of Clinical Laboratory Science, Texas State University Published: 2022 May 20 – On 2022 May 18, Massachusetts health officials and the Centers for …
Smallest-ever remote-control walking robot uses shape-memory alloy
These tiny crab robots can be remote controlled by using heat to deform shape-memory alloys. Northwestern University – By Loz Blain 2022 May 25 – Researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois have demonstrated the world’s smallest remote-controlled walking robot, at just half a millimeter …
Southern Spain’s Ancient Water Network Sustains Life but Faces an Uncertain Future
“Sowing water” in this mountainous region has been crucial for people, crops, and biodiversity for more than a millennium. Antonio Ortega García adjusts slabs of stone, divering water from the Río Grande (foreground) to an acequia. All Photos by Kira Walker for Atlas …
Stryker-combat-vehicle-mounted laser weapon fends off mortar rounds
The Stryker combat vehicle with the Raytheon laser weapon installed. Raytheon – By David Szondy 2022 May 24 – Using a 50-kW high-energy laser weapon, a US Army Stryker combat vehicle acquired, tracked, targeted, and defeated multiple 60-mm mortar rounds and other threats during …
Boy from Heaven review – stirring spy thriller set on an Egyptian campus
Egypt’s religious and secular institutions both breed mistrust in Tarik Saleh’s superbly realized paranoid nightmare. Every day a school day … Boy from Heaven. Photograph: PR – Peter Bradshaw @PeterBradshaw1 2022 May 20 – Tarik Saleh is the Swedish-Egyptian director who made The …
Swarm unveils magnetic waves deep down
ESA / Applications / Observing the Earth / FutureEO / Swarm – 2022 May 23 – While volcanic eruptions and earthquakes serve as immediate reminders that Earth’s insides are anything but tranquil, there are also other, more elusive, dynamic processes happening deep down …
Cheap gel film pulls buckets of drinking water per day from thin air
A sample of the new gel film, which can pull huge amounts of drinking water out of thin air. University of Texas at Austin – By Michael Irving 2022 May 24 – Water scarcity is a major problem for much of the world’s population, …
CRISPR-edited hamsters exhibit unexpected social behavior changes
Hamsters genetically engineered to lack a key hormone receptor showed unexpected social behaviors. Depositphotos – By Michael Irving 2022 May 22 – Researchers experimenting with genetically engineered hamsters have found that the biology behind social behavior may be more complex than we thought. The …
Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind review – Ethan Coen’s amazing tribute to the Killer
The Coen brother goes solo to put together a documentary about the shamanic wild man of early rock’n’roll, who reinvented himself as a country and gospel act. Wild man … Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind. Photograph: AP– Peter Bradshaw @PeterBradshaw1 Last modified …
‘Extremely active’ jumping worms that can leap a foot raise alarm in California
Earthworm native to east Asia and known for its large appetite poses threat to forest ecosystems, scientists say. Amynthas agrestis. Jumping worms can destroy a forest ecosystem by chewing through fallen leaves, destroying the top layer of soil. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons – By …
What makes us subconsciously mimic the accents of others in conversation
When you imitate the speech of others, there’s a thin line between whether it’s a social asset or faux pas. Franklin McMahon/Corbis via Getty Images – By Lacey Wade, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Pennsylvania Published: 2022 May 20 – Have you ever caught …
Your political views can predict how you pronounce certain words
How do you pronounce ‘Muslim’? What about ‘spiel’? Linda Staf/Shutterstock.com – By Zachary Jaggers, Postdoctoral Scholar of Linguistics, University of Oregon Originally Published: 2019 Oct 21 – Politics can predict the TV shows we watch, the shops we frequent and the places we …
Spider-legged WAM-V suspension boats float over the waves
The Proteus WAM-V: 100 ft long, 50 ft wide, 30-knot top speed, and the bottom of the pontoons sit just 16 inches under the surface. Marine Advanced Robotics View 9 Images – By Loz Blain 2022 May 20 – California’s Marine Advanced Robotics has …
5,000 firefighters tackle wildfires across US south-west
High winds have hampered operations as crews fight blazes in Texas, Colorado and New Mexico. Gusty winds were expected on Friday for fire crews battling blazes across Texas, Colorado and New Mexico before cooler weather arrives at the weekend. Photograph: Jim Weber/AP – …
Quantum well solar cell clocks world record efficiency of almost 40%
The new world-record-breaking quantum well solar cell, glowing red under blue light. Wayne Hicks, NREL – By Michael Irving 2022 May 19 – Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL at Golden, Colorado) have broken the world record for solar cell efficiency. Reaching …
Bad news for the 2022 hurricane season: The Loop Current, a fueler of monster storms, is looking a lot like it did in 2005, the year of Katrina
A satellite image of ocean heat shows the strong Loop Current and swirling eddies. Christopher Henze, NASA/Ames – By Nick Shay, Professor of Oceanography, University of Miami Published: 2022 May 18 – The Atlantic hurricane season starts on June 1, and the …
Bizarre night-time solar cell generates power in a backwards process
A UNSW team has measured the first power generation from a thermoradiative diode, which could be used to harvest re-emitted solar energy at night. UNSW – By Loz Blain 2022 May 18 – In a world first, a team at the University of New …
Our majestic Milky Way stars in annual astrophotography competition
The Rocks. The bright galaxy sets over ancient sea stacks and exposed reefs at Motukiekie, along the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. Rachel Roberts – By Michael Irving 2022 May 17 – The Milky Way is one of the night …
Sandia developing micro-grids to power future Moon base
Artist’s concept of a future Moon base. Sandia National Laboratories/Eric Lundin – By David Szondy 2022 May 15 – To keep the lights on in NASA’s Artemis human lunar outpost, Sandia National Laboratories is developing electrical micro-grids to handle the power distribution from the …
New US lab to create versions of atoms never recorded on Earth
By studying isotopes scientists hope to gain insight into how elements within exploding stars came to be. Researchers at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams. Photograph: Mel Russell III/FRIB – Linda Geddes Science correspondent Updated: 2022 May 16 – From carbon to uranium, oxygen …
A shrinking fraction of the world’s major crops goes to feed the hungry, with more used for nonfood purposes
Harvesting soybeans in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Brazil exports soybeans and uses them domestically to make animal feed and biodiesel. Paulo Fridman/Corbis via Getty Images – By Deepak Ray, Senior Scientist, University of Minnesota Published: 2022 May 13 – CC BY-ND – Rising competition …
Self-charging battery generates electricity from moisture in the air
A flexible, self-charging battery technology harvests energy from moisture in the air. Depositphotos – By Loz Blain 2022 May 11 – Half of the solar energy that bathes the Earth in warmth goes into a single process, according to some researchers: evaporating the water …
A handful of blueberries a day could keep dementia at bay
After 12 weeks of daily blueberry supplements researchers saw small cognitive improvements in trial participants. Depositphotos – By Rich Haridy 2022 May 12 – New research from the University of Cincinnati has found daily consumption of blueberries in middle-age could reduce a person’s risk …
Algae energy harvester powers electronics for a year on its own
A new algae-based energy harvester, about the size of a AA battery. Paolo Bombelli – By Michael Irving 2022 May 12 – As the number of electronic devices grows, we’re going to have to get creative with our energy sources. Cambridge researchers have now …
Electric eels inspired the first battery two centuries ago and now point a way to future battery technologies
Prepare to be stunned by a technology that nature perfected. maradek/iStock via Getty Images – By Timothy J. Jorgensen, Director of the Health Physics and Radiation Protection Graduate Program and Professor of Radiation Medicine, Georgetown University Published: 2022 May 09 – As the …
‘Holy cow’: scientists successfully grow plants in moon soil for the first time
Researchers at the University of Florida planted thale cress in harsh lunar dirt returned by Apollo 11 astronauts. Researchers at the University of Florida have grown plants in soil from the moon for the first time. Photograph: Tyler Jones/AP – Associated Press Last …
‘They were furious’: the Russian soldiers refusing to fight in Ukraine
Many Russian soldiers would rather be dismissed or transferred than fight in Ukraine. Photograph: Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images – By Pjotr Sauer Last modified on 2022 May 13 – When the soldiers of an elite Russian army brigade were told in early April to prepare …
Fastest-ever logic gates could make computers a million times faster
Synchronized pairs of laser pulses drive the fastest logic gates ever made, which could eventually give computers a million-fold speed boost. University of Rochester illustration / Michael Osadciw – By Michael Irving 2022 May 11 – Logic gates are the fundamental building blocks of …
Sugar and citric acid used to create nontoxic plywood glue
Various versions of the adhesive were used to create samples of plywood, made up of three laminated poplar veneers. Adapted from ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 2022, DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c02859 – By Ben Coxworth 2022 May 11 – While we may think of wood as …
Specialized’s workhorse ebikes incentivize bike rides over car rides
Load up all your favorite cacti (or something that makes sense to carry on a bike) and hit the city streets via ebike instead of motor vehicle. Specialized – By C.C. Weiss 2022 May 10 – One of the world’s largest bicycle companies is …
Cancer risk increased by wildfire exposure, first-of-its-kind study finds
People living within 50 km of a wildfire displayed higher incidences of lung cancer and brain tumors over a 10-year period. Depositphotos – By Rich Haridy 2022 May 09 – A first-of-its-kind study from researchers at McGill University has investigated the relationship between certain …
Fertilizer turning Europe’s farms into massive reservoirs of microplastics
A new study has found that fertilizer made from sewage sludge and used widely in agriculture operations is introducing vast amounts of microplastics into Europe’s soils. Depositphotos – By Nick Lavars 2022 May 08 – The sludge that is created through sewage treatment processes …
More infectious Omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1 rapidly spreading across US
The CDC predicts an Omicron subvariant dubbed BA.2.12.1 will become the predominant strain of SARS-CoV-2 in the United States within weeks. Depositphotos – By Rich Haridy 2022 May 05 – COVID-19 variant-tracking estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate a …
The secret world beneath our feet is mind-blowing – and the key to our planet’s future
Don’t dismiss soil: its unknowable wonders could ensure the survival of our species. When a plant root pushes into soil, it triggers an explosion of activity in billions of bacteria. Photograph: Liz McBurney/The Guardian – By George Monbiot Published: 2022 May 07 – …
Water from Earth’s atmosphere may be raining onto the Moon
The Moon as seen by the Galileo deep-space probe in 1992. NASA/JPL/USGS – By Michael Irving 2022 May 04 – The Moon may look like a big dry ball, but there’s more water up there than you might expect. In a new study, scientists have …
The Catholic saint who dedicated his life to a leprosy colony in Hawaii – and became an inspiration for HIV/AIDS care
The headstone of Father Damien, a Catholic saint who was canonized in 2009. Richard A. Cooke III/Corbis Historical via Getty Images – By Mark Lambert, Teaching Fellow, University of Chicago Divinity School Published: 2022 May 06 – On 1865 Jan 03, the Kingdom …
Et Tu, Lavrov? The Bountiful Conspiracies About Hitler’s Jewish Blood
Most of the claims about ‘Hitler’s Jewish blood,’ repeated Sunday by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, arise from the fact that the identity of his paternal grandfather is unknown. The answer to that question seems to have been buried with his grandmother. German …
Hyundai is actually building those wild unstoppable 4x4s on robot legs
The articulated legs of the Elevate allow it to stand up and walk over obstacles that would chew regular off-road vehicles to pieces. – By Loz Blain 2022 May 05 – We see a lot of wacky concept vehicles, but few as nutty …
Archaeologists discover ancient Mayan city at México construction site
Researchers estimate the city, which features the Mayan Puuc style of architecture, to have been occupied from 600 to 900 AD. The ruins of a Mayan site, called Xiol, have been uncovered on a construction site near Mérida, México. Photograph: Lorenzo Hernández/Reuters – …
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft safely touches down in New Mexico
Starliner parachutes down in New Mexico. Boeing – By David Szondy 2022 May 25 – Boeing’s Starliner passenger spacecraft has successfully returned to Earth. At 4:49 pm MDT, the uncrewed capsule landed at the US Army’s White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico at …
What is monkeypox? A microbiologist explains what’s known about this smallpox cousin
Monkeypox causes lesions that resemble pus-filled blisters, which eventually scab over. CDC/Getty Images – By Rodney E. Rohde, Regents’ Professor of Clinical Laboratory Science, Texas State University Published: 2022 May 20 – On 2022 May 18, Massachusetts health officials and the Centers for …
Smallest-ever remote-control walking robot uses shape-memory alloy
These tiny crab robots can be remote controlled by using heat to deform shape-memory alloys. Northwestern University – By Loz Blain 2022 May 25 – Researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois have demonstrated the world’s smallest remote-controlled walking robot, at just half a millimeter …
Southern Spain’s Ancient Water Network Sustains Life but Faces an Uncertain Future
“Sowing water” in this mountainous region has been crucial for people, crops, and biodiversity for more than a millennium. Antonio Ortega García adjusts slabs of stone, divering water from the Río Grande (foreground) to an acequia. All Photos by Kira Walker for Atlas …
Stryker-combat-vehicle-mounted laser weapon fends off mortar rounds
The Stryker combat vehicle with the Raytheon laser weapon installed. Raytheon – By David Szondy 2022 May 24 – Using a 50-kW high-energy laser weapon, a US Army Stryker combat vehicle acquired, tracked, targeted, and defeated multiple 60-mm mortar rounds and other threats during …
Boy from Heaven review – stirring spy thriller set on an Egyptian campus
Egypt’s religious and secular institutions both breed mistrust in Tarik Saleh’s superbly realized paranoid nightmare. Every day a school day … Boy from Heaven. Photograph: PR – Peter Bradshaw @PeterBradshaw1 2022 May 20 – Tarik Saleh is the Swedish-Egyptian director who made The …
Swarm unveils magnetic waves deep down
ESA / Applications / Observing the Earth / FutureEO / Swarm – 2022 May 23 – While volcanic eruptions and earthquakes serve as immediate reminders that Earth’s insides are anything but tranquil, there are also other, more elusive, dynamic processes happening deep down …
Cheap gel film pulls buckets of drinking water per day from thin air
A sample of the new gel film, which can pull huge amounts of drinking water out of thin air. University of Texas at Austin – By Michael Irving 2022 May 24 – Water scarcity is a major problem for much of the world’s population, …
CRISPR-edited hamsters exhibit unexpected social behavior changes
Hamsters genetically engineered to lack a key hormone receptor showed unexpected social behaviors. Depositphotos – By Michael Irving 2022 May 22 – Researchers experimenting with genetically engineered hamsters have found that the biology behind social behavior may be more complex than we thought. The …