Guardian: Pet fur found in songbird nests contains high levels of pesticides, study finds
Chemical in treatment for pet fleas and ticks is found in nests of blue and great tits, killing chicks.
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It was already widely known that the chemicals in the treatments were affecting life in rivers and streams after pets swam in them, but the discovery of songbird nest contamination will add to the pressure.
Cannelle Tassin de Montaigu, the lead author of the research paper, said: “No nest was free from insecticides in our study, and this significant presence of harmful chemicals could be having devastating consequences on the UK’s bird populations.
Guardian: Two Van Gogh paintings to be shown in London for first time
Two Vincent van Gogh paintings created in the months after the Dutch artist mutilated his ear will be exhibited in London for the first time.
The works, The Courtyard of the Hospital at Arles and The Ward in the Hospital at Arles, would appear at the Courtauld Gallery from next month, the Art Newspaper reported.
The paintings are the only works created by the post-impressionist of the hospital in Arles in southern France in which he stayed.
Biometric data collection was a recurring theme. A photo from Jordan shows a Syrian boy paying for groceries with an iris scanner at a supermarket “run jointly by the World Food Programme and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.” Eye-scanning technology is being used there “to ensure people use only their own credit and not borrowed or stolen cards. After having their iris scanned, Syrian refugees living in the camp can make use of services such as health care and shopping, using just their eyes.”
Another recurring theme was energy. There’s a lovely “honorable mention” photo from the Philippines showing two young people on a beach playing basketball “under the towering blades of the windmills in Bangu… Renewable energy has transformed this community, cutting household expenses and powering opportunities once thought to be out of reach.” The third-place photo shows six children in a distant tent in “a mountainous, subarctic forest” in Mongolia” — all gathered around a laptop “to watch a documentary about a Norwegian reindeer herder” who had visited their region. (“Modern technology such as solar panels, car batteries, and the occasional Wi-Fi connection allows these families to stay connected with the world.") One photo shows a young boy carrying a solar panel down from the roof in a remote village in Jharkhand, India.
PopSci: Human vs: humanoid: Half-marathon pits robots against 12,000 joggers
Runners completing a half marathon in Beijing later this year will do so with some unusual, metal competition at their sides. According to a press release from China’s Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, more than 12,000 human runners will square off against dozens of bipedal, humanoid robots from more than 20 companies in a 13-mile course. The top three finishers, be they human or humanoid, will receive prizes. But the robots will have their work cut out for them. As of now, no bipedal robot has successfully completed that long of a race, let alone against a seasoned human runner. The announcement was first spotted by the South China Morning Post. …
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Outside of events like these, humanoid robots are mostly being designed with two primary use cases in mind: manufacturing and caretaking. Chinese humanoid robots have already reportedly been deployed at BYD car factories, though it’s unclear exactly how much work they … actually complete.
MacRumors: Apple Breaks watchOS Updates On Older Apple Watch Models
With today’s watchOS 11.3 update, Apple accidentally broke watchOS updates for some older Apple Watch models, according to information circulating on social networks.
Apple Support: About firmware updates for AirPods
Firmware updates are delivered automatically while your AirPods are charging and in Bluetooth range of your iPhone, iPad, or Mac that’s connected to Wi-Fi.
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[How To] Update your AirPods or AirPods Pro firmware…
Also: Apple Support: Identify your AirPods
NYT: How My Trip to Quit Sugar Quickly Became a Journey Into Hell
Apes, I was informed by Dr. Paul Breslin, a member of Monell and a professor of nutritional sciences at Rutgers University, are “basically sugar eaters.” Chimpanzees, with whom humans share about 98.7 percent of their genome, derive about 80 percent of their calories from sugary fruit. Breslin told me that all apes, including humans, evolved to live the way wild apes still do: surviving cycles of feast and famine by gorging on calorie-dense fruits whenever they are available and scraping by on less caloric vegetation when they aren’t. But advances in the science of food preservation, and the establishment of a global supply chain, and Amazon’s subscribe-and-save option for Strawberry Sensation Fruit Roll-Ups with Tongue Tattoos on Every Roll, have created a consequence unprecedented in the natural world. For many modern humans, Breslin says, “the tree simply never stops fruiting.”
Last Updated: 27.Jan.2025 23:07 EST
