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Category: futurism – Page 254
Discovery of Unusual Worm With Mammal-Like Vision Stuns Scientists
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen and Lund University are amazed by the discovery of a bristle worm that possesses eyesight as acute as that of mammals. They suspect that they may have a secretive language, only seen by their own species.
The Vanadis bristle worm has eyes as big as millstones – relatively speaking. Indeed, if our eyes were proportionally as big as the ones of this Mediterranean marine worm, we would need a big sturdy wheelbarrow and brawny arms to lug around the extra 100kg.
As a set, the worm’s eyes weigh about twenty times as much as the rest of the animal’s head and seem grotesquely out of place on this tiny and transparent marine critter. As if two giant, shiny red balloons have been strapped to its body.
Epsilon-near-zero regime enables permanent ultrafast all-optical reversal of ferroelectric polarization
Researchers reveal that naturally emerging epsilon-near-zero conditions in BaTiO3 can be exploited to drive permanent all-optical switching of ferroelectric polarization. The general nature of the epsilon-near-zero regime means that the approach could be used to switch spontaneous order parameters in other systems.
Mexico City’s 21 million residents are facing a severe water shortage
“In the case of Iztapalapa, water scarcity has always been a big problem,” said Mariano Salazar, a 69-year-old community leader in the district. “There are almost 2 million of us in this municipality and we require 100 million cubic meters of water a year.”
Frustrations over the situation have fueled unrest. In January, protesters in the municipality of Acambay forced open the gate of an office of Mexico’s National Water Commission and broke windows, as reported by Reuters.
Local authorities have urged residents to conserve water and prioritize what is available for drinking, particularly as temperatures this week hover around 85 F.
Tens of millions facing hunger and water shortages as extreme drought and floods sweep southern Africa
More than 24 million people in southern Africa face hunger, malnutrition and water scarcity due to drought and floods, an aid group has warned, as experts say the situation risks spiraling into an “unimaginable humanitarian situation.”
The warning from Oxfam on Wednesday came as Zimbabwe joined other southern African nations in declaring its drought a national disaster, following earlier declarations by Zambia and Malawi.
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa said more than 2.7 million people in the country will go hungry this year and more than $2 billion in aid is required for the country’s national response, Reuters reported.