This is a rather interesting story about the Ama free divers in Japan. They are all women, and are engaged in a centuries old tradition to be one with nature.
If you’d like a little recap of their story, here’s a short piece CNN did on them.
Wednesday, August 26, 2026
Voyager 1 has been moving through space since 1977, now faster than a speeding bullet, and it still has not covered a single light-year of distance from Earth - ScienceBlog.com
The fact that voyager 1 is still active (and scientists keep finding innovative ways to keep it so, from a great distance) is remarkable.
But don’t sleep on just how vast the universe is! Voyager launched in 1977, nearly 50 years ago, and it is traveling at about 17 km/s (or roughly 40,000 miles per hour). And yet, it has barely moved in cosmic terms. That’s amazing.
Taking on the invasive air potato
Back in 2012, there was an invasive plant moving through Florida. Several prominent research studies were undertaken, most notably at the University of Florida in their horticulture school.
The researchers tested whether a tiny leaf-eating beetle (the Lilioceris cheni) could help control air potato, a vigorous vine capable of smothering native vegetation, without disturbing the other foliage.
And then they worked with a group of high school students in Broward county who were studying environmental science to try releasing some beetles into the wild.
The students released just 16 beetles into the Long Key Natural Area and Nature Centre in Davie, but they multiplied into the thousands and nearly completely defoliated the air potato vines in the release area.
Using that success as a basis, the scientists at UF released thousands more of the beetles, and the air potato was mostly eradicated over the next decade.
You can read more about all of this in the attached links, but here's a key takeaway:
Rather than relying solely on repeated chemical or physical removal, scientists were using specialised insects to exploit different vulnerabilities in the plant’s growth and reproduction.
The man who drew the first geological map of an entire country spent twenty-eight years surveying it, sold his fossil collection to the British Museum to cover his debts, went to debtors' prison anyway, and walked home in 1819 to find bailiffs had taken his house - ScienceBlog.com
File this under "no good deed goes unpunished" ....
This is the story about the man who spent years of his life and drew the first geologic map Britain.
His debts had amassed over his years away, and so he sold the fossils he collected to the British Museum. Yet, that wasn't enough and he wound up going to debtors prison.
And then when he got out - with no money - he had to literally walk home, only to find that his house and all his possessions had been seized to cover his debts.
He was left destitute. And his accomplishments in map making weren't recognized for many years.
What a shame. And I guess in a way "he didn't know the right people" who can literally get away with anything.
This cookie started its life as a plastic bottle - American Chemical Society
Corn stalks. Plastic bottles. Oxygen. High temperatures. Just add water and voila, you have a protein rich cookie that can help with the world’s hunger problem.
Now I’m a little dubious about what they did and whether it’s viable, but they do attack two of the more pressing issues. So maybe they have something great here.
Disney patent hints at trick behind new Encanto ride
Always the innovators, Disney has come up with a new kind of ride technology which they are looking to patent.
It’s a method to trick a rider into thinking they are going up or down, without any physical lifts or drops - or moving parts.
The idea is that they use a kind of forced perspective coupled with narrowing walls that give the illusion of lifts and drops.
The plan is to use this technology in the under-construction encanto ride. It will be family friendly but exciting.
I look forward to seeing this when it’s complete.
Bees in Space: Our Guide to NASA's Orbital Pollinator Experiments
Back in 1982, we sent 14 bees on a space mission. Astronauts observed the bees and noticed that they had trouble flying and “finding their way” likely due to the lack of gravity and directional indicators like north. But we learned something, even though that group of bees died when they returned to earth.
Two years later, a college student designed another experiment with a group of 3,300 honeybees that went up on a shuttle mission. They, too, struggled for a bit, but they managed to orient themselves and got to the task of building a honeycomb - successfully. The overall takeaway was that they had a similar sort of like cycle to what bees on earth had. The queen even laid eggs, though they didn’t hatch. But the bees did make it back to earth and were returned to the farm from which they came.
Sadly, not much more was done with this information - but we know that bees can survive away from other and could be effective pollinators and can produce honey.
Those are things that are useful to us in the future
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