A boulder my ass There's a Weird Cube on the Moon https://www.ign.com/articles/moon-cube-china-lunar-rover?amp=1
Bounty Scientists Scream As Experimental Paper Towel Absorbs Entire Lab CINCINNATI—In a horrifying accident that is said to have resulted from obsessive and irresponsible attempts to develop a product with the thickest quilting possible, multiple scientists at paper towel manufacturer Bounty reportedly died screaming Friday after an experimental prototype absorbed their entire lab. “My God, we were only trying to devise a quicker and easier way to clean up everyday messes and spills—what unholiness have we wrought?” said Bounty research and development head Leonard Banco, who was later heard crying in agony as his body dissolved into the blindingly white, fibrous folds of the hyper-absorptive towel. “In the past, our experiments have always stopped once the bright blue liquid was soaked up, but this paper towel appears to be insatiable… Run, you fools! It won’t stop until it has absorbed every last drop of our blood!” At press time, reports confirmed the paper towel had wiped away most of Kentucky and Ohio, sopped up the Great Lakes, and set to work on several tough, set-in condiment stains on the shirtfront of Erie, PA man Don Turnbee.
Squirrels Can Teach Robots a Lesson About Agility and Recovery When navigating treetops, squirrels will risk a long-distance leap if there’s a sturdy branch to land on. But even if their next stop is flimsy, a squirrel’s expert-level recovery skills—possibly developed from past mistakes—almost always help them stick the landing. These two lessons from our fuzzy friends could be useful in designing how agile robots analyze a target to jump toward and how they recoup missed marks, according to research published in August. “Like squirrels, the next generation of fast, agile legged robots could perceive opportunities to exploit specific aspects of the world around them that directly complement their own capabilities,” study author Nathaniel Hunt, a biomechanics engineer at the University of Nebraska, says via email. “Sensors and perception may be designed to directly identify only the critical information that supports movement decisions and control while ignoring a huge amount of irrelevant information.” To learn more about how squirrels successfully navigate from branch to branch, scientists put wild fox squirrels to the test on an obstacle course in a eucalyptus grove on the University of California, Berkeley campus. The team analyzed how the squirrels altered their jumps depending on branch flexibility—timing their launch a bit earlier—and how they geared up for distance and height variation—twisting mid-air to find something to bounce off of to give them a boost. After going through a tricky jump a few times, they eventually nailed the stunt with ease. Engineers designing robots for “inspection and maintenance, working in the home, and even exploration” can learn a few things from these bushy-tailed rodents, explains Hunt. “As robots move out of laboratories and start to do work in the real world, somehow they have to deal with the complexity of interacting with different surfaces and objects, various materials that are hard or soft, smooth or rough, and they must react appropriately when they bump into something, lose traction or some other unexpected thing happens,” he says.
Great. So now we can see robot guts splattered all over the road as they attempt to use their squirrelly agility?
The walking robot dogs made it into the Book of Boba Fett. So it's official, they are part of the cast, and that should scare the shiot of everyone because it went under the radar like it's ok. It's not.
I don't know -- does this follow in the spirit of DOOMED news? I don't see a robot/tech. @KingCheetah
I really, really, really hope that robots do not start moving with the balance and agility of a squirrel. No thanks.
"Yeah, we found them all...really...we did...all of them..." Word on the street is that the dump truck involved was carrying nuclear waste... All Animals Are Accounted for After Truck Carrying 100 Lab Monkeys Crashed in Pennsylvania The monkeys escaped into a wooded area where state troopers and state wildlife officials launched a search effort that included the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Pennsylvania Department of Health officials. Pennsylvania State Police A pick-up truck transporting 100 labratory monkeys collided with a dump truck in Pennsylvania on Friday, January 21, reports Michael Levenson for the New York Times. A total of four monkeys escaped from the wreckage after the dump truck tore off the front panel of the trailer and sent about a dozen crates tumbling out. The drivers were unharmed, and one passenger was transported to a hospital for possible minor injuries. All of the animal escapees were found and accounted for by late Saturday, reports the Associated Press. Pennsylvania State Police first responded to the crash about 150 miles northwest of Philadelphia. After the monkeys escaped, state troopers and state wildlife officials launched a search effort that included the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Pennsylvania Department of Health officials. Helicopters aided in the search, and local firefighters used thermal imaging cameras to locate the monkeys, per AP. Soon after the crash, police posted a statement to Twitter to warn locals not to look for or attempt to capture any of the animals and instead call 911 immediately. State Trooper Lauren Lesher told the Associated Press that the statement was released because the monkeys were not domesticated and loose in an unknown area. Called long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis), the monkeys have reddish-brown fur and can live up to 30 years in captivity, reports the New York Times. The monkeys in the accident were on their way to a CDC-approved quarantine facility after arriving at New York’s Kennedy Airport from Mauritius, an island nation located off the eastern coast of Africa near Madagascar, per AP. According to the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, these monkeys are often used for medical studies because their human-like neurological, reproductive, and immunological systems. The primates can cost up to $10,000 each. However, the type of research the monkeys were going to be used for was unclear. These types of monkeys are currently in high demand for coronavirus vaccine research, per the New York Times. A few eyewitnesses pulled over to help those involved in the accident, including Michelle Fallon, who stopped to help the truck driver. Initially, she thought the distressed animals were cats and placed her hand on one of the cages when one of the monkeys hissed at her, reports Graig Graziosi for the Independent. Soon after her contact with the animals, Fallon developed pink eye and a cough. She has since received treatment, and CDC health officials have told her in a letter to watch for symptoms and notify the Pennsylvania State Department of Health if she becomes ill, reports Michael Tanenbaum for the Philly Voice. In an email to AP, CDC spokesperson Kristen Norlund said the three escaped monkeys were euthanized by gunshot but did not explain why. The remaining monkeys will be monitored and quarantined for 31 days before their release, per the Philly Voice. PennLive's John Beauge reports the U.S. Department of Agriculture will "look into" the accident after receiving a request for an investigation from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-60150542 Australia scientists find 'spooky' spinning object in Milky Way
The convergence into VGER is starting...we are royally screwed now... https://www.space.com/voyager-1-telemetry-issue Voyager 1 glitch? NASA working to understand strange data from venerable probe
