Whale

Insurtech Startup Functional Finance Raises $8 Million to Further Expand Operational Efficiency for the Insurance Industry

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, August 3, 2023

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Functional Finance, a software platform that integrates and automates data and reporting functions for insurance companies, announced today that it has secured $8 million in seed capital, plus $2 million in SAFE notes for future equity investments, which will go towards product development and client relationships. The fundraising round was led by venture capital and growth equity firms New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA), Walkabout Ventures and Altai Ventures, with participation from industry titan Hank Greenberg's C.V. Starr Insurance and other premier investors.

Key Points: 
  • Rashmi "Rush" Melgiri – a two-time insurtech entrepreneur – and seasoned technology executive Tony DeGangi co-founded Functional Finance in 2021.
  • Their mission is to resolve the convoluted operational processes found throughout the insurance sector following years of experience dealing with insurance technology issues firsthand.
  • CEO Melgiri previously co-founded CoverWallet and is joined by CoverWallet's former president Jim Ermilio, who now serves as Functional Finance's President.
  • "At my last startup I realized firsthand that spreadsheets and emails are terribly inefficient, error-prone and costly ways for the insurance industry to manage their payables and receivables," said Melgiri, CEO of Functional Finance.

Bridgecoin Allows Crypto Capital Gain Deferment

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, August 3, 2023

3rd August, 2023 - Boca Raton, Florida: Bridgecoin Capital unveiled today the launch of their new lending platform, which is the first of its kind to lend customers’ crypto into traditional real estate assets.

Key Points: 
  • 3rd August, 2023 - Boca Raton, Florida: Bridgecoin Capital unveiled today the launch of their new lending platform, which is the first of its kind to lend customers’ crypto into traditional real estate assets.
  • It does this by deferring crypto capital gains utilizing real estate to both defer taxes and diversify customer portfolios.
  • However, with the $163 Billion earned by investors in the last crypto bull run, there were serious tax implications for capital gains.
  • The team at Bridgecoin Capital has developed a fully regulated process whereby a customer will collateralize their crypto assets into a cash loan while avoiding the transfer capital gains tax, and then will lend the cash into interest-flowing real estate deals.

Sound of Sleep Launches SOUND+SLEEP Aquarius, the Latest Addition to its Line of Best-Selling Portable Sound Machines

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, August 3, 2023

CAMPBELL, Calif., Aug. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Sound of Sleep, a division of Adaptive Sound Technologies, announces the launch of SOUND+SLEEP Aquarius, its latest sound machine using the soothing sounds of water to help consumers sleep better. The device connects to Bluetooth headphones, earbuds or speaker pillows and streams music from your smartphone to the Aquarius speaker system.

Key Points: 
  • CAMPBELL, Calif., Aug. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Sound of Sleep , a division of Adaptive Sound Technologies, announces the launch of SOUND+SLEEP Aquarius, its latest sound machine using the soothing sounds of water to help consumers sleep better.
  • The convenient, compact, rugged size makes it ideal for traveling, helping travelers with fatigue, jet lag, and sleep deprivation.
  • That is precisely why our Stanford sleep advisor, Dr. Pelayo, says these sounds are soothing and help you sleep.
  • The high-quality, travel-friendly water sound sleep machine captures the natural ecosystems with professional recordings and reproduces in real-time using the latest advanced electronics.

Meg 2: the truth about the extinct mega shark – and why even this ridiculous film could inspire future palaeontologists

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Otodus megalodon, the biggest shark of all time, has long captured the imaginations of palaeontologists and the public alike.

Key Points: 
  • Otodus megalodon, the biggest shark of all time, has long captured the imaginations of palaeontologists and the public alike.
  • As big as human hands and serrated like kitchen knives, they were used for cutting down whales unlucky enough to encounter these sharks.
  • This gigantic predator has been further propelled into the limelight through popular culture.
  • I am now, 20 years later, a practising palaeobiologist specialising in fossil sharks and my most well-known work revolves around none other than megalodon.

Megalodon biology and cinematic representation

    • Nitrogen isotope values from megalodon are exceptionally high, indicating it was higher up the food chain than any living marine predator.
    • In short, the megalodon was the most apex of ocean predators.
    • Mesothermy enhances swimming speeds, allowing a megalodon to travel faster and further, increasing its chances of finding prey.
    • This active lifestyle would have forced megalodon to eat more food – around 98,000 kcal every day – to justify its size.
    • And it should make for a very cool moment of cinematic absurdity.

A better story for sharks

    • It caused the spread of great white sharks, for example, and allowed whales to get even bigger because there were no more giant sharks to fear.
    • Unfortunately, media depictions like this can drive bizarre conspiracy theories that megalodons are somehow still alive.
    • Sharks continue to be portrayed negatively in the wider media, despite up to a third of today’s sharks being threatened with extinction.
    • We kill as many as 100 million sharks every year and the largest ones are at particular risk.

The secret lives of silky sharks: unveiling their whereabouts supports their protection

Retrieved on: 
Sunday, July 30, 2023

We know very little about the secret lives of ocean sharks, where they live and why they are there.

Key Points: 
  • We know very little about the secret lives of ocean sharks, where they live and why they are there.
  • A solid understanding of the distribution of oceanic sharks is fundamental to their protection and our new research provides valuable insights into the secret lives of these wide-ranging predators.
  • Read more:
    Oceanic sharks and rays have declined by 71% since 1970 – a global solution is needed

Silky by name, silky by nature

    • Silky sharks (Carcharhinus falciformis), named for the silky-smooth feel of their skin, are emblematic of open ocean sharks.
    • In 2017 the International Union for the Conservation of Nature classified this species as vulnerable to extinction.

What we did

    • Baited remote underwater video systems, or BRUVS for short, are used to document the wildlife of the open oceans.
    • Armed with a pair of small action cameras and baited to attract predators, BRUVS are suspended at 10m depth and drift with ocean currents.

A love affair between silky sharks and seamounts

    • Silky sharks love seamounts.
    • The closer we sampled to seamounts, the more frequently we observed silky sharks, and in higher numbers.
    • Our results also reveal the smallest silky sharks hang out closest to seamounts.

A human footprint on silky sharks

    • Only the most remote areas had high numbers of silky sharks.
    • Silky sharks close to ports and human populations were also smaller than those observed further away.
    • The distribution of silky sharks exemplifies the pervasive and negative impacts of human activity on oceanic sharks more generally.

A path to protection

    • The need for improved protection for oceanic wildlife is well-recognised and marine protected areas are a key tool to deliver this protection.
    • In 2023, the High Seas Treaty was ratified by the 193 member states of the United Nations, paving the path towards strong and effective protection of the vast swaths of ocean beyond national jurisdiction.
    • We hope recent commitments to ocean protection will spur research to further unveil the secret lives of oceanic sharks and ensure their survival in the face of their greatest threat yet.

Why can't we just tow stranded whales and dolphins back out to sea?

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, July 27, 2023

On Tuesday night, a pod of almost 100 long-finned pilot whales stranded itself on a beach on Western Australia’s south coast.

Key Points: 
  • On Tuesday night, a pod of almost 100 long-finned pilot whales stranded itself on a beach on Western Australia’s south coast.
  • They used small boats and surf skis to try to get the pilot whales into deeper water.
  • It can work and work well, as we saw in Tasmania last year, when dozens of pilot whales were rescued.

Rescuing beached whales is hard

    • When we try to rescue stranded whales and dolphins, the goal is to get them off the sandbars or beach, and back into deep water.
    • First, you have to know that a pod has beached itself.
    • Then, you have to be able to get there in time, with people skilled in wildlife rescue.
    • And to add to the problem, pilot whales are highly social.
    • Because of these reasons – and probably others – it wasn’t possible to save the pilot whales yesterday.

Successful rescues do happen

    • Every single person working around the clock to help these animals did an amazing job, from experts to volunteers in the cold water to those making cups of tea.
    • Last year, 230 pilot whales beached themselves at Macquarie Harbour, on Tasmania’s west coast.
    • Surviving pilot whales were helped into a sling, and then the boat took them far out to sea.

Every stranding lets us learn more

    • Are they avoiding predators such as killer whales?
    • We do know there are stranding hotspots.
    • In 2020, it was the site of one of the worst-ever strandings, with up to 470 pilot whales stranded.
    • Whales and dolphins with teeth – such as pilot whales – appear to beach a lot more.

An expert explains the stranding of 97 pilot whales in WA and their mysterious 'huddling' before the tragedy

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Sad scenes are unfolding in Western Australia after a pod of pilot whales became stranded on a beach late on Tuesday.

Key Points: 
  • Sad scenes are unfolding in Western Australia after a pod of pilot whales became stranded on a beach late on Tuesday.
  • The pod of long-finned pilot whales began congregating in the ocean off Cheynes Beach on Monday evening.
  • Sadly, the chances of survival for the remaining whales is very low – and time is fast running out.

Understanding pilot whales

    • There are two species of pilot whales: short-finned (which live mainly in tropical and warm-temperate regions) and long-finned (generally found in colder waters).
    • As the name suggests, the long-finned pilot whales have longer pectoral fins than their counterparts.
    • Pilot whales are, however, known to inhabit Bremer Canyon, a very deep ocean area 70 kilometres off the WA coast.

What happened at Cheynes Beach?

    • The group of whales was spotted swimming in shallow waters at Cheynes Beach late on Monday.
    • An official from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions called me on Tuesday morning, and asked about the strange huddling behaviour.
    • Healthy pilot whales do not form huddles, so something seemed very wrong.
    • The department’s drone footage showed the pod was forming a very tight ball, then moving into a line, then back into the ball shape.

Why did the whales beach themselves?

    • At the time, I and a colleague conducted necropsies on the pilot whales, but the findings were inconclusive.
    • But in the case of pilot whales, their social behaviour offers some clues.
    • Pilot whales are similar to elephants in that they live in tight-knit family groups.

What next?

    • Researchers are also taking biopsy samples and nasal swabs from the dead whales.
    • Experts will examine the swabs and samples, to try and understand more about this stranding event.
    • I anticipate they will look for evidence of illness such as influenza or cetacean morbillivirus, as well as stress from underwater noise.
    • I would like to be able to answer everyone’s primary question: why do pilot whales become stranded?

Morgan Freeman Honored at Oceana’s 16th Annual SeaChange Summer Party in Orange County

Retrieved on: 
Monday, July 24, 2023

DANA POINT, Calif., July 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Saturday, July 22, supporters gathered at Oceana’s 16th annual SeaChange Summer Party in Dana Point, Calif., to celebrate a wave of victories for the oceans and raise more than $1.5 million in support of Oceana’s ocean conservation campaigns in California and around the world. The event honored Academy Award-winning actor and advocate Morgan Freeman, and recognized president of the Surf Industry Members Association and CEO of Vissla, Paul Naudé, as its Ocean Champion. Hosted by actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer June Diane Raphael, the event concluded with a private concert by Third Eye Blind.

Key Points: 
  • The event honored Academy Award-winning actor and advocate Morgan Freeman, and recognized president of the Surf Industry Members Association and CEO of Vissla, Paul Naudé, as its Ocean Champion.
  • Hosted by actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer June Diane Raphael, the event concluded with a private concert by Third Eye Blind.
  • Because a healthy ocean is every child’s rightful inheritance.”
    Oceana CEO Andrew Sharpless introduced event honoree, Morgan Freeman, highlighting Freeman’s unwavering commitment to ocean conservation.
  • Over the past 16 years, Oceana’s SeaChange Summer Party has raised more than $19 million to address some of the biggest threats facing the oceans.

Good News for the Oceans: Amazon Single-Use Plastic Packaging Declines by Over 11% in One Year

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, July 19, 2023

“If Amazon follows through, this is good news for the oceans," said Matt Littlejohn, Senior Vice President of Oceana.

Key Points: 
  • “If Amazon follows through, this is good news for the oceans," said Matt Littlejohn, Senior Vice President of Oceana.
  • "The world's largest retailer is now using less single-use plastic and has just committed to phase out padded bags containing plastic globally.
  • The world’s oceans are being devastated by plastic, including the type of plastic used in Amazon’s packaging.
  • Amazon’s plastic packaging is made from the most common form of marine plastic litter in nearshore ocean areas — plastic film — which is the deadliest type of plastic to marine animals.

As 2025 Bookings Open, Holland America Line Leads Alaska Cruising with Most Glacier, Wildlife and Wilderness Viewing Opportunities

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, July 18, 2023

SEATTLE, July 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The riches of the wilderness take center stage on Holland America Line's Alaska cruises as the region's natural wonders and rugged beauty unfold. With the most visits to Alaska's glaciers and more ways to see wildlife and wilderness on a shore excursion than any other cruise line, Holland America Line is weaving more than 75 years of Alaska expertise into every facet of the experience.

Key Points: 
  • "As we open bookings for our 2025 season, we're offering an unmatched Alaska: Up Close experience and incentives to start planning now."
  • From April through October 2025, guests can embark on Holland America Line's cruises to Alaska aboard Eurodam, Koningsdam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Noordam, Westerdam and Zaandam.
  • During Glacier Bay scenic cruising, Glacier Bay National Park Rangers visit Holland America Line ships for the day to engage with guests and talk about Alaska's most famous national park.
  • For more information about Holland America Line, consult a travel advisor, call 1-877-SAIL HAL (877-724-5425) or visit hollandamerica.com .