Elephant

Colossal Biosciences and Save the Elephants Debut First-of-its-Kind Project to Utilize Drones and Machine Learning for Elephant Conservation

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, November 9, 2023

(Credit: Colossal Biosciences)

Key Points: 
  • (Credit: Colossal Biosciences)
    In this collaboration, Save the Elephants will deploy a small fleet of drones equipped with high resolution and infrared cameras to capture elephant behavioral data.
  • “The technological sophistication of modern drones, combined with appropriate analysis including the use of Machine Learning and AI expertise, will reveal many novel insights into elephant behavior and ecology.
  • And the better we understand elephants, the more we can help to secure a future for these iconic giants,” said Fritz Vollrath of Save the Elephants.
  • Colossal is working closely with the Save the Elephants team, including CEO Frank Pope and Colossal Scientific Advisor and Save the Elephants Chairman, Fritz Vollrath.

SiriusXM unveils next generation platform, bringing fans closer to what they love

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, November 8, 2023

From can't miss live moments to the perfect soundtrack for any occasion, with the new SiriusXM, we are putting our differentiators at the forefront and welcoming in a new generation of listeners, bringing them closer to what they love."

Key Points: 
  • From can't miss live moments to the perfect soundtrack for any occasion, with the new SiriusXM, we are putting our differentiators at the forefront and welcoming in a new generation of listeners, bringing them closer to what they love."
  • The event also included a first-look at the Company's new logo and brand platform, embracing the stars and bringing to life SiriusXM's promise to bring listeners CLOSER.
  • Greater Content Discovery: New pages dedicated to teams, shows, channels, artists and more bring fans closer, allowing them to go deeper into what they love.
  • SiriusXM announced a variety of new channels and show details, offering something for every listener and bringing fans closer to the artists, personalities, and music they love.

SiriusXM Unveils Next Generation Platform, Bringing Fans Closer To What They Love

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, November 8, 2023

NEW YORK, Nov. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at SiriusXM's Next Generation Industry & Press Preview, the Company unveiled the new SiriusXM Streaming app, rolling out to subscribers across North America beginning on December 14. Accompanying the app is a refreshed brand platform and the newly-priced Streaming All Access Plan for $9.99 a month*, aimed at welcoming in a new generation of SiriusXM listeners.

Key Points: 
  • From can't miss live moments to the perfect soundtrack for any occasion, with the new SiriusXM, we are putting our differentiators at the forefront and welcoming in a new generation of listeners, bringing them closer to what they love."
  • The event also included a first-look at the Company's new logo and brand platform, embracing the stars and bringing to life SiriusXM's promise to bring listeners CLOSER.
  • Greater Content Discovery: New pages dedicated to teams, shows, channels, artists and more bring fans closer, allowing them to go deeper into what they love.
  • SiriusXM announced a variety of new channels and show details, offering something for every listener and bringing fans closer to the artists, personalities, and music they love.

Wild animals that survive limb loss are astonishing – and a sign of the havoc humans are wreaking on nature

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, October 26, 2023

Perhaps one of the most unbelievable cases was a video of a two-legged adult red fox taken January 2023 in Derbyshire, England.

Key Points: 
  • Perhaps one of the most unbelievable cases was a video of a two-legged adult red fox taken January 2023 in Derbyshire, England.
  • If the animal is able to survive the trauma, limb loss will undoubtedly affect its ability to find, catch or eat food, or even outrun a predator.
  • This omnivorous diet and their willingness to scavenge from humans probably contributed to the two legged fox’s survival as it doesn’t have to hunt prey.

Learning to live with it

  • The survival chances of a carnivore who loses a limb depends upon which limb or how much of it is lost.
  • So losing a back leg means they won’t be able to move as fast.
  • Dogs carry more weight on their front legs so their centre of gravity changes more when a front limb is lost.
  • Both of these changes will affect other four-limbed animals and have serious repercussions on the ability of a predator to catch prey.
  • The injured tiger may have also turned to easier sources of food than wild prey such as livestock.

The devastating effect of snares

  • Snares are a problem the world over.
  • While working in South Africa as a guide just over a decade ago, I saw elephants with amputated trunks, sometimes up to two thirds shorter than they should have been.
  • And yet, some are able to adapt to trunk injuries, probably because elephants have close family bonds.
  • But 3% left their limb behind (including African brush-tailed porcupines, small mammals called African palm civets and a type of small antelope called duikers).
  • Another study from India that looked at camera trap images reported sloth bears, leopards, elephants, sambar deer and dhole wild dogs with snares around their bodies.


Tara Pirie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Jump Into the Unexpected: Super Mario Bros. Wonder Launches Today for Nintendo Switch

Retrieved on: 
Friday, October 20, 2023

Key Points: 
  • View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231020976343/en/
    Today’s launch of the Super Mario Bros. Wonder game for the Nintendo Switch system builds on the rich, multi-decade legacy of the original Super Mario Bros. game and is the first new 2D side-scrolling Mario game for a console in more than 10 years.
  • *
    In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, the benevolent Prince Florian invites Mario and his friends to the Flower Kingdom.
  • Super Mario Bros. Wonder is now available at select retailers, in Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch and in the My Nintendo Store on Nintendo.com at a suggested retail price of $59.99.
  • To celebrate the launch of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, My Nintendo members can enter for a chance to win a trip to Universal Studios Hollywood, where they can experience the excitement of SUPER NINTENDO WORLD™.

CGTN: How China contributes to building a green 'Belt and Road'

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, October 12, 2023

"I have installed PV (photovoltaic) panels on my roof," said Ahmed, adding that many of the panels in Pakistan were produced in China.

Key Points: 
  • "I have installed PV (photovoltaic) panels on my roof," said Ahmed, adding that many of the panels in Pakistan were produced in China.
  • Besides exporting PV panels, China has assisted Pakistan in utilizing its abundant solar energy and water resources through green energy projects.
  • The Karot hydropower project is just one of the examples of China's efforts in building a green Belt and Road.
  • In the past decade, China has not only forged ahead with its own green transition but also made significant progress in developing a green BRI.

CGTN: How China contributes to building a green 'Belt and Road'

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, October 12, 2023

"I have installed PV (photovoltaic) panels on my roof," said Ahmed, adding that many of the panels in Pakistan were produced in China.

Key Points: 
  • "I have installed PV (photovoltaic) panels on my roof," said Ahmed, adding that many of the panels in Pakistan were produced in China.
  • Besides exporting PV panels, China has assisted Pakistan in utilizing its abundant solar energy and water resources through green energy projects.
  • The Karot hydropower project is just one of the examples of China's efforts in building a green Belt and Road.
  • In the past decade, China has not only forged ahead with its own green transition but also made significant progress in developing a green BRI.

How the age of mammals could end

Retrieved on: 
Friday, September 29, 2023

One of these – the Permo-Triassic mass extinction event – led to the demise of roughly 90% of Earth’s species.

Key Points: 
  • One of these – the Permo-Triassic mass extinction event – led to the demise of roughly 90% of Earth’s species.
  • Most of these events have coincided with the formation of a supercontinent, where Earth’s tectonic plates slowly come together and combine.
  • Scientists predict that Earth’s continents will again merge together in 250 million years to form a supercontinent called “Pangea Ultima”.

It’s going to get hot

    • The primary reason behind this temperature rise is the projected location of Pangea Ultima, which would be centred on the equator.
    • Our estimates also indicate that when Pangea Ultima eventually forms, the Sun will be 2.5% brighter than its present state.
    • If we consider daily maximum temperatures and extreme weather events, then temperatures could potentially be pushed above 60℃ in some regions.

Inhospitable conditions

    • For instance, humans cool themselves down during hot weather by sweating, while dogs rely on panting to dissipate heat.
    • Prolonged exposure to such conditions can result in heatstroke, potentially causing swelling in critical organs like the brain.
    • North American moose, for example, have a critical wet-bulb temperature threshold of 17℃ under calm conditions or 24℃ if it is windy.

Do mammals stand a chance?

    • Second, during the PETM, the continents were positioned in a way that allowed mammals to move more easily towards cooler regions near the poles to escape extreme heat.
    • This will make it challenging for mammals to travel long distances in search of cooler areas.
    • What life form will become dominant if mammals do perish is anyone’s guess.

Giant sea lizards: fossils in Morocco reveal the astounding diversity of marine life 66 million years ago, just before the asteroid hit

Retrieved on: 
Monday, September 25, 2023

Was it a slow, inevitable decline, or did the end come quickly, driven by a sudden, unpredictable disaster?

Key Points: 
  • Was it a slow, inevitable decline, or did the end come quickly, driven by a sudden, unpredictable disaster?
  • Georges Cuvier, working in the early 19th century, was one of the first palaeontologists.
  • In part, his ideas were formed by study of a giant sea lizard, Mosasaurus, that lived and went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous.
  • Massive numbers of species disappeared near the end of the Cretaceous, rapidly, around the world, both on land and in the sea.

Cretaceous marine reptiles

    • Near the end of the Cretaceous, sea levels were high, submerging much of Africa underwater.
    • And an extraordinary diversity of marine reptiles sat atop the food chain: giant sea turtles, long-necked plesiosaurs – and the mosasaurs.
    • These beds, in what’s now Morocco, are today mined for fertiliser, in the process revealing an extraordinary marine ecosystem from the last days of the Cretaceous.
    • Far from declining at the end of the Cretaceous, marine reptiles – especially mosasaurs – evolved to become increasingly diverse.
    • This arrangement is unique among lizards, or even reptiles.

Resilience and adaptability

    • The reason so many mosasaur species could coexist was that they specialised, targeting different prey with different hunting strategies, avoiding competition.
    • The diversity of mosasaurs suggests the marine ecosystem was healthy and stable in the last million years before the Cretaceous period ended.
    • Seen on longer timescales, over millions of years, life shows remarkable resilience and adaptability, and a certain orderliness.
    • But even the most successful, well-adapted species is only one catastrophe away from extinction— one asteroid, one volcano, one ice age.

Vietnam & Cambodia revealed as the most popular multi-country holiday destination for Brits by Audley

Retrieved on: 
Friday, September 15, 2023

LONDON, Sept. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- UK residents have been researching their favourite multi-country holiday destinations, and Google data from the past 12 months shows that Vietnam paired with Cambodia is the most popular combination.

Key Points: 
  • LONDON, Sept. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- UK residents have been researching their favourite multi-country holiday destinations, and Google data from the past 12 months shows that Vietnam paired with Cambodia is the most popular combination.
  • This is followed by Sri Lanka and the Maldives, joint second with New Zealand and Australia.
  • Why did Vietnam & Cambodia top the list?
  • Their experts listen to your interests, share their advice, and then handcraft a personalised itinerary based on what you want and nothing more.