Scientists have figured out why octopuses destroy themselves after mating.

Octopuses are doomed to be orphans from a very young age. The males of these cephalopods die shortly after mating, while the females keep for several months - they lay and protect eggs, but do not eat, mutilate themselves and age rapidly. In the end, they too die.

When people want to emphasize someone's cowardice, they say "hiding the head in the sand."

In fact, they do not hide it anywhere. The head of an ostrich is small and fragile. If he had thought of sticking it into the dry, rocky earth, he would have received at least a concussion.

Apple "Black Diamond"

They are grown in the mountains of Tibet at an altitude of 3.5 thousand meters. Why is it this color? It's all about the extreme conditions in which it grows. Sharp diurnal temperature changes and strong ultraviolet radiation led to the darkening of its peel.

Astronomers are sounding the alarm - the peak of solar activity began earlier than expected

The Sun is currently in its 25th cycle. It began in 2019 and will last until about 2030. Logically, the Sun will be at its most active somewhere in the middle - in 2025. However, new data shows that the star is ahead of schedule. The sun is very active now, and it is difficult to imagine what will happen in the next two years.

Artificial intelligence will build a dam in China

The future structure will be called the Yangqu Dam and will be located on the Tibetan Plateau. A minimum of people will be involved in the construction - process control will be entrusted to artificial intelligence. At his disposal will be all the necessary construction equipment with a variety of sensors, and he will be able to manage it as he sees fit. From people, in turn, a minimum is required - the supply of resources and checking the operation of systems. In fact, the system for building the Yangqu Dam will be the world's largest 3D printer. Construction is planned to be completed by 2024.

A miniature "laboratory" in the form of a patch for measuring glucose has been developed

The device can monitor the levels of glucose, alcohol and lactate in the human body in a non-invasive way in real time. It is attached to the skin with microscopic needles. Microneedles detect biomolecules in the interstitial fluid in the surface layers of the skin, after which the data is transmitted wirelessly to a user application on a smartphone. The next steps in commercializing the device include testing and improving how long the microneedle patch can last before replacement. The company is also encouraged by the possibility of adding additional sensors to monitor patient levels of drugs and other body parameters.

An unmanned boat for collecting garbage in the rivers appeared in Hong Kong

It is controlled by neural networks and can collect a ton of waste per day. The boat is equipped with an electric motor that runs on solar energy. Clearbot Neo searches for debris on the surface of the water using two cameras, artificial intelligence analyzes the data from them about obstacles or marine animals. The boat is planned to be modified so that it can clean up fuel and oil spills. Clearbot Neo is expected to collect 15 liters of pollutants per day.

Scientists have found a meteorite that most likely came to Earth from a supernova explosion

At the very least, chemical analysis indicates that the Hypatia stone found in Egypt is not just extraterrestrial, but also incredibly rare. Most often, meteorites come from the asteroid belt or Mars. And this stone could survive the death of a supernova, fly thousands of light years and fall to Earth.

In Singapore, they created biocement from urine and industrial waste

Nanyang Technological University has developed biocement from animal urea and carbide sludge. It is more environmentally friendly and more sustainable than analogues. They can fill cracks in rocks, strengthen soil in deserts to combat dust and wind erosion, and bioconcrete is also suitable for building water tanks.

Abnormal heat has been recorded in India

Harvest in the country is literally on fire. The same problem is observed in neighboring Pakistan, where temperatures have reached 50 degrees in recent days. India has already imposed a ban on food exports. Pakistan is one step away from this decision.

In Japan, they came up with moisture-resistant paper to replace plastic

Japanese scientists have developed Choetsu spray coating, which gives the paper the useful properties of plastic - water resistance, strength and flexibility. Fluid-treated paper could be a sustainable replacement for some container plastics - it's completely biodegradable. Over time, substances from the coating will decompose into carbon, water and silicon - they are not dangerous to the environment. In the future, the scientists want to adapt Choetsu to other materials such as glass, ceramics and plastics. The spray will protect them from dirt and make them more durable.

An American student has developed a robotic arm controlled by the power of thought

17-year-old student from the US state of Virginia, Benjamin Choi, has developed a robotic arm with artificial intelligence, controlled by the power of thought. The teenager printed the details of the prosthesis on a 3D printer and connected them using bolts and rubber bands. It took about 30 hours to produce the components. A special helmet picks up brain waves and feeds them into an algorithm that controls the mechanized arm. The signal recognition accuracy is 95%, the developer claims.

Cats know the names of their friends

Japanese scientists conducted experiments with cats and stated that they know the nicknames of other pets - this was indicated by the manifestation of the deceived expectation effect in the behavior of animals. The cats were shown photographs of familiar animals, while simultaneously calling out their nicknames: real or invented. In the second case, the pets looked at the photo longer. According to them, cats associate animals with their names. When they do not match, pets are surprised - this reaction is expressed in a longer viewing of the image.

VR mask

Austrian engineers have created an AirRes VR mask that makes it difficult for the user to breathe in "unfavorable" virtual conditions. For example, it becomes harder for the player to breathe if their character walks through smoke. Thanks to breath sensors, the mask also allows you to inflate balloons or play the harmonica in a virtual space.

Scientists fed the computer with energy from blue-green algae for six months

Researchers from the University of Cambridge managed to run a computer for six months using blue-green algae as an energy source. The computer worked in cycles of 45 minutes. It was used to calculate sums of consecutive integers to simulate a compute load that required 0.3 microwatts of power and 15 minutes of idle time that required 0.24 microwatts.

Interesting conclusion.

The University of Lausanne studied the 100,000 most popular sites on the Internet and came to a funny conclusion. They remember more than just what you write in messages, contact forms, or email forms. The data that you wrote but did not confirm is also remembered. That is, hypothetically, if you entered one of your email addresses when choosing a mail for registration, then changed your mind and registered for another, the site will still remember both addresses and associate them with you.

New antidepressant.

An antidepressant was isolated from the bark of a tropical tree. The scientists isolated the alkaloid, which they named GB18. It blocks opioid receptors and thus can act as an antidepressant. A decoction of the bark of Galbulimima belgraveana acts as an analgesic and antipyretic. The properties of GB18 may be useful in the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders - scientists are going to adapt it for human use and create medicines based on it.

Party submarine.

A battery-powered party submarine has been built in the Netherlands. U-Boat Worx has built a 35-metre battery-powered submarine that can dive to depths of up to 200 meters and is specifically designed to host the most "prestigious and memorable events on the planet." It accommodates up to 120 guests, not counting the crew. Inside the submarine, there is a restaurant, a gym, a water casino and even a water park, as well as a wedding hall. At the same time, no decompression is required during the ascent of the submarine: the air pressure in the lungs of each passenger is protected in an air-conditioned environment with full pressure.

Japanese startup

A Japanese startup has created a deepfake business video conferencing app that dresses users in office suits and tidies up their hair.

The Pollen Club online wellness service for allergy sufferers has compiled a flowering calendar

This project will help allergy sufferers to track what is blooming right now, learn more about the symptoms and quickly find an antihistamine right on the Market. It's May now. And judging by the calendar, this month the main allergen is birch. And the affected areas are the eyes, bronchi, nose, throat, skin.