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Not quite a spider, not a scorpion either – where does Douglassarachne acanthopoda fit in? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Douglassarachne acanthopoda was a more experimental version of a modern harvestman, with distinctive armored legs. Image credit: Paul Selden ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This leggy, spiny fella is Douglassarachne acanthopoda, whom we’ll call Doug for short (only kidding). You might look at this fossilized specimen and confidently declare, “That there’s a spider.” But wait! While D. acanthopoda certainly shares many of the characteristics of modern arachnids, it has enough unique features to give palaentologists a headache when it comes to classifying it. Spiders and their ancestors have...

CHICAGO -- A former warehouse assistant for the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia pleaded guilty Wednesday to transporting millions of dollars worth of stolen Masters tournament memorabilia and historic items, including one of Arnold Palmer's iconic green jackets. Richard Globensky, of Georgia, entered the plea in federal court in Chicago. He was charged with one count of transporting goods knowing they had been stolen. "I plead guilty," Globensky, 39, told the judge. According to federal prosecutors, Globensky took items from the warehouse for sellers in Florida, who then sold them online at a significant markup. Globensky was paid through...

Around a star in our Milky Way galaxy, astronomers have discovered an extremely low-density planet that is as light as cotton candy. The new planet, named WASP-193b, appears to dwarf Jupiter in size, yet it is a fraction of its density. CREDIT: K. Ivanov ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A team of astronomers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say they have discovered a distant planet that they can’t explain with current planet evolutionary theories. The newly discovered WASP-193b is a gas giant 50 percent larger than Jupiter, the largest gas giant in our solar system. However, it is only one-tenth as dense,...

A young transgender person’s attempt to perform their own mastectomy highlights a healthcare system where gender diverse people’s needs are being chronically unmet, experts say. An 18-year-old transgender person arrived at the emergency department several hours after attempting a mastectomy, with concerns he had damaged a nerve, according to a case report published by the New Zealand Medical Journal on Friday. The young person struggled with gender dysphoria – a clinical term used to describe the dissonance between one’s assigned gender and sense of self – and was on testosterone treatment while waiting for gender-affirmation surgery. He was unable to...

May 14 (UPI) -- A Florida woman out for her morning run came across an unexpected scene: a baby alligator beating the summer heat with a dip in a public fountain. Lauren Shrage said she and her dog were out for their morning run in Palm Beach Gardens when she spotted something in the water in the fountain next to the Mirabella community's entrance gate. She recorded video when she realized the object was actually a small alligator taking a dip in the cool water. "Are you having a good day?" Shrage asks the gator in the video. Shrage said...

The Madison Police and DNA Doe Project have identified skeletal remains found in a chimney in a music store in 1989. The remains were identified as Ronnie Joe Kirk from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Kirk according to investigators, was born in 1942, was adopted and raised by family members and attended high school in Tulsa. He was married and divorced twice, and fathered children. He had ties to Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, Alabama and Wisconsin. Kirk's remains were found on September 3, 1989. Speaking to Madison Magazine's Doug Moe in 2022, Good n' Loud Music owner Steve Liethen said he was working in...

Hello everyone, today we venture into the shadowy world of Hamas internal politics as we try to find the truth behind the death of one of it's most prominent commanders, Mahmoud Ishtiwi. Ishtiwi's feud with Yahya Sinwar almost tore the organization apart.

FLATIRON, Manhattan (WABC) -- A new art installation in New York City that transports viewers more than 3,000 miles away to Dublin will temporarily shut down Tuesday to address some bad behavior. The installation, called the Portal, features two identical sculptures with a visual live stream connecting the two cities. It was unveiled last Wednesday next to the famed Flatiron Building.

The journey from cucumber to pickle is long, arduous journey.Some stars only get their big break after putting in years of work. Pedro Pascal played numerous bit parts before making it big on “Game of Thrones.” Bryan Cranston only became a household name after “Malcolm in the Middle.” Pickles, after struggling for decades, became a viral celebrity after starring in Dr Pepper. Empty cans of Dr. Pepper soda sit stacked in the warehouse before being filled at the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc. bottling plant in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S., on Tuesday, April 21, 2015.Pickles and Dr Pepper — the latest...

The ancient mysteries such as who built the pyramids and other massive structures have gained numerous followers in the age of social media where pseudoscientific explanations proliferate. Through elaborately created videos posted on YouTube, theories about aliens visiting the Earth lending a hand (or tentacle) to the Egyptian laborers to lift the impossible-to-lift stone blocks or drawing with laser beams the Nasca lines from their spaceships are fun ideas for one to entertain. And, why not, believe? Many of us, young and old, willingly suspend our disbelief to watch for two hours Spiderman saving New York from the evil Mysterio,...

May 13 (UPI) -- A California man ordered by his city to conceal the boat parked in his driveway with a fence hired his artist neighbor to paint a photo-realistic image of the vessel in an act of rebellious compliance. Etienne Constable said the boat he uses for fishing was regularly parked in his Seaside driveway for about four years before he received a letter from the city informing him of a municipal code requiring boats and trailers to be "screened on the side and front by a six-foot-high fence." Constable said his initial reaction to the letter was anger,...

In 1587, John White and a group of approximately 115 English settlers landed on Roanoke Island off the coast of present-day North Carolina. The colony they sought to establish marked the second attempt to create a long-term presence in the New World under the direction of Sir Walter Raleigh, who instructed them to establish a city bearing his name in the vicinity of the Chesapeake Bay. However, much like the earlier failed effort under Governor Ralph Lane in 1585, White and his fellow colonists soon began to face challenges that included strained relations with the region’s Indigenous inhabitants. With hopes...

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly ubiquitous and is improving at an unprecedented pace...But there are risks in embracing any new technology, especially one that we do not fully understand. While AI could be a powerful personal assistant, for example, it could also represent a threat to our livelihoods and even our lives.The various existential risks that an advanced AI poses means the technology should be guided by ethical frameworks and humanity's best interests, says researcher and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) member Nell Watson.In "Taming the Machine" (Kogan Page, 2024), Watson explores how humanity can wield the...

I'm becoming a bit of an AI Whisperer.Here are some of my most recent creations.ROBO-JOKERWHAT HELL LOOKS LIKEEVIL BUNNIESRONALD MCDONALD THE FALLOUT 4 RAIDER

– Contents of this video ---------------------------- 0:00 A Century of Underachievement 4:11 The Land of Silver 9:29 The Power Vacuum 11:16 The Pampas 14:42 As rich as an Argentine 19:30 The Decline of Liberalism 23:46 The Infamous Decade 27:20 The Rise of Populism 29:49 Isolation & Favoritism 36:31 Dynamic Stagnation 42:25 Fear, Secrecy and Sweet money 49:40 Democracy & Depression 57:33 A Nation Trapped by History

In 1980 in Cleveland, Walsh was fatally shot in the cross fire of an attempted robbery. The subsequent autopsy revealed that Walsh had a chromosomal disorder known as mosaicism that left her with sexually ambiguous genitalia. Despite the gender confusion caused by the disorder, Walsh had lived her entire life as a woman.

X-ray image of GRB221009A (Credit: NASA/Swift) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Observations by the James Webb Space Telescope are offering new clues about the nature of a massive supernova associated with GRB 221009A, the brightest gamma-ray burst astronomers have ever recorded. The new research confirms the presence of a supernova linked to this highly energetic source of gamma rays and reveals its comparatively low production of radioactive nickel, findings that challenge our currently accepted models involving these powerful events. Astronomers hope the new findings made possible by NASA’s premier space science observatory will also help to offer unique new views into the processes that...

A Canadian woman revealed exactly where Australian men fall short in the bedroom on Monday morning. Coco Bae, 37, explained on The Kyle and Jackie O Show she's 'collecting flags' by sleeping with as many men from different countries as possible. But it seems men Down Under have left the experienced lover underwhelmed between the sheets due to their poor hygiene and lack of imagination. Coco has slept with men from several different countries such as America, India, Germany, England, and even Djibouti - a small country in Africa. After sleeping with 'over 100' men from Australia, Coco said Aussie...

It seems no one is safe on the streets of the Big Apple these days – not even beloved hometown actor and Brooklyn native Steve Buscemi. Buscemi, 66, was strolling through Kips Bay last week when a brute walked up and struck the “Boardwalk Empire” star in a broad-daylight attack – one of the latest unprovoked assaults in the five boroughs, law enforcement sources told The Post. The actor suffered swelling to his face and left eye and was taken to Bellevue Hospital for treatment. Meanwhile, his deranged assailant took off and is still on the lam, police sources said.

A manager of a Subway in California is recovering from her injuries after being attacked by a customer. Monique Larios said she was hit in the face multiple times by a man she was just making a sandwich for last Thursday. “I did not expect it. He came around the corner and I said, ‘What are you going to do, hit me over ham?’ And he hit me,” Larios said. “He punched me and all I could remember is just black.” According to Larios, the customer, later identified as George Sandoval, escalated the situation because he wanted more ham on...