A robot that looks like a bird, flaps its wings like a bird and flies like a bird could be used as a stealthy, camouflaged drone Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2269774-eagle-inspired-robot-flies-by-flapping-its-feather-covered-wings/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Tag: flies
3D map of a million binary stars
A new atlas of nearby binary stars plots more than a million pairs and reveals a profusion of identical twins. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/3d-map-million-binary-stars…
NASA is about to land a helicopter on Mars that might glow in the dark
NASA’s Perseverance rover is due to touch down on Mars on 18 February, and it is carrying the first helicopter to attempt a flight on another planet. Now it seems the tiny drone may also glow in the dark when it flies Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2267676-nasa-is-about-to-land-a-helicopter-on-mars-that-might-glow-in-the-dark/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Why are flies so hard to swat?
High-speed cameras show that flies’ modified hind wings help with their speedy takeoffs. Source: https://www.livescience.com/why-flies-hard-to-swat.html
Houseflies have specialised wings that make them harder to swat
Some flies, including houseflies and blowflies, have specialised hindwings to help them take-off faster, making them trickier to catch Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2264602-houseflies-have-specialised-wings-that-make-them-harder-to-swat/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Newly discovered fungi turn flies into zombies and devour them from the inside out
Two newly discovered fungi eat flies from the inside out while dropping new spores out of holes dissolved in the living flies’ abdomens. Source: https://www.livescience.com/fungus-turns-flies-into-zombies.html
Why fitness training for worms and flies could make humans healthier
Creepy-crawlies can provide unique insights into how exercise benefits humans – but how do you get a fruit fly to drop and give you 20 or a nematode to run a marathon? Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24833133-000-why-fitness-training-for-worms-and-flies-could-make-humans-healthier/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Rocking flies with a vibrating lullaby helps them sleep for longer
Fruit flies that are lulled by gentle vibrations while they fall sleep snooze for longer, a finding that could explain why babies like to be rocked or why people fall asleep in the car Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2261307-rocking-flies-with-a-vibrating-lullaby-helps-them-sleep-for-longer/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
European Regulators Prepare For MAX To Return To Service In 2021
thegreatbob writes: Looks like the main additions over the FAA’s requirements are some additional pilot training requirements. The actual EASA statement can be found here. Confirms what the available information had been pointing to: the plane flies tolerably without its Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), but does not meet certification criteria. [The MCAS was a software system installed on the Max…
Fruit flies reveal new insights into space travel’s effect on the heart
Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have shown that fruit flies that spent several weeks on the International Space Station (ISS)—about half of their lives—experienced profound structural and biochemical changes to their hearts. The study, published today in Cell Reports, suggests that astronauts who spend a lengthy amount of time in space—which would be required for formation of a…