Deep-sea anglerfish fuse bodies to mate thanks to an odd immune system

Some male anglerfish fuse to the much larger females to mate – they can do so because they don’t recognise their partner’s tissue as foreign material that should be attacked Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2250429-deep-sea-anglerfish-fuse-bodies-to-mate-thanks-to-an-odd-immune-system/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Why fireflies light up

A firefly’s familiar glow is caused by a chemical reaction. Explanation here, plus many wonderful firefly photos. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/bugs-firefly-light…

Mobilewalla Used Cellphone Data To Estimate the Demographics of Protesters

An anonymous reader quotes a report from BuzzFeed News: On the weekend of May 29, thousands of people marched, sang, grieved, and chanted, demanding an end to police brutality and the defunding of police departments in the aftermath of the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. They marched en masse in cities like Minneapolis, New York, Los Angeles, and…

California City Bans Predictive Policing In US First

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: As officials mull steps to tackle police brutality and racism, California’s Santa Cruz has become the first U.S. city to ban predictive policing, which digital rights experts said could spark similar moves across the country. “Understanding how predictive policing and facial recognition can be disportionately biased against people of color, we officially banned…

Dozens of Women in Gaming Speak Out About Sexism and Harassment

More than 70 people in the gaming industry, most of them women, have come forward with allegations of gender-based discrimination, harassment and sexual assault since Friday. They have shared their stories in statements posted to Twitter, YouTube, Twitch and the blogging platform TwitLonger. From a report: The outpouring of stories from competitive gamers and streamers, who broadcast their gameplay on platforms…

Hummingbirds see colors we can only imagine

“Our experiments enabled us to get a sneak peek into what the world looks like to a hummingbird,” one scientist said. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/wild-hummingbirds-see-colors-humans-can-only-imagine…

Emperor penguins are good dads

On this Father’s day, a special shout-out to one of the most exceptional dads in nature, emperor penguins. They endure the harshest winter conditions on Earth for their offspring. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/male-penguin-eggs…

Who was the 1st woman in space?

On June 16, 1963, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova launched solo aboard a Soviet Vostok 6 rocket, becoming the first-ever woman in space. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/this-date-in-science-first-woman-in-space…