By Ed Cara Published March 26, 2025 | Comments (8) | The headquarters of the Department of Human and Health Services in Washington D.C. Mark Van Scyoc via Shutterstock The wolves have firmly taken charge of the henhouse. The federal government has reportedly chosen David Geier, a notorious vaccine skeptic, to lead its upcoming study examining an already debunked link between vaccination and autism. The Washington Post first reported on the development Tuesday afternoon, citing anonymous current and former federal health officials. Geier has long advocated against vaccination, often releasing shoddy and swiftly discredited research. His hiring is yet another sign that the countrys public health agenda, now led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is being led astray. News of the federal governments planned study into vaccines and autism first broke in early March. At the time, the CDC was expected to lead the research and began to do so at the behest of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to The Washington Post. In recent weeks, however, HHS reportedly changed tack and instructed the National Institutes of Health to conduct the study instead. HHS has hired Geier to lead the analysis, according to the Washington Post. A listing matching his name can be seen on the agencys employee directory, where he is described as a senior data analyst. When briefly interviewed by The Washington Post, Geier declined to confirm whether he had a role in the study, directing questions to those in charge. Gizmodo reached out to HHS but has not yet received any comment regarding these latest developments. Much like HHS chief RFK Jr., Geier has a long history of supporting the anti-vaccination movement, usually alongside his father, Mark Geier. The Geiers have regularly released research purporting to show the hidden dangers of vaccination, often focusing on a link between mercury-based ingredients in vaccines and autismresearch that Kennedy himself has cited in his attacks against vaccines. In addition to his research, Mark Geier has frequently served as an expert legal witness for plaintiffs seeking compensation for alleged vaccine injuries in federal court cases, but he has been barredfrom doing so in some cases.The Geiers have also created and profited from the sale of autism treatments supposedly meant to help people damaged by mercury.Importantly, the vast majority of studies examining the issue have failed to find any connection between autism and vaccines or their ingredients. The Geiers research has also been routinely criticized by scientists over the years for misinterpreting data to support their agenda, and their studies have occasionally been retracted. Mark Geier does have scientific training as a physician and geneticist, but David Geier only has a bachelors degree in biology. In 2011, the Maryland State Board of Physicians suspended and later revoked Mark Geiers license to practice medicine in the state over allegations that he mistreated several autistic patients in his care; that same year, the state charged David Geier with practicing medicine without a license, alleging that he misrepresented himself as a doctor to his fathers patients (Geier claimed that his only role in the practice was administrative). In securing his nomination to lead HHS, RFK Jr. assured his critics that he would have no issue acknowledging that vaccines dont cause autism once presented with the scientific evidence showing as much. But Kennedy has a long track record of ignoring this evidence, even dismissing examples of it during a Senate hearing prior to his confirmation. Geiers hiring is another strong indicator that any such discovery process will be rigged in favor of the anti-vaccination movement.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Thomas Maxwell Published March 24, 2025 By Ed Cara Published March 13, 2025 By Ed Cara Published March 12, 2025 By Ed Cara Published March 11, 2025 By Ed Cara Published March 10, 2025 By Matt Novak Published March 7, 2025

Mosquitoes are more than pests. Theyre also a mortal threat, contributing to millions of cases of malaria a year. Fortunately for humans, however, a team of researchers has recently identified a medication that could curb mosquito populations, controlling their spread of malaria. Revealing their results in a paper published in Science Translational Medicine, the researchers report that the medication nitisinone makes human blood deadly to mosquitoes. One way to stop the spread of diseases transmitted by [mosquitoes] is to make the blood of animals and humans toxic to these blood-feeding insects, said Lee R. Haines, a paper author and an associate research professor of biology at the University of Notre Dame, according to a press release. Our findings suggest that using nitisinone could be a promising new complementary tool for controlling insect-borne diseases like malaria.Read More: Malaria Vaccines Could Be Game-ChangersFighting Malaria-Infected MosquitoesIn 2023 alone, the world saw some 263 million cases of malaria, a deadly disease that causes fever, fatigue, and sometimes seizures (in the most severe cases). Caused by one of five malaria parasites, this disease is mostly spread by bites from malaria-infected mosquitoes.Scientists say that the trick to controlling the spread of malaria is to curb mosquito populations. Over the years, theyve identified several medications that could serve such a purpose, including ivermectin. This medication shortens the lifespan of mosquitoes when it is ingested through human or animal blood, limiting the insects ability to spread malaria. But ivermectin is toxic to the environment and is likely to lose its efficacy if it is overused as a treatment for parasitic infections. Setting out to find a complementary method for curbing mosquitoes, researchers turned to nitisinone, a medication that blocks the enzyme 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD) in the body. In humans, this medication treats rare inherited diseases like alkaptonuria and tyrosinemia type 1. But in mosquitoes, its deadly. We thought that if we wanted to go down this route, nitisinone had to perform better than ivermectin, said lvaro Acosta Serrano, another paper author and a professor of biology, also at the University of Notre Dame, according to the press release. Indeed, nitisinone performance was fantastic.When mosquitoes consumed blood containing nitisinone, they died quickly. And when compared to ivermectin, nitisinone lasted a lot longer in human blood, improving its mosquitocidal ability to curb mosquitos and, thus, malaria. This is critical when applied in the field for safety and economical reasons, Acosta Serrano said in the release. Read More: What If Your Blood Could Kill Mosquitoes?The Ivermectin-Nitisinone CombinationTo arrive at their results, the researchers tested the effects of nitisinone blood on the Anopheles gambiae mosquito, a common carrier of malaria parasites in Africa. Taken from patients who were already using nitisinone as a treatment for alkaptonuria, the blood had a hidden superpower, Haines said in the release. Deadly to mosquitoes both young and old, the blood was also fatal to insecticide-resistant insects.In the future, it could be advantageous to alternate both nitisinone and ivermectin for mosquito control, Haines said in the release. For example, nitisinone could be employed in areas where ivermectin resistance persists or where ivermectin is already heavily used.While fatal for mosquitoes, nitisinone is safe for the environment and could serve as an insecticide. Whats particularly interesting is that it specifically targets blood-sucking insects, making it an environmentally friendly option, Acosta Serrano said in the release. Even a small amount of the drug is deadly to mosquitoes in the lab, but additional tests are needed to determine what dosages would be best for managing mosquitoes in the outside world. With wider use, the combination of ivermectin and nitisinone could mitigate malaria while also increasing the availability of drugs for people with alkaptonuria and tyrosinemia type I a dual benefit for fighting diseases with parasites and without. Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Science Translational Medicine. Anopheles Mosquito Survival and Pharmacokinetic Modeling Show the Mosquitocidal Activity of NitisinoneWorld Health Organization. MalariaMedlinePlus. AlkaptonuriaMedlinePlus. TyrosinemiaSam Walters is a journalist covering archaeology, paleontology, ecology, and evolution for Discover, along with an assortment of other topics. Before joining the Discover team as an assistant editor in 2022, Sam studied journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Prehistoric insects encased in amber reveal a terrifying evolutionary road that dead-ended sometime after the mid-Cretaceous period. After examining multiple roughly 99-million-year-old specimens, researchers believe the extinct wasp species featured Venus flytrap-like abdomen appendages for capturing other insects. Once pinned down, the wasp then laid its eggs inside its prey. The findings are detailed in a study published March 26 in the journal BMC Biology.An estimated 10 percent of all known insects are parasitoidsspecies whose larvae gestate inside hosts before eventually killing them. But none alive today resemble the Cretaceous eras Sirenobethylus charybdis, according to this new research. After recently analyzing 16 amber-preserved female specimens uncovered in northern Myanmars Kachin region, an international team of researchers from Chinas Capital Normal University and the Natural History Museum of Denmark believe S. charybdis may represent an entirely new insect family. They reached their conclusion after observing the parasitoids distinct hind wing vein patterns, which differ greatly from todays Chrysidoidea superfamily that includes cuckoo and bethylid wasps.Abdominal terminal of the specimen displaying the grasping apparatus. Credit: Qiong Wu However, the hind wings arent its only striking features. S. charybdis appears to have evolved a unique, three-flapped abdominal setup similar to the leaves of a Venus flytrap. The paddle-like lower flap is particularly distinctive due to its hair-like bristles.The abdominal apparatus of Sirenobethylus is unlike anything previously reported from any extant wasp or indeed any insect known to us, the team wrote in their study.Researchers posited two theories to explain the anatomy. The first hypothesis is that the females used their jawlike flaps to grip males during mating. While the team doesnt have any male specimens to study (yet), they still think this behavior was unlikely.Indeed, it would be unique for insect females to restrain the males during mating, rather than the other way around, they added.Reconstruction of Sirenobethylus charbybdis. Credit: Xiaoran Zuo They then offered another, far creepier explanation. S. charybdis may have used its appendages to trap potential victims, but instead of devouring its prey, the wasp likely held it down in order to deposit its eggs inside. This possibly allowed S. charybdis to wait for a more mobile winged or jumping bug to appear. If the target triggered the hairlike bristles, then the appendage flaps closed around it until the deed was done. Given that its stinger was located on the middle flaps dorsal side, experts also believe S. charybdis may have even stung the trapped larvae host in the process.Its currently unclear when the horrifying wasp died out, or why later insects didnt have this appendage. Still, the discovery indicates that at least some early Chrysidoidea species started developing parasitoid strategies by the mid-Cretaceous. For however long it lived on Earth, S. charybdis seems to have lived up to its namesake: Charybdis, the mythical Greek sea monster from The Odyssey that lurked underwater waiting to devour unsuspecting sailors.The post This ancient Venus fly-trap wasp used its butt to kill appeared first on Popular Science.

Nature, Published online: 26 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08701-zAs the early Earth solidified, gravitational segregation of dense, iron-rich melts drove mantle evolution, injecting geochemical signatures of shallow silicate fractionation into the deep mantle and inevitably forming a basal magma ocean.

Nature, Published online: 26 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08698-5This study highlights a protocol that converts various perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), including fluoroplastics, into valuable fluorochemicals through a solvent-free mechanochemical process, thereby enabling fluorine recovery and contributing to a sustainable circular fluorine economy.

Just tried out the procedural crowd addon with a car crash tutorial. It got banned from other subs because for some reason they thought it was AI... weird! submitted by /u/silverrobot1951 [link] [comments]

Take a look at this in-progress explosion effect showcase by FX Artist known as AbyssEdits, who specializes in Houdini and Nuke. While they havent provided many details about the project, it seems theyre using Theory AcceleratedsAxiom, a GPU-accelerated volumetric fluid solver for computer graphics and effects, which delivers better performance compared to Houdinis native toolsHere are some more demos showcasing how this project came together:Follow AbyssEdits on X/Twitter for the final result, and explore more of their work below:If you want to see what Axiom is capable of, we recommend checking out Jan Hebeins fire simulation and Pol Vills Encanto-inspired cracking concrete effect:Also, joinour80 Level Talent platformand ournew Discord server, follow us onInstagram,Twitter,LinkedIn,Telegram,TikTok, andThreads,where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.Source link The post Realistic Explosion Simulation Made With Houdinis Axiom Solver appeared first on CG SHARES.

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Just common senseKelly Loeffler:The SBA has already taken action to crack down on loan fraud by:Requiring proof of citizenshipRequiring birthday verificationFlagging anyone who claims to be <18 or >120 years oldMuch-needed, common-sense reforms!https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/global-trends/no-more-loans-to-babies-or-the-dead-elon-musks-doge-backs-sbas-crackdown-on-fraudulent-loans/articleshow/119435488.cms?from=mdr