The robotic arm at different stages of activationWei et alAn origami-inspired robot arm made with material from cotton plants and pigs biodegrades when no longer needed. Such a soft robot could be further developed to carry out medical procedures inside the body and then pass safely through it.Soft robotics is a growing field because there are a number of applications where a hard, rigid device would be unsafe or unwelcome, such as when working in extremely tight spaces in machinery or in close proximity to or even inside people. AdvertisementMost experimental soft robots are made with synthetic materials such as silicon rubber. Now, Hanqing Jiang at Westlake University in Zhejiang, China, and his colleagues have created a simple version from cellulose derived from cotton and gelatin from pigs, which then biodegrades harmlessly. It can be controlled by a computer and even act as a controller itself.To make it, the researchers created a Kresling origami shape, forming a tube that can be compressed and bent side-to-side, and joined four of these modules together to make a rudimentary robotic arm 240 millimetres long. By tightening or loosening three equally-spaced threads running inside this arm, they were able to manipulate it in any direction using external motors.The gelatin also acts as a sensor, changing electrical resistance under bending. By recording these resistance values, the scientists could determine exactly what position the arm was in at any time. They even demonstrated that a smaller construction of modules could be used as a joystick to input signals in a similar way, by passing changing resistance values to a small computer, and these signals could in turn be used to control another soft robotic arm. The latest science news delivered to your inbox, every day.Sign up to newsletterIn the future we may have more robots on the planet than human beings, so therell be lots of waste, says Jiang. In landfill is where we need these robots to disappear. Jiang says that the robots current materials degrade harmlessly in the environment, but slightly different ones would be needed for it to break down entirely within the human body.Kaspar Althoefer at Queen Mary University of London says that soft robots could be useful in a range of applications, such as squeezing into tight spaces in industrial processes, interacting safely with people or even in medical procedures, particularly surgery. You could in such a scenario leave your tools behind, so to speak, without a problem, says Althoefer. I strongly believe soft robotics can go much further than where we are now. Its still a fairly new area.Journal referenceScience Advances DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ads0217 Topics:robotics

Crews removed signage from the US Agency for International Development building Friday.This comes days after Trump and Musk said they'd gut the foreign aid agency for "wasteful" spendingUSAID's future is uncertain amid a judge's Friday ruling to temporarily block the cuts.At 2:30 p.m. on Friday, metal letters spelling "US Agency for International Development" clung to the side of 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. By 2:56 p.m., they sat in a pile next to the now-bare building.Construction crews spent Friday afternoon removing all signage from the USAID headquarters after President Donald Trump said to "CLOSE IT DOWN" in a social media post. Earlier that afternoon, someone taped over the agency's name on a nearby sign and logos on the building's windows. A construction crew removed the lettering from the USAID building Alice Tecotzky Shortly before 2 p.m., a group of five construction workers were huddled outside the building. Two wore yellow harnesses. All of them had tape over a patch on their jacket. None would comment to Business Insider on who they worked for.Just after 2:30 p.m., a bucket crane hoisted one of the workers into the air and he began to pry the letters off the building before dropping them onto the crane. It eventually became a two-man job, taking around 15 minutes. Once the building was bare, the construction workers ripped open a plastic garbage bag and, fighting with the DC wind, taped it over the building's logo. Crews taped a garbage bag over the building's logo Alice Tecotzky This comes just days after the Trump administration moved to gut USAID the government's foreign agency. The proposed cuts mean that the agency could be forced to drastically shrink its workforce from about 10,000 to 294 employees. The agency announced Tuesday that it will put staff on administrative leave beginning on Friday at 11:59 p.m., with exceptions to people with "exceptional circumstances," per Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents about 800,000 federal workers, filed a lawsuit on Thursday in an effort to prevent the agency from being dismantled. On Friday, a judge sided with the workers, partially blocking the shutdown. But the agency's future remains uncertain. Both Trump and Elon Musk have previously said USAID is "wasteful" and supports liberal causes. Its gutting is the latest example of the Department of Government Efficiency's promise to slash the federal budget and reform the bureaucracy. The Trump administration did not immediately respond to Business Insider's comment request. Earlier in the day, USAID signs nearby had been taped up. Alice Tecotzky DOGE's account on X celebrated the changes to the headquarters, posting photos of the now-bare building with the caption, "Unburdened by what has been," a reference to former Vice President Kamala Harris.USAID administered civilian foreign aid and development assistance around the world, including various food, healthcare, and education initiatives. Data for fiscal year 2024 shows that USAID distributed nearly $32.5 billion in aid that year, much of it to Africa and the Middle East. The proposed operations cuts would likely reduce the most assistance in Ukraine, Jordan, and Ethiopia. Still, the multi-billion aid bill is only about 1% of the federal budget.

US shoppers said they've received higher shipping-related fees after Trump's new tariffs on Chinese goods went into effect.Trump ordered the end of the de minimis exemption, long used by Shein and Temu to avoid import fees.However, a follow-up executive order signed by Trump on Friday paused the ending of the de minimis exemption.President Donald Trump has pressed pause on an earlier executive order to end an exemption used by Chinese e-commerce giants Shein and Temu to avoid import fees.Meanwhile, some Americans have received messages from companies and shipping firms this week asking them to pay additional fees in order to receive the packages they had previously ordered. Some of the shoppers shared screenshots of the messages and their purchase receipts with Business Insider.Melissa Covarrubias, a San Diego-based influencer, paid additional fees of over $100 on an order shipped through DHL. Covarrubias told BI the added costs felt like "another way to squeeze more money from everyday consumers."President Trump initially signed an executive order on Saturday to implement new tariffs on imported goods from China, Canada, and Mexico and ended the de minimis exemption. However, he later announced the tariffs on Canada and Mexico would be paused for a month, and on Friday issued a temporary pause on the removal of the de minimis exemption through another executive order.Section 321, also known as de minimis, let importers avoid paying duty and tax on shipments valued under $800 that were headed directly to US customers.Some US consumers have taken to social media in the last week to share examples of being charged outstanding duty fees on imported orders from China.Covarrubias said she placed an order with Australian-based athleisure brand Crop Shop Boutique through DHL's delivery service, which initially cost $305. She paid the original price for her order and was later asked to pay a "duty payment" of $115.91."CSB assured customers that they would either cover 50% of the tariffs or provide a gift card for the same amount," she said. "Since my package had already arrived in San Diego, I paid the full tariff fee of $115.91, and CSB later refunded me half. While I appreciate the partial reimbursement, the high duty fees make me hesitant to shop with them again."CSB's website says that its suppliers and manufacturers are located in China and Turkey, and that its shipments come from its warehouse in Queensland, Australia. A spokesperson for CSB did not immediately respond to a request for comment."DHL Express has a standardized set of fees and handling charges that apply for the customs clearance process," a DHL spokesperson said. "These fees are in addition to government taxes and duties. Charges vary by shipment and are listed on our website. Shipments under the de minimis threshold are exempt."Cristina Adams, a beauty and lifestyle influencer, said she had a similar experience, waiting on a pair of frames from Lensmart en route from China.Adams said that after she paid for her order $14.95 for the frames and an extra $21.95 for expedited shipping she received an email from DHL requesting a duty payment of $18.82."I did end up paying the fee to receive my package, as it was something very necessary," Adams said. "But I feel like this is unfair, as I already paid an additional fee to receive the package already."Adams said the "inconvenience" would make her more conscious of where she's buying from, going forwards. Covarrubias said she also plans to make changes to her shopping habits."Moving forward, I'm going to be more mindful of where I shop," Covarrubias said. "Malls and local stores often carry the same items at higher prices, and I'd rather not pay a premium for something I can get elsewhere for less."Covarrubias said that, in an effort to cut down on spending, she also canceled her Amazon account."At the end of the day, we never truly know what's ahead whether it's more economic changes, inflation, or new policies that make it even harder for the average person to afford quality products," she said.

In a tale that is practically as old as time in internet standards at this point, there is a sense of inevitability that any big newthingmovie, TV show, game, or otherwiseis in want of its own little plastic army of big-headed, occasionally bobble-headed Funko Pop! Vinyls. Marvel Rivals, and its roster of hero designs that have taken Marvel fans by storm, is no exception, so on the one hand, theres no surprise that some of the first collectibles out of the gate are going to be from Funko. On the other, theyre still perhaps not what everyone clamoring for more of these designs really wanted when they said that. Today Funko announced that it would be kicking off a line ofRivals Funkos with a quartet of character designs from the hero shootera motley mix of two playable characters in the form of Iron Man and Magneto, and two NPCs, Rivals spin on the villainous Doctor Doom, and match commentator/daughter of the devourer himself, Galacta. In a cute nod to her cosmically sized origins, Galacta is even a double-sized super Pop, so she can tower over the rest of the inevitably arriving roster on your shelf. Funko Funko Funko Funko Theyre pretty fun, and what works aboutRivals broad approach to Marvel design translates well enough to Funko form. But Pops themselves obviously have their own design language to adhere to, flattening out more unique elements of the source material to make sure people can display characters from a bevy of brands in a somewhat coherent manner. Thats part of the appeal! But here it also just means that not everything that has had fans going gaga forRivals vision of the Marvel universe the past few months is going to come over, and that is a bit of a bummer. What has madeRivals character design so immediately captivating is ability to meld references to costumes from across decades of Marvels work and new ideas into a highly stylized, comic-booky style. Theres exaggeration, big bold colors and blocky highlight lines that feel like inks from a comic book, theres a ton of detail without going the MCU route of pared down techwear. Theres enough familiar that anyone who loves the comics or just follows the films can recognize these characters, while also pushing them in new directions and celebrating the aesthetic variety and boldness of that source material. Those are the kind of stylistic choices that dont really work with Funkos minimalistic house style. Fingers crossed, then, that this just means that these will be the first in a long line ofRivals collectibles, from Funko or otherwise. Id kill for Hasbro to do a subseries for Marvel Legends that gives us more faithful, posable takes on Rivals roster, or hell, Lego may face the same minimalization issues Funko does, but little sets in the Marvel Superheroes line built around a bunch of minifigures and the payload vehicles you fight over in-game could be great! Hell, maybe we could get some international companies like Goodsmile or Kaiyodo to do some buck wild, super-stylized figures to boot.For now though, all weve got are the PopsIron Man, Magneto, Doom, and Galacta are all set to start hitting shelves soon. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency continues to tear through the federal government like a virus. DOGE has moved from one bureaucratic organ to the next, stopping at each juncture to fire people, seize data, and generally cause mayhem and distress. Now, as various legal challenges begin to pile up, Musks pro-corporate, anti-government organization is turning to two agencies that directly impact millions of Americans: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Social Security Administration. On Thursday, an anonymous source communicated to Semafor that DOGE would soon be training its sights on the Social Security Administration. At least one DOGE staffer is preparing to work with the agency, the outlet reported. While theres little information available as to what Musks group plans to do to Americas popular public benefits program, DOGEs whole modus operandi has been to take a butchers knife to the agencies it works with, so its difficult to imagine that the changes will be helpful to the average American. Its going to depend on what we find, an anonymous source with knowledge of DOGEs plans told Semafor. Theres going to be reworks across the government, every agency. Another person interviewed by the outlet said, of DOGEs general strategy towards the government: I think theres an impulse to clean house, and to maybe freeze funding now. And then, if somethings really important, it will distinguish itself, and well bring it back online Youve got to just move fast, integrate fast, and then fix it as you go. During a news conference Friday, President Trump said that Americans social security would remain undisturbed by DOGE. Social Security will not be touched, it will only be strengthened, he said. This week, DOGE also landed at the CFPB, which protects consumers against scams and financial malfeasance. In a press release, the agencys union announced DOGEs arrival, describing Musk as a professional Twitter poster and Jeffrey Epstein confidant and identifying the DOGE members who had stormed its offices as Chris Young, a lobbyist for Big Pharma and past field organizer for former Gov. Bobby Jindal, and Elon fanboys Nikhil Rajpal and Gavin Kliger. It says that Rajpal led a libertarian students group at public land-grant university UC Berkeley, and worked at auto-lender Tesla and wannabe-payment-processor Twitter. Of Kliger, the release notes that his lawyer daddy works at Experianwhich is the same companyCFPB sued in January for covering up errors on credit reports with sham investigations.The press release continues: The unelected Musk recently announced plans for a new payments platform run jointly by Visa and X (formerly Twitter). Now, hes moved his power grab to the CFPB, in a clear attempt to attack union workers and defang the only agency that checks the greed of payment providers, as well as auto lenders like Tesla. CNN also reported on Thursday that one of DOGEs minionsa 23-year-old former SpaceX internhad shown up at the Department of Energy, whereagainst the advice of the agencys general counselhe was given access to the departments IT systems. God only knows who thought that was a good idea.DOGE is now weathering multiple lawsuits and, on Thursday, it was announced that attorneys general for over a dozen states were readying a collective litigation effort against the organization over its access to U.S. Treasury data. An announcement related to the suit notes that DOGE staffers access to payment systems containing Americans private information, bank account information and other sensitive data is unlawful. The states involvedincluding New York, California, Nevada, Arizona, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and otherssay they want to ensure those responsible are held accountable. As the richest man in the world, Elon Musk is not used to being told no, but in our country, no one is above the law, the statement reads. This level of access for unauthorized individuals is unlawful, unprecedented and unacceptable.

NASA intends to take an unprecedented 3D observation of the sun this month. In doing so, the agency hopes to understand why its outer atmosphere the corona is hotter than its surface, how does the solar wind work, and how the corona transforms into solar wind. As a bonus, the mission will take 3D pictures of a solar eclipse, from space.Learning More About the Sun's SurfaceThe system that will make these things possible is made up of four small satellites that will work together to create 3D pictures of the area closest to the suns surface. The system, called PUNCH, (for Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere), will cover a massive amount of space called the heliosphere, the region of the space influenced by the Sun."Our heliosphere is this massive, gigantic object that spans so far out from the sun, and PUNCH is going to connect from the closest end of the sun to the farthest out," Joe Westlake, the director of NASA's Heliophysics Division at the agency's headquarters, told reporters during a virtual press conference.Read More: The Dazzling Sun of 2024Four Satellites Working TogetherPUNCH will ride a SpaceX Falcon9 rocket, enter low-Earth orbit, and work with NASAs agency's SPHEREx observatory, which the agency describes as a wide-angle version of the James Webb Space Telescope. Instrumentation from the combination of the four PUNCH satellites will combine views from both the strongest and weakest of rays of the sun and will avoid Earth blocking out any views by combining data from the four far-flung satellites.This more complete picture of the heliosphere should improve space weather forecasting. Since instruments will always be trained on the sun, catching solar storms should be much easier.The imagery PUNCH creates from data collected from its four satellites should also be much sharper than other shots of the sun. It is the first mission designed to make use of the polarization of light to measure the corona and solar wind in 3D, much the way polarizing sunglasses align the light particles for clearer vision. The polarization system, extremely sensitive cameras and an extra-wide angle view will provide greater detail of the sun, its corona, and the winds that flow out from it.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:Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.

Some baleen whales, or whales that have plates in their mouths to help sieve out plankton, sing low-frequency songs to not only attract potential mates but also keep them safe from killer whale attacks. According to new research published in Marine Mammal Science by the University of Washington (UW), these low-frequency songs are part of a baleen whales fight-or-flight response.Whales in Fight or FlightBaleen whales are often more solitary, as compared to orcas, and include species like humpbacks, blue whales, and gray whales. As solitary creatures, they are easier targets for a pod of killer whales, especially when they have their calves. In a fight-or-flight response, baleens that typically use the fight method include humpbacks, right, gray, and bowheads. According to the study, the fight group of baleens have more navigable bodies. These whales also often tend to have their offspring in shallower coastal waters where they can group up, which can help when it comes to defense against killer whales.However, the baleens that exhibit flight blue, Brydes, sei, fin, and mink whales have more slender bodies, built for quick escapes, according to the study which was led by Trevor Branch, a professor of aquatic and fishery sciences at the UW. These whales typically have calves out in open waters so they can escape in any direction should danger appear.While studying baleen whales, Branch noticed a unique character trait about the flight group, and it all had to do with the sounds they made.Acoustic Crypsis, a Survival MethodWhales produce a hauntingly beautiful song to communicate with mates, mark territory, share the location of food, and find each other. But these songs can reach over 1,500 hertz, and are easy for killer whales to hear. For the fight group of baleen whales, they are prepared for conflict with an orca.But for the flight group, creating loud songs to attract mates is too great a risk for inviting predators as well. To combat this, Branch noted that the baleen whales in the flight group actually produce lower-frequency songs to prevent orcas from homing in on them. They produce a song thats around 100 hertz. A killer whale would need to be around a half mile away to hear this call.According to Branch, this is known as acoustic crypsis, and its a survival method that helps keep these baleens and the others they care about safe.These super-loud songs could expose them and their mates to killer whale attacks. And this is where acoustic crypsis comes in: singing at low frequencies that are impossible, or very difficult, for killer whales to hear, Branch said in a press release.Influential SongFor this study, Branch analyzed previous data on killer whale hearing abilities and ranges. Along with that, Branch also looked at the different sources of whale songs among baleen populations, how sound moved through the ocean, and which songs were the easiest to detect from killer whales.From the data collected, Branch determined that out in the open ocean, the sound landscape is governed by fear. Certain species of baleen whales the flight group have developed methods to keep their mates and offspring safe. By singing these low songs, they can find each other and live their lives.For the other groups of baleens, however, they almost seem proud of their loud voices, and are ready for whatever predator may come their way.Overall, Branch noted that each whales fight or flight method seemed to dictate every part of their life, from how they communicate to where theyre found to where they eat.It just never occurred to me that some whales sing low to avoid killer whales, but the more I looked at this, the more I realized that every aspect of their behavior is influenced by the fear of predation, Branch said in a press release. Read More: Blue Whales Chase the Wind to Hunt Tiny PreyArticle 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:NOAA. Why do whales make sounds?A graduate of UW-Whitewater, Monica Cull wrote for several organizations, including one that focused on bees and the natural world, before coming to Discover Magazine. Her current work also appears on her travel blog and Common State Magazine. Her love of science came from watching PBS shows as a kid with her mom and spending too much time binging Doctor Who.

With the latest versions of its softwarespecifically iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and macOS Sequoia 15.3Apple has now turned on Apple Intelligence by default. That means all of the associated AI tools will be ready and waiting to help you as soon as youve installed the updates and restarted your device.However, Apple isnt (yet) forcing you to use all of these features, and you can still turn off Apple Intelligence, if youd like to. Note that if youve previously turned Apple Intelligence off on your device, the iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and macOS Sequoia 15.3 updates wont suddenly turn it back onyour previous choice will be respected.You can turn Apple Intelligence on or off entirely. Screenshot: Apple If youre new to Apple Intelligence and want to know what youre dealing with, its a suite of AI features covering just about every app on your phone. One of the most noticeable upgrades is a ChatGPT extension for Siri, which allows you to start conversations with the OpenAI chatbot when Siri cant give you all the answers you need.Theres also help with your writing, which pops up anywhere theres a text field. You can use Apple Intelligence to change the tone of what youve written, or to shorten or expand on existing text, for example. You can also get your text summarized or proofread to check for mistakes.The Image Playground app is part of Apple Intelligence. Screenshot: Apple Apple Intelligence is also able to summarize webpages in Safari, prioritize your emails in Mail, and create customized emoji icons (known as Genmoji) in iMessage and other apps. It can identify what youre pointing your iPhone camera at, create new images from scratch in the Image Playground app, and apply a variety of tricks to existing images through the Photos app.Its a lot, and theres more to comebut maybe you dont want all of this AI interference. Maybe youre worried about the cost to the climate or the mistakes AI keeps on making. If thats the case you can turn some or all of these Apple Intelligence features.How to turn off Apple IntelligenceIts worth noting that Apple Intelligence isnt available on every Apple device, because it needs certain hardware requirements. At the time of writing, you need a Mac or an iPad with an M1 chip or later, the A17 Pro iPad mini, or the iPhone 15 Pro, the iPhone 15 Pro Max, or any iPhone 16 model to run Apple Intelligence.Assuming your device is eligible for Apple Intelligence, the options for it arent hard to find: From Settings on iPhones and iPads, or System Settings on Macs (accessible through the Apple menu), choose Apple Intelligence & Siri: Straight away youll see a toggle switch for turning the AI on or off entirely. Disable Apple Intelligence and all its features will be hidden, and the necessary AI models will be removed from your device.Summaries are one of the AI features that can be toggled individually. Screenshot: Apple If you dont want to switch everything off entirely, you can be more selective. Choose ChatGPT on the same screen, and you can disable the chatbot extension thats added to Sirileaving you with just the smarts built into Apples own assistant. Theres also the new Type to Siri feature, which you can disable by selecting Talk & Type to Siri on iOS or iPadOS (its not an optional extra on macOSinstead it turns on and off with the main Apple Intelligence setting).You can find other Apple Intelligence features elsewhere on your device. From Settings or System Settings, pick Notifications > Summarize Notifications to prevent AI from summing up incoming notifications. In Mail, to escape the AI-powered priority view on iOS and iPadOS, tap the three dots in the top right corner, then pick List View and disable the Show Priority option. On macOS, open the View menu then disable Show Priority.Writing Tools and Image Creation can be turned off via Screen Time. Screenshot: Apple Both the writing tools and image creation tools are handled through Screen Time, for some reason: From Settings or System Settings, choose Screen Time > Content & Privacy. Enable the Content & Privacy toggle switch, and you get an Intelligence & Siri option where Writing Tools and Image Creation can be disabled.Some of the features you cant turn off individually include the Clean Up tool in the Photos app, and the Intelligent Breakthrough feature for your Focus modes (for using AI to determine when an alert is important enough to disturb you with)these youll just have to ignore, unless you disable Apple Intelligence entirely.

Nature, Published online: 05 February 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08385-xA millihertz frequency X-ray quasi-periodic oscillation has been observed near the innermost orbit of an actively accreting supermassive black hole and its frequency has evolved significantly over 2 years, a phenomenon that is difficult to explain with existing models.

Nature, Published online: 05 February 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00308-8In a phase I clinical trial, nine adults with kidney cancer were treated with a personalized cancer vaccine that targets neoantigens (mutant proteins expressed by tumour cells). The vaccine generated immune responses in all nine individuals, and although all of them were at high risk of disease recurrence, none experienced a return of their cancer during the study.