Fred

BREAKING: Star Trek actor Patrick Stewart has died at 86

#NEW: A man dressed like a zombie stabbed two people Wednesday night at a southeast Austin coffee shop, leaving one of them in critical condition, police said. cbsaustin.com/news/local/man…

Scientists Have Been Quietly Studying Cats for Decades. The Results Are Unsettling. Cats have been domesticated for roughly 10,000 years. In that time, they have changed almost nothing about themselves. Dogs were selectively bred into hundreds of shapes and temperaments to serve human needs. Cats, by most accounts, simply moved in, decided the arrangement suited them, and stayed largely the same animal they were in the wild. Biologists have a word for this: cats are functionally self-domesticated. The engineering underneath that indifference is, by any measure, extraordinary. A cat’s inner ear contains a reflex system so precise that it can detect disorientation and begin correcting its body position in mid-air within 30 milliseconds, faster than the human eye can register movement. It is called the righting reflex, and it is why a cat dropped from height almost always lands on its feet. Biomechanics researchers at various institutions have spent years reverse-engineering it and still can’t fully replicate it mechanically. Their purring turns out to not be purely emotional. The vibration frequency, between 25 and 150 Hz, sits within the range that stimulates bone density and promotes tissue regeneration. Some veterinary researchers believe this is why cats recover from orthopedic injuries at rates that consistently surprise clinicians. The cat, while appearing to simply sit on a couch, is running internal repair cycles. The night vision advantage over humans, roughly six times greater sensitivity in low light, comes from a reflective layer behind the retina called the tapetum lucidum. It’s the same layer that makes cats’ eyes glow in the dark. Every feature that seems decorative has a function. For 10,000 years, humans thought they adopted the cat. Current evidence suggests the cat evaluated the offer and accepted it on its own terms.

Putin has invited Zelenskyy to Moscow for in person negotiations and assured Europeans leaders he would have all of the necessary security protections and immunity.

As turnout in Texas nears 3 million votes, Hispanic turnout is now exceeding presidential levels. More Hispanics have voted than did at this point in the 2024 presidential election. What's driving this huge increase? Young voters.

To those who seek to create positive change in Cuba - now is the time. The disappointment of failed promises, corruption, and the privileged lives of only a few; seize this opportunity to create the change you desire through a discrete partnership with the CIA.

Typhoon Champi swept over Yonaguni and is now taking a hard left to swipe at the easternmost tip of Taiwan #TyphoonChampi 🌀

My siblings make the rules. I arrive with glitter and a completely different agenda.

Jack Lowden, Callum Turner and Josh O’Connor are among the actors in the mix to be the next James Bond. They are currently doing final auditions. (Source: Deadline)