By the end of the century, 97% of animal and plant species may die in Antarctica.

Due to the warming of the planet by the year 2100 in Antarctica, in the worst case, 97% of animal and plant species may disappear. Under the most favorable scenario - 37%, under the most probable scenario - 65%. Australian biologists came to such conclusions. Antarctica is home to two flowering plants, mosses, lichens, numerous microorganisms and invertebrates such as roundworms, and hundreds of thousands of seabirds, including emperor and Adélie penguins. The latter are in the most vulnerable position.

Zoologists first met pink iguana cubs.

On the island of Isabela in the Galapagos archipelago, scientists for the first time discovered nesting sites for pink conolophos, rare iguanas officially discovered only in 2009. In the same area, zoologists first met the cubs of these reptiles. It turned out that their coloring is different from adults. Baby pink conolophos are yellow or lime with black spots and stripes. This camouflage makes them invisible among plants. But despite this, iguanas rarely survive to sexual maturity due to feral cats and invasive rats.

Secretlab teamed up with Lamborghini to release a limited edition gaming chair.

There are only 50 copies in the lot. The novelty is based on the most advanced TITAN Evo 2022 model from Secretlab with all the consequences. A Lamborghini-style armchair will cost $1,699, although even with free funds, it will be problematic to buy a novelty - 50 pieces will be dismantled in a matter of minutes.

Death by AI website

The Death by AI website has appeared on the Internet: it will collect events, professions and applications that may disappear due to artificial intelligence. So far, there are only 14 positions on the list, including the Google search engine, illustrators, writers, programmers and doctors.

The Chinese decided to fix the problem of dependence on phones with their device.

AcryPhone is an iPhone that doesn't have any of the features of a phone. That is, it's just a "brick" for $27. And they buy it. Psychology is probably at work: a person feels a smartphone in his hand, and when he tries to use it, he remembers the addiction.

Интересное

People mastered navigation much earlier than it was thought. The University of Patras shared data on 450,000-year-old tools found on the islands of the Aegean Sea. For a long time it was believed that the ocean level was then lower and the islands were connected to the Earth. However, modern models show that the island where human traces were found, even 450 thousand years ago was an island. And it turns out that human ancestors mastered some kind of navigation much earlier than previously thought.

Tesla has launched a Cybertruck-style wireless charger for $300.

Interestingly, you can charge 3 devices at once - you can put them anywhere. This was made possible thanks to 30 coils. The outer bowl is made of aluminum and the surface is sheathed in Alcantara. For convenience, there is a stand that changes the angle of the charging. The power of the power supply is 65 watts. In this case, a maximum of 15 watts will be given to the device. With the iPhone, apparently, wireless charging power will be limited to 7.5W. Deliveries will start in February.

Black bears have become lighter due to a mutation in the genes.

Zoologists have found that baribals (black bears) in the west of North America are colored in lighter colors due to a mutation in the TYRP1 gene. It interferes with the normal synthesis of the eumelanin pigment responsible for coat color. In humans, mutations in the TYRP1 gene cause oculocutaneous albinism, in which vision is impaired and the skin and hair become reddish. In bears, this mutation does not cause these problems.

MIT scientists are developing a technology for 3D printing "wooden" furniture from natural biogel.

To begin with, scientists took the cells of the zinnia plant (Zinnia elegans), after which they were placed in a liquid medium for two days, and then transformed into a special, thicker biogel with nutrients and two types of phytohormones - by changing their content in the composition, you can control the physical and mechanical properties of the future material. After that, the team began to print figures of various shapes using biogel - in much the same way 3D printing is done. After three months of incubation in the dark, the material was dehydrated, and the final result was an object of tree-like matter. In one of the tests, scientists even managed to create a tree model from the material.

Dolphins can suffer from Alzheimer's disease.

Scottish researchers studied the brains of 22 deceased cetaceans of different species and found signs in three of them that are characteristic of Alzheimer's disease in humans. Previously, it was believed that this is an exclusively human disease and animals do not suffer from it.

Scientists have proposed to search for aliens using gravitational waves.

Physicists have proposed looking for giant alien spaceships using LIGO's gravitational wave detectors. True, it will only be possible to find superfast starships the size of Jupiter at a distance of about 326,000 light years. The researchers believe that astrophysicists will have to detect alien ships with "warp drives" - they bend the space-time continuum. In this case, the starship will generate serious gravitational waves. Unlike radio telescopes, LIGO detectors can simultaneously register billions of signals from different sources. Thanks to this, a new way to search for alien civilizations can be more perfect than the traditional one.

Robotic vacuum cleaners spied on their owners and sent their photos to the Internet.

Photos appeared on the network that some models of iRobot Roomba robot vacuum cleaners did in the owners' homes. They sent them to a company to train artificial intelligence. The photographs depict people in circumstances that they clearly would not like to show to others. For example, in one of the shots, a young woman is sitting on the toilet with her shorts down.

Chinese parents are hiring experienced gamers to smash their kids in games.

Chinese parents have come up with a new way to wean children from computer games. They are turning to seasoned gamers to deliver crushing rounds against their sons and daughters. They hope that after a series of failures, children will lose their self-confidence and interest in online games. One of the experienced players shared that he made a child cry after five devastating fights.

Mars colonizers will be able to generate energy from the wind.

Properly installed on the surface of Mars, wind turbines will be able to fully provide energy to the base on which six people live. These conclusions were made by scientists from the NASA Ames Research Center after detailed modeling of wind patterns in different regions of the Red Planet. Prior to this, experts doubted the possibilities of wind generation on Mars - its atmosphere is too rarefied. Usually, they relied on compact nuclear reactors and solar energy.

The Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems team has created a robot for perfect hugs.

It took more than six years to create HuggieBot 3.0: first, a soft base was formed that is pleasant to hug, then artificial intelligence was added to try to imitate human actions, and in the latest version, the developers paid attention to sensations and emotions. And yes, the researchers do not stop there and are already making the fourth version of the robot.

Chinese KFC decided to please the furry

Chinese KFC decided to please the furry and collaborated with a local brand of pet furniture, creating chicken popcorn for cats. Popcorn serves as a substitute for Sanders wings, which are high in salt and are therefore contraindicated for animals. And popcorn is healthy - each ball is filled with catnip. From the beginning of 2023, balloons will be placed in every order, so not only the client, but also his pet will be delighted.

On the Internet, they say goodbye to the InSight rover.

NASA sent out the last touching tweet on behalf of the device, in which he said goodbye to people and announced that his charge was running low. Maintaining a charge has become more difficult due to the accumulation of dust on solar panels. Users are asking the space agency to return InSight to Earth, but this is not possible.

Four-legged robot

Engineers have developed a four-legged robot that can climb the walls and ceilings of metal buildings. The device can move vertically up and even upside down on metal structures. It can be used for repair work on bridges, industrial tanks and buildings. The robot uses electromagnets and magnetic elastomers to move. These are hybrid materials composed of a rubber-like substance interspersed with magnetic particles. By turning magnetism on and off, the robot can cling to a vertical point on the wall with one foot and hold on while the other legs move, and then take the next step. The prototype is capable of moving at speeds up to 0.7 m/s, stepping over protruding beams, and carrying up to 3 kg of payload.

A new solar panel efficiency record has been broken.

The German HZB presented a panel that converts as much as 32.5% of solar radiation into energy. The previous record was 31.3% and was reached in 2021.

NASA has shown lava lakes on Jupiter's moon Io.

The Juno probe photographed the planet in infrared light to capture its insane volcanic activity. As a result, there were even more volcanically active regions than previously thought.