Scientists find 2 flies trapped in amber that died while mating 41 million years ago

Scientists have found 2 mating flies trapped in prehistoric amber and it is being estimated that the flies have remained in that position for almost 41 million years now. Yes, you read that right.

The pair of flies was discovered from a haul of unusual fossils recovered from sites across Australia and New Zealand. The findings of the study were recently published.

According to Jeffrey Stilwell, a palaeontologist and the co-author of the paper, the flies were mating when they accidentally got trapped in gluey resin of a tree which eventually hardened over the years.

"I looked at the piece under the microscope, and when I looked at it, I felt it looked really important, because it looked like they're almost attached or something," said Stilwell while speaking about this rare discovery. "I couldn't believe it - it looks like they're mating," he added.

Stilwell calls this "frozen behavior" because according to him, "absolutely nothing happened in the moments between when the flies were living and when they died and became entombed."

Apart from the mating flies, the scientists also discovered ants, spiders, midges, and several other insects trapped in amber.

Source:indiatoday

Earth Is Vibrating Substantially Less Because There's So Little Activity Right Now

Flights are grounded. Fewer trains are running. Rush hour is gone. The world - particularly in cities - is looking drastically different during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

According to seismologists, that drastic reduction in human hustle and bustle is causing the Earth to move substantially less. The planet is 'standing still'.

Thomas Lecocq, a geologist and seismologist at the Royal Observatory in Belgium, noticed that the country's capital Brussels is experiencing a 30 to 50 percent reduction in ambient seismic noise since the lockdowns began, as CNN reports.

That means data collected by seismologists is becoming more accurate, capable of detecting even the smallest tremors - despite the fact that many of the scientific instruments in use today are near city centers.

"You'll get a signal with less noise on top, allowing you to squeeze a little more information out of those events," Andy Frassetto, a seismologist at the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology in Washington DC told Nature.

Researchers in Los Angeles and in West London, UK noticed a similar trend.

But seismologists collecting data from remote stations far away from human civilization might not see a change at all, according to Nature.

Regardless, a significant drop in seismic noise also shows that we're at least doing one thing right during the current pandemic: staying in the safety of our own homes as we wait for the virus to run its course.

Super Pink moon, biggest and brightest full moon of 2020, to be visible on April 7

We have all heard of the super moon, but now comes another phenomenon known as the Super Pink moon. And while most times, stargazers have a special place they go to, everyone is stuck at home this time, courtesy the coronavirus outbreak.

The Super Pink moon is what astronomers call as a perigean full moon. At this time, the moon is at its closest distance to earth at 356,907 km away. The full moon of April is generally called the pink moon according to old Native American culture and is really no indication of the colour the moon will take.

The best time to watch the super pink moon will be on April 7 at moonrise in the early hours of the night or at moonset before dawn. There will be a problem since you are stuck at home, thanks to the lockdown in India, but if you have an east-facing window with a clear view of the sky, it shouldn’t be a problem.

However, do not expect a dramatic increase in size. The moon can appear just up to 30 percent larger than on any average day, but it will be spectacular nonetheless if caught at the right time of the night.





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World Autism Awareness Day 2020: Significance, history and important facts

On 2 April every year, World Autism Awareness Day is observed to recognise and celebrate persons with autism. The World Autism Awareness Day this year will be observed amidst a global coronavirus outbreak.

Autistic people are greatly dependent on their support systems and networks and hence according to the United Nations require everyone to come together to meet their needs.

“Universal human rights, including the rights of persons with disabilities, must not be infringed upon in the time of a pandemic,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said.

He further maintained that “we must ensure that a prolonged disruption caused by COVID-19 does not result in rollbacks of the rights of people with autism.

History of day
On 1 November, 2007, the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly approved eight draft resolutions, one of which was to designate a day for World Autism Day.

The Assembly designated 2 April  as the annual day for the World Autism Awareness Day from 2008.

The ‘Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’ (CRPD) came into effect on 3 May, 2008. According to Don MacKay, the chairman of the committee, the CRPD aimed to “elaborate in detail the rights of persons with disabilities and set out a code of implementation”.

Any country member of the UN that “ratifies” the CRPD agrees to legally “treat persons with disabilities as subjects of the law with clearly defined rights as any other person”. The said countries also have to change their legislation in accordance to the international standards laid out in the treaty.

Important facts
According to the UN, autism is a lifelong neurological condition that is mainly characterised by unique social interactions, non-standard ways of learning, keen interests in specific subjects, inclination to routines, challenges in typical communications and particular ways of processing sensory information.

Autism comes under the umbrella of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), where spectrum means a range of characteristics. There are four types of ASD – Autistic Disorder, Asperger’s Syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder and Pervasive Development Disorder, not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS).





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'Shoot them dead': Philippine President says won't tolerate Lockdown Violators

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has warned violators of coronavirus lockdown measures they could be shot for causing trouble and said abuse of medical workers was a serious crime that would not be tolerated.

In a televised address, Duterte said it was vital everyone cooperates and follows home quarantine measures, as authorities try to slow the contagion and spare the country's fragile health system from being overwhelmed.

The Philippines has recorded 96 coronavirus deaths and 2,311 confirmed cases, all but three in the past three weeks, with infections now being reported in the hundreds every day.

"It is getting worse. So once again I'm telling you the seriousness of the problem and that you must listen," Duterte said late on Wednesday.

"My orders to the police and military ... if there is trouble and there's an occasion that they fight back and your lives are in danger, shoot them dead."

"Is that understood? Dead. Instead of causing trouble, I will bury you."

His comments came after media reports of a disturbance and several arrests on Wednesday of residents in a poor area of Manila who were protesting about sufficient government food aid.

They also follow outrage among the medical community about social stigma and instances of hospital workers suffering physical abuse and discrimination, which Duterte said must be stopped.




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Bill Gates calls for a 10-week shutdown in US, says any confusion 'will only extend economic pain

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has called for a nationwide shutdown in the US as the number of COVID-19 cases surpassed 2,00,000 in the country.

“Despite urging from public health experts, some states and counties haven’t shut down completely. In some states, beaches are still open; in others, restaurants still serve sit-down meals. This is a recipe for disaster. Because people can travel freely across state lines, so can the virus,” he noted in an op-ed in the Washington Post.

Gates explained that businesses need to remain shut until the numbers of reported cases start to go down across the country, which, according to him, could take at least 10 weeks.

"Any confusion about this point will only extend the economic pain, raise the odds that the virus will return, and cause more deaths," he said.

Gates also called for more testing hoped that a vaccine could be available before the suggested 18-month timeframe.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the US hard. The US has seen a significant rise in cases in the last month, and New York has now become the epicentre of the outbreak.

US President Donald Trump on April 1 warned the country to brace for a "painful" and "tough" two-week period as he extended the nationwide distancing measure to April 30.

Trump also said that more than 100,000 and up to 240,000 Americans could die due to COVID-19, a number which could surge up to millions if guidelines are not followed.



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Van Gogh painting "The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring 1884” stolen from museum

In a shocking twist of events, a painting by Vincent van Gogh has just been stolen from the Singer Laren museum in the Netherlands, on the eve of what would be the Dutch master's 167th birthday. In the middle of the night, the thieves used a distressing pandemic as an opportunistic moment to break into the museum as it was closed to further the spread of the coronavirus to make off with a painting by the Dutch master, titled The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring (1884).

As Mike Corder reports for the Associated Press, a thief or thieves carried out a smash-and-grab raid in the early hours of Monday morning, likely exploiting the museum’s recent closure to help contain the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

The painting, titled The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring 1884, depicts a landscape church in Neunen, the village where van Gogh’s father worked as a pastor, according to Naomi Rea of artnet News. Rendered in somewhat muted hues, the work predates the Dutch artist’s move to southern France, where he developed a more vibrant and colorful style.

To complicate matters further, the masterpiece was never a part of the Singer Laren’s permanent collection, belonging instead to the Netherlands’ Groninger Museum, which had temporarily loaned out the artwork—the only van Gogh the institution owned.

“The Groninger Museum is shocked by the news,” officials said in a statement quoted by artnet News. A spokesperson declined to comment further, citing the police investigation.

Within hours of the painting’s pilfering, police launched a criminal investigation rounded out by security footage and accounts from residents. Any locals with pertinent information have been asked to come forward to assist the process, as museum officials stress that the incident has robbed not only the institution itself, but art-adoring patrons around the world.

“I am shocked and absolutely livid that this has happened,” says Jan Rudolph de Lorm, director of the Singer Laren, in a video statement translated by Reuters. “This splendid and moving artwork by one of our great artists has been stolen, taken from the community.”

De Lorm, as quoted by the AP, adds, “[A]rt exists to be seen and shared by us, the community.” The fruits of such creativity, he explains, exist “to enjoy, to draw inspiration from and to draw comfort from, especially in these difficult times.”

Little is known about the break-in itself. Police said that the thief or thieves forced the building’s glass front doors open at around 3:15 a.m. on Monday morning. The break-in tripped an alarm, but by the time officers reached the museum, the painting and its captors had vanished. By early afternoon, the broken entrance had been covered with a large white panel.

Prior to its disappearance, the painting was featured in the Singer Laren’s “





Source: architecturaldigest, smithsonianmag