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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