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Piglets sleep on their mother's back in Germany, part of the species' native range. Female feral pigs can reproduce at just eight months old.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ZOONAR GMBH, ALAMY STOCK PHOTOS

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Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis) kit, family Mephitidae, found in most of the U.S., Canada, and northern Mexico

photograph by Bildagentur Zoonar GMBH

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August 4, 2023 - Nashville, Tennessee Source: Zoonar GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo

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Concrete. Another emissions beast we have to tame.

Excerpts from a Guardian article entitled, “Concrete: the most destructive material on Earth:”

In the time it takes you to read this sentence, the global building industry will have poured more than 19,000 bathtubs of concrete. By the time you are halfway through this article, the volume would fill the Albert Hall and spill out into Hyde Park. In a day it would be almost the size of China’s Three Gorges Dam. In a single year, there is enough to patio over every hill, dale, nook and cranny in England.

After water, concrete is the most widely used substance on Earth. If the cement industry were a country, it would be the third largest carbon dioxide emitter in the world with up to 2.8bn tonnes, surpassed only by China and the US.

It also magnifies the extreme weather it shelters us from. Taking in all stages of production, concrete is said to be responsible for 4-8% of the world’s CO2. Among materials, only coal, oil and gas are a greater source of greenhouse gases. Half of concrete’s CO2 emissions are created during the manufacture of clinker, the most-energy intensive part of the cement-making process.

But other environmental impacts are far less well understood. Concrete is a thirsty behemoth, sucking up almost a 10th of the world’s industrial water use. This often strains supplies for drinking and irrigation, because 75% of this consumption is in drought and water-stressed regions. In cities, concrete also adds to the heat-island effect by absorbing the warmth of the sun and trapping gases from car exhausts and air-conditioner units – though it is, at least, better than darker asphalt.

The heat and chemical processes involved in making cement (a key component of concrete) mean that each tonne made releases a tonne of CO2. Photograph: Zoonar GmbH/Alamy Stock Photo/Alamy Stock Photo

Excerpts from another Guardian article, entitled, “Concrete is tipping us into climate catastrophe. It's payback time:”

Cement, the key component of concrete and one of the most widely used manmade materials, is now the cornerstone of global construction. It has shaped the modern environment, but its production has a massive footprint that neither the industry nor governments have been willing to address.

Because of the heat needed to decompose rock and the natural chemical processes involved in making cement, every tonne made releases one tonne of C02, the main greenhouse warming gas.

So great is its carbon footprint that unless it is transformed and made to adopt cleaner practices, the industry could, on its own, jeopardise the whole 2015 Paris agreement which aims to hold worldwide temperatures to a 2C increase.

While some of the biggest cement companies have reduced the carbon intensity of their products by investing in more fuel-efficient kilns, most improvements gained have been overshadowed by the massive increase in global cement and concrete production. Population increases, the urban explosion in Asia and Africa, the need to build dams, roads and houses, as well as increases in personal wealth have stoked demand.

Industry leaders are now embarrassed, aware that they are in danger of being financially penalised and tarred as climate laggards who refuse to change in the face of the climate emergency. They well know that not only is it quite possible to build most structures safely without cement, but their own research has shown that green, cement-like products using recycled byproducts which are just as strong can be made from other industries, such as steel slag, fly ash from coal-fired facilities or some types of clay. Instead they trust that nascent technologies like carbon capture and storage which could allow emissions to be buried will come on stream, and that more efficient plant will reduce cement emissions by as much as 20-25%.

[xtruss]

Best National Parks in Colombia For Volcanoes, Glaciers, Scuba Diving and More

— Steph Dyson, Lonely Planet Writer

Colombia’s national parks offer a staggering range of ecosystems, such as the volcanoes and sparse highland paramo at Parque Nacional Natural Puracé © Guillermo Ossa/Shutterstock

A country famed for its exceptional natural wealth, Colombia promises beguiling natural beauty that spans rugged Andean peaks, wildlife-rich tropical rainforests, vast grasslands of wax palms and sparse, highland paramo.

Following two decades of concerted efforts to strengthen its protected areas, the country now has 59 national parks and protected areas, which span a total of 200,000 sq km (77,220 sq miles) – adding up to a whopping one-sixth of Colombia’s land mass. Venturing into one of this country’s national parks offers an escape into remote, pristine and – more often than not – hard-to-access lands. But doing so is always worth the effort.

From encounters with an unsurpassed richness of wildlife to hiking trails offering majestic mountain views, remarkable indigenous stories past and present, and much more, these treasures simply dazzle travelers. Here is our guide to the best national parks in Colombia.

On your visit to Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona, you might spot a critically endangered cotton-top tamarin © Bildagentur Zoonar GmbH / Shutterstock

Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona is the best national park for white-sand beaches

An exquisitely beautiful stretch of white-sand beaches, vast rock formations and untouched rainforest, Tayrona National Natural Park lies in the north of the country, between the skirts of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range and the azure waters of the Caribbean Sea.

Colombia’s most visited park extends across 12,000 hectares (29,650 acres) of land, with a further 3000 hectares (7413 acres) of ocean protected, too. You’ll find access to glorious swimming and snorkeling on a select few beaches; treacherous currents make many others too dangerous for a dip – if beautiful to admire. The obligatory trail from the entrance at Cañaveral into the park traces the coast, dropping by beaches where you can take shade beneath a coconut palm or even catch sight of the critically endangered cotton-top tamarin monkeys that call the adjoining jungle home.

At night, choose a hammock, beachside tent or rustic cabin so close to the ocean that the crashing waves will lull you to sleep. And for maximum tranquility, avoid visiting in December and January when the park is packed with backpackers and pleasure seekers.

See one of the last untouched places on earth at Parque Nacional Natural Serranía del Chiribiquete

One of the last unexplored corners of the planet, Serranía del Chiribiquete National Park is the world’s largest tropical rainforest park and one of Colombia’s most remarkable protected areas, Covering 44,000 sq km (17,000 sq miles), the park was added to Unesco’s World Heritage List in 2018 thanks to its incredible biodiversity (some 3000 animal and plant species reside here) and unique topography in the form of the tepuis, table-top mountains that rise dramatically out of the jungle.

But human history is what makes this place special. Deep within the park lie 75,000 cave paintings dating back to 20,000 BCE, which depict hunting scenes and other ceremonial events. They’re believed to still be used by the five uncontacted tribes who reside within the park’s borders.

Serranía del Chiribiquete National Park first opened to visitors only in 2019, and access is solely by a limited number of 1-hour flyovers run by local tour operators, where you’ll see the park’s dazzling topography and lush jungle from the air.

Active travelers will love hiking through Parque Nacional Natural Los Nevados, one of Colombia’s most dramatic and high-altitude national parks © Antoine Barthelemy / Shutterstock

Parque Nacional Natural Los Nevados offers exciting high-altitude hiking

Dappled with snow-swept volcanic peaks thrusting towards the sky, Parque Nacional Natural Los Nevados is one of Colombia’s most dramatic and high-altitude national parks. Adventurous travelers come here in their droves to tackle the summit of Nevado del Tolima, a 5200m (17,060ft) volcanic crater that requires technical mountaineering experience. For more casual hikers, gentler trails pass up through the sparse yet striking paramo landscapes to reach glassy lagoons and age-old glaciers. You’ll need a registered guide to hike here, which you can organize in nearby Salento.

In the southern skirts of the national park, the more accessible Valle de Cocora is a verdant wonderland of grasslands and cloud forest surrounded by Colombia’s trademark rolling hills dotted with coffee plantations. The main attraction is the Quindío wax palm, Colombia’s national tree, a species that towers up to 60m (196ft). Admire it from the meandering trails that take you to viewpoints from which breathtaking panoramas of the whole Cocora valley and the craggy peaks of the park’s northern reaches await.

Explore the beautifully barren paramo at Parque Nacional Natural Chingaza

Tucked into the eastern Andes within a stone’s throw of Bogotá, Chingaza National Natural Park is a rich source of water, its 60 lagoons providing 80% of the water consumed by the capital city’s residents. It also provides some of the easiest access from the capital to Colombia’s distinctive paramo. This barren yet beautiful tundra-like ecosystem sits between the tree line and snow line, and is dotted with curious-looking frailejón plants.

No public transport operates here, so exploring this 76,600-hectare (189,300-acre) park requires the assistance of a Bogotá-based tour operator or your own vehicle. Five hiking trails, each with visitor caps at either 40 or 60 per day, allow you to explore the park, with the most popular being the challenging climb to reach the otherworldly Lagunas de Siecha.

Altitudes hit 4000m (13,120ft) above sea level within the park, so give yourself a couple of days to acclimate in Bogotá before venturing out here.

Summit an active volcano at Parque Nacional Natural Puracé

In the far south of Colombia and protecting a slice of the Andes, Parque Nacional Natural Puracé packs volcanoes, dazzling waterfalls, soaring condors and sparse highland paramo within its boundaries.

Like most of Colombia’s national parks, the best way to experience the remote but beautiful natural landscapes here is on foot. The best route is the hike to the edge of the crater of the 4650m (15,255ft) Volcán Puracé, the only active volcano in Colombia with a summit that’s safe to reach. Keep your eyes on the skies for the unmissable vast wingspan of the Andean condors, a species introduced to the park in 2002.

Visit Puracé during September and October to see the frailejón plants that dominate the paramo produce dazzling, sunflower-like blooms.

Take in shrinking glaciers (while you still can) at Parque Nacional Natural El Cocuy

Remote and untouched, Parque Nacional Natural El Cocuy is a challenging place to reach. Yet the effort of a 10-hour rattling bus journey northeast from Bogotá pays big dividends, granting access to a 3060 sq km (1180 sq mile) park that’s home to 15 magnificent 5000m-plus peaks, electric-blue lakes and the largest expanse of glaciers in the country, which are narrowly clinging on despite the onward march of climate change.

While many hiking trails have been closed because of objections from the resident U’wa people about visitors crossing their sacred lands, the park still has plenty to offer. Trekking highlights include the 12-hour trail to El Pulpito del Diablo, a shard of rock spiking out of a slowly retreating glacier, beyond which alpine tundra, glacial valleys and vertiginous mountains roll into the distance.

Every year, the Caño Cristales bursts into a bloom of pink and red thanks to the Macarenia clavigera plant within its depths © sunsinger / Shutterstock

Swim in magenta-hued rivers at Parque Nacional Serranía de La Macarena

Parque Nacional Natural Serranía de La Macarena is where you’ll find one of Colombia’s most curious natural attractions. Each year within the tropical reaches of this park, a river blooms magenta.

Better known as Caño Cristales or the Liquid Rainbow, this river bursts into a bloom of pink and red between July and October thanks to the Macarenia clavigera plant within its depths – and you can swim the water to get a closer look. As part of a guided tour, you can access a trail of waterfalls and swimming holes dotted around the south of the national park, all of which are within easy reach of the town of La Macarena.

Visitor numbers are capped at 200 per day, but this figure is rarely enforced; a mid-week trip will see many fewer visitors than on weekends.

Enjoy snorkeling and scuba diving galore at Parque Nacional Old Providence McBean Lagoon

Measuring in at just 1485 hectares (3670 acres), Parque Nacional Old Providence McBean Lagoon is one of Colombia’s smallest national parks. It covers the mangrove forests in the east of Colombia’s Caribbean island, Providencia, as well as the surrounding waters, which protect part of the third-longest coral reef in the world.

Within the park is Cayo Cangrejo, a magical, picture-perfect island nearby whose waters lay claim to some of the most remarkable snorkeling and diving in the region. Beneath the bathtub-warm and crystal-clear waters, you’ll spot coral reefs inhabited by schools of tropical fish. Keep your eyes peeled for four species of turtles and manta ray, too.

It takes days of trekking through the jungle to reach Ciudad Perdida (Lost City) in Colombia’s Parque Nacional Natural Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta © Jess Kraft / 500px

Visit Parque Nacional Natural Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta for intriguing archeological sites

The birthplace of the Tairona people, Parque Nacional Natural Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is best known as the home of Ciudad Perdida, the once-thriving Tairona city that remains buried deep in the jungle. This national park is a place of stark contrasts, where the soaring summits of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range slide into deep river valleys and practically impenetrable jungle.

Descendants of the Tairona still inhabit this national park – and consider these mountains sacred – and you may well bump into them as part of the 5-day trek that slogs through the rainforest to reach the intriguing archeological site. Conditions are hot, humid and muddy; visit between December and February for dry ground underfoot.

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More Photos at https://uploadbeta.com Der Burgbachwasserfall nahe Bad Rippoldsau-Schapbach im Winter, Baden-Württemberg, Deutschland (© Bildagentur Zoonar GmbH/Shutterstock) B https://t.co/DhQYilVhxi

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Western lowland gorillas produce a quiet, panting chuckle during play.

(Image credit: Zoonar GmbH/Alamy Stock Photo)

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August 4, 2023 - Nashville, Tennessee Source: Zoonar GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo

[cloudtales]

Boosting bee diversity can help stabilise crop production – new research

Boosting bee diversity can help stabilise crop production – new research

Boosting bee diversity can help stabilise crop production – new research A hornfaced bee on a catkin. Bildagentur Zoonar GmbH/Shutterstock There are over 20,000 bee species and together they help pollinate more than 75% of the world’s leading food crops. Honeybees tend to hog the limelight, but few realise how important diversity is to this process. Having lots of different species of…

[zuytcom]

Các công trình thang máy ngoạn mục nhất thế giới

Thứ Năm, 30/07/2020 lúc 17:23

Giữ kỷ lục thang máy ngoài trời cao nhất thế giới, thang máy nhanh nhất thế giới… các công trình này không chỉ là phương tiện đưa đón khách mà còn ấn tượng với thiết kế đẳng cấp.

AquaDom tại khách sạn Radisson Blu (Berlin, Đức) mang đến cho du khách trải nghiệm đi thang máy giữa bể cá. Thang máy bằng kính trong suốt nằm trong bể cá đứng lớn nhất thế giới với hơn 1.500 con cá. Bể có chiều cao 25 m và đường kính 11,5 m, chứa một triệu lít nước. Thang máy nổi bên trong di chuyển với tốc độ 0,3 m/s và có thể chứa tối đa 30 người. Ảnh: EmmePi Travel.

Với chiều cao 828 m, Burj Khalifa (ở Dubai, UAE) là tòa nhà cao nhất thế giới và sở hữu thang máy dịch vụ cao nhất thế giới. Trục lõi trung tâm thang máy của tòa nhà là 504 m, cao gần 1,5 lần so với thang máy trong tòa nhà Empire State (New York, Mỹ) với 381m. Khách sạn có 57 thang máy, một trong số đó đưa du khách từ sảnh đến tầng quan sát trên tầng 124 trong 60 giây, với tốc độ tối đa 10 m/s. Ảnh: Zoonar GmbH.

Thang máy Bách Long (ở Hồ Nam, Trung Quốc) giữ kỷ lục là thang máy ngoài trời cao nhất thế giới. Với độ cao 326 m, công trình kỳ diệu này nằm bên trong công viên Quốc gia Trương Gia Giới, mang đến tầm nhìn tuyệt đẹp ra khung cảnh tựa phim viễn tưởng ở nơi đây. Mở cửa cho công chúng kể từ tháng 5 năm 2002, hệ thống có 3 thang máy 2 tầng và chỉ phải mất 1 phút 32 giây để lên đến đỉnh. Ảnh: Xinhua.

Khu nghỉ dưỡng, khách sạn Luxor Las Vegas (Mỹ) mang đến du khách trải nghiệm khác lạ với thang máy dốc. Việc xây dựng kim tự tháp nổi tiếng của khu nghỉ dưỡng 30 tầng là lý do các thang máy ở đây được thiết kế di chuyển trên góc nghiêng 39 độ. Các thang máy nghiêng được lắp đặt vào năm 1993 ở m��i góc của cấu trúc. Ảnh: Alamy Stock Photo.

Falkirk Wheel là hệ thống nâng tàu bằng phương pháp quay ở Scotland. Thang máy quay này có vai trò nối liền kênh Forth and Clyde với kênh Union. Do mực nước chênh lệch giữa hai con kênh lên tới 24 m, các tàu từ kênh Forth and Clyde sẽ đi vào một chiếc máng, sau đó được đẩy lên cao vào cầu dẫn nước để có thể chạy vào kênh Clyde ở phía trên. Ảnh: John McKenna.

Để lên đến đỉnh Cổng vòm cao 192 m ở St Louis (Missouri, Mỹ), du khách sẽ đi bằng thiết bị được thiết kế kết hợp thang máy với nguyên lý bánh xe Ferris. Kể từ khi hoàn thành vào năm 1965, chiếc xe điện thang máy độc đáo này đưa hàng triệu du khách đến khu quan sát trên đỉnh Cổng vòm để chiêm ngưỡng khung cảnh tuyệt đẹp xung quanh. Thang máy có 16 toa xe hình trụ, chứa 5 hành khách/toa và hành trình lên đến đỉnh mất 4 phút. Ảnh: Andriy Kravchenko.

Vào tháng 9 năm 2019, tập đoàn khách sạn Rosewood đã khai trương khách sạn 5 sao cao nhất thế giới ở Quảng Châu (Trung Quốc). Khách sạn chiếm 39 tầng trên cùng của Trung tâm Tài chính CTF 108 tầng (tòa nhà cao thứ 7 trên thế giới). Rosewood Quảng Châu cao 530 m và tự hào có thang máy nhanh nhất thế giới, di chuyển với tốc độ 75,6 km/h. Thang máy có thiết kế đơn giản với tường ốp màu đỏ và sàn gỗ. Ảnh: Pinterest.

Công viên quốc gia Carlsbad Caverns (New Mexico, Mỹ) có 4 thang máy đưa du khách đi xuống 228 dưới bề mặt Trái Đất. Thang máy dừng tại một căn tin dưới lòng đất, nơi du khách có thể khám phá các hang động đá vôi và các thành tạo đá. Chuyến đi mất một phút với tốc độ 14 km/h. Ảnh: Adrian Hedden.

Uyên HoàngTheo The Culture Trip

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Bài viết Các công trình thang máy ngoạn mục nhất thế giới đã xuất hiện đầu tiên vào ngày Zuyt.

from Zuyt https://zuyt.com/kham-pha/cac-cong-trinh-thang-may-ngoan-muc-nhat-the-gioi/

[fumpkins]

From the death cap to the alcohol inky: seven poisonous mushrooms you definitely don’t want to eat

Victims of death cap mushrooms can experience liver and kidney failure. (Zoonar GMBH/Alamy/)

This story originally featured on Field & Stream.

There is a commonsense rule about wild mushrooms that all outdoorsmen should heed: Avoid them. There are about 10,000 species of fungi out there, of which only a small number will kill you. From that vantage, the odds sound OK. Thing is, with the exception of a few easily identifiable species, it’s hard to tell the lethal from the good. And mushrooms have never been known for being forgiving. Often, as in the case of the aptly named death cap (Amanita phalloides), they look like a hundred other mushrooms, some of which are delicious. But do you really want to roll those dice?

Got a friend who “knows” mushrooms? Great! Just remember that you’re trusting this person with your life and that experts get poisoned, too. Regularly. I wouldn’t roll those dice either.

Here are some mushrooms you definitely want to avoid.

Death cap (above)

The death cap is included in every “most dangerous” list of mushrooms because it accounts for more than half of all known poisonings. Half a small one can kill an adult man. This genus of fungi is native to Europe but is increasingly showing up in North America.

Death caps look like any common small, white mushroom. The poison is amanitin, which is a particularly nasty cocktail of eight other toxins found in amino acids. Famous people who may have died from eating death caps include the Roman emperor Claudis (54 A.D.) and Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI in 1740. Unlike some other mushrooms, death caps are equally deadly cooked, raw, frozen, or dried.

What happens if you eat one?

Symptoms occur 6 to 24 hours after eating and include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. Typically—and this is the really dangerous part—you might feel alright for awhile after this, which leads to many patients being discharged from hospitals, sometimes with fatal results. The pain comes back, along with jaundice, convulsions, coma, and death. The liver and kidneys—necessary organs to your continued existence—fail. Recovery can take place in one to two weeks, but you never really get over it.

Fly agaric

While a fly agaric mushroom probably won’t kill you, it will make you very confused. (Paweł Kubicki on Unsplash/)

This is the one you see in fairytale books with a bright red cap and white spots. The “fly” part derives from the fact that people used to put these in milk as a way to trap and kill flies. This one has ibotenic acid and muscimol, which act on the central nervous system.

What happens if you eat one?

Eat one of these and you may be in for a wild ride that includes delirium, manic behavior, delusions, and convulsions. You may feel drunk and perceive small objects as very large. The symptoms appear in as little as 30 minutes and last up to 4 hours. The only treatment is moral support, since anything else may worsen the reaction. Reassure the victim that the poisoning is merely temporary.

False morel

Morel foragers should pay special attention to the <i>Gyromitra esculenta</i> or false morel. (Alexander Romanov/Alamy/)

This mushroom looks like the human brain, not a morel. And yet it’s commonly mistaken for a morel. It can be fatal if eaten raw but is a particular delicacy in parts of Scandinavia and Eastern Europe when properly cooked. The culprit here is gyromitrin and MMH, which is produced when the mushroom is partially heated. MMH is also used as a propellant for rockets and is not a good thing to ingest.

What happens if you eat one?

Symptoms appear 7 to 10 hours after eating, at which point nausea and vomiting set in, followed by abdominal pain and diarrhea. In severe cases, you die from liver damage.

Autumn skullcap

Confusing an autumn skullcap with an edible mushroom can be a deadly mistake. (Peter Pearsall/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/)

As a rule of thumb, avoid anything with “skullcap” in the name. These grow worldwide, from the Arctic to Australia, on dead wood. They may be confused with some edible mushrooms, such as honey fungus.

What happens if you eat one?

The toxic agent here is the same amanitin found in the death cap. Hold onto your liver.

Alcohol inky

On its own, the alcohol inky isn’t harmful. But if you drink alcohol with it, you’ll start to feel the effects. (Miriam Heppell/Alamy/)

The alcohol inky—a wonderful name for a mushroom—is a member of the inky cap family, several of which have a great distinction. They’re fine by themselves and absolute living hell if you have booze with them. This is because they contain coprine, an amino acid that interacts with alcohol.

What happens if you eat one?

Strictly speaking, coprine is not poisonous. What it does, however, when taken with alcohol, is exacerbate the worst symptoms of alcohol intoxication. These include flushing of the face and neck, headache, and sometimes nausea. Further, it leaves your body susceptible to alcohol poisoning. In other words, you could eat an alcohol inky cap without booze, be fine, have a drink a few days afterward, and get seriously sick. The reaction starts between 30 minutes to two hours after eating. Your pulse speeds up, you get flushed, have a headache, feel weak and dizzy, then barf. Fortunately, recovery takes place spontaneously a few hours later.

Deadly webcap

The deadly webcap can cause irreversible kidney failure, requiring victims to get a transplant or go on dialysis. (Universal Images Group North America LLC/DeAgostini/Alamy/)

Deadly webcap is a good name for this one, which is native to North America and Europe and is especially fond of subalpine forests in, for example, Mount Rainier National Park.

What happens if you eat one?

If you’re a fan of kidney or liver failure, this is the way to go. It wasn’t known to be dangerous until 1972, when four people in Finland ate it, two of whom experienced “permanent” kidney failure. Seven years later, three people in Scotland mistook it for a chanterelle. Two of them required liver transplants. Nicholas Evans, who wrote The Horse Whisperer, his wife, and two family members were poisoned in 2008 when they mistook deadly webcap for ceps, an edible mushroom. All four victims eventually received kidney transplants, including his wife, who had only eaten three mouthfuls.

Ergot or spurred rye

It’s a parasite, so doubly dangerous. (Wildlife GMBH/Alamy/)

This fungus is a parasite that grows on rye and other grasses. People never willingly eat it but rather eat bread made with infected grain. In a 1976 article in Science Magazine, author, LR Caporael theorized that an outbreak of ergotism caused by Claviceps purpurea may have been the cause of the strange behavior that led to the execution of 20 men and women in the 1692 Salem witch trials. Those accused of witchcraft all had similar symptoms, including manic melancholia, psychosis, and delirium. Further, the author notes a weather period at the time that would have been conducive to the production of a lot of ergot on rye grown in the area’s lowlands.

What happens if you eat one?

It doesn’t hurt rye much, but it can do a number on humans, leading to cramps, spasms, diarrhea, hallucinations, and gangrene. Historically, the fungus has been implicated in epidemics that caused thousands of fatalities. In 1951, in a small town in France, people who bought bread from the local bakery developed burning sensations in their limbs, began to hallucinate that they could fly, and one boy even tried to strangle his mother. Although it was never proven, spurred rye is thought to have been the cause.

New post published on: https://www.livescience.tech/2020/03/12/from-the-death-cap-to-the-alcohol-inky-seven-poisonous-mushrooms-you-definitely-dont-want-to-eat/

[yeskraim]

Thousands of Denisovan tools reveal their Stone Age technologies

Humans 26 February 2020

By Colin Barras

Denisova cave in the Altai mountains in Siberia has layers of Stone Age tools

Zoonar GmbH/Alamy

Excavations at the Denisova cave in Siberia have uncovered almost 80,000 stone artefacts that extinct humans left over a 150,000-year period. Collectively, they seem to show how technology developed by Denisovans evolved through the Stone Age, culminating with the production of spectacular bracelets, beads and tiaras about 50,000 years ago.

Denisova cave lies in a river valley within the Altai Mountains, a few hundred kilometres from the Russian border with Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China. Ancient human remains in the cave …

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More Photos at https://uploadbeta.com „A-Teppich“ des Bildhauers Fritz Kühn, Eingangsportal der Berliner Stadtbibliothek. Zum Bundesweiten Vorlesetag (© Zoonar GmbH/Alamy https://t.co/oo1coaSjZM

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Black-and-white striped skunks are the most well-known, but they have some adorable stinky cousins.

(Photo: GlobalP/iStockPhoto)

5 types of cute skunks you didn't know existed

They all stink, but there's much more to the skunk world than just the black-and-white stripes of Pepé Le Pew.

JAYMI HEIMBUCH - Mother Nature Network

May 30, 2017

Striped skunks are perhaps the most familiar species in North America.

(Photo: Bildagentur Zoonar GmbH/Shutterstock)

Spotted skunks have a particularly beautiful coat pattern.

(Photo: Action Sports Photography/Shutterstock)

Hooded skunks have a 'hood' of white fur on their heads and down their necks.

(Photo: Dmitrij Rodionov, DR/Wikimedia Commons)

Hog-nosed skunks have bare noses from all the rooting around they do when hunting for food to eat.

(Photo: Patagonian Stock AE/Shutterstock)

Stink badgers were only recently classified as part of the skunk family.

(Photo: nicoolay/iStockPhoto)