Category Archives: Futurism

Arachnophobes beware!Air Attack

Arachnophobes beware!

According to the University of Georgia, giant spiders the size of your palm are set to parachute from the sky all over the Eastern United States this summer.

The massive blue, black, and yellow arachnids, called Joro spiders, are set to be all over power lines, in trees around town and even on your front porch come summer, according to the universitys statement.

And humans are likely at fault, because we accidentally imported the spiders as stowaways on shipping containers from Asia, the researchers suggest.Sorry, folks the giant spiders are your own damn fault!

While its an invasive species, theres a silver lining: scientists dont believe the critters impact local ecosystems much.

They also arent prone to bite humans unless provoked. Besides, their tiny fangs arent often long enough to break human skin.

People should try to learn to live with them, advised Andy Davis, corresponding author of a new study published in the journal Physiological Entomology, and research scientist at the University of Georgia, in the statement.

If theyre literally in your way, I can see taking a web down and moving them to the side, but theyre just going to be back next year, he added.

The Joro spider is a relative of the golden silk spider, which landed in the US from the tropics in the 1800s.

Using a sightings tracking app called iNaturalist, the team of researchers kept track of the spread of the species to find out if, like the golden silk spider, it was confined to the Southeast due to its vulnerability to colder temperatures.

According to their new study, however, the Joro spider can withstand even brief freezes and its metabolism keeps working in colder climates.

That means we should expect it to show up in much wider swathes of the country.

Just by looking at that, it looks like the Joros could probably survive throughout most of the Eastern Seaboard here, which is pretty sobering, Davis said in the statement.

READ MORE: Joro spiders likely to spread beyond Georgia [University of Georgia]

More on creepy crawlers: Scientists Create Horrifically Mutated Spider-Like Creatures

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Scientists Warn That a Giant Spider Is Spreading Across the United States - Futurism

People on Twitter are even turning it into a game of Bingo.Yoink

Law enforcement agencies around the world are seizing superyachts owned by Russian oligarchs and people on social media are watching with glee, The Washington Post reports.

Government sanctions are dialing up the pressure on obscenely rich Russian oligarchs. And while money can easily be hidden in offshore bank accounts, gigantic mega vessels are a lot harder to keep secret.

So now netizens are now watching in fascination as superyachts get seized by authorities worldwide, even turning it into a game of Bingo.

Thats because trackers like VesselFinder or MarineTraffic allow practically anybody with an internet connection to monitor the whereabouts of private jets and luxury yachts.

Even 19-year-old Jack Sweeney, that kid who was keeping track of Elon Musks every move, now has a Twitter account dedicated to snooping on Russian zillionaire yachts.

Amid Russias bloody invasion of Ukraine, governments are aiming their sights at the assets Russian elites and their family members hold in our respective jurisdictions their yachts, luxury apartments, money, and other ill-gotten gains, according to a March 3 White House statement.

The thinking goesthat if Russias ultra rich many of whom are members of president Vladimir Putins inner circle lose their precious toys, they might be more inclined to oppose the atrocities happening in Ukraine right now.

And yachts are indeed being picked off one by one. Just last week, French officials seized a massive $120 million superyacht owned by a Russian oil tsar.

Theyre powerful symbols of excessive wealth. For many, thats the reward for staying loyal to Putins regime.

No wonder people are entranced by watching the oligarchs get a much-needed reality check.

READ MORE: Schadenfreude at sea: The Internet is watching with glee as Russian oligarchs yachts are seized

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Russian Oligarchs' Superyachts Are Being Seized, and the Internet Is Loving It - Futurism

He says that SpaceX is reprioritizing on "cyber defense."Space Wars

Welp, Starship is delayed yet again.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted on Friday that there would be slight delays ahead for the companys experimental Mars-bound spacecraft. To blame, the billionaire said, was SpaceX having to dedicated more resources to fighting escalating cyber attacks on Starlink satellites by Russia after the space company sent Ukraine a shipment of its internet terminals.

Starships first launch has been delayed numerous times now, with much of it due to pending regulatory approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). However, this latest instance comes amidst a time of geopolitical turmoil caused by Russias invasion of Ukraine.

After being criticized for not helping the country, Musk sent a shipment of Starlink terminals to Ukraine, much to the chagrin of Moscow. The billionaire later tweeted that this would likely make SpaceX a target for Russian cyberattacks.

Some Starlink terminals near conflict areas were being jammed for several hours at a time, Musk posted on Saturday. Our latest software update bypasses the jamming.

It is slightly unclear why exactly a cyber attack or even anti-satellite attacks on Starlink would result in a delay of Starship. Is SpaceX pulling aerospace engineers to work on cybersecurity? Seems doubtful. In reality, it could just be a convenient excuse for Starships latest delay.

Still, with the head of Russias space agency continuing to post pro-Putin propaganda and remaining openly hostile to the US on Twitter, we might see the conflict impacting space exploration more than we would have previously thought.

More on Starship: NASA Descends Into Chaos as Moon Program Revealed to Be Way Behind, Over Budget

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Elon Musk Says SpaceX Is So Busy With Ukraine That It'll Delay Starship - Futurism

That doesn't look comfy. Wheely Annoying

NASAs Mars Rover, also called Perseverance, seems to have taken a stowaway on board to cart across the Red Planets surface.

On Friday, tech outlet CNETpublished a series of photos that show a medium-sized rock trapped in the rovers wheel. The outlet reported that space fans who enjoy reviewing the raw images the Rover messages back to Earth noticed the rock and voted several pictures of it as Image of the Week.

The first occurrence of the rock seems to have been February 6 and is available on NASAs Mars Rover photo gallery. The next shot NASA lovers noticed was taken on February 25. The rock seems to have eroded some in this photo and appears to be slightly smaller than in the first shot. The third and most recent shot was collected March 2. There appears to be a growing chip in the rock and small particles of Martian dust or the broken rock lie inside the rover wheel. The image below also comes from the official NASA website.

Despite the hitchhiker, the Mars Rover seems to be carrying on with business as usual. The rover is even breaking driving records, according to CNET. That may be partly due to Perseverances updated design, which CNET reports includes six wheels made from aluminum. It features cleats that give it traction on the rough, rocky and dusty terrain, and each wheel is just more than 20 inches in diameter.

Its good to hear Perseverance is, well, persevering, But we do feel a little bad about the trapped rock. Wouldnt you find it annoying if nobody was around to help you get a rock out of your shoe? Lets hope it falls out or breaks apart without causing problems.

More on space conflicts: Russia Releases Bizarre Video Of Space Station Breaking Apart

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There's a Rock Stuck in NASA's Mars Rover's Wheel - Futurism

"What the f**k is going on?"Crap App

Donald Trump is angry again. This time, itseems to be because no one seems to be using his glitchy Twitter wannabe, Truth Social.

After a fairly disastrous launch that included a massive waitlist for users along with a whole host of glitches, the former president is now allegedly mad at his team for the botched roll out. Sources told The Daily Beast that Trump has complained endlessly about it, and is looking to blame everyone but himself.

What the fuck is going on, Trump allegedly said on the phone referring to the app.

Despite an initial spike of two million daily visits when it first launched, the self-described Big Tent social media platform has since cratered in traffic. The Beast dug into the data behind the app and found that Truth Social is doing either worse or about the same as other middling MAGA-friendly platforms like Gab and Gettr.

Those who do end up using the app dont seem to be sticking around either. The news site found that the average user stays on the site for just 90 seconds a very short stretch compared to the seven minutes people spend on Getter and nine minutes they spend on Gab.

As with so much of Trumps problems, though, he really doesnt have anyone else to blame but himself. After all, he hasnt used the platform or posted a Truth a single time since launching the app. This is despite the fact that the world is arguably undergoing some of the biggest geopolitical turmoil its seen since World War II.

All in all, Truth Social is looking like a big dud. Weve seen better launches from SpaceX Starship prototypes and Trump only has himself to blame.

READ MORE: Donald Trump Cant Stop Whining About His Failing Social Media App [The Daily Beast]

More on Trump nonsense: Donald Trump Says Global Warming Is Good Because It Means More Seafront Property

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Donald Trump Reportedly Furious That Nobody's Using His Glitchy Twitter Clone - Futurism

"Soon millions of ordinary Russians will find themselves cut off from reliable information."Block for Block

Russias internet regulator Roskomnazor has announced that its officially blocking Facebook, in retaliation for the company blocking Russian state propaganda amid the countrys aggressive invasion of Ukraine.

The news is a worrying sign that the countrys authorities are starting to clamp down even further on the dissemination of information within its borders. It fits into a larger pattern, with antiwar demonstrators risking everything right nowas they march in the streets of Moscow where theyre being detained by the thousands.

The regulator claimed there were 26 case of discrimination against Russian media and information resources, as translated by TechCrunch, as its reasoning to clamp down on the largest social network in the world.

On February 24, Roskomnadzor sent requests to the administration of Meta Platforms, Inc. remove the restrictions imposed by the social network Facebook on Russian media and explain the reason for their introduction, the regulator wrote in in its announcement, claiming that Facebooks parent company Meta ignored its requests.

Last week, Nick Clegg, Metas VP of global affairs, wrote in a statement that Russian authorities ordered us to stop the independent fact-checking and labeling of content posted on Facebook by four Russian state-owned media organizations.

We refused, he said.

Today, Clegg expanded on the companys position in light of Russia decision to block the platform.

Soon millions of ordinary Russians will find themselves cut off from reliable information, deprived of their everyday ways of connecting with family and friends and silenced from speaking out, he said in a statement.

Its a serious crackdown on the spread of free information. And it might even backfire: by blocking Facebook, Roskomnazor is also cutting off one of the biggest facilitators of the spread of online misinformation and propaganda.

READ MORE: Russia says it will block Facebook, clamping down further on flow of information [TechCrunch]

More on the situation: NASA ISS Engineer Says Relationships With Russian Counterparts Still Cordial

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Russia Is Officially Blocking All Access to Facebook - Futurism

It's not quite that simple.Bubble Pop?

The NFT market is starting to cool down, Bloomberg reports. The average trading value of the nonfungible tokens has dropped precipitously lately, declining from a record $6,900 at the beginning of the year to under just $2,000, according to NFT tracker NonFungible.

The trend has only accelerated ever since Russia started the invasion of Ukraine, a great source of global uncertainty thats dealt a major blow to markets across the board.

Is this the last stop on the NFT gravy train? Theres certainly some evidence that the hype is really starting to cool down but the situation is more nuanced than that, with the number of unique traders getting into NFTs still on the rise.

Besides, as recent history has shown, the crypto world is full of surprises.

Global uncertainty and political unrest are likely contributing factors to the overall decline.

What I would say is the last week or so has seen a significant decline perhaps as much as 40 percent in floor prices for the most desirable NFTs, Bloomberg writer and crypto investor Aaron Brown told Bloomberg.

Some collectors are starting to cut their losses. One user sold a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT today for $224,000in a $67,800 loss, as Fortune points out.

Increased scrutiny from US regulators could also be contributing to the decline. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced this week that its investigating whether NFTs are securities and should therefore be regulated as such, according to a separate Bloomberg report.

Its also a jumble of mixed signals, as not every NFT marketplace is affected. Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs saw sales rocketing 59 percent over the last week, according to NFT data management website DappRadar. CryptoPunks were also up 118 percent.

Trading volumes are down in general, but the demand measured by the number of unique traders and sales count is increasing, Dapp Radar analyst Pedro Herrera told Bloomberg. So while were seeing less volume, theres more activity, even though Ukraines conflict is definitely driving away the attention from trading.

Its hard to say where the NFT market is headed next. And in the crypto world, it wouldnt be the first dip and subsequent rise.

READ MORE: NFT Mania Show Signs of Cooling as Average Price and Sales Decline [Bloomberg]

More on NFTs: Knockoff eBay NFTs Are Kind of Based, Actually

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Report: The NFT Bubble Could Be Starting to Burst - Futurism

Sorry to be crude, but it's important.Orbital Healing

The topic of sex in space has remained taboo ever since we ventured into the great unknown for the first time.

But scientists are now arguing that its something we should be actively discussing and studying, Mic reports. After all, if we ever want to become interplanetary or embark on extraordinarily long journeys through space we should know how to boink in microgravity, or if its even possible.

Hell, space tourists might want to know if sex could ever be part of their brief journey into orbit one day. Who knows: it could even be an amazing experience.

In a research article published in December, a team of Canadian academics argued we should be embracing space sexology as a new discipline of study.

To move forward, space organizations must stop avoiding sexual topics and fully recognize the importance of love, sex and intimate relationships in human life, the team wrote in an accompanying piece for The Conversation last year. We have what it takes to pave the way for an ethical and pleasurable space journey, as we continue to boldly go where no one has gone before.

Scientists have studied the effects of microgravity on the human body extensively. But getting it on in space is almost a complete blind spot.

NASA has been dismissive of the subject, undermining concerns over the effects low gravity environments on sexual health in the past, according to Mic.

There are a couple of reasons NASA has been so puritanical about sex in space. For one, sexual activity in space could jeopardize the harmony of a crew and thereby mission directives. Then theres pressure from conservative-leaning lawmakers.

No research has explored intimate relationships, nor the human experience of sexual functions and wellbeing, in space or space analogues, or how any of this can affect crew performance, Simon Dub, Concordia University psychologist and co-author of the research article, told Mic.

But fortunately, times are changing. While we still arent entirely sure if human reproduction and conception can even occur in microgravity, scientists are opening up to the idea.

Should a future need for more in-depth study on reproductive health in space be identified, NASA would take the appropriate steps, a NASA spokesperson told Mic.

READ MORE: Inside the Push to Study Sex in Space [Mic]

More on sex in space: We Need to Talk About Gay Sex in Space

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Scientists Say We Really Have to Talk About Boning in Space - Futurism

The price of oil is through the roof right now as Russias invasion of Ukraine continues to send ripples through the global supply chain.

Its a telling moment, considering that much of the world has been nominally working to end its reliance on fossil fuels but now, countries are now racing to secure oil supplies from elsewhere.

The Biden administration, for one, is doubling down, bragging that it has the United States producing a record amount of oil and gas.

US production of natural gas and oil is rising and approaching record levels, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Sunday. More natural gas than ever this year, more oil than ever next year, and, even with a global pandemic, more oil production this past year than during the previous administrations first year.

The context is that as the international community works to distance itself from Russia after the invasion, its now looking to lessen or end its reliance on Russian oil, which is proving predictably difficult.

In 2021, the US imported about eight percent of its oil supply from the Eastern European nation alone.

Prices soared this week, hitting $139 a barrel, following the US hinting at banning Russian oil and gas while importing more from other countries to make up the difference.

Over the weekend, senior US officials met with Venezuelan leaders, presumably with the hopes of securing oil imports, despite the severing of diplomatic ties in 2019 over Nicolas Maduros authoritarian rule.

Germany finds itself in even more of a predicament.

At the moment, Europes supply of energy for heat generation, mobility, power supply and industry cannot be secured in any other way, German chancellor Olaf Scholz said during a Monday announcement, noting that Russian imports are of essential importance.

In short, the Western world is still extremely reliant on Russian oil, which could back it into a corner as the violence continues in Ukraine.

But does it have to be this way? The answer to the United States woes is as evident as it has ever been: ending the reliance on fossil fuels once and for all, regardless of where its being imported from.

And in its defense, the Biden administration seems aware of that simple fact.

The only way to protect US over the long term is to become energy independent, Psaki wrote in her Sunday announcement. That is why the President is so focused on deploying clean energy technologies that dont require fossil fuels bought and sold on the global market, which will always be vulnerable to bad actors.

READ MORE: Europeans throw cold water on possibility of Russian energy ban [Axios]

More on oil: Elon Musk Says We Need More Nuclear Energy After Russia Targets Power Plants

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White House Brags That America Is Producing More Oil and Gas Than Ever - Futurism

Whether youre cooking a Thanksgiving turkey or smoking a freshly caught salmon, the difference between delicious and dismal all has to do with temperature. Meat thermometers are handy tools to help you hit the specific doneness of any main course. The problem is many of these tools are still stuck in the 20th century. MEATER Plus isnt just one of the most accurate ways to temp your food, its the smartest, and this quick review will detail its capabilities.

The most obvious upgrade is the complete absence of wires. MEATER Plus operates through Bluetooth, sending detailed temperature readouts directly to a companion app available on iOS and Android. Here are a few of the thermometers standout features.

A Thermometer with Range: MEATER Plus charging dock doubles as a built-in Bluetooth repeater that extends up to 165 feet, so you dont have to nurse your food while its cooking. The companion app has presets for beef, pork, chicken, and fish, along with videos showcasing recipes and techniques.

Handles the Heat: The MEATER Plus doesnt simply monitor the internal temperature of the food, but the temperature of the environment its cooking in. Despite the heavy tech inside the thermometer, it can handle ambient heat of up to 527 degrees Fahrenheit so its equally at home in an oven or on a white-hot charcoal grill. Its also well-suited for stovetops and smokers.

Seriously Smart: If youve ever used a meat thermometer, MEATER Plus will feel all too familiar. The difference here is that the more you use MEATER Plus, the more polished your cooking skills become. Its Guided Cooking System walks you through every step of the cooking process. Plus, the Advanced Estimator Algorithm will help you plan mealtimes, by gauging how long your piece of protein will take to cook to perfection. It even takes into account carryover cooking, because meat can still overcook while its resting. MEATER Plus alerts you to pluck your food from the heat so it reaches the perfect temperature while it nests on a carving board.

Unmatched Build Quality: If youre looking for weak wires and cheap plastic, look elsewhere. The MEATER Plus is made from durable stainless steel and heat-resistant ceramic. Its bamboo charging dock is magnetic, so it sticks conveniently to ovens, grills, and refrigerators. It also charges the thermometer up to 100 times on a single AAA battery.

Using the MEATER Plus leaves no guesswork or room for user error. Cooking a thick bone-in rib-eye steak was done easier than before, starting in a moderate oven and finishing it off on a hot skillet. MEATER Plus also comes with cloud capabilities and shares real-time cooking info to smart devices and internet browsers. It can even sync up to Amazon Alexa, and tap into tons of voice commands like steak update and when will my game hen be ready? These are welcome additions, but thankfully, many high-tech accouterments are totally optional. MEATER Plus is the best-selling Bluetooth meat thermometer, and its easy to see why.

Buy on Amazon

This post was created by a non-news editorial team at Recurrent Media, Futurisms owner. Futurism may receive a portion of sales on products linked within this post.

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Byte-Sized Review: MEATER Plus is the Ultimate Wireless Meat Thermometer - Futurism