Few predators swallow their prey whole. Even fewer can digest their meals with bones and all. But for some reptiles like the Burmese python (Python bivittatus), calcium-rich skeletons aren’t a digestive concern—they’re a necessity.

Herpetologists have spent years trying to understand how bones are not only safe and healthy for the serpents, but how their biology manages to regulate when and how many bones to digest. Now, researchers believe they have identified an explanation hidden inside the “crypts” of specialized cells. Their findings are published this week in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

A team co-led by zoologist Jehan-Hervé Lignot at France’s University of Montpellier began peering inside Burmese python intestines using light and electron microscopy in an effort to better understand their dietary cycle of fasting and feeding. Lignot soon spotted tiny, unidentified objects along the snake’s intestinal lining, or epithelium.

“When I started analysing the ‘spheroids’ I initially thought it could be some bone fragments. But this rapidly proved to be wrong,” Lignot told Popular Science. “And, then, came the hypothesis that the particles could be produced by the intestine and by a specific cell type.”

A subsequent morphological analysis proved the theory correct: the spheroids were being produced from calcium, iron, and phosphorus within a newly identified type of cell. Specifically, the particles resided in what Lignot described as a “crypt” inside these narrow, specialized cells—but it wasn’t initially clear what these cells were programmed to do.

To find out, researchers studied the pythons’ intestinal cells after feeding them three different diets—a standard fare of whole rodents, a low-calcium variant of “boneless prey,” and a version that featured boneless rodents with higher-than-normal injections of calcium.

Pythons subsequently lacked the same calcium- and phosphorus-heavy particles when only fed boneless food. But when either snacking on regular bone-in rodents or a calcium-rich diet, snake cell crypts featured plenty of calcium, phosphorus, and iron spheroids. Additionally, those pythons’ droppings contained no bone fragments, showing that they had been dissolved entirely.

Lignot noted that while experts have previously located similar particles in insects and crustaceans, his team is the first to see something similar in vertebrates. Since then, he and his collaborators have also identified the bone-digesting cell in multiple other python and boa species, as well as the venomous Gila monster.

As for how many bones an average python in the wild can digest, Lignot isn’t quite sure—but he did offer a quick estimate.

“[It’s a] tough question… snakes can grab a prey that can be more than 30 percent of [its] body mass,” he said. “If we consider, as in humans, that our bones represent about 9-10 percent of our body weight, you can therefore have a significant amount of ions coming from the prey’s skeleton that is completely dissolved in the stomach.”

While Lignot has since moved on to other research areas, he hopes other investigators continue to search for the newly pinpointed cell type in other vertebrates.

“An evolutionary analysis would be awesome,” he said.

The post Pythons can devour bones thanks to unique stomach cells appeared first on Popular Science.

• Weather - The buttons at the bottom of the app are much darker than before, and the search button is no longer translucent.


• Camera - No noticeable change.


• FaceTime - No noticeable change.


• Messages - The search bar isn't as translucent, nor is the message compose bar. Popover buttons haven't changed.


• Maps - Maps is actually more translucent, because it's using Liquid Glass for the turn-by-turn directions that are shown at the top of the app.


• Mail - Buttons have less translucency.


• Notes - The buttons and navigation bar in the Notes app already had little translucency, but it's been reduced further and is almost non-existent.


• Reminders - When you're composing a Reminder, the toolbar has less translucency. The search bar and popover menus are the same.


• Clock - No change.


• Health - The Health app's navigation bar and search bar are a little less transparent, but it was already fairly opaque.


• Wallet - Buttons aren't as transparent, so if you scroll over something with bright colors, it's no longer visible behind the button.


• Settings - The Search bar is more opaque.


• Find My - No change.


• Stocks - The translucency of Top Stories is unchanged, but the search bar has increased opacity.


• Home - Less opacity overall for navigation bar and home control buttons.


• Books - Navigation menus and search have less translucency.


• Fitness - Little change because the app uses a darker background, but the buttons are a touch darker than before.


• Contacts - Less translucency for search.


• Files - Less translucency for navigation bar and search.


• Translate - No change.


• Shortcuts - Less translucency for navigation bar. Keyboard translucency remains the same.


• Calculator - History interface is more opaque.


• Voice Memos - No change.


• Compass - No change.


• Passwords - Navigation bar and search interface lost translucency.


• Games - Navigation bar is darker and less translucent.


• Preview - No change.

There’s a thunderstorm happening right now as I write this, and it might knock my power out. That’s OK, though, because I can keep on covering Prime Day with help from my portable power station. Right now, Jackery solar generators and portable power stations are at least $50 cheaper than their lowest prices this year if you’re a Prime member. Remember, if you don’t have an active Prime subscription, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial here.

Jackery

This is a full-on solar generator setup complete with a solar panel for off-grid charging. The portable power station weighs just 7.7 pounds and fits easily into a typical car trunk. That makes it great for both camping and at-home emergency situations. For connectivity, it offers an AC outlet, a pair of USB-C ports, a USB-A port, and a 12V DC port. It can charge a high-end cellphone up to 20 times or keep WiFi running for up to 14 hours on a charge.

Jackery

At $399, this is $50 cheaper than I have ever seen the Jackery Explorer 1000 portable power station. This is a more substantial option than the one above, packing a 1,070Wh capacity. That’s enough juice to charge a phone up to 74 times and even power high-draw devices like heated blankets and even electric grills.

Jackery

This is our pick as the best overall solar generator and for good reason. It’s basically a larger version of the Explorer 1000. This has enough capacity inside to run full-sized appliances. It will keep your fridge running for up to 72 hours in the case of a blackout, which could save you a ton of money in the long run.

• Jackery Solar Generator 3000 PRO 400W, 3024Wh Power Station with 2x200W Solar Panels $1,999 (was $3,999)
• Jackery Solar Generator 4000 Kit, Explorer 2000 Plus and 1X PackPlus E2000 Plus Expandable Battery with 2X200W Solar Panel $2,500 (was $5,000)
• Jackery Solar Generator 1000 v2 with 100W Solar Panel,1070Wh $599 (was $1,049)
• Jackery HomePower 3000 Portable Power Station with 2x 200W Solar Panels $1,999 (was $2,999)
• Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 Power Station and 2 * 100W Solar Panels $1,199 (was $2,099)
• Jackery Solar Generator 5000 Plus Portable Power Station with 500W Solar Panels and Manual Transfer Switch $3,999 (was $5,798)
• Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus, 2* E2000 Plus, Solar Generator with 4085Wh LiFePO4 Battery $2,629 (was $3,799)

The post These Prime Day deals on Jackery solar generators are better than Black Friday appeared first on Popular Science.

Parking rates in downtown Portland are going up as the city attempts to fill a budget gap and raise revenue for street maintenance and repair. The 20 percent hike in parking rates is expected to bring in roughly $4.1 million per year, reports Asa Gartrell for Willamette Week.

According to an article by Asa Gartrell in Willamette Week, “After the recent failure of a massive transportation funding bill in the Oregon Legislature, the city says parking fees are more important than ever.” The city is also expanding paid parking hours from 7pm to 10pm, a change that will be rolled out district by district. A PBOT spokesperson said “increasing parking fees is also critical after the bureau drained much of its reserve funding during the pandemic, when people weren’t regularly parking in paid spaces.”

• Portland
• Parking
• Parking Fees
• Street Maintenance
• Road maintenance
• Transportation Funding

iPhone 17 Air Black looks so good pic.twitter.com/ovOTNUKEg6

Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown revealed a package of proposals aimed at improving housing affordability, reports Emry Dinman for The Spokesman-Review.

Spokane's population is expected to grow by more than 23,000 people between 2020 and 2046, requiring over 13,000 homes to accommodate population growth — but it also needs to build another 9,000 homes in that time to address homelessness and overpriced housing created by historic underproduction, according to city and state projections.

Brown’s proposals include deferring permitting fees for affordable housing projects, waiving up to 75 percent of General Facilities Charges for affordable housing, and reforming the city’s affordable housing fund to make funding more flexible. “The mayor also committed to simplify and update city code related to housing development, a process in which she hopes interested community members will take part over the next year.”

• Spokane
• Affordable Housing
• Housing Costs
• Development Incentives

• Pause Audio for Sleep: If you're listening to music, a podcast, or a book while you're in bed and you're wearing AirPods, the AirPods will pause your audio when you fall asleep. (Settings ➝ [Your Name]'s AirPods ➝ Pause Media When Falling Asleep.)


• Camera Remote: AirPods can be used as a camera remote with the Camera app on ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌. Just press and hold on the AirPods stem to take a photo or start a video recording. (Settings ➝ [Your Name]'s AirPods ➝ Camera Remote.)


• Keep Audio in Headphones: When you use AirPods, you can opt to keep audio in your headphones when other playback devices like cars and speakers connect to the ‌iPhone‌. (Settings ➝ General ➝ AirPlay & Continuity ➝ Keep Audio with Headphones.)


• Improved Call Quality: The H2 chip in the ‌AirPods 4‌ and ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 brings more natural vocal texture and clarity to voice recordings, ‌iPhone‌ calls, FaceTime calls, and all CallKit-enabled apps like Zoom. (No change in Settings necessary.)

1. Connect your AirPods to your iPhone or iPad, then open Settings ➝ [Your Name]'s AirPods.


2. Swipe to the bottom of the menu and tap AirPods Beta Updates.
   
   
3. Toggle on the switch next to AirPods Beta Updates to the green ON position.
   

Johnston Atoll, an unincorporated US territory and Pacific island wildlife refuge with a complicated military history, is no longer slated to become a SpaceX reusable rocket test site. The Department of the Air Force’s confirmation, first provided to Stars and Stripes, came ahead of a planned environment assessment and amid mounting pressure from conservationists. Despite a nearly century-long background that includes nuclear and chemical weapons testing and storage, the atoll remains a home for 14 tropical bird species as part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.

“The Department of the Air Force has elected to hold the preparation of the Johnston Atoll Environmental Assessment for a proposed rocket cargo landing demonstration on Johnston Atoll in abeyance while the service explores alternative options for implementation,” Air Force spokesperson Laurel Falls said in the email.

Johnston Atoll has served as a base for numerous US military operations for over 90 years. Located roughly 860 miles southwest of Hawai’i, the island hosted an airfield during World War II before operating as a launch site for atmospheric nuclear tests during the 1950s and 1960s, some of which resulted in plutonium contamination at the atoll. The US government then requisitioned the area for chemical weapons experiments with similar consequences before ultimately cordoning it as a remote storage depot for the same deadly biological agents.

In the years since, increasing public pressure resulted in extensive efforts to decontaminate and restore the one-square-mile island. Now, the US oversees Johnston Atoll similarly to its pre-military days, when it originally functioned as the Johnston Island Reservation.

Those decades of progress appeared in jeopardy earlier this year. In March, the Air Force first announced intentions to once again requisition the unincorporated US territory, this time for its Research Laboratory’s Rocket Cargo Vanguard Program. The US Space Force-affiliated endeavor aims to establish a system to deliver as much as 100 tons of cargo to anywhere on Earth in less than 90 minutes.

“In the event of conflict or humanitarian crisis, the Space Force will be able to provide our national leadership with an independent option to achieve strategic objectives from space,” Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay ” Raymond said during the program’s announcement.

The project will require reliable, reusable commercial rockets to work. While not explicitly named, the current state of the private space industry and Department of Defense contracts strongly leaned towards SpaceX’s involvement. Elon Musk’s company remains the US government’s primary contractor for reusable rocketry, despite multiple recent setbacks and political firestorms.

The Johnston Atoll plans included the construction of two landing pads that were met with public backlash from wildlife experts and indigenous representatives, including a Change.org petition organized by the Pacific Islands Heritage Coalition to halt the project.

“In a time when our Earth is rapidly changing, we must commit to its restoration and healing,” PIHC chair and native Hawai’ian elder Solomon Kahoʻohalahala said at the time. “The proposal by the Air Force to construct landing pads and test massive rocket cargo operations at Kalama [Johnston Atoll] only continues decades of harm and abuse to a place that is culturally and biologically tied to us as Pacific people.”

The Air Force responded with assurances of a full environmental review before any rocket tests would ever begin. By June, the blowback grew to include a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, which cited a failure to release public records on the rocket program plans.

SpaceX is no stranger to environmental complaints. Last year, an expose revealed a trove of internal communications and documents indicating the company had violated the EPA’s Clean Water Act for years by dumping wastewater from its Starship base near Boca Chica, Texas. The SpaceX facility is also located adjacent to protected wildlife lands that are also considered sacred by local indigenous communities. Later investigations indicate launches from Starship—currently the world’s most powerful rocket system—are so powerful that they may even kill nearby wildlife, including endangered birds.

The Air Force said as part of last week’s update that it now plans to consider alternative sites, which previously included Midway Island, Wake Island, and Kwajalein Atoll. It’s unclear if Johnston Atoll will reenter the equation.

“A notification will be published via [the] Federal Register if the DAF decides to restart the action or ultimately cancel the Environmental Assessment,” the Air Force said in last week’s announcement.

In a statement provided to Popular Science, PIHC director Sheila Sarhangi said the coalition is “pleased” with the latest news, calling the rocket cargo plans “destructive and short-sighted.”

“Kalama (Johnston Atoll) is culturally and biologically tied to Pacific people—and it’s already endured decades of abuse, including chemical and nuclear contamination from US military operations,” Sarhangi said. “This moment shows that collective advocacy works. We will continue to stand for the protection and healing of this special place.”

The post Pacific island wildlife refuge spared from SpaceX rocket project appeared first on Popular Science.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire struck down another proposed bike lane in his apparent war on bike and pedestrian infrastructure, reports Dominic Anthony Walsh for Houston Public Media.

As Walsh explains, “The 1.6-mile West Alabama Street reconstruction project stretches between Shepherd Drive and Spur 527, from Upper Kirby through Montrose to Midtown. It includes street repaving, drainage improvements, sidewalk expansion, street lighting and new traffic signals.” However, Whitmire rejected the proposed bike lane, which would have reduced the width of car lanes and potentially required the removal of old-growth shade trees.

“Marlene Gafrick, a planning advisor to Whitmire, said in a statement Thursday the new design concept ‘complies with the Mayor's Guiding Mobility Principles by maintaining the general purpose mobility lanes, providing for pedestrian safety with 5-6 foot wide sidewalks and safe pedestrian crossings.’” Gafrick added that cyclists can ride in traffic lanes or on sidewalks — a practice prohibited in Houston’s business districts.

• Houston
• Bike Infrastructure
• Bike Lanes
• Road Safety
• Complete Streets