1. Biomimicry: Turning to nature for technological solutions

Nature is full of technologies, if you think of technologies as just tools for living. Take the frog tongue: to catch a glimpse of a frog’s tongue in action, you have to be pretty sharp, or determined – both of which might describe Alexis Noel, a doctoral student at Georgia Tech University.

“The frog tongue is incredibly fast. It can reach accelerations up to 12 times the acceleration of gravity,” said Noel. “To put that into perspective, astronauts going up into space experience two to three times the acceleration of gravity.

“So, you can imagine these extreme accelerations that are happening to the insect as it’s being yanked back into the mouth. And yet, this adhesive on the tongue is still able to maintain the grip.”

“So, we started asking these questions, like, how is this frog tongue so fast and so sticky, and how does it catch these insects in the blink of an eye? Being a mechanical engineer and dabbling in fluid mechanics, I thought, ‘Oh, this is a really interesting adhesive question.'”

Noel hopes that understanding the mechanics of frog saliva could lead to the development of futuristic adhesives. And if that seems far-fetched, then welcome to the world of biomimicry, where scientists look to nature for innovations.

But the most ubiquitous biologically-inspired innovation of all might be in your closet. In 1941, Swiss engineer George de Mestral went for a hike in the Alps and noticed the way burrs adhered to his clothing. Today, the hook-and-loop fastening system most of us call velcro is used in thousands of products.

Source: www.cbsnews.com

2.

NY Dems allow $27M in tuition for illegal immigrants, deny the same for Gold Star families

Democrats in the New York state Assembly recently voted down a bill that would have allowed hundreds of thousands of dollars in college tuition aid to family members of Gold Star families after passing a measure earlier last week to give $27 million in the same benefits to illegal immigrants.

“We set aside $27 million dollars for college for people that are here illegally … Apparently, $2.7 million is all that the families of soldiers who are killed, get. If you’re a child of a fallen soldier, you do not rank as high and you know that by the money,” said State Sen. Robert Ortt, a Republican from Niagara, on Thursday.

The bill proposed would have expanded a program that currently serves 145 students, who are relatives or dependents of military members served in combat zones. The bill would have expanded the program by allocating more funds for those military families that qualify.

Gov, Andrew Cuomo weighed in Wednesday saying he supported the bill his fellow Democrats blocked in the Assembly in a 15-11 committee vote.

The Assembly’s Higher Education Committee voted 15 to 11 to hold the bipartisan bill, effectively ending its chances of making it to a floor vote this session.

The move comes a week after lawmakers passed a $175 billion state budget that included $27 million to provide college tuition aid for undocumented immigrants.

Some Central New York lawmakers said it was outrageous to block a bill that would likely cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to help children of military members who died for their country.

Source: www.washingtonexaminer.com

3. USA: MOTHER GIVES BIRTH TO 17 BABIES AT ONCE!

Indianapolis, An American woman has totally annihilated the former World Record for the most babies in a lone pregnancy by giving birth to seventeen babies over 29 hours last weekend at the Indianapolis Memorial Hospital.

“It was incredible” explains Dr. Jack Morrow who assisted the woman through the whole operation.

“The babies kept coming and coming and coming and coming… Man! I think I’m going to have nightmares about this day for a long time! This was my last delivery for a very long time. I am taking a vacation!” he added, laughingly.

Catherine Bridges and her husband had been trying to have a child for many years and had decided last year to use medical assistance from a fertility clinic in Rhodes Island.

The insemination process was definitely successful, as the couple got an entire litter of seventeen beautiful and identical boys.

The couple has already chosen the names for the boys with an obvious continuity of thought: James, Jacob, Jarod, Jarvis, Jason, Jeffrey, Jeremy, Jerome, Jesse, Jimmy, Joachim, Jonathan, Jonas, Joseph, Julian, Jimbo and surprisingly, Darth.

Source: worldnewsdailyreport.com

4.

ICE Agents Hurl Pregnant Immigrant Over Mexican Border to Prevent Birth on U.S. Soil

Source: The Onion

5. Is This a Weasel Riding a Woodpecker?

Amateur photographer Martin Le-May, from Essex, has recorded the extraordinary image of a weasel riding on the back of a green woodpecker as it flies through the air.

The photograph was taken at Hornchurch Country Park in east London on Monday afternoon.

Speaking to BBC News, Mr Le-May said he had managed to capture the moment while he was out walking with his wife Ann.

He said: “I heard a distressed squawking noise and feared the worst. I soon realised it was a woodpecker with some kind of small mammal on its back. I think we may have distracted the weasel as when the woodpecker landed it managed to escape and the weasel ran into the grass.”

Wildlife presenter Steve Backshall agrees that while highly unusual it is not totally unheard of and has “no reason to doubt” the photo.

He compared the woodpecker to other animals like leaf cutter ants and rhino beetles, which can carry 850 times their body weight.

He said: “The weasel is pretty fascinating as well. It can kill things much bigger than itself, so it’s an impressive little creature when you think about its size.”

Source: BBC News

6. Hurricane Harvey Pictures

Images were circulated on social media in the wake of a storm that brought catastrophic flooding to the streets of Houston.

Source: Facebook