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In a test kitchen in a corner building in downtown Pasadena, Flippy the robot grabbed a fryer basket full of chicken fingers, plunged it into hot oil — its sensors told it exactly how hot — then lifted, drained and dumped maximally tender tenders into a waiting hopper. A few feet away, another Flippy eyed a beef patty sizzling on a griddle. With its camera eyes feeding pixels to a machine vision brain, it waited until the beef hit the right shade of brown, then smoothly slipped its spatula hand under the burger and plopped it onto a tray. The...

A Dallas-based pest exterminator tells WFAA that he treats up to 10 rideshare vehicles per week for bed bugs, a mode of transportation that thousands turn to weekly to get around the metro. For Don Brooks, owner of Doffdon Pest Control, bed bugs are his life. He travels daily around the metro to rid the nuisance insects (that multiply fast) from both homes and vehicles. Brooks told WFAA that he's seeing more and more rideshare drivers. "I probably do five to 10 rideshare cars per week," Brooks said. "Drivers either see bed bugs, someone complained, or they were suspicious of...

African turquoise killifish can put themselves into a state of suspended animation as an embryo, a process known as diapause African turquoise killifish can put themselves into a state of suspended animation as an embryo (Image: MDI Biological Laboratory) ===================================================================== A fish that can halt the process of ageing and survive out of water for years could help humans track down the fountain of youth, researchers have claimed. African turquoise killifish can put themselves into a state of suspended animation as an embryo, a characteristic known as diapause. The trend is thought to have emerged in response to seasonal changes...

The idea that animals can experience love was once anathema to the psychologists who studied them, seen as a case of putting sentimentality before scientific rigor. But a new book argues that, when it comes to dogs, the word is necessary to understanding what has made the relationship between humans and our best friends one of the most significant interspecies partnerships in history. Clive Wynne, founder the Canine Science Collaboratory at Arizona State University, makes the case in "Dog is Love: Why and How Your Dog Loves You." The animal psychologist, 59, began studying dogs in the early 2000s, and,...

A historic desert locust infestation in East Africa could cause the next major famine as people in the region are already struggling with hunger after droughts were followed by cyclone flooding, one of the world’s leading evangelical charities has warned. A growing spread of city-sized swarms of locusts has reached seven East African countries in recent months. The invasion has been described as something similar to an account from the book of Exodus as the grasshoppers have torn through crops, grass and other green vegetation. Experts say the crisis might be the result of exceptionally wet weather from rare cyclones...

In the middle of the night past I felt a burning sensation traveling up my esophagus. This was followed by fits of coughing and sweats. I had eaten something that had gone rancid, probably either peanut butter, canned peanuts or cooking oil. Previous nights recently I had the same problem, which I believe came from cookies. My attack last night lasted about two hours instead of a more typical thirty minutes. I tried to deal with it by spitting out whatever I could, which was mainly mucus. In the past, things like spaghetti sauce, tortilla and potato chips have given...

Gee, I wonder why the Robinsons are having a problem hitting their goals on their FReepathons.

Whoopi Goldberg and her business partner Maya Elisabeth are shuttering their cannabis brand, Whoopi & Maya, after four years. And we’re told it all went up in smoke because of a rift between the pair. Board member and High Times veteran Rick Cusick told us, “In the last few months, Whoopi and Maya wanted a divorce, and the board had worked very hard to try and come up with some proposals … but we couldn’t get both principals to agree.” He said the board thought they had found a “win-win” solution to “preserve the company,” but that Goldberg then sent...

Dog detectives might be able to help save ailing citrus groves, research published Monday suggests. Scientists trained dogs to sniff out a crop disease called citrus greening that has hit orange, lemon and grapefruit orchards in Florida, California and Texas. The dogs can detect it weeks to years before it shows up on tree leaves and roots, the researchers report. Advertisement “This technology is thousands of years old – the dog’s nose,” said Timothy Gottwald, a researcher with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a co-author of the study. “We’ve just trained dogs to hunt new prey: the bacteria that...

Bay Area wineries are relying on specialized dogs to sniff out wine contaminated with cork taint. Don Ford reports. Video at site.

Suffolk Owl Sanctuary Yesterday at 12:00 AM · This soggy little owl was found in a ditch a few weeks ago. Usually in these instances we assume injury of sorts that is preventing the owl from flying - occasionally becoming wet causes them to become grounded too - so you can imagine our surprise that when we examined her, we found her to simply be extremely obese! Upon weighing her, she was a rather chunky 245g (which is roughly a third heaver than a large healthy female little owl) and she was unable to fly effectively due to the fatty...

The first people who contracted the deadly new coronavirus sweeping through Asia were infected when the virus jumped from animals to humans, and a new report points to the original animal source: bats. Scientists from the Wuhan Institute for Virology — located in China’s epicenter of the outbreak, now under quarantine — published a paper Thursday that confirmed the fast-spreading virus is in the same family as the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus that hit Asia in 2003 and killed almost 800 people, and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Based on oral swabs, anal swabs, and blood collected from...

The Trump administration lifted federal protections Thursday for some of the nation’s millions of miles of streams, arroyos and wetlands, completing one of its most far-reaching environmental rollbacks. The changes will scale back which waterways qualify for protection against pollution and development under the half-century-old Clean Water Act. President Donald Trump has made a priority of the rollback of clean-water protections from his first weeks in office. Trump says he is targeting federal rules and regulations that impose unnecessary burdens on businesses.

A hemp field near Fresno, Calif., is marked with a no trespassing sign that indicates the plant growing here is hemp, not marijuana. Photo courtesy of Fresno County Sheriff's Office =================================================================== EVANSVILLE, Ind., Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Across the country, newly legal hemp plants are being mistaken for their close cousin, marijuana. And they're attracting thieves. "They thought they stumbled upon the field of dreams," said Ashleigh Baldwin, a hemp grower in Coopersburg, Pa., who experienced two people stealing hemp from her fields last summer. "It really does look, smell and feel a lot like marijuana." While a hemp is...

A review of lawsuits on livestock grazing  Hammond grazing permits On December 20 of 2019, federal judge Michael H. Simon revoked the grazing permit for Hammond Ranches Inc., finding that former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s order renewing it earlier this year was an “abuse of discretion.'' Background: The Hammonds had 4 different grazing permits on BLM lands. In June of 2012 Steve and Dwight Hammond were convicted of intentionally setting fires on BLM land. On Oct. 30, 2012 federal judge Michael. H. Hogan sentenced Steve Hammond to 12 months and one day of imprisonment and 3 years of supervised...

Wisconsin lost 818 dairies in 2019 as farmers across the country suffer from Donald Trump's trade war with China. The state of Wisconsin, famous for its cheese, lost 10% of its dairy farms in 2019, Dairy Herd Management reported on Thursday. The loss of 818 dairies was the largest decline in Wisconsin history. Trouble for dairy farmers started in 2018, when Donald Trump engaged in a protracted trade war with China. In retaliation for increased tariffs from the United States, China placed tariffs on a number of U.S. agricultural exports. As a result, exports of U.S. dairy to China dropped...

Once you age an Old Fashioned or martini for 60 days, you’ll never go back.... __________________________________________________________________________________________________ If you want a truly exceptional cocktail at home, you might need some patience. How does 2-3 months sound? If you’re barrel-aging your cocktails, the extra time might be worth it. You’ve probably seen (or ordered) a barrel-aged drink at one of your city’s finer cocktail establishments. These aren’t just drinks thrown into the same casks that will up a distillery’s warehouse; these are tinier, often countertop-sized vessels that can imbue your drinks with a unique character. “In a barrel, the cocktail tends to...

Some plants emit a high frequency distress sound when they are placed under environmental stress, a team of researchers at Tel Aviv University in Israel has found. The team, led by Itzhak Khait, examined the sounds emitted by tomato and tobacco plants when stressed by insufficient water or when their stems are cut. Microphones recorded ultrasonic sounds between 20 and 100 kilohertz emitted by the plants in both cases, the study found. The sounds emitted by the stressed plants are at frequencies unable to be heard by humans, however the team of scientists believes “some organisms” can hear the sounds...

Jan. 6 (UPI) -- A trio of escaped pigs wandered into a supermarket in Russia and were caught on camera raiding the liquor aisle. A video taken at the store in Tyumen, Siberia, shows the three pigs perusing the liquor aisle and knocking over bottles of cognac, which they then proceeded to lap up off the floor. Witnesses said the three pigs were found to have escaped from a nearby home. The pigs were returned to their owner unharmed. VIDEO AT LINK................

HERSHEY, Pa. (WJW) — Santa's reindeer have been cleared for takeoff! Pennsylvania's Secretary of Agriculture, Russell Redding, and State Veterinarian, Dr. Kevin Brightbill, met with Santa Claus and his nine reindeer at Hersheypark Christmas Candylane on Thursday to announce that they've received a clean bill of health and can fly on December 24. The reindeer, answering to the names of Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, Blitzen, and Rudolph received clearance to fly from Alaska’s state veterinarian. “Not everyone knows what takes place behind the scenes to allow Santa and his nine reindeer to take flight on Christmas Eve,”...