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The New Species of Demon-Named Flower Feeds on Fungi Instead of SunlightIn A Nutshell Researchers in Thailand discovered a new flower species, Thismia daemona, named for its dark, horn-like, demon-inspired appearance. The plant has no chlorophyll and never needs sunlight, instead pulling nutrients from underground fungi. Fewer than 50 known individuals exist, all in a single patch of forest inside a national park popular with tourists. Scientists have preliminarily assessed the species as Critically Endangered under IUCN criteria. High in the mountain forests of western Thailand, researchers stumbled on a flower that looks like it belongs in a horror movie....

The MONTHLY Victory Garden Thread is a gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

It would probably be pretty alarming to learn that, in the early 1980s, scientists decided to drop off a bunch of gophers at the site of a volcanic eruption. But don’t worry, it’s not as bad as it sounds. In fact, according to a report from the University of California, this particular gopher-volcano encounter proved to be such a net positive that its effects are still being felt 43 years later. It starts with the eruption of Mount St. Helens in May of 1980. It was the most destructive volcanic event in American history, claiming 57 lives and causing staggering...

Summary Company Announcement Date: August 22, 2026 FDA Publish Date: August 22, 2026 Product Type: Food & Beverages Reason for Announcement: Potential to be contaminated with Salmonella and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) Company Name: Everything Sprouts, LLC Brand Name: Everything Sprouts, Calco Product Description: Alfalfa Sprouts Company Announcement Everything Sprouts, LLC, based in Minneapolis, MN is recalling certain lots of Alfalfa Sprouts because it has the potential to be contaminated with Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) or Salmonella bacteria. Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are organisms that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, elderly...

A voluntary recall of frozen organic blueberries has been elevated to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s most serious risk category after evidence linked the products to a potentially life-threatening bacterial contamination. According to a report from the Daily Mail, the FDA has reclassified the recall of GreenWise Organic frozen blueberries as Class I. That designation applies when there is a “reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to, a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.” The original recall was initiated last month by Chile-based Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur SA after testing detected a...

Madison Vegan Fest is returning in September, celebrating sustainable living and plant-based food. The free, family-friendly festival will be held at Lunney Lake Farm County Park from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 26. Dozens of exhibitors are expected, including food vendors offering vegan baked goods, beverages and savory dishes. Gluten-free options also will be available. Organizers expect more than 4,000 people to attend. The event welcomes both vegans and non-vegans. Madison Vegan Fest has been held in Madison since 2011.

Britain’s new farming minister fainted at the sight of meat as he toured a food processing plant, a report claims, as the country’s new left-wing Prime Minister tries to win over farmers the previous government relentlessly attacked. Stephen Morgan, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs — otherwise known as the ‘farming minister’ — a junior minister in the new Andy Burnham government is reported to have taken a queer turn when touring agricultural sites to help him familiarise himself with his new job. Britain’s best-selling newspaper The Sun cites a farmer familiar with...

My swath of cheery flowers brings joy to our home, plus is a boon for wildlife. Here’s what I’ve learned, and what I’d do differently next time.A few years ago, the view from my window was a bleak, dusty expanse. Now, there are fledgling sparrows romping in a wildflower meadow, where impossibly purple flax sways in the breeze alongside native grasses and splashes of orange poppies.And every year brings a surprising highlight. Once it was a blanket of delicate white baby’s breath. The next, tall evening primroses took over, with goldfinches resting in their towering spires of yellow flowers. The...

The Food and Drug Administration this week escalated a recall of 1.6 million cartons of eggs over potential salmonella contamination to its most serious classification. On Wednesday, the FDA designated the incident a "Class 1" recall, which the agency applies to product recalls "in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death." The eggs were first recalled on July 22 by North Manchester, Indiana-based Midwest Poultry Services because they could be contaminated with salmonella. The eggs were sold under various brand names at retailers...

BEAVER DAM, Wis. — Beaver Dam police are investigating after more than 30 vehicles were egged Tuesday night. Police said they identified and interviewed three people in connection with the vandalism. The three are cooperating with the investigation and are expected to receive several citations. Police ask anyone whose vehicle was egged to call the department at ***_***_****

Nearly 30,000 pounds of raw beef from Argentina has been recalled after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) determined the shipment had bypassed a required import reinspection. “Corte Argentino USA LLC, located in Aventura, Fla., is recalling approximately 29,628 pounds of raw beef products that were imported from Argentina without the benefit of import reinspection into the United States,” the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced. The products subject to the recall bear Argentinian establishment number “EST. N° OF. 2025” and shipping mark “26644-AA” The products were distributed to distributors and retailers in Florida and Texas. More from...

ne giant dam has already nudged the way our planet turns. When the enormous Three Gorges Dam reservoir in China filled with tens of billions of tons of water, NASA calculations showed that the extra mass made each day about 0.06 microseconds longer and shifted Earth’s rotation axis by roughly 2 centimeters. Now Beijing is moving ahead with an even more ambitious project on the Tibetan Plateau. A new hydropower complex planned for Medog County in Tibet is expected to become the largest dam system on the planet, with an annual output roughly three times that of Three Gorges and...

2026's El Niño is on course to be the most severe on record, even hotter than the 1997/98 event that caused trillions in damage and thousands of deaths. An El Niño event like nothing we’ve ever seen before is cooking in the Pacific. Its mounting strength is so unprecedented that climate scientists aren't even sure what impact it will have when it hits full tilt, but they say this “uncharted territory” should be a cause for concern. What is El Niño? And why is 2026 so weird? El Niño is a climate phenomenon characterized by warmer ocean temperatures across the...

Enough speculation has swirled about Ford’s forthcoming small all-electric pickup truck to fill the bed of an F-350 Super Duty. Today, the Blue Oval lightens that payload somewhat by officially announcing the new EV truck’s name and starting price, while confirming additional tech and capabilities. This Goes Deep “Ranchero” had been our guess at the truck’s title, but instead, an entirely new nameplate will be introduced. So here it is: Ford Fathom. That aligns with the alliterative nomenclature Ford has used in the past with vehicles such as the Fusion, Focus, and Flex. There’s punny meaning behind the name, too....

Screengrab Social Media/X ====================================================================== VIDEOS AT LINK............. The blue Danube is showing its secrets. We have been reporting on Europe’s summer from hell, where they are battling high temperatures, wildfires, and droughts. One of the most dramatic cases if the mythical Danube river that is so low that the Nuclear Power Plants in Hungary and Romania had to be shut. Now the situation has worsened even more to the point where remnants of the past are arising from the bottom of the river: dozens of WW2 ships and boats – and a mystery from a 1,000 years ago. CBS News...

Are we about to see a disruption of the avocado supply chain? It's possible. Violent criminal drug cartels are connected with much that goes on in our neighbor to the south, Mexico — and that includes the highly lucrative market for avocados in the United States. At least four drug cartels — designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration — operate in the region, profiting not only from narcotics trafficking but also from extortion schemes targeting the lucrative avocado industry. Security threat shuts down avocado pipeline from Mexico to the US https://t.co/zrY4Kn4q3a pic.twitter.com/XGGYFTgr0r— New York Post (@nypost) August...

The MONTHLY Victory Garden Thread is a gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

MAGA MomMom 1776 ?????? @magagrandmom 11h I woke up and as I had my morning coffee, I realized that everything is about to change. No matter how I vote, no matter what I say, something evil has invaded our nation, and our lives are never going to be the same. I have been confused by the hostility of family and friends. I look at people I have known all my life--so hate-filled that they agree with opinions they would never express as their own. I think that I may well have entered the Twilight Zone. You can't justify this insanity....

Bill Peterson used to go to Whole Foods or Kroger for fruits, vegetables and milk. Now, he swears by private-label chain Aldi, which sells those items at a fraction of the price. The Chicago home remodeler is gainfully employed, but says the economy feels fragile. “There’s no job security … everything has gotten stupid expensive,” the 61-year-old said. Inflation remained high for several years, and U.S. consumers became more focused on value. The shift transcends income class, and experts increasingly see it as the start of a deeper retrenchment in how Americans shop, eliminating a long-held stigma among some for...

A farmer has described feeling "absolutely gutted" following a blaze on land. Steven Conisbee, who runs Barracks Farm in Fetcham, said he awoke on Friday at 22:00 to some loud bangs and then immediately after his son called to say the farm was on fire. "I leapt out of bed, threw some clothes on, jumped in my pickup truck and headed down," he told the BBC. "I thought the barn was on fire, but the sky was lit up orange." Conisbee, a ninth-generation farmer, continued that he discovered his "best wheat field" was ablaze. "The wind was blowing," he told...