Science & Environment

[spaminator]

’Lord of the Rings’ director backs long shot de-extinction plan, starring New Zealand’s lost moa
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Christina Larson
Published Jul 08, 2025 • Last updated 19 hours ago • 3 minute read

Filmmaker Peter Jackson, left, and Colossal CEO Ben Lamm hold up bones from Jackson's collection of extinct moa bones in Wellington, New Zealand, 2024.
Filmmaker Peter Jackson, left, and Colossal CEO Ben Lamm hold up bones from Jackson's collection of extinct moa bones in Wellington, New Zealand, 2024. Photo by Courtesy of Colossal Bioscience /AP
WASHINGTON — Filmmaker Peter Jackson owns one of the largest private collections of bones of an extinct New Zealand bird called the moa. His fascination with the flightless ostrich-like bird has led to an unusual partnership with a biotech company known for its grand and controversial plans to bring back lost species.


On Tuesday, Colossal Biosciences announced an effort to genetically engineer living birds to resemble the extinct South Island giant moa — which once stood 12 feet (3.6 metres) tall — with $15 million in funding from Jackson and his partner Fran Walsh. The collaboration also includes the New Zealand-based Ngāi Tahu Research Centre.


“The movies are my day job, and the moa are my fun thing I do,” said Jackson. “Every New Zealand schoolchild has a fascination with the moa.”

Outside scientists say the idea of bringing back extinct species onto the modern landscape is likely impossible, although it may be feasible to tweak the genes of living animals to have similar physical traits. Scientists have mixed feelings on whether that will be helpful, and some worry that focusing on lost creatures could distract from protecting species that still exist.


A depiction is represented of the largest species of moa, the South Island giant moa, which once could stand 12 feet (3.6 metres) tall.
A depiction is represented of the largest species of moa, the South Island giant moa, which once could stand 12 feet (3.6 metres) tall. Photo by Courtesy of Colossal Biosciences /AP
The moa had roamed New Zealand for 4,000 years until they became extinct around 600 years ago, mainly because of overhunting. A large skeleton brought to England in the 19th century, now on display at the Yorkshire Museum, prompted international interest in the long-necked bird.

Unlike Colossal’s work with dire wolves, the moa project is in very early stages. It started with a phone call about two years ago after Jackson heard about the company’s efforts to “de-extinct” — or create genetically similar animals to — species like the woolly mammoth and the dire wolf.

Then Jackson put Colossal in touch with experts he’d met through his own moa bone-collecting. At that point, he’d amassed between 300 and 400 bones, he said.


In New Zealand, it’s legal to buy and sell moa bones found on private lands, but not on public conservation areas — nor to export them.

The first stage of the moa project will be to identify well-preserved bones from which it may be possible to extract DNA, said Colossal’s chief scientist Beth Shapiro.

Those DNA sequences will be compared to genomes of living bird species, including the ground-dwelling tinamou and emu, “to figure out what it is that made the moa unique compared to other birds,” she said.

Colossal used a similar process of comparing ancient DNA of extinct dire wolves to determine the genetic differences with gray wolves. Then scientists took blood cells from a living gray wolf and used CRISPR to genetically modify them in 20 different sites. Pups with long white hair and muscular jaws were born late last year.


Working with birds presents different challenges, said Shapiro.

Unlike mammals, bird embryos develop inside eggs, so the process of transferring an embryo to a surrogate will not look like mammalian IVF.

“There’s lots of different scientific hurdles that need to be overcome with any species that we pick as a candidate for de-extinction,” said Shapiro. “We are in the very early stages.”

If the Colossal team succeeds in creating a tall bird with huge feet and thick pointed claws resembling the moa, there’s also the pressing question of where to put it, said Duke University ecologist Stuart Pimm, who is not involved in the project.

“Can you put a species back into the wild once you’ve exterminated it there?” he said. “I think it’s exceedingly unlikely that they could do this in any meaningful way.”


“This will be an extremely dangerous animal,” Pimm added.

The direction of the project will be shaped by Māori scholars at the University of Canterbury’s Ngāi Tahu Research Centre. Ngāi Tahu archaeologist Kyle Davis, an expert in moa bones, said the work has “really reinvigorated the interest in examining our own traditions and mythology.”

At one of the archaeological sites that Jackson and Davis visited to study moa remains, called Pyramid Valley, there are also antique rock art done by Māori people — some depicting moa before their extinction.

Paul Scofield, a project adviser and senior curator of natural history at the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch, New Zealand, said he first met the “Lord of the Rings” director when he went to his house to help him identity which of the nine known species of moa the various bones represented.

“He doesn’t just collect some moa bones — he has a comprehensive collection,” said Scofield.

’Lord of the Rings’ director backs long shot de-extinction plan, starring New Zealand’s lost moa

Filmmaker Peter Jackson owns one of the largest private collections of bones of an extinct New Zealand bird called the moa.

torontosun.com

 

[petros]

’Lord of the Rings’ director backs long shot de-extinction plan, starring New Zealand’s lost moa
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Christina Larson
Published Jul 08, 2025 • Last updated 19 hours ago • 3 minute read

Filmmaker Peter Jackson, left, and Colossal CEO Ben Lamm hold up bones from Jackson's collection of extinct moa bones in Wellington, New Zealand, 2024.
Filmmaker Peter Jackson, left, and Colossal CEO Ben Lamm hold up bones from Jackson's collection of extinct moa bones in Wellington, New Zealand, 2024. Photo by Courtesy of Colossal Bioscience /AP
WASHINGTON — Filmmaker Peter Jackson owns one of the largest private collections of bones of an extinct New Zealand bird called the moa. His fascination with the flightless ostrich-like bird has led to an unusual partnership with a biotech company known for its grand and controversial plans to bring back lost species.


On Tuesday, Colossal Biosciences announced an effort to genetically engineer living birds to resemble the extinct South Island giant moa — which once stood 12 feet (3.6 metres) tall — with $15 million in funding from Jackson and his partner Fran Walsh. The collaboration also includes the New Zealand-based Ngāi Tahu Research Centre.


“The movies are my day job, and the moa are my fun thing I do,” said Jackson. “Every New Zealand schoolchild has a fascination with the moa.”

Outside scientists say the idea of bringing back extinct species onto the modern landscape is likely impossible, although it may be feasible to tweak the genes of living animals to have similar physical traits. Scientists have mixed feelings on whether that will be helpful, and some worry that focusing on lost creatures could distract from protecting species that still exist.


A depiction is represented of the largest species of moa, the South Island giant moa, which once could stand 12 feet (3.6 metres) tall.
A depiction is represented of the largest species of moa, the South Island giant moa, which once could stand 12 feet (3.6 metres) tall. Photo by Courtesy of Colossal Biosciences /AP
The moa had roamed New Zealand for 4,000 years until they became extinct around 600 years ago, mainly because of overhunting. A large skeleton brought to England in the 19th century, now on display at the Yorkshire Museum, prompted international interest in the long-necked bird.

Unlike Colossal’s work with dire wolves, the moa project is in very early stages. It started with a phone call about two years ago after Jackson heard about the company’s efforts to “de-extinct” — or create genetically similar animals to — species like the woolly mammoth and the dire wolf.

Then Jackson put Colossal in touch with experts he’d met through his own moa bone-collecting. At that point, he’d amassed between 300 and 400 bones, he said.


In New Zealand, it’s legal to buy and sell moa bones found on private lands, but not on public conservation areas — nor to export them.

The first stage of the moa project will be to identify well-preserved bones from which it may be possible to extract DNA, said Colossal’s chief scientist Beth Shapiro.

Those DNA sequences will be compared to genomes of living bird species, including the ground-dwelling tinamou and emu, “to figure out what it is that made the moa unique compared to other birds,” she said.

Colossal used a similar process of comparing ancient DNA of extinct dire wolves to determine the genetic differences with gray wolves. Then scientists took blood cells from a living gray wolf and used CRISPR to genetically modify them in 20 different sites. Pups with long white hair and muscular jaws were born late last year.


Working with birds presents different challenges, said Shapiro.

Unlike mammals, bird embryos develop inside eggs, so the process of transferring an embryo to a surrogate will not look like mammalian IVF.

“There’s lots of different scientific hurdles that need to be overcome with any species that we pick as a candidate for de-extinction,” said Shapiro. “We are in the very early stages.”

If the Colossal team succeeds in creating a tall bird with huge feet and thick pointed claws resembling the moa, there’s also the pressing question of where to put it, said Duke University ecologist Stuart Pimm, who is not involved in the project.

“Can you put a species back into the wild once you’ve exterminated it there?” he said. “I think it’s exceedingly unlikely that they could do this in any meaningful way.”


“This will be an extremely dangerous animal,” Pimm added.

The direction of the project will be shaped by Māori scholars at the University of Canterbury’s Ngāi Tahu Research Centre. Ngāi Tahu archaeologist Kyle Davis, an expert in moa bones, said the work has “really reinvigorated the interest in examining our own traditions and mythology.”

At one of the archaeological sites that Jackson and Davis visited to study moa remains, called Pyramid Valley, there are also antique rock art done by Māori people — some depicting moa before their extinction.

Paul Scofield, a project adviser and senior curator of natural history at the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch, New Zealand, said he first met the “Lord of the Rings” director when he went to his house to help him identity which of the nine known species of moa the various bones represented.

“He doesn’t just collect some moa bones — he has a comprehensive collection,” said Scofield.

View attachment 29932

’Lord of the Rings’ director backs long shot de-extinction plan, starring New Zealand’s lost moa

Filmmaker Peter Jackson owns one of the largest private collections of bones of an extinct New Zealand bird called the moa.

torontosun.com

For food?

 

[spaminator]

Walmart recalls 850,000 water bottles after ejecting caps led to vision loss
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Jul 11, 2025 • 1 minute read

This image provided by U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission shows Walmart's "Ozark Trail 64 oz Stainless Steel Insulated Water Bottles," which Walmart is recalling on Friday, July 11, 2025, because the lid can "forcefully eject" and unexpectedly strike consumers. (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission via AP)
This image provided by U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission shows Walmart's "Ozark Trail 64 oz Stainless Steel Insulated Water Bottles," which Walmart is recalling on Friday, July 11, 2025, because the lid can "forcefully eject" and unexpectedly strike consumers. (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission via AP) AP
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart is recalling about 850,000 stainless steel water bottles because the lid can “forcefully eject” and unexpectedly strike consumers — resulting in permanent vision loss for two people to date.


The recall covers Walmart’s “Ozark Trail 64 oz Stainless Steel Insulated Water Bottles,” which have been sold at the chain’s stores across the country since 2017. According to a notice published by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on Thursday, these products pose “serious impact and laceration hazards.”


That’s because when a consumer attempts to open the bottles “after food, carbonated beverages or perishable beverages, such as juice or milk, are stored inside over time,” the lid can eject forcefully, the CPSC notes.

As of Thursday’s announcement, Walmart had received three reports of consumers who were injured after being struck in the face by these lids when opening their bottles. And two of those people “suffered permanent vision loss after being struck in the eye,” the CPSC added.

Consumers are urged to stop using the now-recalled Ozark Trail bottles — and contact Walmart for a full refund. Shoppers can also bring the products to their local Walmart store for that compensation.

The bottles being recalled can also be identified by their model number, 83-662 — which doesn’t appear on the product itself, but would show on packaging. The stainless-steel base is silver and the lid is a black, one-piece screw cap. There is also an Ozark Trail logo embedded on the side of the 64-ounce bottle.

The Associated Press reached out to Walmart for further comments on Friday.

Walmart recalls 850,000 water bottles after ejecting caps led to vision loss

The recall covers Walmart's "Ozark Trail 64 oz Stainless Steel Insulated Water Bottles."

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Walmart recalls 850,000 water bottles after ejecting caps led to vision loss
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Jul 11, 2025 • 1 minute read

This image provided by U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission shows Walmart's "Ozark Trail 64 oz Stainless Steel Insulated Water Bottles," which Walmart is recalling on Friday, July 11, 2025, because the lid can "forcefully eject" and unexpectedly strike consumers. (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission via AP)
This image provided by U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission shows Walmart's "Ozark Trail 64 oz Stainless Steel Insulated Water Bottles," which Walmart is recalling on Friday, July 11, 2025, because the lid can "forcefully eject" and unexpectedly strike consumers. (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission via AP) AP
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart is recalling about 850,000 stainless steel water bottles because the lid can “forcefully eject” and unexpectedly strike consumers — resulting in permanent vision loss for two people to date.


The recall covers Walmart’s “Ozark Trail 64 oz Stainless Steel Insulated Water Bottles,” which have been sold at the chain’s stores across the country since 2017. According to a notice published by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on Thursday, these products pose “serious impact and laceration hazards.”


That’s because when a consumer attempts to open the bottles “after food, carbonated beverages or perishable beverages, such as juice or milk, are stored inside over time,” the lid can eject forcefully, the CPSC notes.

As of Thursday’s announcement, Walmart had received three reports of consumers who were injured after being struck in the face by these lids when opening their bottles. And two of those people “suffered permanent vision loss after being struck in the eye,” the CPSC added.

Consumers are urged to stop using the now-recalled Ozark Trail bottles — and contact Walmart for a full refund. Shoppers can also bring the products to their local Walmart store for that compensation.

The bottles being recalled can also be identified by their model number, 83-662 — which doesn’t appear on the product itself, but would show on packaging. The stainless-steel base is silver and the lid is a black, one-piece screw cap. There is also an Ozark Trail logo embedded on the side of the 64-ounce bottle.

The Associated Press reached out to Walmart for further comments on Friday.

Walmart recalls 850,000 water bottles after ejecting caps led to vision loss

The recall covers Walmart's "Ozark Trail 64 oz Stainless Steel Insulated Water Bottles."

torontosun.com

perhaps they could be sent to gaza.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

perhaps they could be sent to gaza.

The bottles or the victims of the bottles?

 

[spaminator]

U of S researchers discover genes protecting wheat from disease
A unique gene pair in wild wheat could unlock a new path to stripe rust resistance, researchers say.

Author of the article:Aidan Jaager
Published Jul 14, 2025 • 3 minute read

University of Saskatchewan researchers may have uncovered a way to fight off deadly diseases in wild wheat, offering hope for farmers dealing with crop losses from stripe rust.


Researchers Valentyna Klymiuk and Curtis Pozniak are studying how a unique pair of genes found in wild wheat varieties are resistant to harmful pathogens.


“Part of our research is keeping one step ahead of pathogens by identifying new resistance genes which ideally could be stacked like Lego blocks, so the pathogen can’t easily overcome the resistance,” Klymiuk said.

The U of S Crop Development Centre (CDC) focuses on improving crop varieties by integrating basic research into crop breeding. The CDC then translates scientific discoveries into new varieties that growers can use.

“The genetic research we do is important because it helps us understand how the genes and plants are contributing to enhanced yield under heat and drought. That can protect the plants against a whole range of different pathogens,” Pozniak, who is the professor and director at CDC, said, noting it’s important to choose varieties that perform well in heat and drought conditions.


Researchers said although wild wheat hasn’t been domesticated and can’t be used directly in breeding, it contains useful diversity to respond to environmental threats, making it ideal for learning new methods of crop resistance.

“Once we started assessing the resistance, we could see that it was different to others that we have studied before. The resistance was acting in an atypical way, which signalled a very different plant response,” Pozniak said.

One gene is typically responsible for the expression of stripe rust, a fungal disease that grows on wheat leaves, but two genes working together as a pair were required for full resistance, Klymiuk said.

One senses the invading pathogen while the other activates the plant’s immune response, stopping the pathogen in its tracks.


Like flipping a breaker to see which rooms in a house go dark, Klymiuk’s experiments involved turning each of the genes “off.”

“When the gene is switched ‘off’ the plant can no longer protect itself and becomes susceptible to the pathogen. However, this unique gene pair proved to be a bit of an anomaly, which caused a hiccup in the researcher’s results,” she said.

Initially, Klymiuk thought only a single gene was responsible.

“Most of our results made sense but there were a few plants that didn’t give us the expected results. This was a head scratcher, so we went back to rethink our experiments and to test if two genes were actually involved. Once we retested, the results became clear,” she added.

The team later discovered that two outlier genes interact at a protein level, physically coming together to initiate the resistance response.


Pozniak said this could help produce stronger and more resilient wheat varieties in the future.

“It’s all about the three pillars of plant breeding which includes having the yield potential and stable yield performance where disease resistance is important. Combining that with marketability allows growers the potential to sell their product in international markets.”

“This project also really helps us understand and appreciate the complexity of plant biology. Plants really need to adapt, and they do it in cool and interesting ways,” he said.

Curtis Pozniak - College of Agriculture and Bioresources

Ministry of Agriculture Strategic Research Program (SRP) Chair in Durum and High-Yield Wheat Breeding and Genetics

agbio.usask.ca

U of S researchers discover genes protecting wheat from disease

A unique gene pair in wild wheat could unlock a new path to stripe rust resistance, researchers say.

torontosun.com

 

[bill barilko]

 

[spaminator]

Man pulled into MRI machine after he walked into an exam room wearing a chain necklace
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Jul 18, 2025 • Last updated 15 hours ago • 1 minute read

WESTBURY, N.Y. — A man was pulled into an MRI machine in New York after he walked into the room wearing a large chain necklace, police said.


The man, 61, had entered an MRI room while a scan was underway Wednesday afternoon at Nassau Open MRI. The machine’s strong magnetic force drew him in by his metallic necklace, according to the Nassau County Police Department.


Police said the incident “resulted in a medical episode” that left the man hospitalized in critical condition. Authorities did not release his name and did not have an update on the man’s condition on Friday.

A person who answered the phone at Nassau Open MRI on Long Island declined to comment Friday.

MRI machines “employ a strong magnetic field” that “exerts very powerful forces on objects of iron, some steels, and other magnetizable objects,” according to the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, which says the units are “strong enough to fling a wheelchair across the room.”

Man pulled into MRI machine after he walked into an exam room wearing a chain necklace

A man was hospitalized in New York after he was pulled into an MRI machine because he walked into the exam room wearing a large chain necklace.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Man pulled into MRI machine after he walked into an exam room wearing a chain necklace
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Jul 18, 2025 • Last updated 15 hours ago • 1 minute read

WESTBURY, N.Y. — A man was pulled into an MRI machine in New York after he walked into the room wearing a large chain necklace, police said.


The man, 61, had entered an MRI room while a scan was underway Wednesday afternoon at Nassau Open MRI. The machine’s strong magnetic force drew him in by his metallic necklace, according to the Nassau County Police Department.


Police said the incident “resulted in a medical episode” that left the man hospitalized in critical condition. Authorities did not release his name and did not have an update on the man’s condition on Friday.

A person who answered the phone at Nassau Open MRI on Long Island declined to comment Friday.

MRI machines “employ a strong magnetic field” that “exerts very powerful forces on objects of iron, some steels, and other magnetizable objects,” according to the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, which says the units are “strong enough to fling a wheelchair across the room.”

Man pulled into MRI machine after he walked into an exam room wearing a chain necklace

A man was hospitalized in New York after he was pulled into an MRI machine because he walked into the exam room wearing a large chain necklace.

torontosun.com

what if you have iron fillings?

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

what if you have iron fillings?

Or brass balls?

 

[Taxslave2]

what if you have iron fillings?

Pop pop pop. No more fillings

 

[spaminator]

Glow-in-the-dark animal captured on camera for first time
Author of the articleostmedia News
Published Jul 20, 2025 • Last updated 14 hours ago • 2 minute read

A glowing quoll.
A glowing quoll. Photo by Ben Alldridge/SWNS /TORONTO SUN
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! Wait, no, it’s a glow-in-the-dark animal?


A photographer from Down Under has become the first person to capture a photo of a glowing marsupial in the wild.


Aussie photographer Ben Alldridge submitted a photo as part of the 2025 Beaker Street Science Photography Prize. The photo was of a wild Eastern quoll, which is carnivorous marsupial that’s native to Tasmania and exhibits biofluorescence.

Using invisible ultraviolet light, Alldridge captured the mammal glowing in the dark, and his photo is considered the first photographic evidence of a quoll exhibiting biofluorescence in its natural habitat, people.com reported.

“Where their fur is normally fawn or black, under certain wavelengths of light, they exhibit a process referred to as biofluorescence — like nature’s version of a white shirt glowing at a disco,” Alldridge said, per the Daily Mail.


Smithsonian Magazine reported that several mammals across the globe, many of them nocturnal, are known to exhibit this phenomenon, including polar bears, moles, zebras, wombats, armadillo and more. Non-mammals such as corals, insects, spiders, fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds also exhibit the phenomenon, although the exact biological purpose of biofluorescence is still unknown.

Alldridge said he hopes his photos and studies into biofluorescence will help solve the mystery surrounding it.


“I’d say it’s likely a messaging or identifying system similar to our fingerprints, but that is wild speculation at best,” he said, per the Daily Mail. “For now, we will just say they like to party.”

Alldridge’s photography will be considered as part of the ongoing research.

“The amount of light we waste illuminating space — both physical and now literal — is ridiculous, and in many cases is counterproductive to why the lights are installed to begin with,” Alldridge said.

Alldridge’s photo is one of 12 finalist images to be exhibited at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery from Aug. 6-31, as part of the Beaker Street Festival.

Glow-in-the-dark animal captured on camera for first time

A photographer from Down Under has become the first person to capture a photo of a glowing marsupial in the wild.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Man pulled into MRI machine after he walked into an exam room wearing a chain necklace
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Jul 18, 2025 • Last updated 15 hours ago • 1 minute read

WESTBURY, N.Y. — A man was pulled into an MRI machine in New York after he walked into the room wearing a large chain necklace, police said.


The man, 61, had entered an MRI room while a scan was underway Wednesday afternoon at Nassau Open MRI. The machine’s strong magnetic force drew him in by his metallic necklace, according to the Nassau County Police Department.


Police said the incident “resulted in a medical episode” that left the man hospitalized in critical condition. Authorities did not release his name and did not have an update on the man’s condition on Friday.

A person who answered the phone at Nassau Open MRI on Long Island declined to comment Friday.

MRI machines “employ a strong magnetic field” that “exerts very powerful forces on objects of iron, some steels, and other magnetizable objects,” according to the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, which says the units are “strong enough to fling a wheelchair across the room.”

Man pulled into MRI machine after he walked into an exam room wearing a chain necklace

A man was hospitalized in New York after he was pulled into an MRI machine because he walked into the exam room wearing a large chain necklace.

torontosun.com

Man dies after heavy weight-training chain around neck pulls him into MRI machine
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Jul 19, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read

WESTBURY, N.Y. — A man who was pulled into an MRI machine in New York after he walked into the room wearing a large weight-training chain around his neck has died, according to police and his wife, who told a local television outlet that he waved goodbye before his body went limp.


The man, 61, had entered an MRI room while a scan was underway Wednesday afternoon at Nassau Open MRI. The machine’s strong magnetic force drew him in by the metallic chain around his neck, according to a release from the Nassau County Police Department.


He died Thursday afternoon, but a police officer who answered the phone at the Nassau County police precinct where the MRI facility is located said the department had not yet been given permission to release the name Saturday.

Adrienne Jones-McAllister told News 12 Long Island in a recorded interview that she was undergoing an MRI on her knee when she asked the technician to get her husband, Keith McAllister, to help her get off the table. She said she called out to him.

She told News 12 that the technician summoned into the room her husband, who was wearing a 20-pound chain that he uses for weight training, an object they’d had a casual conversation about during a previous visit with comments like: “Ooooooh, that’s a big chain!”

When he got close to her, she said, “at that instant, the machine switched him around, pulled him in and he hit the MRI.”

“I said: ’Could you turn off the machine, call 911, do something, Turn this damn thing off!”’ she recalled, as tears ran down her face. “He went limp in my arms.”


She said the technician helped her try to pull her husband off the machine but it was impossible.

“He waved goodbye to me and then his whole body went limp,” Jones-McAllister told the TV outlet.

Jones-McAllister told News 12 that McAllister suffered heart attacks after he was freed from the MRI machine.

A person who answered the phone at Nassau Open MRI on Long Island declined to comment Friday. The phone number went unanswered on Saturday.

It wasn’t the first New York death to result from an MRI machine.

In 2001, 6-year-old Michael Colombini of Croton-on-Hudson was killed at the Westchester Medical Center when an oxygen tank flew into the chamber, drawn in by the MRI’s 10-ton electromagnet.

In 2010, records filed in Westchester County revealed that the family settled a lawsuit for $2.9 million.

MRI machines “employ a strong magnetic field” that “exerts very powerful forces on objects of iron, some steels, and other magnetizable objects,” according to the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, which says the units are “strong enough to fling a wheelchair across the room.”

Man dies after heavy weight-training chain around neck pulls him into MRI machine

A man who was pulled into an MRI machine in New York after he walked into the room wearing a large weight-training chain has died.

torontosun.com

 

[Taxslave2]

Glow-in-the-dark animal captured on camera for first time
Author of the articleostmedia News
Published Jul 20, 2025 • Last updated 14 hours ago • 2 minute read

A glowing quoll.
A glowing quoll. Photo by Ben Alldridge/SWNS /TORONTO SUN
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! Wait, no, it’s a glow-in-the-dark animal?


A photographer from Down Under has become the first person to capture a photo of a glowing marsupial in the wild.


Aussie photographer Ben Alldridge submitted a photo as part of the 2025 Beaker Street Science Photography Prize. The photo was of a wild Eastern quoll, which is carnivorous marsupial that’s native to Tasmania and exhibits biofluorescence.

Using invisible ultraviolet light, Alldridge captured the mammal glowing in the dark, and his photo is considered the first photographic evidence of a quoll exhibiting biofluorescence in its natural habitat, people.com reported.

“Where their fur is normally fawn or black, under certain wavelengths of light, they exhibit a process referred to as biofluorescence — like nature’s version of a white shirt glowing at a disco,” Alldridge said, per the Daily Mail.


Smithsonian Magazine reported that several mammals across the globe, many of them nocturnal, are known to exhibit this phenomenon, including polar bears, moles, zebras, wombats, armadillo and more. Non-mammals such as corals, insects, spiders, fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds also exhibit the phenomenon, although the exact biological purpose of biofluorescence is still unknown.

Alldridge said he hopes his photos and studies into biofluorescence will help solve the mystery surrounding it.


“I’d say it’s likely a messaging or identifying system similar to our fingerprints, but that is wild speculation at best,” he said, per the Daily Mail. “For now, we will just say they like to party.”

Alldridge’s photography will be considered as part of the ongoing research.

“The amount of light we waste illuminating space — both physical and now literal — is ridiculous, and in many cases is counterproductive to why the lights are installed to begin with,” Alldridge said.

Alldridge’s photo is one of 12 finalist images to be exhibited at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery from Aug. 6-31, as part of the Beaker Street Festival.
View attachment 30106

Glow-in-the-dark animal captured on camera for first time

A photographer from Down Under has become the first person to capture a photo of a glowing marsupial in the wild.

torontosun.com

All the critters around Chernobyl do that.

 

[spaminator]

Man pulled into MRI machine after he walked into an exam room wearing a chain necklace
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Jul 18, 2025 • Last updated 15 hours ago • 1 minute read

WESTBURY, N.Y. — A man was pulled into an MRI machine in New York after he walked into the room wearing a large chain necklace, police said.


The man, 61, had entered an MRI room while a scan was underway Wednesday afternoon at Nassau Open MRI. The machine’s strong magnetic force drew him in by his metallic necklace, according to the Nassau County Police Department.


Police said the incident “resulted in a medical episode” that left the man hospitalized in critical condition. Authorities did not release his name and did not have an update on the man’s condition on Friday.

A person who answered the phone at Nassau Open MRI on Long Island declined to comment Friday.

MRI machines “employ a strong magnetic field” that “exerts very powerful forces on objects of iron, some steels, and other magnetizable objects,” according to the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, which says the units are “strong enough to fling a wheelchair across the room.”

Man pulled into MRI machine after he walked into an exam room wearing a chain necklace

A man was hospitalized in New York after he was pulled into an MRI machine because he walked into the exam room wearing a large chain necklace.

torontosun.com

Man dies after heavy weight-training chain around neck pulls him into MRI machine
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Jul 19, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read

WESTBURY, N.Y. — A man who was pulled into an MRI machine in New York after he walked into the room wearing a large weight-training chain around his neck has died, according to police and his wife, who told a local television outlet that he waved goodbye before his body went limp.


The man, 61, had entered an MRI room while a scan was underway Wednesday afternoon at Nassau Open MRI. The machine’s strong magnetic force drew him in by the metallic chain around his neck, according to a release from the Nassau County Police Department.


He died Thursday afternoon, but a police officer who answered the phone at the Nassau County police precinct where the MRI facility is located said the department had not yet been given permission to release the name Saturday.

Adrienne Jones-McAllister told News 12 Long Island in a recorded interview that she was undergoing an MRI on her knee when she asked the technician to get her husband, Keith McAllister, to help her get off the table. She said she called out to him.

She told News 12 that the technician summoned into the room her husband, who was wearing a 20-pound chain that he uses for weight training, an object they’d had a casual conversation about during a previous visit with comments like: “Ooooooh, that’s a big chain!”

When he got close to her, she said, “at that instant, the machine switched him around, pulled him in and he hit the MRI.”

“I said: ’Could you turn off the machine, call 911, do something, Turn this damn thing off!”’ she recalled, as tears ran down her face. “He went limp in my arms.”


She said the technician helped her try to pull her husband off the machine but it was impossible.

“He waved goodbye to me and then his whole body went limp,” Jones-McAllister told the TV outlet.

Jones-McAllister told News 12 that McAllister suffered heart attacks after he was freed from the MRI machine.

A person who answered the phone at Nassau Open MRI on Long Island declined to comment Friday. The phone number went unanswered on Saturday.

It wasn’t the first New York death to result from an MRI machine.

In 2001, 6-year-old Michael Colombini of Croton-on-Hudson was killed at the Westchester Medical Center when an oxygen tank flew into the chamber, drawn in by the MRI’s 10-ton electromagnet.

In 2010, records filed in Westchester County revealed that the family settled a lawsuit for $2.9 million.

MRI machines “employ a strong magnetic field” that “exerts very powerful forces on objects of iron, some steels, and other magnetizable objects,” according to the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, which says the units are “strong enough to fling a wheelchair across the room.”

Man dies after heavy weight-training chain around neck pulls him into MRI machine

A man who was pulled into an MRI machine in New York after he walked into the room wearing a large weight-training chain has died.

torontosun.com

Man killed in horrific MRI incident was stuck in machine for nearly an hour: Family
Kin claim technician did not tell man to remove chain before going in room to see his wife

Author of the articleenette Wilford
Published Jul 22, 2025 • Last updated 13 hours ago • 2 minute read

Keith McCallister, 61, killed after getting sucked into MRI machine while wearing a massive chain around his neck.
Keith McCallister, 61, was killed after getting sucked into an MRI machine while wearing a massive chain around his neck. GoFundMe
The man who died after being sucked into an MRI machine while wearing a 20-pound chain was walked into the room by a technician who failed to tell him to remove the massive necklace, his family claims.


Keith McAllister, 61, of Westbury, N.Y., died while inside Nassau Open MRI on July 16 where his wife, Adrienne Jones-McAllister, was undergoing a knee scan.


“The male victim was wearing a large metallic chain around his neck causing him to be drawn into the machine which resulted in a medical episode,” Nassau County Police said in a statement.

McAllister was taken to hospital in critical condition but died the next day.

“While my mother was laying on the table, the technician left the room to get her husband to help her off the table,” Jones-McAllister’s daughter, Samantha Bodden, wrote in a GoFundMe.

“He forgot to inform him to take the chain he was wearing from around his neck off when the magnet sucked him in.”

She added: “My mother and the tech tried for several minutes to release him before the police were called. He was attached to the machine for almost an hour before they could release the chain from the machine.”


Bodden reiterated the claim that McAllister was not told to take off his chain before he was led into the room.

“Several news stations are saying he wasn’t authorized to be in the room when in fact he was because the technician went and brought him into the room,” said her statement.

The strong magnetic field created by an MRI machine can cause metal objects to be pulled in with force, as well as heat up metal objects, potentially burning a patient.

Jones-McAllister told News 12 Long Island that the technician had commented during a previous visit about her husband’s “big chain.”

“That was not the first time that guy has seen that chain,” she claimed. “They had a conversation about it before.”

Adrienne Jones-McAllister and husband Keith McCallister, who was killed after getting sucked into MRI machine while wearing a massive chain around his neck.
Adrienne Jones-McAllister and husband Keith McCallister, who was killed after getting sucked into MRI machine while wearing a massive chain around his neck. (GoFundMe) GoFundMe
When McAllister got close to her, Jones-McAllister recalled to the outlet, “at that instant, the machine switched him around, pulled him in and he hit the MRI.”

She added: “He went limp in my arms, and this is still pulsating in my brain.”

He died the following day after experiencing “several heart attacks following the tragic accident,” the GoFundMe campaign says.

Bodden remembered McAllister as a “husband, a father, a stepfather, a grandfather, a brother, and an uncle” as well as “a friend to many.”

Donate to He’s now laid to rest. Time to start Picking up the pieces, organized by samantha bodden

On July 16th, 2025, my mother’s husband, Keith McAllister, wa… samantha bodden needs your support for He’s now laid to rest. Time to start Picking up the pieces

gofundme.com

Man killed in horrific MRI incident was stuck in machine for nearly an hour: Family

The man who died after being sucked into an MRI machine in NY while wearing a big chain was walked into the room by a technician.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Environment Canada issues heat warning for southern Ontario
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Jul 23, 2025 • 1 minute read

Environment Canada has issued a heat warning for parts of southern Ontario starting Thursday, with temperatures expected to reach up to 35 C.


The weather agency says a stretch of the province bordering Lake Ontario, from St. Catharines to Toronto, will see peak humidex values of up to 44 C.


It says while daytime high temperatures will not be as extreme on Friday and into the weekend, nighttime lows are expected to remain warm, providing little relief from heat.



Environment Canada says temperatures on Friday will be near 30 C, with a humidex of up to 40 C.

It’s not the first heat warning for Ontario this summer — extreme heat reaching the mid-30s broke temperature records in many parts of the province in June.

During extreme heat events, people are advised to drink water often, watch for signs of heat exhaustion and to check on older adults and those at risk of heat illness.

Environment Canada issues heat warning for southern Ontario

Environment Canada issued a heat warning for parts of southern Ontario starting Thursday, with temperatures expected to reach up to 35 C.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

People try to beat heat in GTA, rest of southern Ontario
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Fatima Raza
Published Jul 24, 2025 • 2 minute read

A heat warning in the GTA and other parts of southern Ontario had workers and residents looking for ways to keep cool on Thursday, as temperatures were expected to reach up to 35 C.


“It’s, like, very hot and humid, and just dead air. It really gets to you,” said Chris Brown, a construction worker in Toronto.


Brown said he had been working outside at a downtown site since 7 a.m. and noticed the heat escalating with every hour.

“We’re kind of used to working in the heat and for our particular job, we need to wear long sleeves, so that kind of sucks but you get used to it,” Brown said.

“Just take lots of breaks and water.”



Environment Canada warned that with the humidity, it could feel like up to 44 C across a stretch of the province bordering Lake Ontario from St. Catharines to Toronto.


The weather agency says nighttime low temperatures of 20 to 23 C would provide relief from the daytime heat.

Temperatures are expected to decrease on Friday to near 30 C, though there could still be a humidex value of up to 40 C.

It’s not the first heat warning for Ontario this summer — extreme heat reaching the mid-30s broke temperature records in many parts of the province last month.

“It has been a bit of a scorcher of a summer so I feel like spring held on for the longest time and summer kind of came on strong,” said Liam Abanid.


Abanid said he had been walking in Toronto’s St. James Park with friends, but after about 20 minutes he was feeling the heat and planning to head inside.

During extreme heat events, people are advised to drink water often, watch for signs of heat exhaustion and to check on older adults and those at risk of heat illness.

For a Massachusetts couple who arrived in Toronto just hours before the peak afternoon heat, the extra sunshine was all the more reason to hit the beach and find something icy to sip on.

“We’re on vacation, so we’re going to drink maybe things that have alcohol in them,” Tracie Lussier said with a laugh.

“We’ll find ourselves inside with a nice cold beer or a drink,” her husband Brian said.

And “lots of water,” he added.

— With files from Maan Alhmidi.

’REALLY GETS TO YOU’: People try to beat heat in GTA, rest of southern Ontario

A heat warning in the GTA and other parts of southern Ontario had workers and residents looking for ways to keep cool on Thursday.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Chinese sub discovers deepest-ever creatures 10 km undersea
Author of the article:AFP
AFP
by Daniel Lawler
Published Jul 30, 2025 • 2 minute read

A Chinese submersible has found creatures thriving at nearly 10 kilometres below sea level in the Mariana Trench Photo by STAFF /AFP/File
Paris (AFP) — A Chinese submersible has discovered thousands of worms and molluscs nearly 10 kilometres (six miles) below sea level in the Mariana Trench, the deepest colony of creatures ever observed, a study revealed on Wednesday.


The discovery in Earth’s deepest underwater valley suggests that there could be much more life thriving in the hostile conditions at the bottom of our planet’s largely unexplored oceans than previously thought, the China-led team of scientists said.


Almost all life on Earth is supported by light from the Sun. However in the total darkness at the bottom of the world, these creatures live off of chemicals such as methane seeping through cracks in the seafloor, a process called chemosynthesis.

Last year, the Chinese submersible “Fendouzhe” — or “Striver” — dove 23 times into the depths of the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean with researchers on board, according to the study in the journal Nature.

They found colonies of thousands of marine tubeworms and molluscs called bivalves at depths ranging from 2,500 to 9,533 metres (8,200 to 31,000 feet) deep.


Video released alongside the study showed fields of tubeworms, which grew up to 30 centimetres (12 inches) long, as well as piles of molluscs and clams.

Spiky crustaceans, free-floating marine worms, sea cucumbers, feathery-armed sea lilies and other invertebrates were also recorded in the depths.

The study marked “the discovery of the deepest and the most extensive chemosynthesis-based communities known to exist on Earth,” its authors said.

Given that other ocean trenches are similar, “such chemosynthesis-based communities might be more widespread than previously anticipated,” they added.

The researchers said they also found “compelling evidence” that methane was being produced by microbes, with the tubeworms tending to cluster around microbial mats that resemble snow.


Previous studies have found thriving communities of single-cell organisms on the ocean floor, but few large animals.

But a remotely operated vehicle discovered tubeworms and other marine invertebrates living in hydrothermal vents in the crust below the seafloor two kilometres deep in the Pacific, research said last year.

Pressure rising
The new study was published as nations wrangle over the contentious issue of deep-sea mining. China, the United States and others have expressed interest in mining the depths for valuable minerals.

Ocean scientists warn that mining the little-explored seafloor, one of the last wild zones on the planet, could decimate fragile ecosystems that are not yet well understood.


Despite recent talks, the International Seabed Authority — which oversees deep-sea mining in international waters — has yet to adopt long-awaited rules governing the industry.

Chinese media has previously reported that the Fendouzhe submersible mission will conduct research on “deep-sea materials”.

Only a handful of people have ever visited the bottom of the Mariana Trench, which is a crescent-shaped depression in the Earth’s crust that is deeper than Mount Everest is high.

The first explorers visited the trench in 1960 on a brief expedition.

But after that, there were no missions until Hollywood director James Cameron made the first solo trip to the bottom in 2012, describing a “desolate” and “alien” environment.

The water pressure at the bottom of the trench is a crushing eight tons per square inch, more than a thousand times the atmospheric pressure at sea level.

Chinese sub discovers deepest-ever creatures 10 km undersea

Almost all life on Earth is supported by light from the Sun.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Radioactive wasp nest found at site where U.S. once made nuclear bombs
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jeffrey Collins
Published Jul 30, 2025 • 2 minute read

073025-Radioactive-Wasp-Nest
Radioactive waste sealed in large stainless steel canisters is stored under five feet of concrete in a storage building at the Savannah River Site, near Aiken, S.C., Nov. 20, 2013.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Workers at a site in South Carolina that once made key parts for nuclear bombs in the U.S. have found a radioactive wasp nest but officials said there is no danger to anyone.


Employees who routinely check radiation levels at the Savannah River Site near Aiken found a wasp nest on July 3 on a post near tanks where liquid nuclear waste is stored, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Energy.


The nest had a radiation level 10 times what is allowed by federal regulations, officials said.

The workers sprayed the nest with insect killer, removed it and disposed of it as radioactive waste. No wasps were found, officials said.

The report said there is no leak from the waste tanks, and the nest was likely radioactive through what it called “onsite legacy radioactive contamination” from the residual radioactivity left from when the site was fully operational.

The watchdog group Savannah River Site Watch said the report was at best incomplete since it doesn’t detail where the contamination came from, how the wasps might have encountered it and the possibility there could be another radioactive nest if there is a leak somewhere.


Knowing the type of wasp nest could also be critical — some wasps make nest out of dirt and others use different material which could pinpoint where the contamination came from, Tom Clements, executive director of the group, wrote in a text message.

“I’m as mad as a hornet that SRS didn’t explain where the radioactive waste came from or if there is some kind of leak from the waste tanks that the public should be aware of,” Clements said.

The tank farm is well inside the boundaries of the site and wasps generally fly just a few hundred yards from their nests, so there is no danger they are outside the facility, according to a statement from Savannah River Mission Completion which now oversees the site.

If there had been wasps found, they would have significantly lower levels of radiation than their nests, according to the statement which was given to the Aiken Standard.

The site was opened in the early 1950s to manufacture the plutonium pits needed to make the core of nuclear bombs during the start of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Now the site has shifted toward making fuel for nuclear plants and clean up.

The site generated more than 165 million gallons (625 million litres) of liquid nuclear waste which has, through evaporation, been reduced to about 34 million gallons (129 million litres), according to Savannah River Mission Completion.

There are still 43 of the underground tanks in use while eight have been closed.

Radioactive wasp nest found at site where U.S. once made nuclear bombs

The nest had a radiation level 10 times what is allowed by federal regulations, officials said.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Toxic Balkan wildfires ignite in poorly managed dumps
When piles of organic waste aren't stored properly, they can create pockets of methane that ignite under intense heat

Author of the article:AFP
AFP
by Briseida MEMA, Marion DAUTRY, Ognjen ZORIC
Published Jul 30, 2025 • 3 minute read

Authorities said many fires started at landfill sites, where the improper disposal and management of waste is a long-standing issue.
Authorities said many fires started at landfill sites, where the improper disposal and management of waste is a long-standing issue.
BELGRADE– As blistering summer heat sweeps across the Balkans, poorly managed and illegal dumpsites are bursting into flames, sparking wildfires and smothering towns and cities with toxic smoke.

The municipal Golo Brdo dump, deep in the lush forests of southeast Serbia, burned for days after it ignited under the scorching sun in early July.


In the small town of Lukare, about seven kilometres (4.3 miles) from the blaze, the air became foul and unbreathable.

Local children were kept indoors for fear of the deadly diseases that many people nearby already suffer, resident Haris Ibrahimovic told AFP.

“Honestly, no one cares whether we’re exposed or not,” Ibrahimovic said, frustrated by the inaction and poor monitoring by the local government.

This fire was just one of hundreds of blazes that have torn through parts of Serbia since the start of summer.

Authorities said many fires started at landfill sites, where the improper disposal and management of waste is a long-standing issue.


Although Golo Brdo is a government-run site, Ibrahimovic said what is dumped there was “absolutely uncontrolled”, and it caught fire several times since opening in 1999 — each time burning for around two weeks.

‘Highly toxic’
When piles of organic waste aren’t stored properly, they can create pockets of methane that ignite under intense heat and burn through the dump’s readily available fuel, Aleksandar Jovovic, professor at Belgrade’s faculty of mechanical engineering, told AFP.

Jovovic said the issue had grown over decades, and fixing it would mean reforming the entire waste management system to sort and process trash safely.

According to Serbia’s environment ministry, less than half the country can access just a dozen properly managed, or “sanitary”, landfill sites.


Most waste instead ends up either at an unsanitary site like Golo Brdo, with the unsorted trash piles described by Jovovic, or in one of the 2,500 illegal dumps.

The issue is region-wide, with research by Lloyd’s Register finding that Balkan households separate their trash at the lowest rates in the world.

According to the 2024 poll, in Kosovo, less than 20 per cent of households separate their trash. Montenegro, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Serbia all closely follow in the rankings, with households recycling at rates lower than 40 percent.

The impact of poorly managed waste extends far beyond those near a dump, Ibrahimovic said.

Fumes from last month’s fire reached two cities around 10 kilometres (5 miles) from Golo Brdo, while the runoff into a local river is “literally black”.


“We have a series of cases around the landfill where people are getting lung cancer,” he said.

“We’re not claiming that it’s all because of the landfill, but it certainly has an impact.”

Former director of the World Health Organisation’s European Centre for Environment and Health, Elizabet Paunovic, said that the impacts of garbage fires on local communities were well-documented.

These blazes belch toxic gases, leach microparticles and pump heavy metals into the atmosphere, while fumes from burning plastic were “highly toxic”, Paunovic told AFP.

For people living nearby, these toxins, which can cause congenital disabilities, will often go unnoticed due to poor monitoring by authorities, she said.

Beyond ‘promises’
Balkan nations, bolstered by foreign investment, are intensifying their efforts to address waste management, but they still lag behind the rest of Europe.


In 2021, Belgrade’s Vinca, then one of Europe’s largest open dumps, was redeveloped.

Elsewhere in the region, new landfills are planned or have recently opened.

When piles of organic waste aren’t stored properly, they can create pockets of methane that ignite
When piles of organic waste aren’t stored properly, they can create pockets of methane that ignite
In response to the series of fires at landfills this summer, the government asked local authorities to increase monitoring as an emergency measure.

But progress remains slow, often hindered by aging infrastructure and a lack of accountability.

In Albania, three long-promised incinerators never arrived, despite millions of euros invested in a project now mired in corruption allegations.

At the proposed site, mounds of garbage burned for almost a week in June, blanketing parts of the nearby city of Elbasan in noxious fumes.

“The way this waste is managed is a real corruption case that goes against all the functional safety standards,” local environmental expert Ahmet Mehmeti said.

Around 20 people have been charged in a vast scandal linked to the incinerators, but little has changed at the landfill sites.

For those like Ibrahimovic living in the shadow of smoke clouds, promises to fix or even close landfill sites are not new — he said authorities first vowed to close Golo Brdo in 2018.

After years of protesting, including by blockading the dump, he is now preparing a lawsuit to force change.

“It can only be closed on paper, not through agreements, not through promises.”

Toxic Balkan wildfires ignite in poorly managed dumps

Poorly managed and illegal dumpsites are bursting into flames, sparking wildfires and smothering towns and cities with toxic smoke.

torontosun.com