Author: OMN AI

Researchers found octopuses favour their front arms for most tasks, despite all eight being capable of all actions.The study analysed 25 one-minute videos of wild octopuses from three species across six global sites.Scientists identified 15 behaviours and 12 arm actions, including crawling, object fetching, parachute attacks, and backward swimming.Front arms were used more often for reaching, raising, lowering, and curling, while rear arms handled stilt and roll actions.All eight arms can perform every action and deform in four ways: shortening, elongating, bending, and twisting.Multiple arm actions often occurred simultaneously on the same or adjacent limbs, showing high flexibility and adaptability.Overall,…

Sustainability and food researchers Joseph Poore, Hannah Ritchie, and Charles Godfray examine how shrinking farmland has allowed nature to return. They explore how far this trend could continue. Throughout the 20th century, human activity demanded more land, causing massive losses of natural forests and grasslands. Today, humans farm around half of the world’s land, growing crops or grazing animals. However, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that global agricultural land use peaked in the early 2000s. Since then, farmland has slowly declined, replaced by grasslands, trees, and bush. Wild animals have returned to abandoned pasturelands, reclaiming areas they…

Larry Ellison, Oracle’s co-founder, has briefly overtaken Elon Musk to become the world’s richest person. His net worth rose to $393 billion, surpassing Musk’s $384 billion, according to Forbes. Oracle’s stock surged with the news, boosting Ellison’s fortune, though it fluctuated during the day. Less known to the public than Musk, Ellison holds immense influence in Silicon Valley and politics. He is famous for his extravagant lifestyle, including mega-yachts, private jets, multiple marriages, and ownership of nearly the entire Hawaiian island of Lanai. Ellison, 81, began building his fortune in the 1970s through software development. He co-founded Oracle after securing…

Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot while speaking at an outdoor event during his nationwide “American Comeback Tour.” The tour, organized by Turning Point USA, the conservative group he co-founded, includes at least 15 stops across the country. The first stop drew roughly 3,000 attendees and began just after noon local time (18:10 GMT). Before the event, a petition urged the hosting university to block Kirk from speaking, but the university allowed the event to proceed under its free speech policies. Moments after the shooting, surveillance footage from a nearby building showed an individual running across the roof of the Losee…

Apple has finally changed the way iPhones look. For years, new models mostly looked the same, even though the technology inside improved. The iPhone 17 series now offers fresh designs and choices for users who want something different. The iPhone Air is the most talked-about model. It is much thinner at 5.64 mm, compared to 7.95 mm for the standard iPhone 17 and 8.75 mm for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. While the difference in numbers seems small, it feels very noticeable in the hand. The Air also has a slightly larger screen at 0.2 inches but weighs…

The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center will release the first merlin successfully raised in a Virginia rehabilitation setting. This bird represents only the second documented nesting merlin in the state. Unusual Arrival and Care The merlin arrived at the center in early July after its nesting tree was cut down. Merlins rarely breed near Virginia, making this patient a unique and surprising case for the center. Chester Leonard, executive director, said the bird usually nests far north, in Canada and other northern regions. He added, “We never have merlins here. Helping this bird supports the small population reaching Virginia.” Public Release…

Scientists are working to protect Yangtze finless porpoises, whose numbers have plunged in recent decades.The river, one of the world’s busiest, faces ecological damage from pollution, boat traffic, and overfishing.Finless porpoise populations fell from over 2,500 in the 1990s to 1,012 in 2017.Veteran researcher Wang Ding warns other species could “disappear like dominoes” if the porpoises cannot survive.Conservation measures include the 2021 Yangtze River Protection Law, banning fishing and restricting industrial runoff.The finless porpoise population has increased to around 1,300 under these protections.Scientists are also breeding and releasing Chinese sturgeon to restore wild populations.They urge stricter shipping regulations and an…

WASHINGTON, Sept 10 — The United States recorded its lowest overall death rate since the start of the pandemic, with new federal data showing that COVID-19 is no longer among the nation’s ten leading causes of death. Figures released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics indicate the age-adjusted death rate fell to 722 per 100,000 people in 2024, a 3.8% decline from the year before. That marks the lowest level since 2020, when the pandemic first drove mortality sharply higher. For the first time in four years, COVID-19 did not rank inside the…

A vaccine designed to protect Australia’s endangered koalas from chlamydia has received regulatory approval for rollout for the first time. Scientists at the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) spent over a decade developing the jab to halt the disease ravaging wild populations across eastern Australia. Peter Timms, a lead researcher, said some wild colonies face infection rates as high as 70% and edge closer to extinction every day. With regulatory approval secured, the team now seeks major funding to distribute the vaccine to wildlife hospitals, veterinary clinics, and koalas in the wild. “It has been a long road with…

Conservationists warned large solar farms could push rare habitats “beyond the point of no return.” Gwent Wildlife Trust blamed Llanwern Solar Farm, one of the UK’s biggest, for declines in birds, bats, and insects. Built in 2020, Llanwern covers protected land in south-east Wales and powers over 20,000 homes. Wildlife Decline Around Llanwern Natalie Buttriss, Gwent Wildlife Trust chief executive, said wildlife numbers had fallen sharply near the solar site. She noted Lapwings stopped breeding there and bat populations crashed as insects disappeared from the landscape. A Welsh government report linked the farm to losses of Lapwings, bees, and low…