Author: aliakhan00901

Robots can serve pizza, crawl over alien planets, swim like octopuses and jellyfish, cosplay as humans, and even perform surgery. But can they walk on water? Rhagobot isn’t exactly the first thing that comes to mind at the mention of a robot. Inspired by Rhagovelia water striders, semiaquatic insects also known as ripple bugs, these tiny bots can glide across rushing streams because of the robotization of an evolutionary adaptation. Rhagovelia (as opposed to other species of water striders) have fan-like appendages toward the ends of their middle legs that passively open and close depending on how the water beneath…

There is a lot of confusion about Covid vaccines this year.In late August, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it had rescinded emergency use authorizations (a tool that allows the FDA to expedite the availability of certain medications) for Covid-19 vaccines. It also said it had approved updated versions of the Covid-19 vaccine, but only for certain groups.New restrictions limit shots to adults 65 and older and those with at least one underlying condition that puts them at higher risk for severe Covid – a significant shift from previous guidelines, which approved Covid vaccines for all Americans that…

Nicholas Braun was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and operating a vehicle without lights in New Hampshire over Labor Day weekend, Entertainment Weekly has confirmed. The actor, 37, was pulled over by Moultonborough police on Friday at around 11:15 p.m. and detained in Carroll County jail for about an hour before walking free on his own recognizance, meaning he did not need to post bail and pledged to appear at a future court date. TMZ was the first to report on the arrest, also reporting that a mugshot was not taken since the police camera was not working…

It took just seven minutes for Carlos Alcaraz to recognise that he was having another one of those days where he could do whatever he wanted with a tennis ball. Up a game point in his opening service game, the Spaniard skipped around the ball from far behind the baseline in his backhand corner and attempted the riskiest shot possible, unleashing a remarkable forehand winner.This would not be the last time that the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd collectively gasped at Alcaraz’s greatness as he continued to radiate confidence and calm in New York, moving effortlessly into the semi‑finals with a…

It is easy to imagine how it could happen. A petrel, flying east from the Indian Ocean at the end of the Austral winter, makes landfall at New Zealand’s southern Codfish Island/Whenua Hou. Tired from its long journey, the petrel seeks refuge in the burrow of a green kākāpō: a critically endangered flightless species that is the world’s fattest parrot.If the seabird intrudes when the kākāpō is primed to breed, the male parrot may attempt to mate with the smaller petrel, accidentally smothering it in the process.In this case, there are two unwitting victims. The petrel harbours a deadly agent:…

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The…

Lawyers for five men deported by the US to Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, said they are being denied proper access to their clients, who they said are being imprisoned illegally.The men from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Yemen and Cuba have criminal convictions, but had all served their sentences and been released in the US, their lawyers said. The US deported them to the small southern African country without warning in July, claiming they were “depraved monsters”.Orville Etoria’s relatives said his being sent to Eswatini ‘makes no sense’. Photograph: Courtesy of Margaret McKenThe US has sent migrants to several third countries, as Donald…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Corient, the US private wealth manager backed by Mubadala Capital, has agreed to purchase two UK rivals, Stonehage Fleming and Stanhope Capital Group, in a move that continues a global trend for consolidation in the sector.The deal, for an undisclosed sum, will make Miami-based Corient the world’s largest non-bank wealth manager with about $430bn under management, doubling existing assets, the companies said in a statement on Tuesday.“This combination of three storied firms creates a truly global wealth manager and multi-family office with…

Hello, and welcome to TechScape.A little over two years ago, OpenAI’s founder Sam Altman stood in front of lawmakers at a congressional hearing and asked them for stronger regulations on artificial intelligence. The technology was “risky” and “could cause significant harm to the world”, Altman said, calling for the creation of a new regulatory agency to address AI safety.Altman and the AI industry are promoting a very different message today. The AI they once framed as an existential threat to humanity is now key to maintaining American prosperity and hegemony. Regulations that were once a necessity are now criticized as…

Georgia Levy-CollinsBBC NewsbeatActivisionCall of Duty is one of the world’s most popular video game seriesCall of Duty’s makers have struck a deal to turn the video game into a live-action film. The series, launched in 2003, is one of the most popular in the world and regularly tops the annual best-seller charts on consoles and PC.Publisher Activision has announced it will work with movie studio Paramount to turn the game into a blockbuster “designed to thrill its massive global fan base”.There has been no indication of potential storylines or cast members, but Paramount CEO David Ellison said: “As a lifelong…