Author: aliakhan00901

August 28, 20252 min readThis Deep-Sea Worm Creates a Toxic Yellow Pigment Found in Rembrandt and Cézanne PaintingsA deep-sea worm that lives in hydrothermal vents is the first known animal to create orpiment, a toxic, arsenic-containing mineral that was used by artists for centuriesBy Mohana Basu & Nature magazine Paralvinella hessleri accumulates microscopic particles of arsenic on its outer skin, which reacts with sulfide to form a microscopic armour of yellow orpiment. A bright-yellow worm that lives in deep-sea hydrothermal vents is the first known animal to create orpiment, a brilliant but toxic mineral used by artists from antiquity until…

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…

The director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) remains in a heated standoff with the Trump administration after the White House announced she had been fired. Susan Monarez – who has only been in the job for a month – refused “to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives” and accused Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr of “weaponising public health”, according to her lawyers.Her lawyer insisted Dr Monarez’s sacking was not legal and only President Donald Trump – not White House officials – could remove her. The reason for her removal was that she was “not aligned with…

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Pulte’s Criminal Referral 39. The Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, William Pulte, was confirmed to his role in March 2025. The FHFA’s stated mission is to “ensure the regulated entities fulfill their mission by operating in a safe and sound manner to serve as a reliable source of liquidity and funding for the housing finance market throughout the economic cycle.” 15 40. Since his confirmation, Director Pulte, often through social media postings, has used his office to allege mortgage wrongdoing against public officials, now turning his sights on Governor…

Threads is testing a new feature that makes it easy to share long-form text on the social network, Meta confirmed to TechCrunch on Thursday. The feature lets users attach a block of text to a post instead of creating a thread of several different posts when looking to share more in-depth thoughts and ideas. App researcher Radu Oncescu first spotted the new “text attachment” feature on iOS and shared a screenshot of it. According to the app’s description of the new feature, it’s designed to allow users to “attach longer text and get creative with styling tools to share deeper…

England needs to “wake up” to its faltering infant vaccination programme, experts have warned, as it was revealed that one in five children start primary school unprotected from serious infectious diseases.According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the target for vaccine uptake among children in order to achieve herd immunity is 95%. But figures for 2024-25 released by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on Thursday show that no childhood vaccine has met this requirement.Only 83.7% of five-year-olds have received both doses of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine, while uptake of the four-in-one pre-school booster vaccine – which…

The shakeup at Saturday Night Live continues as Michael Longfellow becomes the third cast member to depart the show ahead of the new season. Entertainment Weekly has learned Longfellow, who has been with SNL for three seasons, will not return for season 51. Deadline was first to report the news. News of Longfellow’s departure follows the exits of castmates Emil Wakim and Devon Walker, as well as writers Celeste Yim and Rosebud Baker revealing they will not be back for season 51, which is set to premiere on Oct. 4. Michael Longfellow on ‘Saturday Night Live’. Holland Rainwater/NBC via Getty…

Use these fall foliage forecasts, maps, and other tools to plan your autumn leaf travels in 2025.

After 500 days under siege, the city of Al Fasher in Sudan’s North Darfur has become an epicentre of child suffering, with malnutrition, disease, and violence claiming young lives daily, UNICEF warned today. France24 spoke with the Chief of Communication for Unicef in Sudan, Eva Hinds.

Frankie Muniz, driver of the #33 Black Cat Fireworks Ford, enters his truck to practice for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series MillerTech Battery 200 at Pocono Raceway on June 20, 2025 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)Getty Images Frankie Muniz will miss six to eight weeks of racing in the Nascar Craftsman Truck Series after falling off a ladder. “The phrase ‘FML’ (Frankie Muniz’s Life) takes on new meaning with moments like these,” Muniz said on social media on Thursday. “I’m disappointed to share that I won’t be racing at Darlington this weekend or for the next…