Ryder Williams, the 16-year-old lifeguard who threw himself into giant waves this weekend in Santa Cruz to save a 10-year-old boy from drowning, is being celebrated as the hero America needed. More to

Wow, first we had TMZ's Harvey Levin post a video saying how it was "heartbreaking" seeing Anthony Fauci attacked in McCarthy-like fashion by the Senate Homeland Security Committee after his diary entries

As we've reported recently, entertainment site TMZ has been getting more and more involved in political issues, such as ICE. The outlet seemed particularly fascinated with Spencer Pratt's run for mayor

When astronomers talk about directly imaging an exoplanet that is orbiting a far away star, the analogy they most commonly go with is trying to spot a fireflight next to a massive search light. An Earth-like exoplanet is incredibly dim - usually between 100 million and 10 billion times fainter than its host star. Understandably, that makes them very difficult to see. But a new paper from Hyunsoo Choi of Hanyang University in South Korea and his co-authors, which is available in pre-print on arXiv, describes a theoretical solution - use a mix of smart computer algorithms and quantum physics.

Geostationary orbit (GEO) is arguably one of the most important orbital spaces we have. So it's critical that we keep it clear of debris that could destroy the valuable GPS, weather tracking, and communications satellites already in this orbit. Unfortunately, that is easier said than done; small pieces of debris at that altitude can slip past even our most sensitive sensors. But now, a new paper published in the Journal of Astronautical Sciences by James Blake and an international collaboration of researchers showcases how an advanced algorithm can help find tiny pieces of debris that would otherwise be missed by traditional surveys.

Public DomainThe extremely well-preserved state of the 2,000-year-old Huashan Rock Art in southern China has long baffled archaeologists but they just discovered that its secret ingredient is human blood.The famous Huashan Rock Art stretches across more than 160 miles along the Zuojiang River valley in southern China. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016, this impressive collection of red paintings adorns the valleys cliffs with depictions of human and animal figures, boats, weapons, and bronze drums.Most of these paintings were made at least 2,000 years ago, somewhere between the 5th century B.C.E. and the 2nd century C.E. Meanwhile, this region of China sees temperatures higher than 100F in the summer, as well as typhoons and torrential rainstorms. Nevertheless, they remain astonishingly intact to this day.So, experts have long been left wondering how these paintings survived so well for so long? Now, researchers say that its because they were painted with human blood taken from women whod just given birth.Researchers Discover That The Secret To The Huashan Rock Arts Preservation Is Human BloodThe more than 80 painted sites known as the Huashan Rock Art have generally been attributed to the ancient Luoyue people. The main site, the Mt. Huashan panel, has been shown to contain about 1,900 identifiable figures across approximately 86,000 square feet.M. Wu et al. 2026The climate in this region is harsh, with intense heat, typhoons, and heavy rainfall but these paintings have stayed intact for two millennia.For many years, the extraordinary preservation of the paintings has perplexed archaeologists, given this river valleys harsh climate. Ordinary organic paint, like plant gums or animal glue, would normally deteriorate under conditions such as these.But now, researchers from Shandong University and the Guangxi Museum of Anthropology may have finally solved this mystery. After analyzing fragments from the Gaoshan, Daningshan, and Tunpingshan rock art sites, the team published their findings in the Journal of Archaeological Science, which revealed that they were created via a far more sophisticated process than previously thought.The researchers found that the painters used a mortar made of lime, clay, and blood that fused to the limestone cliffs as calcium carbonate crystals after reacting with the air. The mortar was so well-fused that, for some fragments, researchers had to drill the paintings off the limestone.M. Wu et al. 2026Researchers found that the paint was made with a mortar consisting of lime, red clay, and human blood.In other words, this rock art did not simply consist of dried paint, but instead a pigmented composite more closely resembling cement.The most shocking element of this composite was of course the blood, which came from both animals and humans. The human portion contained two proteins that were linked to pregnancy, breastfeeding, and female reproductive biology.Therefore, the team concluded that these proteins likely came from women who had very recently given birth, and that the blood came from routine postpartum bleeding.However, the researchers preached some caution, as these proteins are not completely unique to women and childbirth.What This Study Reveals About Rock Art In Ancient ChinaIf the source of the blood in the paintings is childbirth, the researchers point to that practice as perhaps having social and ritual functions for the Luoyue, a society that has been described as matrilineal in historical Chinese texts.M. Wu et al. 2026The Huashan Rock Art features a number of images associated with reproduction and fertility.The paintings themselves have likewise been interpreted as ritualistic and ceremonial. The strong presence of bronze drums and other sacred objects in the paintings, as well as the compositions of the human figures, point to scenes of collective rites, rather than the quotidian daily lives of individuals.According to the researchers, the blood collected after childbirth may have been used by the painters not just for its chemical properties, but also as a material symbolic of fertility, ancestry, and regeneration.The use of blood also changes researchers understanding of the impressiveness of the Huashan paintings. For years, the paintings have been lauded mainly as a labor-intensive achievement, one that required many workers who hiked high up the sides of dangerous cliffs.While the manpower required for the paintings is still impressive, the researchers stated in their study that these findings provide new insights into the creation of prehistoric rock art, showing that it was a technically intensive project rather than a labor-intensive one.Indeed, the new analysis of the rock art showed that it took great technical knowledge and understanding of how natural materials reacted with each other chemically in order to create a long-lasting paint.In fact, the paint was so impressively engineered that, 2,000 years later, archaeologists are still able to marvel at its sophistication.After reading about the Huashan Rock Art, see inside a cave in Turkey thats filled with more than 100 prehistoric paintings. Then, learn about how the chainsaw was first invented for an operation related to childbirth.The post Scientists Just Uncovered The Secret Behind The Durability Of Chinas Ancient Huashan Rock Art: Human Blood appeared first on All That's Interesting.

Livestock in pens before being exported to the United States, at the Chihuahua Regional Livestock Union facility, outside Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on Feb. 10, 2025. Jose Luis Gonzalez/ReutersThe U.S. Department

Please Share This Story! Download this post... Oh, the thrill of it. Enter, Flocks autonomous drone. Sixty miles per hour, continuous snaps of your license plate from 2,000 feet away, and everyone

Screencap of Twitter/X video. Officials from the city of Chicago, including the transit authority, recently made a big to-do about putting up signs in subway cars that say violence will not be tolerated.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has postponed its scheduled Thursday vote on the nomination of Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general after Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and John Cornyn (R-TX) indicated