SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews is powered by your submissions, so send in your scoop. Only 19 submissions in the queue.
SoylentNews
The mystery behind how birds navigate might finally be solved: it's not the iron in their beaks providing a magnetic compass, but a protein in their eyes that lets them "see" Earth's magnetic fields.
These findings come courtesy of two papers - one studying robins, the other zebra finches.
The fancy eye protein is called Cry4, and it's part of a class of proteins called cryptochromes - photoreceptors sensitive to blue light, found in both plants and animals. These proteins play a role in regulating circadian rhythms.
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
Birds Can See Earth's Magnetic Fields, And Now We Know How That's Possible
|
Log In/Create an Account
| Top
| 32 comments
| Search Discussion
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
QOTD:
"My life is a soap opera, but who gets the movie rights?"
(Score: 2) by SemperOSS on Sunday September 02 2018, @02:32PM (23 children)
I wish I could see the magnetic lines as I always struggle when people say something like "Let's meet at the north entrance"!
I don't need a signature to draw attention to myself.
Maybe I should add a sarcasm warning now and again?
(Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday September 02 2018, @02:40PM (21 children)
Biohackers have been implanting magnets in their fingertips for years now. Not sure if it helps them find north. Might just give them a legit way to say their brains are affected by power lines, etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_implant [wikipedia.org]
But it sucks:
https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/21/15999544/biohacking-finger-magnet-human-augmentation-loss [theverge.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 02 2018, @03:00PM (20 children)
Years ago we had a name for this: retarded.
(Score: 1, Disagree) by takyon on Sunday September 02 2018, @03:12PM (18 children)
The R-word [r-word.org] is never OK!!!
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 02 2018, @03:46PM
I work at a data center. I hear people refer to our customers as retarded on a daily basis.
Also, I should mention that our customers really are retarded, that's why they need to call tech support.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Sunday September 02 2018, @05:23PM (16 children)
"Developmentally challenged" and "retarded" are perfectly acceptable synonyms. Please leave your sensitivities at home.
(Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Sunday September 02 2018, @06:21PM (7 children)
On October 5, 2010, former U.S. President Barack Obama officially signed bill S. 2781 into federal law. Rosa’s Law, which takes its name and inspiration for 9-year-old Rosa Marcellino, removes the terms “mental retardation” and "mentally retarded" from federal health, education and labor policy and replaces them with people first language “individual with an intellectual disability” and “intellectual disability.” The signing of Rosa’s Law is a significant milestone in establishing dignity, inclusion and respect for all people with intellectual disabilities.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 02 2018, @07:12PM (1 child)
That's why we voted for Trump to repeal this retarded law.
(Score: 2) by Rivenaleem on Monday September 03 2018, @09:08AM
Christ, someone prepare the "flammably disabled" blanket, this is about to get heated!
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday September 02 2018, @07:29PM
On October 5, 2010, some wanker with sensitivity problems signed a stupid note, attempting to change the meaning of a commonly used, and perfectly well understood word.
I am completely unimpressed.
This is the same sort of stupidity that denies that deviant people are deviant.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 02 2018, @11:31PM (3 children)
The problem is that it's a euphemism treadmill.
Changing the name of the thing does nothing to change the stigma attached to the thing.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by pTamok on Monday September 03 2018, @07:07AM (2 children)
Well, to a certain extent, that is one of the ways that language evolves. It used to be that imbecile, idiot, moron, feeble-minded were all terms used by the medical community [wikipedia.org].
It is an interesting exercise (for small values of interesting) to try and work out a noun for 'toilet' that isn't a euphemism. The best I could find was the Australian word dunny [wiktionary.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 03 2018, @09:38AM (1 child)
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/shitter#Etymology_1 [wiktionary.org]
See also: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Thesaurus:toilet [wiktionary.org]
(Score: 1) by pTamok on Tuesday September 04 2018, @01:07PM
Shit most probably comes from the Proto-Indo-European *sḱeyd-, *skeyd- (“to split, divide, separate”) [wiktionary.org], as your link shows. The thesaurus link gives all euphemisms of one type or another, with the possible exception of 'pisser', which would be a urinal rather than somewhere where you shit. It seems to be a weird cultural thing that the place where you shit is referred to by euphemism piled upon euphemism, with older euphemisms regarded as 'indelicate'.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by RamiK on Sunday September 02 2018, @06:53PM (2 children)
Have to agree. This political correctness drive to abolish certain words would leave us all speaking some neutered legalese English where we'll add "alleged" and "supposed" at every sentence just to avoid a profanity and slander charges soon enough. Retarded, idiot, moron, hysteric, imbecile, stupid, and cretin... Newspeak sucks balls.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/moron-idiot-imbecile-offensive-history [merriam-webster.com]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiot [wikipedia.org]
compiling...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 02 2018, @07:21PM (1 child)
I really don't understand how people can be offended from learning that it was enshrined in government policy to try to keep their discussions about medical problems at a professional level.
Go ahead and call these people and kids retards; you don't owe them anything, and if you're lucky, no one will think badly of you for making fun of disabled people.
(Score: 4, Touché) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday September 02 2018, @11:09PM
It's not making fun of actual retards, it's making fun of the ones who only act like they're retarded.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Absolutely.Geek on Sunday September 02 2018, @08:37PM (4 children)
Language evolves; things that have a meaning today can have different meanings tomorrow. It seems you are the one that is sensitive.
The labels applied to things (also people) also change. Quick test is the word "jandal" a synonym for the Australian word "thong" or the American word "thong"?
If you wish to speak an unchanging language, I hear good things about Latin.
Don't trust the police or the government - Shihad: My mind's sedate.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Sunday September 02 2018, @11:04PM (1 child)
ooh, ooh, I know that one!
(Score: 2) by Absolutely.Geek on Monday September 03 2018, @01:56AM
Good to know that there are some knowledgeable people around.
Don't trust the police or the government - Shihad: My mind's sedate.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday September 03 2018, @03:49AM (1 child)
The problem is not that language changes. Language has changed constantly. My parents and grandparents had little clue what we were talking about half the time, and my own kids talk nonsense with their friends. Clothing changes, and even conduct changes over time. Gender specific conduct and clothing changes as well as more general things.
In this case, however, we have some kind of driver forcing change, or trying to force change. Unlike generational changed, we have the driver turning around, and trying to force everyone to conform to the new "standards".
Normal language changes never attempt to force anyone to conform. In fact, generational changes make some small effort to exclude the previous generation. Junior might explain what he and his friends mean with they word usage, but Junior will roll his eyes like he's talking to a retard, and do a poor job of explaining, which leaves Grandpa more confused than he was to start with.
Banning the use of a word like "retarded" wasn't a move that came from the medical community. It came from the political identity crowd. The medical community may have conformed, but considering the driver is important to understanding what is going on.
(Score: 2) by Absolutely.Geek on Monday September 03 2018, @08:36PM
Then why are you not trying to reinstate the words invalid or cripple into the general parlance; physically disabled people decided that these names were not descriptive enough and were used in a derogatory manner.
The "retard" community has also decided that it doesn't like that term and has limited descriptive power and is often used in a negative way; hence they have asked for it to be changed. Being part of that community affords members a certain privilege to affect change regarding the community. The way to begin producing the change you want is to remove the official references to the terms you don't like.
Don't trust the police or the government - Shihad: My mind's sedate.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 02 2018, @03:27PM
At this stage yea..
(Score: 2) by martyb on Sunday September 02 2018, @08:36PM
Wit is intellect, dancing.