Latest news with #MemorialDay
New York Post
8 hours ago
- New York Post
Long Island swimmer ‘most likely' bitten by shark at popular beach: authorities
A 20-year-old woman was 'most likely' bit by a juvenile shark at a popular Long Island beach while trying to beat the blistering heat this week, park officials revealed on Friday. The swimmer was wading in waist deep water at the Central Mall beachfront at Jones Beach State Park on Wednesday when something chomped on her foot and leg just after 4 p.m., according to a release from Parks, Recreation and Historic preservation. The woman couldn't see what attacked her, but parks officials determined it was most likely a juvenile sand tiger shark, according to an investigation from the Department of Environmental Conservation. Advertisement The 20-year-old woman was waist-deep at the Central Mall beachfront when she was bitten by something that officials believe is a juvenile shark. Getty Images Lifeguards sprung into action and treated the woman who suffered minor, non-life-threatening lacerations to her lower extremity and was treated at Nassau County University Medical Center Hospital. Swimming was shut down at Central Mall following the presumptive shark bite, but resumed Thursday morning. Advertisement Park officials suggest the best way to avoid shark encounters is to keep out of the water at night, steer clear of murky water, stay away from appetizing schools of fish, and always follow instructions of lifeguards. The toothsome aquatic terrors have been spotted several times as folks make their seasonal return to Atlantic Coast beaches. Sharks have been sighted at several locations across the Atlantic Coast since the summer weather started to turn. Dave – An 11-foot-long, 761-pound, great white shark named 'Dold' popped a fin off the coast of New Jersey earlier this week, according to Ocearch. Advertisement On Memorial Day over on Block Island, Rhode Island, what was reported to be a 20-foot shark trailed a tiny boat in a pond in full view of diners chowing down at a local eatery. These sightings come as the classic Steven Spielberg shark thriller 'Jaws' celebrates the 50th anniversary of its release.
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Aimless wandering is actually good for the brain
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, BGR may receive an affiliate commission. The brain is a complex organ. Not only is it made up of multiple parts, all of which have important roles to play in processing information, but the way that the brain learns can also change based on what activities you're taking part in. For the longest time, the act of zoning out and aimlessly wandering around town, a store, or any other venue has often been viewed in a negative light. However, new research published in the journal Nature suggests that it might actually be the opposite. Instead of being bad for you, aimlessly wandering can unlock new potential for the brain to learn faster. Today's Top Deals Best deals: Tech, laptops, TVs, and more sales Best Ring Video Doorbell deals Memorial Day security camera deals: Reolink's unbeatable sale has prices from $29.98 The act of learning without much structure, often called unsupervised learning, can actually be extremely helpful to the brain's development, the researchers discovered. According to their findings, mice that were exposed to unstructured environments and allowed to aimlessly wander through their surroundings were actually quicker to learn to complete reward-linked tasks than mice that weren't exposed to those environments. This research raises new questions about the way the brain learns. To discover this, researchers had to capture the activity of tens of thousands of neurons at the same time. When looking back at the data, the scientists uncovered a startling new truth: Learning can occur even when there aren't any specific tasks or goals involved. As the mice explored their environment, the neurons found in the visual cortex, a section of the brain responsible for processing information, actually encode visual features into the brain. This helps build an internal model of the world around the animal. Then, once a more goal-oriented task is placed in front of them, the information obtained by aimlessly wandering actually helped speed up learning for those more specific tasks. Of course, understanding exactly how our brains learn is a tough task. However, research like this is slowly helping us connect the dots. The researchers involved in this most recent study say that even though you might not feel like you're doing anything while aimlessly wandering around, you could be setting your brain up for faster learning down the line. It's unclear at the moment exactly how this might translate to the human brain. But given how similarly the brains of certain animals work compared to ours, it's likely that the way the brain learns in animals will be similar to how the human brain picks up new things, too. Hopefully, future research into the topic will provide us with even more data to dig into. For now, researchers at least have a good idea of where to look to start understanding the how the brain learns, and it starts with the visual cortex. More Top Deals Amazon gift card deals, offers & coupons 2025: Get $2,000+ free See the
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Earthworm DNA may challenge everything we know about evolution
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, BGR may receive an affiliate commission. When Charles Darwin first proposed how evolution works in 1859, it seemed plausible. Tiny changes stack up over time, eventually leading a species to become something entirely different. Aside from the evidence we have already that this might not be the case, as the fossil records just didn't back it up, many, including Darwin himself, wrote it off as the records being broken and lost. But what if that wasn't the case at all? What if evolution works in a completely different way? Instead of waiting on tiny changes to stack up overtime, what if things stayed mostly the same for a while, but then suddenly something big happened and massive changes appeared? That may be exactly how it works, new research shows, as scientists studying earthworm DNA say that it completely contradicts Darwin's explanation for how evolution works. Today's Top Deals Best deals: Tech, laptops, TVs, and more sales Best Ring Video Doorbell deals Memorial Day security camera deals: Reolink's unbeatable sale has prices from $29.98 This new research was led by researchers at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and Pompeu Fabra University (UPF). The researchers shared their findings in a new paper published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. These findings suggest that evolution may work with fast changes that ultimately lead to complete upheaval in how an organism is designed. The unlikely source of this new evidence is actually earthworm DNA. The researchers sequenced high-quality genomes of several different earthworm species for the first time ever. They then compared these genomes to those of leeches and even bristle worms. By digging deep, they were able to look back in the genome more than 200 million years. That's an unprecedented look at evolution at a scale previously reserved for studying the human genome. By looking at worm DNA, the researchers were able to get a glimpse at the evolution of life on our planet, as 200 million years ago would have been exactly when worms and other vertebrates like them ventured onto land for the first time. But instead of evidence of slow, tiny changes, the researchers discovered a massive 'upheaval' in the genome's history. This new evidence suggests that it isn't a broken record that's keeping us from fully understanding how evolution works. Instead, it's the theory itself that is holding us back. What's especially notable about the breakdown of the worm genome is that the changes seen within it 200 million years ago should have led to extinction if the changes were that chaotic. However, instead of leading to the species' demise, the worms adapted and even thrived. Of course, not every species will evolve the same way. Just because it works this way in worms doesn't mean it works that way in humans or other mammals. Each species' unique traits could play a part in the success or failure of their evolutionary journey. This could explain why other species of humans have died out, leaving only modern humans. But this is just the beginning. To truly understand how evolution works as a whole, we're going to need to dig even deeper. This new research might not have given us the complete answer, but it set us on the right path. More Top Deals Amazon gift card deals, offers & coupons 2025: Get $2,000+ free See the
Cosmopolitan
17 hours ago
- Business
- Cosmopolitan
The 2025 July 4th Saatva Mattress Sale Gets You 20% Off
Don't get me wrong, I love grilling hot dogs and settling in for an Instagram-worthy fireworks show just as much as the next gal, but when it comes to the Fourth of July, it's the sales that make me feel like I'm having a personal "Party in the USA." By now, you've likely gathered that holiday weekends like Presidents' Day and Memorial Day mean major savings on big-ticket items, so I'm here to remind you that the Fourth of July is no exception. In fact, with it this year comes a luxury mattress deal so good, you wouldn't dare hit snooze. Today through July 6, Saatva is offering our dearest Cosmo readers an exclusive 20% off any purchase over $1,000. And we're making things as easy as possible for you: Just shop via our links to have this unbeatable discount applied to your cart. While choosing the best mattress might feel overwhelming, I promise it doesn't have to be. Every Saatva style is designed with maximum comfort and support in mind, whether you snag the brand's bestselling Classic mattress, scoop up the cooling Latex Hybrid mattress, or grab the responsive Saatva Rx to soothe your back pain. If you're finally ready to spring for a smart mattress, try the ultra-fancy Solaire, complete with customizable firmness levels and a flexible upper half. Still struggling to make your pick? Take this mattress comparison quiz for a personalized rec or shop a handful of editor favorites below: Not to mention, while upgrading your mattress usually involves figuring out stressful details, including A) getting your old mattress out of your space, B) lugging your new purchase into your room, C) setting up the whole shebang, or D) some combination of all of the above, Saatva takes care of it all for you—at no extra cost. Your purchase includes free shipping, free in-room delivery and set-up, and free disposal of your old, unwanted mattress. If you're worried about changing your mind about the style you've picked after you've snoozed on it a few times, Saatva also offers a full 365-day return policy. In the event that you're not totally obsessed with your new bed, feel free to swap it for another style—or get a full refund if you'd prefer. Although, I've gotta say, the odds of that happening are super slim. Don't delay! You have until July 6 to take advantage of this exclusive discount. Trust, you'll sleep so much better knowing you saved hundreds on your new mattress!
Miami Herald
17 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Fire rips through another yacht in Fort Lauderdale. No injuries reported
A 47-foot yacht was destroyed in a Friday morning fire in Fort Lauderdale near the Lauderdale Yacht Club, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue said. Fire crews received several 911 calls just before 7 a.m. reporting the blaze. Units arrived on scene within six minutes to find the vessel fully engulfed near the 1100 block of Cordova Road.. Firefighters used water and foam to suppress the fire. It took just over 20 minutes to bring the flames under control, but not before the yacht had extensive damage. Authorities say no one was believed to be on board at the time and no injuries have been reported. A fire investigator is on scene to determine what caused the fire. This is the latest in a series of recent boat fires and explosions in South Florida. Earlier this month, six boats went up in flames at a Sunny Isles dock. READ MORE: Boat engulfed in flames ignites several vessels at Sunny Isles dock: fire rescue In May, two boats in Fort Lauderdale went up in flames, one of which was carrying 15 people on Memorial Day when a fireball shot out from inside the boat. READ MORE: Boats are bursting into flames in South Florida. How common is this? Eleven people were hospitalized and the boat's operator, 29-year-old Joshua Fifi, died days later at the hospital.
