Latest news with #WashingtonStateUniversity
New York Post
2 days ago
- General
- New York Post
This is an easy way to figure out if someone has a high ‘body count', study says
How many people someone has slept with is a personal thing that most don't want to disclose — unless maybe you're on a reality TV dating show like Love Island, where they created an entire challenge around the topic. However, according to a Washington State University study, there is a simple way to determine if a person gets freaky in the sheets often — and it has to do with how much strength they have. Lead researchers Caroline Smith and Ed Hagen analyzed data from 4,300 US participants. They found that people — both men and women — with upper body strength reportedly have a high number of sexual partners. Advertisement People aren't hitting the gym just to feel good. It would be assumed that most people hit the gym to get strong and fit — little do they know that it could also be improving their sex lives. 'We found a main effect of strength on mating success proxied by lifetime number of sexual partners and current partnered status, but not past-year number of sexual partners or age at first intercourse,' the study abstract read. Advertisement So if your significant other can crank out pushups without breaking a sweat — they might have a high body count. And there is such a thing as the ideal number of sexual partners for an individual. The magic number for men is 4 to 5 partners in their lifetime and for women, that number shrinks to 2 to 3 partners, according to a study featured in Social Psychological and Personality Science. Upper body strength can tell a lot about a person. Igor Mojzes Advertisement The word 'ideal' is used because it's a person's prerogative how many people they want to get it on with — but if it's higher than what the study said, be prepared to have judgy Karens looking at you sideways. Considering the average American has only slept with 14 people, according to a poll conducted by Talker Research for LELO, the 'perfect' numbers for both genders are fairly low. It shouldn't come as a surprise that the average body count number for people in the US is lower than 20, because America is not having nearly as much sex as it should. Advertisement The average American is only getting it on once a week, according to sad sack statistics, released by mattress company NapLab. New York and New Jersey need to step it up. New Yorkers are only doing the deed 1.39 times per week and New Jerseyians are getting freaky only 1.21 times a week.
Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- Science
- Los Angeles Times
How AI and robot hives are lowering the risk of bee colony collapse in California
Lifting up the hood of a Beewise hive feels more like you're getting ready to examine the engine of a car than visit with a few thousand pollinators. The unit — dubbed a BeeHome — is an industrial upgrade from the standard wooden beehives, all clad in white metal and solar panels. Inside sits a high-tech scanner and robotic arm powered by artificial intelligence. Roughly 300,000 of these units are in use across the U.S., scattered across fields of almond, canola, pistachios and other crops that require pollination to grow. It's not exactly the romantic vision of a beehive or beekeeper lodged in the cultural consciousness, but then that's not what matters; keeping bees alive does. And Beewise's units do that dramatically better than the standard hive, providing constant insights on colony health and the ability to provide treatment should it start to falter. The U.S. has observed a startling uptick in the number of die-offs since the mid-2000s as beekeepers have struggled to keep pace with the rise of disease-carrying mites, climate extremes and other stressors that can wipe out colonies. That's endangering billions of dollars in crops from almonds to avocados that rely on the pollinators. This past year saw the worst colony losses on record. Beewise has raised nearly $170 million, including a $50 million Series D earlier this month, and it has a plan to change the industry. AI and robotics are able to replace '90% of what a beekeeper would do in the field,' said Beewise Chief Executive and co-founder Saar Safra. The question is whether beekeepers are willing to switch out tried and true equipment. Ultimately, the fate of humans is tied to that of bees. Roughly 75% of crops require pollinators, with nuts and fruits particularly dependent. While other species of bees and insects can play a role, they can't replace honeybees. 'There would essentially be no crop without the bees,' said Zac Ellis, the senior director of agronomy at OFI, a global food and ingredient seller. The beehive hasn't seen much technological innovation in 170 years. The Langstroth hive, named after the American reverend who patented it in 1852, is a simple wooden box with frames that can house the queen and her worker bees, larvae and honey. 'Langstroth hives are easy to work with, break down, build up, manipulate frames, make splits' and move, said Priya Chakrabarti Basu, a Washington State University bee researcher. These boxes are the backbone of the agriculture industry and the high-value crops that are heavily reliant on the 2.5 million commercial hives that crisscross the U.S. on semitrailers. Beekeepers with thousands of hives will travel from as far away as Florida to provide pollination services for California's $3.9 billion almond crop in spring before moving on to other states and crops. 'Almonds are one of the largest pollination events in the world,' said Ellis, who uses Beewise's hives on 30% of the acres he manages. 'Typically, a grower needs two hives per acre,' each with up to 40,000 bees. Pollinating the 10,000 acres of almonds, walnuts and pistachios he oversees requires millions of bees doing the brunt of the pollination work. The number of hives and demand have created a problem, though: Beekeepers are only able to check on their colonies' health every week or two. But a growing number of threats to bees means entire colonies can be wiped out or weakened past the point of no return in just a few days. Toxic pesticides, a changing climate and a sharp uptick in the invasive, disease-transmitting varroa mite since the 1980s have contributed to the rise of what's known as colony collapse disorder. The exact role each of these issues plays in wiping out colonies is unclear, but they are also likely interacting with each other to take a toll. 'You are rarely going to find a bee who is only, for example, stressed by a mite or a bee who's stressed by a disease only or a bee who's only stressed by poor nutrition,' Chakrabarti Basu said. 'It is always a combination.' The impacts, though, are clear. From the 12-month period starting last April, more than 56% of commercial colonies were wiped out, according to the Apiary Inspectors of America. Beekeepers have taken a major economic hit as a result: Between last June and March, colony losses cost beekeepers an estimated $600 million, according to the Honey Bee Health Coalition. While a new hive design alone isn't enough to save bees, Beewise's robotic hives help cut down on losses by providing a near-constant stream of information on colony health in real time — and give beekeepers the ability to respond to issues. Equipped with a camera and a robotic arm, they're able to regularly snap images of the frames inside the BeeHome, which Safra likened to an MRI. The amount of data they capture is staggering. Each frame contains up to 6,000 cells where bees can, among other things, gestate larvae or store honey and pollen. A hive contains up to 15 frames and a BeeHome can hold up to 10 hives, providing thousands of data points for Beewise's AI to analyze. While a trained beekeeper can quickly look at a frame and assess its health, AI can do it even faster, as well as take in information on individual bees in the photos. Should AI spot a warning sign, such as a dearth of new larvae or the presence of mites, beekeepers will get an update on an app that a colony requires attention. The company's technology earned it a BloombergNEF Pioneers award earlier this year. 'There's other technologies that we've tried that can give us some of those metrics as well, but it's really a look in the rearview mirror,' Ellis said. 'What really attracted us to Beewise is their ability to not only understand what's happening in that hive, but to actually act on those different metrics.' That includes administering medicine and food as well as opening and closing vents to regulate temperature or protect against pesticide spraying. Safra noted that after two hurricanes hit Florida last year, BeeHomes in the state were still operational while many wooden hives were destroyed. That durability and responsiveness has Ellis convinced on expanding their use. Today, BeeHomes are on 30% of his acres, but he said within three years, they're aiming for 100% coverage. Whether other growers and beekeepers are as keen to make the switch remains to be seen, though, given nearly two centuries of loyalty to the Langstroth design. The startup wants to more than triple the number of BeeHomes in use, reaching 1 million in three years. 'We're in a race against time,' Safra said. 'We might have the best product on planet Earth in 15 years, but it doesn't matter' if there aren't any bees left. Ellis likened the hives to a Ritz-Carlton for pollinators. The five-star stay appears to suit bees well: Beewise says its units — which it leases to provide pollination services at what it says are market rates — have seen colony losses of around 8%. That's a major drop compared to the average annual loss rate of more than 40%, according to Apiary Inspectors of America, a group that tracks colony health. 'The asset is the bees, that's the revenue-generating asset,' said Safra, noting that losing more than 40% of those assets makes it hard for businesses to cover labor to maintain hives, trailers to transport them and other fixed costs. Beewise expects to have $100 million in revenue this year, and Safra said it's a year away from profitability. The company declined to share the valuation for its Series D. It has competition in the bee-saving technology realm. Some companies like Dalan Animal Health are developing vaccines to protect bees against disease. BeeHero and Beeflow (sensing a pattern?) are among those that provide sensors for monitoring health in hives and fields. Both can help improve outcomes at Langstroth hives, but they still require regular beekeeper maintenance. Chakrabarti Basu from Washington State and her colleagues are also working on using AI to detect bees entering hives. 'The more data sets we can give, the better it'll be trained,' she said. 'Pattern recognition — it could be monitoring a brood frame, it could be looking at anything for estimating colony health or any aspect of colony health — I think AI will probably get better at it.' Kahn writes for Bloomberg.
The Star
4 days ago
- Science
- The Star
How robotic hives and AI are lowering the risk of bee colony collapse
Lifting up the hood of a Beewise hive feels more like you're getting ready to examine the engine of a car than visit with a few thousand pollinators. The unit – dubbed a BeeHome – is an industrial upgrade from the standard wooden beehives, all clad in white metal and solar panels. Inside sits a high-tech scanner and robotic arm powered by artificial intelligence. Roughly 300,000 of these units are in use across the US, scattered across fields of almond, canola, pistachios and other crops that require pollination to grow. It's not exactly the romantic vision of a beehive or beekeeper lodged in the cultural consciousness, but then that's not what matters; keeping bees alive does. And Beewise's units do that dramatically better than the standard hive, providing constant insights on colony health and the ability to provide treatment should it start to falter. The US has observed a startling uptick in the number of die-offs since the mid-2000s as beekeepers have struggled to keep pace with the rise of disease-carrying mites, climate extremes and other stressors that can wipe out colonies. That's endangering billions of dollars in crops from almonds to avocados that rely on the pollinators. This past year saw the worst colony losses on record. Beewise has raised nearly US$170mil (RM729mil), and it has a plan to change the industry. AI and robotics are able to replace "90% of what a beekeeper would do in the field,' said Beewise Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Saar Safra. The question is whether beekeepers are willing to switch out what's been tried and true equipment. Ultimately, the fate of humans is tied to that of bees. Roughly 75% of crops require pollinators, with nuts and fruits particularly dependent. While other species of bees and insects can play a role, they can't replace honeybees. "There would essentially be no crop without the bees,' said Zac Ellis, the senior director of agronomy at OFI, a global food and ingredient seller. The beehive hasn't seen much technological innovation in 170 years. The Langstroth hive, named after the American reverend who patented it in 1852, is a simple wooden box with frames that can house the queen and her worker bees, larvae and honey. "Langstroth hives are easy to work with, break down, build up, manipulate frames, make splits' and move, said Priya Chakrabarti Basu, a Washington State University bee researcher. These boxes are the backbone of the agriculture industry and the high-value crops that are heavily reliant on the 2.5 million commercial hives that crisscross the US on semi-trailers. Beekeepers with thousands of hives will travel from as far away as Florida to provide pollination services for California's US$3.9bil (RM16.7bil) almond crop in spring before moving on to other states and crops. "Almonds are one of the largest pollination events in the world,' said Ellis, who uses Beewise's hives on 30% of the acres he manages. "Typically, a grower needs two hives per acre,' each with up to 40,000 bees. Pollinating the 10,000 acres of almonds, walnuts and pistachios he oversees requires millions of bees doing the brunt of the pollination work. The number of hives and demand have created a problem, though: Beekeepers are only able to check on their colonies' health every week or two. But a growing number of threats to bees means entire colonies can be wiped out or weakened past the point of no return in just a few days. Toxic pesticides, a changing climate and a sharp uptick in the invasive, disease-transmitting varroa mite since the 1980s have contributed to the rise of what's known as colony collapse disorder. The exact role each of these issues plays in wiping out colonies is unclear, but they are also likely interacting with each other to take a toll. "You are rarely going to find a bee who is only, for example, stressed by a mite or a bee who's stressed by a disease only or a bee who's only stressed by poor nutrition,' Chakrabarti Basu said. "It is always a combination.' The impacts, though, are clear. From the 12-month period starting last April, more than 56% of commercial colonies were wiped out, according to the Apiary Inspectors of America. Beekeepers have taken a major economic hit as a result: Between last June and March, colony losses cost beekeepers an estimated US$600mil (RM2.6bil), according to the Honey Bee Health Coalition. While a new hive design alone isn't enough to save bees, Beewise's robotic hives help cut down on losses by providing a near-constant stream of information on colony health in real time – and give beekeepers the ability to respond to issues. Equipped with a camera and a robotic arm, they're able to regularly snap images of the frames inside the BeeHome, which Safra likened to an MRI. The amount of data they capture is staggering. Each frame contains up to 6,000 cells where bees can, among other things, gestate larvae or store honey and pollen. A hive contains up to 15 frames and a BeeHome can hold up to 10 hives, providing thousands of datapoints for Beewise's AI to analyse. While a trained beekeeper can quickly look at a frame and assess its health, AI can do it even faster, as well as take in information on individual bees in the photos. Should AI spot a warning sign, such as a dearth of new larvae or the presence of mites, beekeepers will get an update on an app that a colony requires attention. The company's technology earned it a BloombergNEF Pioneers award earlier this year. "There's other technologies that we've tried that can give us some of those metrics as well, but it's really a look in the rearview mirror,' Ellis said. "What really attracted us to Beewise is their ability to not only understand what's happening in that hive, but to actually act on those different metrics.' That includes administering medicine and food as well as opening and closing vents to regulate temperature or protect against pesticide spraying. Safra noted that after two hurricanes hit Florida last year, BeeHomes in the state were still operational while many wooden hives were destroyed. That durability and responsiveness has Ellis convinced on expanding their use. Today, BeeHomes are on 30% of his acres, but he said within three years, they're aiming for 100% coverage. Whether other growers and beekeepers are as keen to make the switch remains to be seen, though, given nearly two centuries of loyalty to the Langstroth design. The startup wants to more than triple the number of BeeHomes in use, reaching 1 million in three years. "We're in a race against time,' Safra said. "We might have the best product on planet earth in 15 years, but it doesn't matter' if there aren't any bees left. Ellis likened the hives to a Ritz-Carlton for pollinators. The five-star stay appears to suit bees well: Beewise says its units - which it leases to provide pollination services at what it says are market rates - have seen colony losses of around 8%. That's a major drop compared to the average annual loss rate of more than 40%, according to Apiary Inspectors of America, a group that tracks colony health. "The asset is the bees, that's the revenue-generating asset,' said Safra, noting that losing more than 40% of those assets makes it hard for businesses to cover labor to maintain hives, trailers to transport them and other fixed costs. Beewise expects to have US$100mil (RM429mil) in revenue this year, and Safra said it's a year away from profitability. The company declined to share the valuation for its Series D. It has competition in the bee-saving technology realm. Some companies like Dalan Animal Health are developing vaccines to protect bees against disease. BeeHero and Beeflow (sensing a pattern?) are among those that provide sensors for monitoring health in hives and fields. Both can help improve outcomes at Langstroth hives, but they still require regular beekeeper maintenance. Chakrabarti Basu from Washington State and her colleagues are also working on using AI to detect bees entering hives. "The more data sets we can give, the better it'll be trained,' she said. "Pattern recognition – it could be monitoring a brood frame, it could be looking at anything for estimating colony health or any aspect of colony health – I think AI will probably get better at it.' – Bloomberg
Newsweek
18-06-2025
- Newsweek
Bryan Kohberger Update: Judge Reacts to Request for Trial Delay
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The judge presiding over Bryan Kohberger's case said the trial will likely begin as scheduled after hearing arguments on the defense's request to delay the August start date. District Judge Steven Hippler has not issued a ruling on the motion yet, instead stating he will take the matter under advisement. "In the meantime, I fully encourage everyone to continue as if the trial is going to take place when it is scheduled for," Hippler said. "Again, I reserve the right to write the decision that I come to, but as of now, I would tell you that it's likely you're going to trial on the date indicated." Why It Matters Bryan Kohberger was charged with four counts of murder and one count of felony burglary in connection with the deaths of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, who were found fatally stabbed in an off-campus residence on November 13, 2022. At the time of the killings, Kohberger was a graduate student at Washington State University. A plea of not guilty has been entered on his behalf. Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, enters a courtroom to appear at a hearing in Latah County District Court, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, enters a courtroom to appear at a hearing in Latah County District Court, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, Pool The legal case against Kohberger has seen significant media coverage and public interest. The defense cited this in its argument to delay the trial, highlighting several recent and upcoming releases centered around the case. Hippler is set to oversee the trial, which has been scheduled to begin on August 11, 2025, with jury selection starting in late July. What To Know Defense attorney Anne Taylor said a recent Dateline special, along with an upcoming docuseries and book, could complicate jury selection. "The moment we start attempting to select a jury in this case, those things are going to be on everybody's TV, everybody's social media feed," Taylor said. Taylor also said some witnesses who are expected to testify in the trial may be featured in the docuseries and noted in the book. "That is, in and of itself, an exceptional reason for us to have a continuance to let those things play out for a while," Taylor said. Special deputy prosecuting attorney Joshua Hurwit argued that the decision would put the trial's start date "at the whim of the media." "Every time there's a breaking story, every time there's a new book or a new documentary, are we going to continue the trial indefinitely?" Hurwit said. "And that seems to be the danger of what the defense is asking for. We call it a perpetual continuance." Due to extensive media coverage and logistical challenges, including the trial's relocation far from Moscow, Idaho, to Boise, the judge has instituted strict guidelines on courtroom access and electronic device use. One seat will be reserved daily for a pooled journalist from Latah County to share coverage with other outlets, while general attendance will be controlled through an online ticketing system. If convicted, Kohberger faces the death penalty. Rules for the upcoming proceedings stipulate that the trial will be livestreamed, though close-up shots are prohibited, and video feeds will be cut when surviving roommates testify. What People Are Saying Taylor, in court on Wednesday: "Jury selection is going to be particularly challenged, and we'll need a great deal of time based on what's happened in the media and continues to happen." Hurwit, in court on Wednesday: "We haven't seen a proposal about when this trial could take place if there's a continuance. What seems to be the strategy here is just to delay." What Happens Next Hippler is expected to issue a written order featuring his decision at a later date. The trial is currently expected to start on August 11. Do you have a story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact LiveNews@
Vancouver Sun
18-06-2025
- Vancouver Sun
Trial of Bryan Kohberger in Idaho college student killings could face new delay
With jury selection less than six weeks away, the trial in the stabbing deaths of four university students in Idaho could be delayed again as defense attorneys argue they need more time to prepare and that intense publicity has threatened Bryan Kohberger's right to a fair trial. Judge Steven Hippler will hear arguments Wednesday on the request. He is also expected to consider, in a closed session, whether the defense can present evidence of possible alternate suspects. Kohberger, 30, a former graduate student in criminal justice at nearby Washington State University, is charged with sneaking into into a rental home near the University of Idaho campus and fatally stabbing Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves on Nov. 13, 2022. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Kohberger stood silent at his arraignment, prompting a judge to enter a not guilty plea on his behalf. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Defense attorney Anne Taylor wrote in a motion last month that proceeding with an August trial date would violate Kohberger's constitutional rights. She said the defense needs more time to review discovery, complete investigations and prepare mitigating evidence that could be presented if the case reaches the penalty phase. Taylor emphasized that in a death penalty case, the jury must consider any factor from a defendant's life history that might weigh against executing them. 'This process is a comprehensive, time-consuming, and expensive undertaking,' she wrote, 'but it is also what our Constitution demands when the government seeks to extinguish human life.' Latah County prosecutors, led by Bill Thompson, argued against the defense team's 'eleventh-hour motion.' In a court filling this month, Thompson noted Kohberger has three defense attorneys, a public defender and a team of experts, investigators and a mitigation specialist. He said the request for more time has 'no end in sight' and that beginning the trial as scheduled wouldn't violate his right to a mitigation case that passes constitutional muster. The killings in Moscow, Idaho, drew worldwide attention almost immediately, prompting a judge to issue a sweeping gag order that bars attorneys, investigators and others from speaking publicly about the investigation or trial. The trial was moved to Boise to gather a larger jury pool and the judge has sealed many case documents. It's all being done to limit potential juror's pretrial bias. Still, public interest remains high. A recent Dateline episode included details that weren't publicly released, and Hippler said the information appears to have come from law enforcement or someone close to the case. That's another reason to delay the trial, Kohberger's attorneys have argued. 'The leaked materials appear carefully curated to promote a narrative of guilt,' Taylor wrote. That raises serious concerns about the objectivity of investigators, especially if the source of the leak could be called as a witness. The defense has asked the judge to appoint a special investigator to identify the leaker, and prosecutors said they will cooperate. But Thompson argued that pretrial publicity alone is not reason enough to delay the case. 'The question of whether Defendant can receive a fair trial is not answered by the amount of and the nature of pretrial publicity,' he said. 'Rather, it depends on whether a fair and impartial jury can be seated.' He said anyone influenced by the coverage, including the Dateline episode, will be screened out during jury selection. The attention isn't likely to end soon. A book about the killings by James Patterson is set to be released in July. And a 'docu-series' centered on the morning the deaths were discovered is expected to air on Amazon Prime next month, and includes interviews with some of the victims' family members and friends. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
