A whale got stranded off the German coast, and then social media influencers took over the rescue efforts

NYT:

The early rescue teams, blessed by the local government, were stocked with the sort of experts you’d expect to try to guide a lost whale back to its home: firefighters, coastal police officers, veterinarians and nonprofit groups that work in animal rescue.

...

Many in the crowd expressed deep distrust of the experts on the initial government-backed rescue teams, not to mention the local politicians.

Tabloids and TikTok fed their anger. 

...

They grew attached to main characters from the saga. One was ...a charming biologist who fashioned himself as a social media whale-fluencer.

...

“He was literally sticking his face in the water next to the whale, like making noises”

(It doesn't end well) 

"Some 1,000 protesters tried to storm a private breeding and lab facility in Wisconsin in an effort to steal thousands of beagles that are bred for medical experimentation"

This was the second raid:

The protesters, organized by the national animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere, successfully broke into Ridglan Farms on March 15 and took 22 beagles, which were subsequently adopted.

Last fall, a special prosecutor found that Ridglan Farms, about 30 miles outside Madison, the state capital, had performed procedures on the beagles that constituted animal mistreatment. But he let the company avoid prosecution on condition that it surrender its breeding license by July 1, which would end its ability to sell dogs to outside labs.

WKOW:

Ridglan Farms was cited under a Dane County ordinance for constructing a manure storage facility without a permit.

The farm says, "Ridglan Farms did not construct a manure storage facility. We took reasonable measures to protect our health research facility from the announced unlawful invasion. We dug a trench around the perimeter of the facility. This obstacle impeded a dangerous mob that sought to commit a forcible mass break-in

Tax deductible bikinis

@lochnessofficial

If you’ve seen me joking about my “tax deductible bikinis,” this is what I’m talking about 😅 Also, I get a lot of questions as to if my previous fashion degree has ever been useful in my raccoon research, and, as you can see from the video, the answer is yes. Fashion psychology is fascinating and an important part of communication.

♬ original sound - Nessie

Life in Ancient Ohio posters (art roundup)

Ohio DNR is currently selling these “Life in Ancient Ohio” posters pic.twitter.com/rk4zPq7RAb

— Midwest Modern (@JoshLipnik) January 28, 2026

FWIW, I was given this info: 

Sized at 24 x 36 inches, each poster is printed on high-quality paper with a satin finish, unframed. Price includes mailing tube. Species indexes are included with every order.
Poster prices:
$10 each
$40 complete set (all seven posters) – CURRENTLY OUT OF STOCK
To order, please contact the Geologic Records Center (GRC):
Phone: (614) 265-6576
Email geo.survey@dnr.ohio.gov

"Why Were 100,000 Pregnant Women’s Blood Samples Smuggled Out of China?"

Here's the setup, can you guess why the blood was being smuggled?

The case was part of a major operation by Guangzhou’s anti-smuggling authorities following a year-long investigation and the mobilization of 265 officers. As part of the operation, two professional criminal groups specializing in the smuggling of pregnant women’s blood samples were dismantled, and a total of 26 people were arrested.

The groups earned a staggering 30 million yuan (US$4.2 million) from their blood-smuggling activities.

So far, the story reads almost like a vampire novel, especially with Chinese media detailing how the blood was smuggled: smugglers reportedly strapped tubes of blood to their bodies to cross the border. Others hid them in specially modified suitcases with concealed compartments.

Glow in the Dark Cloche Neuron hat

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The Tsarichina Hole was a hole was dug by Bulgaria's Ministry of Defense in search of paranormal treasures

Here's the summary from Wikipedia. What year would you guess the project started?

This hole was dug by the Ministry of Defence of Bulgaria, who excavated an area in the center of the village during a project active from ____ to ____. A group of psychics convinced some influential military members to start an excavation. As the secret "Operation Lightbeam" commenced, the psychics changed their opinion on what to find in Tsarichina several times. They were looking "for a creature – a "yellow-haired monkey", a "Biblical personage", a "hermaphrodite extraterrestrial that would disprove Darwin's theory of evolution and would reveal humanity's extraterrestrial origins", or the hidden treasure of Tsar Samuil. After digging a 160-metre (520 ft) long tunnel at a depth of 70 metres (230 ft) without finding anything for two years, the project was abandoned

Simple canvas water bag uses evaporation to cool the water within

@theironsnail

You need a good ol water bag, my friend!

♬ original sound - TheIronSnail

Study indicates that cutting ships' sulfur emissions dramatically reduced lightning over shipping lanes

The Conversation:

For decades, ship emissions steadily rose as increasing global trade drove higher ship traffic. Then, in 2020, new international regulations cut ships’ sulfur emissions by 77%. Our newly published research shows how lightning over shipping lanes dropped by half almost overnight after the regulations went into effect.

Hacker news discussion FWIW.

536 was the worst year to be alive

https://t.co/W0FBWAHRSZ pic.twitter.com/ILDZGNiUy3

— Dr. Alexander Zawacki (@AChillGhost) August 17, 2025

The excerpt is from this article. And this is the Wikipedia page.

India's "plan to more than double renewable energy capacity by 2030 could be undermined by the country’s high susceptibility to wind droughts and reduced solar irradiation"

From the latest edition of Bloomberg's Green Daily newsletter, which is about, "parametric insurance, a product providing rapid compensation when certain weather-related metrics are met."

Magical photo of the Antarctic winter

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A post shared by British Antarctic Survey 🐧 (@britishantarcticsurvey)

Youtube has a documentary

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A post shared by British Antarctic Survey 🐧 (@britishantarcticsurvey)

Whalefall diorama and other beautiful museum exhibits

Carmen Martin and Maddy Dahl of Blur Rhino Studio created this life-sized minke whale fall for our Death: Life’s Greatest Mystery exhibit. It introduces the concept that a death from one perspective can be a beginning of new life from another.

[image or embed]

— Ben Miller (@extinctmonsters.bsky.social) July 27, 2025 at 7:17 AM

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A post shared by Blue Rhino Studio (@bluerhinostudio)

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A post shared by Blue Rhino Studio (@bluerhinostudio)

Lab-grown salmon approved by the Food and Drug Administration and to be served at restaurants

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A post shared by Wildtype (@wildtypefoods)

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A post shared by Wildtype (@wildtypefoods)

Discussed here, along with the FDA's letter.

Mountaineers violated "climbing ethics" by dosing themselves with xenon gas to make it easier to climb Mt. Everest

Long article (that questions whether the gas even does anything meaningful):

The British group, which included four former special forces members, took a different approach.

About 10 weeks before the expedition, the men began sleeping in hypoxic tents, which lower oxygen levels in the air and gradually acclimatized the hikers to conditions on Mount Everest, [the organizer] said.

While hypoxic tents have been used by some climbers for years, the big innovation for the British expedition came two weeks before the excursion, when the men flew to Limburg, Germany, outside Frankfurt, where a doctor ... had been experimenting with inhaled gases in his clinic.

The men wore masks hooked up to ventilators as an anesthesiologist slowly introduced higher levels of xenon into their systems.

Patch for a mission to put an x-ray machine in space

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For Termination Shock fans, Neal Stephenson wrote up his thoughts on the plausibility of seeding the atmosphere to cool the planet

On his Substack.

The Lake Nyos disaster

There's an enormous lake between Rwanda and Congo, valuable both as a fishery, and because of the presence of methane below. The resources might lead to conflict between the two countries, and the makeup of the lake could also lead to a rare and massively fatal limnic eruption like what occurred at Lake Nyos in Cameroon in 1986:

We know how devastating a limnic eruption can be. On Aug. 21, 1986, the serene Lake Nyos, a crater lake in Cameroon, unleashed a silent eruption of carbon dioxide. The invisible cloud of gas spilled over the lake’s rim, descending upon nearby villages with lethal consequences. In a harrowing instant, over 1,700 lives were extinguished as the calm waters transformed into a death trap. Lake Kivu’s significant methane content makes this scenario a possibility here, too. Given the surrounding settlements, a limnic eruption on Lake Kivu could potentially claim 2 million lives. And there are fears that rather than planning for such an eventuality, the government is undertaking work that will make it more likely. 

Bioluminescent Petunias

and u can buy it pic.twitter.com/FbKq1r6BzQ

— Harris Rothaermel (@DeveloperHarris) November 2, 2024

Here's the preorder, shipments expected to begin Spring 2025.

The Firefly Petunia emits a soft glow similar to moonlight. It can be grown in pots, baskets, or gardens, quickly attaining about 8 to 10 inches in size with abundant white flowers. This plant is easy to care for, thriving without needing special conditions or treatments.

Although typically regarded as annuals, petunias can be grown indoors if placed in a sunny spot. They flourish under long summer days, preferring at least six hours of direct sunlight. Promoting vigorous growth will produce a brighter glow.

"Dozens of tigers dead after bird flu hits Vietnam zoos"

"Three lions and a panther were also reported to have died of the virus alongside 47 tigers since August."

There's been an ongoing story about possible bird flu cases in Missouri, but the WaPo says the coverage to date has been alarmist and misleading:

public health officials stress there is no evidence so far of a bird flu cluster or that the virus is spreading easily among humans.

Missouri’s state epidemiologist said in an interview that additional testing is being conducted to confirm whether the patient, who has recovered, had bird flu. The patient did not develop the usual symptoms associated with bird flu or have exposure to known sources of the virus. The illnesses experienced by the patient’s contacts, he said, could have been caused by common pathogens such as the coronavirus.