Tag Archives: Animation

Lifestyle

Why do cats’ eyes glow in the dark?

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

Why do cats’ eyes glow in the dark? Chloe, age 10, Barkhamsted, Connecticut

Cats and many other animals, including most dogs, can reflect light from their eyes. That’s why cats’ eyes will usually shine brightly in photos taken in a dimly lit room or glow when illuminated in the dark by a flashlight or a car’s headlights.

Species whose eyes glow have evolved to see better in low light because they either forage or need to look out for predators throughout the night, or they do most of their hunting at dawn and dusk. In fact, domesticated cats can see in conditions that are only 16% as bright as what people require.

Above: Photo / Adobe Stock

Cats accomplish this because their pupils – the openings that appear black in the middle of their eyes that widen and narrow in response to light conditions – are special. Pupils operate like windows, with bigger ones letting more light into the eye. And a cat’s pupils can become up to 50% larger than human pupils in dim light. They also have a higher number of a specific type of light-sensing cell in the back of their eyes than we do. These cells, called rods, catch low-level light.

Humans do not have a tapetum lucidum but cats, including lynxes and pumas, do. The Open University, CC BY-SA

The tapetum lucidum

In addition to having large pupils and lots of rods, cats have something people don’t: a tapetum lucidum, a Latin medical term that translates to “bright or shining tapestry.” The tapetum lucidum is also known as “eyeshine.”

It’s located in the back of the eye behind the retina – a thin layer of tissue that receives light, converts the light to an electrical signal and sends this signal to the brain to interpret the image.

A cat’s tapetum lucidum is made up of cells with crystals that, like a mirror, reflect light back to the retina. This gives the retina a second chance to absorb more light.

The feline tapetum lucidum is special because its reflective compound is riboflavin, a type of vitamin B. Riboflavin has unique properties that amplify light to a specific wavelength that cats can see well, which greatly increases the sensitivity of the retina to low light.

In cats, the tapetum most often glows yellow-green or yellow-orange, but the color varies, just like their irises – the colorful part of their eye, which can be green, yellow, blue or golden. Variation in tapetum color is not unique to cats and can be found in lots of species.

Most dogs’ eyes will glow in dark spaces when a light shines on them. Tommy Greco, CC BY-SA

Other animals’ eyes glow too

Many other animals that need to see at night have a tapetum lucidum. That includes predators and prey alike, everything from wild foxes to farmed sheep and goats.

The tapetum lucidum is also useful to fish, dolphins and other aquatic animals, because it helps them see better in murky, dark water.

In land animals, the tapetum is found in the top half of the eye behind the retina, because they need to see what is on the ground best. But in aquatic animals the tapetum takes up most of the eye, because they need to see all around them in the dark.

Like cats, the lemur, a small primate, and its close relative, the bush baby – also known as a “night monkey” – also have a superreflective tapetum made with riboflavin.

Even though a lot of animals have eyeshine, some small domesticated dogs lack this trait. Most animals with blue eyes and white or light-colored coats have also lost this trait.

So don’t be alarmed if your dog’s or cat’s eyes don’t glow. The list of other species without a tapetum lucidum includes pigs, birds, reptiles and most rodents and primates – including humans.

Is there a downside?

Unfortunately, animals with a tapetum lucidum sacrifice some visual acuity for their ability to see in dim light.

That’s because all that light bouncing around as it reflects off the tapetum can make what they see a little fuzzier. So, a cat needs to be seven times closer to an object to see it as sharply as a person would in a brightly lit place.

But don’t worry, I’m sure your cat would rather see clearly at night than read a book.

Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.

And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.

Braidee Foote, Clinical Assistant Professor of Veterinary Ophthalmology, University of Tennessee

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Food and Cooking, Health, Health and Diet, Lifestyle

Remind me again, why is salt bad for you?

Shutterstock

Evangeline Mantzioris, University of South Australia

Despite most of us knowing we should cut down on salt, Australians consume on average almost twice the recommended daily maximum per day.

Salt has been used in food preservation for centuries, and idioms like “worth your weight in salt” indicate how valuable it was for preserving food to ensure survival. Salt draws moisture out of foods, which limits bacterial growth that would otherwise spoil food and cause gastrointestinal illnesses. Today, salt is still added as a preservative, but it also improves the taste of foods.

Salt is a chemical compound made of sodium and chloride, and this is the main form in which we consume it in our diet. Of these two elements, it’s the sodium we need to worry about.

So what does sodium do in our bodies?

The major concern of consuming too much sodium is the well-established link to the increased risk of high blood pressure (or hypertension). High blood pressure is in turn a risk factor for heart disease and stroke, a major cause of severe illness and death in Australia. High blood pressure is also a cause of kidney disease.

Most of the salt we consume is from processed foods. Shutterstock

The exact processes that lead to high blood pressure from eating large amounts of sodium are not fully understood. However, we do know it’s due to physiological changes that occur in the body to tightly control the body’s fluid and sodium levels. This involves changes in how the kidneys, heart, nervous system and fluid-regulating hormones respond to increasing sodium levels in our body.

Maintaining tight control on sodium levels is necessary because sodium affects the membranes of all the individual cells in your body. Healthy membranes allow for the movement of:

  • nutrients in and out of the cells
  • signals through the nervous system (for example, messages from the brain to other parts of your body).

Dietary salt is needed for these processes. However, most of us consume much, much more than we need.

When we eat too much salt, this increases sodium levels in the blood. The body responds by drawing more fluid into the blood to keep the sodium concentration at the right level. However, by increasing the fluid volume, the pressure against the blood vessel walls is increased, leading to high blood pressure.

High blood pressure makes the heart work harder, which can lead to disease of the heart and blood vessels, including heart attack and heart failure.

While there is some controversy around the effect of salt on blood pressure, most of the literature indicates there is a progressive association, which means the more sodium you consume, the more likely you are to die prematurely.

What to watch out for

Certain groups of people are more affected by high-salt diets than others. These people are referred to as “salt-sensitive”, and are more likely to get high blood pressure from salt consumption.

Those most at risk include older people, those who already have high blood pressure, people of African-American background, those who have chronic kidney disease, those with a history of pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure during pregnancy), and those who had a low birth weight.

Optimal blood pressure is 120/80. Shutterstock

It is important to be aware of your blood pressure, so next time you visit your doctor make sure you get it checked. Your blood pressure is given as two figures: highest (systolic) over lowest (diastolic). Systolic is the pressure in the artery as the heart contracts and pushes the blood through your body. The diastolic pressure in the artery is when the heart is relaxing and being filled with blood.

Optimal blood pressure is below 120/80. Blood pressure is considered high if the reading is over 140/90. If you have other risk factors for heart disease, diabetes or kidney disease, a lower target may be set by your doctor.

How to reduce salt intake

Reducing salt in your diet is a good strategy to reduce your blood pressure, and avoiding processed and ultra-processed foods, which is where about 75% of our daily salt intake comes from, is the first step.

Try to use less salt in your cooking, but home prepared meals are not the worst culprit. Shutterstock

Increasing your intake of fruit and vegetables to at least seven serves per day may also be effective in reducing your blood pressure, as they contain potassium, which helps our blood vessels relax.

Increasing physical activity, stopping smoking, maintaining a healthy weight and limiting your alcohol intake will also help to maintain a healthy blood pressure. Blood pressure reducing medications are also available if blood pressure can not be reduced initially by lifestyle changes.

Evangeline Mantzioris, Program Director of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of South Australia

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Climate Solutions, News, Observation

Humanity ‘Way Off Track’: WMO Says Atmospheric Carbon at Level Unseen in 3 Million Years

Above: Photo / Adobe Stock

The new report has “a stark, scientific message for climate change negotiators at COP 26,” said the head of the World Meteorological Organization.

Carbon dioxide concentrations reached a new record high in 2020, with comparable levels not seen for roughly 3 million years, the United Nations weather agency said Monday.

“There is no time to lose.”

The findings came in the latest edition of the World Meteorological Organization’s Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, released a week before COP 26—the U.N. climate summit—kicks off in Glasgow.

According to WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas, the report holds “a stark, scientific message for climate change negotiators” headed to the summit. 

The bulletin said globally averaged levels of CO2, as well as two other potent greenhouse gases—methane and nitrous oxide—were all up from the previous year.

CO2 reached 413.2 parts per million (ppm) in 2020—149% of the pre-industrial level. The increase from 2019 levels came despite pandemic-triggered lockdowns triggering an approximately 5.6% drop in fossil fuel CO2.

Methane stood at 262% and nitrous oxide at 123% of pre-industrial levels, the report said.

“At the current rate of increase in greenhouse gas concentrations, we will see a temperature increase by the end of this century far in excess of the Paris Agreement targets of 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels,” he said in a statement, warning, “We are way off track.”

“The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere breached the milestone of 400 parts per million in 2015. And just five years later, it exceeded 413 ppm,” Taalas added. “This is more than just a chemical formula and figures on a graph. It has major negative repercussions for our daily lives and well-being, for the state of our planet, and for the future of our children and grandchildren.”

“Carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for centuries and in the ocean for even longer,” said Taalas. “The last time the Earth experienced a comparable concentration of CO2 was 3-5 million years ago, when the temperature was 2-3°C warmer and sea level was 10-20 meters higher than now.”

The report also warned that land and oceans’ ability to continue serving as carbon sinks, sucking up about half of CO2 emissions, could be negatively affected by climate crisis-related changes such as wildfires.

Urging countries to turn “commitment into action,” Taalas said, “There is no time to lose.”

Dave Reay, a professor at the University of Edinburgh and director of the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute, also tied the bulletin’s findings to the upcoming U.N climate summit.

“The true success, or failure, of COP 26 will be written in our skies in the form of greenhouse gas concentrations,” he said in a statement.  “This new report from the WMO provides a brutally frank assessment of what’s been written there to date.”

“So far,” he said, “it’s an epic fail.”

“Will this 26th COP find success where the previous 25 have fallen short?” Reay asked. “Our atmosphere will bear witness.”

Originally published on Common Dreams by ANDREA GERMANOS and republished under a Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

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Books, LGBTQ+, Lifestyle

LGBTQ+ Books for Pride Month and Every Month

As the sun begins to peak out and early summer finally shines among us, June, as it has been for years, is the perfect month to be designated for Pride Month. Although large public celebrations like parades may still be stalled for most parts of the world because of the still looming pandemic, there are nevertheless plenty of opportunities to celebrate and proudly wave that beautiful rainbow flag (literally and metaphorically).

Pride can and never will be be canceled!

There are many ways to show your support/allegiance and to champion the LGBTQ+ community, particularly during Pride Month, (although Pride should really be a constant). One such way is through the classic form of words and images on pages, as reading and learning should never be considered less than desirable and always be savored. 

There are hundreds of LGBTQ+ books out there and although it can be extremely hard to choose which ones to spotlight, we’ve chosen a few with accompanying book descriptions to kick off June 2021 Pride.

The Queer Bible: Essays

Jack Guinness wanted to have a tangible way for us to see and praise the long and “glorious” history of the LGBTQ+ community and created the website QueerBible.com in 2016, the online community solely devoted to celebrating queer heroes both from the past and the present. 

Pre-order at Bookshop
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Walmart
Amazon

The new 2021 book pays homage to queer heroes that paved the path, both unsung heroes and queer icons, which readers will get learn and see them in a fresh light.

The illustrated collection of essays include contributions fro the likes of Elton Jonhn, Tan France, Gus Kenworthy, Paris Lees, Russell Tovey, Munroe Bergdorf. As well as honoring timeless queer icons such as  Susan Sontag, David Bowie, Sylvester, RuPaul, and George Michael.

We Are Everywhere: Protest, Power, and Pride in the History of Queer Liberation

Buy at Bookshop

Check out this book that covers major historical Queer Liberation movements through photographs.

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Amazon

Readers can learn the beginning queen activism in late 19th century Europe to the pivotal Stonewall Riots of 1969 to the current. 

The text features more than 300 pictures from more than 70 photographers and 20 archives.  Looking at family life, protests, marches, celebrations, mourning and Pride – you can to literally SEE queer history.

“We are Everywhere” shows readers how they can and must honor LGBTQ+ post history in order to shape a more liberated future.  

Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality

Sarach McBride would become the first transgender person to speak at a national political convention and later became the first openly transgender Delaware state senator and national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign.

Yet before all that she struggled with the decision to come out. 

“Tomorrow Will Be Different” is chronicles her journey.

Buy at Bookshop
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Her book, a powerful memoir, that is informative, heartbreaking and also extremely powerful as she writes about her identity and the battle for equal rights and what it means to be trans. 

Also includes a foreword by President Joe Biden. 

One Life

Megan Rapinoe is an Olympic gold medalist and a 2x Women’s World cup champion.

Buy at Bookshop

In her book “One Life” she shares for the first time ore intimate information about her life on and off the soccer field and begs the ultimate question, if we all have just one life – what are we going to do? 

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After the 2011 World Cup, Rapinoe felt discouraged by how very few athletes were open about their sexuality. As a result, she decided to disclose publicly she was gay and from then on used her platform to help advocate for marriage equality. 

Her story follows some of the most important moments in her life and career including her realization she was gay in college, her experience with soccer coaches and the backlash / disputes she received when she took a knee during the national athem in 2016 in solidarity with NFL player Colin Kaepernick, how she met her fiancé Sue Bird and her process during the US Soccer Federation over gender discrimination and equal pay. 

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Entertainment, Movies

Disney Animation Showcase: new trailer for ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’

Video
https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/1354051215131357184/vid/866x360/W1E_yzW8RdendOD3.mp4?tag=13

First look at Disney’s new adventuress and superhero

The recently dropped trailer gives Disney lovers a glimpse of the upcoming movie inspired by Southeast Asian folklore.  Voices will feature Kelly Marie Tran as Raya  and Awkwafina as Sisu, the dragon.  Writer, Qui Nguyen spoke about the character Raya in an interview, being a new kind of female lead, and her special qualities as more of a “superhero” than a “princess”. 

“Raya and the Last Dragon” will premier simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access (additional fee required apart from Disney+ monthly subscription)  on March 5, 2021. 

“Growing up in Southeast Asia, we’re very proud of our culture and our history. But you don’t really ever see it on a Hollywood big screen. I had lots of action heroes on screen growing up, but it was like Hong Kong action kung fu. And now, the idea to be part of a Disney movie that can really celebrate everything that’s beautiful about our culture and how strong our women are is great. And that Raya’s not just an ass-kicker. She’s got so much personality. I feel that it’s so much of the spirit of a lot of the women I grew up with. And so, I’m very excited for the world to see this too.”

Qui Nguyen and Adele Lim

Disney’s synopsis:

“Long ago, in the fantasy world of Kumandra, humans and dragons lived together in harmony. But when sinister monsters known as the Druun threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, those same monsters have returned and it’s up to a lone warrior, Raya, to track down the last dragon in order to finally stop the Druun for good. However, along her journey, she’ll learn that it’ll take more than dragon magic to save the world—it’s going to take trust as well.”

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Documentaries, Entertainment, Movies, Videos

The Premier of ‘Pixar Popcorn’ and more: What to watch this weekend on Disney+

Video

Above: Photo Collage / Disney+

As the year gets it’s “legs” more and more often there’s a fresh batch of streaming releases popping up.  There are so many different platforms where you can stream: Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+ and on and on. 

Not only are there a lot of different platforms with various pricing plans and specialties, for example on Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime Video there are tons of videos available as pay-per-view (with an uncharge that can be significant), while Netflix is all included (and therefore has a more limited choice).

See more: Don’t miss out on ‘Euphoria’, news on ‘Justice League’ and more coming to HBO Max

Add onto all that the fact that each platform is trying to win your attention and loyalty by producing and acquiring new content as often as possible. So, to make things a little bit easier, we’ve gathered some of the notable new and upcoming releases for one platform (and others in our similar articles on the various platforms).

Here’s the news on what will be available to watch on Disney+.

Pixar Popcorn 

The series follow everyone’s favorite Pixar characters in shorts, including from movies: “Toy Story”, “Finding Nemo”, “The Incredible”, “Cars”, “Coco” and more . 

WandaVision

Marvel Cinematic Universe characters Wanda and Vision are living in an the idealized suburbs, hiding their super-powers from everyone around them, when the two begin to suspect that everything is not what it seams.  Starring Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Evan Peters and Kat Dennings. 

Isle of Dogs

Directed by Wes Anderson, this animated film is about when, by executive decree, all the canine pets of Megasaki City are exiled to a vast garbage-dump called Trash Island, 12-year-old Atari sets off alone in a miniature Junior-Turbo Prop and flies across the river in search of his bodyguard-dog, Spots. There, with the assistance of a pack of newly-found mongrel friends, he begins an epic journey that will decide the fate and future of the entire Prefecture. With voices from big name actors including: Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Bryan Cranston and Edward Norton. 

Wild Uganda 

Above: Wild Uganda / NatGeo

From NatGeo: Uganda is still what travelers consider an ‘insider tip’. Off the tourist map, a place still in the shadows of its past. Visitors, including scientists and conservationists, had a difficult time in the civil war-stricken country. Poaching had endangered many of Uganda’s most iconic animals including Mountain gorillas, cave elephants, the chimpanzees and even the tree-dwelling lions. But now the national parks have been restored and Uganda’s wildlife is once again thriving. This is a celebration of their survival.

More coming your way this January 2021 

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Entertainment, Lifestyle, Movies

Lion King’s Monarchy Reigns Supreme

Video

Box Office Bounty Breaks all Barriers at $531M Worldwide

https://movietrailers.apple.com/movies/disney/the-lion-king-2018/the-lion-king-trailer-2_h1080p.mov

Simba Roars as Critics Cower…

Once more a Disney fan favorite is remade to record smashing box office receipts.

With a record $185M in it’s opening weekend in the US and a total Cume of $531M globally, the digital “faux” live action fantasy remake scores the highest ever domestic debut for a PG flick, and the ninth-biggest first week for any rating.

After being almost universally panned by critics for being, allegedly, to much of an exact copy of the original 1994 animated version, albeit with the technical twist, which was lauded, generally.

With overall box office performance in 2019 trailing the previous year by nine percentage points, going into the King’s inaugural weekend, it was a welcome event for industry insiders, as the feline’s performance lowered that deficit by almost two points, as the weekend tally began to emerge.

The powerful cat attracted female audience attentions by an almost 60% majority, a stat borne out by our own research.

Favreau’s recreation of the “everything the light touches’’ scene is perhaps not significantly different in content, yet is a new form of experience due to the presentation. This is the iconic scene where King Mufasa explains to his son Simba where and how they rule. Even better, James Earl Jones reprises his roll as King Mufasa, and delivers a commandingly enunciated speech once again.

For those who have not yet seen a preview of the box office wonder, the official trailer can be viewed above.

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