[La semaine en bref] The health of the ocean can be read in the cans

The ocean in a tin can – Sometimes all it takes is opening a batch of expired cans of tuna to make important discoveries about the health of the marine environment. However, this is the fruitful path followed by a team of biologists from the University of Washington, who assessed the health status of large marine mammals over several decades by measuring the amounts of parasites present from year to year in canned salmon…a reflection of those Natural predators were exposed to it through feeding (no can opener). [Scientific American]. Moving forward in the archive: 50 years of aquaculture, what now?, 2023.

wasted effort perseverance ? – Send a rover to Mars. Equip it with a drilling tool. Have him take core samples of Martian soil here and there and leave these samples, carefully collected at a specific point, in sealed tubes. Several years later, he launched a probe into orbit around the red planet. The following year, task the lander to recover the precious tubes and entrust them to the probe, itself designed to return them to Earth. complicated ? This was the scenario written by NASA and the European Space Agency perseverance (which continues to explore and drill Mars) and the missions that would have followed. But the American agency no longer believes in it, and estimated the cost of operations at 11 billion dollars, and a return to Earth in 2040 at best. I have just put out a call for proposals in search of more logical solutions. [Nature]. To proceed with the archive: Mars: What is the roaming sampling strategy? perseverance ?, 2021.

Burnt lizards – An invasive species of frog is wreaking havoc in Australia. In particular, it kills the lizards that eat it and die from the effects of the poison contained in the skin of the batrachians. In juveniles, this toxin is present in much smaller quantities; Watch the lizards you eat get sick and then recover. Biologists from Macquarie University in Sydney laid thousands of eggs and chicks in areas where the frog had not yet arrived, and monitored lizard populations as invasive species gradually arrived. Bottom line: After tasting the young, the monitor lizards learn their lesson. They avoid adults… and save their lives. [Science]. To proceed with the archive: Why don't poison frogs poison themselves? 2017.

Goodbye Atlas. Hello Atlas. – The famous bipedal robot Atlas is withdrawing from the show after eleven years of funny and scary shows. Specifically: the hydraulic version of the robot. Boston Dynamics has just introduced its successor – the Atlas, the all-electric version. More compact, more immersive… and more impressive. [The Verge]. To proceed with the archive: Testing robots to live well with, 2017.