Utopistics is an emerging field in political science, dealing with the creation of an alternative social system or civilization with different values and priorities from the dominant ones today. Learn about it with this video:
Is there a viable alternative to the neoliberal economic consensus?
Is the nationalism and protectionism of Trump and similar politicians the only alternative?
Is another world possible?
Is a respected alternative even necessary for us to justify getting rid of a reigning economic or social system?
These questions are all relevant to futurism, which closely resembles utopistics in its scope and often asks similar questions.
Prince Philip’s driving days don’t appear to be numbered just yet after a replacement Land Rover was delivered to him today — less than 24 hours after his horror smash.
The black Freelander — an exact replica of the one Philip wrote-off yesterday — was driven off the back of a lorry and into Sandringham at around Midday.
The Duke of Edinburgh, 97, who had to be pulled from the wreckage, told police he had been ‘dazzled by the sun’ before the collision near the Norfolk estate at 2.45pm yesterday.
A trio of researchers at the University of Wisconsin has discovered that a common soil bacterium produces a chemical that is more effective in repelling mosquitoes than DEET. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, Mayur Kajla, Gregory Barrett-Wilt and Susan Paskewitz describe their search for the chemical made by the bacteria and their hopes for its future.
DEET has been the leading mosquito repellent since the late 1940s and multiple studies have shown it to be safe to use—still, some believe its synthetic nature suggests it might be causing harm. Because of that, scientists have continued to look for a natural repellent. In this new effort, the researchers report that they have found a naturally occurring chemical that is even more repellent than DEET, though it will have to undergo extensive study to see if it is safe to use.
The researchers report that their study began with Xenorhabdus budapestensis, a type of bacteria that takes up residence in soil-dwelling nematodes. The nematodes actually use the bacteria to help them parasitize insects. The researchers wanted to learn more about how the bacteria help kill insects and, in the process, found that mosquitoes were quite averse to its presence. This suggested the bacteria produced a chemical that caused the mosquitoes to stay away.
When Mike Poben, an opal buyer and and fossil fanatic, bought a bucket of opal from an Australian mine, he was surprised to find to find what looked like an ancient tooth in the pile.
Later, he also found a fossilized jaw piece — one that was shiny and glistening with opal.
After showing the two opalized specimens to paleontologists in 2014, Poben learned that they were part of a previously unknown dog-size dinosaur species, a new study finds. This dino lived about 100 million years ago in Australia, back when the landscape was lush and dotted with lakes. [Photos: Meet Wade, the Long-Necked Dinosaur from Down Under].
