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DECEMBER 23, 2021 | The Jewish Home
1,306 Legs
Need something to do this Sunday? Spend some time counting this elongated blind millipede’s legs – that’ll keep you entertained. Scientists have found a millipede in Australia that actually has more than 1,000 legs. “Previously no known millipede actually had 1,000 legs despite the name millipede meaning ‘thousand feet,’” said Virginia Tech entomologist Paul Marek, lead author of the research published in the journal Scientific Reports. The threadlike pale-colored millipede reaches about 3-1/2 inches
(95 mm) long and about four-hundredths of an inch (0.95 mm) wide. It has 1,306 legs and a conical head, beak-shaped mouth and large antennae. Interestingly, it lacks eyes. The creature is called Eumillipes persephone. The handful of individuals discovered lived up to almost 200 feet (60 meters) underground. Females had more legs than males. “In my opinion this is a stunning animal,” said study co-author Bruno Buzatto, a principal biologist at Bennelongia Environmental Consultants in Perth, Australia. “It represents the most extreme elongation found to date in millipedes, which were the first animals to conquer land. And this species in particular managed to adapt to living tens of meters deep in the soil, in an arid and harsh landscape where it is very hard to find any millipedes surviving in the surface,” Buzatto added. Sure has a leg up on the competition.
Vaccination Chip Lost your vaccination card? Have no fear. You can have your vaccina-
tion status embedded into your body via a microchip. In a film that circulated this week, DSruptive CEO Hannes Sjöblad, who is founder of the Swedish Association of Biohackers, demonstrated how a rice-sized microchip with one’s vaccination information can be implanted under a person’s skin in the arm or in their hand.
Lest you think this sounds crazy, a few years ago, companies introduced an option to employees to be implanted with a chip that would grant them access to certain rooms and the ability to pay for food and drinks in the breakroom. “Eventually, this technology will become standardized allowing you to use this as your passport, public transit, all purchasing opportunities, etc.,” said Todd Westby, the 32M CEO at the time. Sounds like a fast-track vax.
Flying Into an Active Volcano
Sebastián “Ardilla” Álvarez, a former Chilean Air Force pilot and wingsuit daredevil whose nickname means “Squirrel,” had a recent brush with an active volcano in a heart-pumping, adrenaline-filled stunt. In a dramatic video posted by Red Bull, the 36-year-old became the first person to fly in and out of an active volcano. (Kids, do not try this at home!) “Everything started because I had the dream of flying,” Álvarez told CNN. “Since I was a kid, I just wanted to fly – and somehow, I made it happen.” The thrill-seeker jumped out of the chopper at an altitude of almost 2.2 miles and reached speeds
FALSE: BREAKTHROUGH CASES MEAN THE VACCINES DON’T WORK.
TRUE:
The data overwhelmingly show that vaccines work and they protect people from hospitalization and death. Cases of breakthrough infections do occur and are expected with any vaccine. No vaccine is 100% effective at preventing infection.
COVID-19 VACCINES SAVE LIVES. GET VACCINATED. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT NYC.GOV/COVIDVACCINE.
