Before they can bite your cat or dog, these little "itch hikers" make an amazing leap 100 times faster than the blink of an eye. So how do they do it?

DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.---Spring is here, and with it, the start of flea season. With the warming weather, people and their pets are spending more time outside — which increases the chances of bringing home a hungry “itch hiker.”While pet owners curse the tiny insects and look for a way to rid them from their homes, it turns out fleas actually perform some remarkable athletic feats, like jumping 50 times their height — the equivalent of a human jumping 300 feet — or leaping so fast that they take off 100 times faster than the blink of an eye.No larger than a sesame seed and flattened side to side, fleas can slip through fur with ease. Their jump is so fast they seem to simply vanish and reappear somewhere else.“It's there and then it's gone,” said Gregory Sutton, a professor of biomechanics at the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom.

--- What do flea eggs look like?After feeding on blood, adult fleas mate and lay eggs. The eggs drop out of their host animal’s fur or feathers and into their bedding or nest. The eggs are translucent white and very small. At 0.5mm the eggs are about the size of a grain of salt.

--- Why do fleas bite me?Blood is a protein-rich food for fleas. Adult fleas feed on blood before they can procreate.

--- Why does my dog/cat keep getting fleas?Fleas are nest parasites. Their eggs fall from the host animal into its bedding where they hatch. The worm-like larvae feed on organic debris (including the adult fleas’ feces) in the bedding. They then curl up into a cocoon and undergo metamorphosis into their adult form. Flea baths tend to kill the fleas currently on the pet, but there may still be flea eggs and larvae in the pet’s bedding. When those young fleas mature they may reinfest the pet.

Read the entire article on KQED Science:
https://www.kqed.org/science/1....957872/a-fleas-fanta

For more information:Why do Large Animals Never Actuate Their Jumps with Latch-Mediated Springs? Because They can Jump Higher Without Them. (Gregory P Sutton, Elizabeth Mendoza, Emanuel Azizi, Sarah J Longo, Jeffrey P Olberding, Mark Ilton, Sheila N Patek)https://academic.oup.com/icb/a....rticle/59/6/1609/554

According to the Maasai culture, having many wives and children is an indication of wealth. Young girls from as little as 15 years old are married off by their fathers.
In this episode, "Faces of Africa" follows the story of an 11 year old girl, Eunice Mitao, as she's being married off as a second wife to a young Maasai man.

#ulu
#usliftingus
What is ULU?

ULU is an acronym for Us Lifting Us Economic Development Cooperative, LLC, a global economic enterprise designed to change the paradigm of how we do business with and among ourselves and with others. Our primary objective is to put in place practical business models that give us the capacity to gain significant control of the economics of our communities and to free us from the current state of economic exploitation by multiple forces in the world.

ULU represents the leading edge of a new and exciting movement to integrate large-scale cooperatively owned business enterprises into the economic landscape of Black communities in the US and beyond. This innovation is necessary and has proven to be effective in helping communities gain their economic footing.

We are learning from tremendously successful models in other communities around the world; where hundreds of thousands of new jobs have been created, where many have been lifted out of poverty and where wealth and the tools of wealth creation are being successfully passed to future generations.

What is Black Power Cooperative Economics?

Black Power Cooperative Economics is a movement and strategy to gain control of the economics of our communities and nations through the implementation and proliferation of large-scale cooperatively owned business enterprises that are firmly rooted in our culture. The immediate benefits of such a strategy are the creation of many new jobs, the stimulation of business activity in local communities and the contribution to and support of crucial social institutions. Long-term, this strategy provides a realistic and proven way to build an Independent Black Economy; one that we can control and use to serve the fundamental needs and interest of our people worldwide.

ULU takes the strong position that significant economic advancement for our community is impossible with traditional entrepreneurship and business ownership alone. Radically different approaches are required. Large scale cooperatively owned enterprises in the context of “Black Power Cooperative Economics” adds the otherwise missing and vitally necessary element.

Why should I join?

Millions of our people sincerely desire a stronger and more vibrant economic foundation for our communities. And there is widespread frustration with our failure to redirect and make better use of the large sums of economic resources that flow through our collective fingers. If you count yourself among these numbers, join with ULU and help to build the machinery of real and lasting economic power. We need you.

It should be understood that ULU is first and foremost a business, cooperatively owned and democratic. Some of our very real social needs can not be met by ULU alone. ULU, to be effective, must stay true to its charge as a tool of economic empowerment in service to the total needs of our communities and people. Our name, ”Us Lifting Us Economic Development Cooperative” points clearly to our unique mission.

https://www.abibitumi.com/opokutwi

⁣⁣April 4th for a BlackTastic discussion on Repatriation back to our roots with Okunini Ọbádélé Kambon, a multi-award-winning scholar and Chief Foday Ajamu Mansaray, a founder/executive director of the Black Star Action Network International organization. Don't miss this BlackPowerful discussion! RSVP for FREE to get your ticket before it's too late and learn how you can repatriate and invest in Afrika!

⁣April 4th for a BlackTastic discussion on Repatriation back to our roots with Okunini Ọbádélé Kambon, a multi-award-winning scholar and Chief Foday Ajamu Mansaray, a founder/executive director of the Black Star Action Network International organization. Don't miss this BlackPowerful discussion! RSVP for FREE to get your ticket before it's too late and learn how you can repatriate and invest in Afrika!

April 4th for a BlackTastic discussion on Repatriation back to our roots with Okunini Ọbádélé Kambon, a multi-award-winning scholar and Chief Foday Ajamu Mansaray, a founder/executive director of the Black Star Action Network International organization. Don't miss this BlackPowerful discussion! RSVP for FREE to get your ticket before it's too late and learn how you can repatriate and invest in Afrika!

Okunini Ọbádélé Kambon: University of Lagos IADS interview

Dr. Amos N. Wilson:

Awakening the Natural Genius of Black Children

Mhenga Amos N. Wilson: Special Education - Its Special Agenda