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

The final update from Al Baydha Project Co-founder Neal Spackman, 9 years in. How desertification resulted from the loss of an indigenous land management system, and how the land has changed since all inputs to the project were ceased in 2016. Neal moved on from Al Baydha in 2018 and can now be contacted at https://regenerativeresources.co

The species that worked the best for us were Ziziphus Spinachristi, Moringa Peregrina, commiphora gileadensis, prosopis spp (though this one we likely won't continue planting in the future), and the local acacias.

Music by Faisal Alawi, and by Olafur Arnalds (performed by Voces 8).

معلومات عن نتائج مشروع البيضاء و الزراعة المستدامة التي اسست في جبال ٥٠ كيلومتر جنوب مكه المكرمة
موسيقة: فيصل علوي و الفور ارنالدز

Trees -- such as those of the Faidherbia genus -- are planted in fields or pastures as natural fertilizer. Intercropping with trees on farmland has now become popular. In Zambiamore than 160,000 farmers plant Faidherbia trees in their fields. Farmers in Niger have been able to make 4.8 million hectares of land greener and more fertile, thanks to these EverGreen Agriculture.

Thursday, June 13th 1974.

Footage of Samora Machel, the leader of FRELIMO (Frente de Libertação/Mozambique Liberation Front), the African guerrilla movement then seeking independence from Portugal rejecting a peace proposal from the new Portuguese government, a military regime which had overthrown the right-wing authoritarian Estado Novo regime on April 25th 1974.

Speaking at an OAU Summit in Mogadishu, Somalia, Machel described Portuguese colonialism in southern Africa as "the most decadent and corrupt form of foreign domination."

Reuters Text:

The leader of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), Mr. Samora Machel, rejected the proposals out of hand. He said the portuguese proposals - which include a referendum and the pledge of self-determination -- were insults to the people of Mozambique.

Mr. Machal described Portugal's policies in Mozambique as "the most decadent and corrupt forms of foreign domination", and he claimed conditions were now favourable for their destruction. The guerrilla leader said constant work by Frelimo had alerted the masses to the justice of their cause and their battle against the Portuguese. Although the territory was still under military occupation, " the manifestations" in all urban centres had demonstrated the solidarity of the Mozambique people.

Without distinction, the people - of all races, ethnic groups, religious beliefs and social origins - were demanding national independence and total adherence to the principles and programmes of Frelimo. Mr. Machel said the determination and unity was forged in clandestine battle, in suffering and in torture, in prison and in concentration camps". He said the ten-year guerrilla war, directed by Frelimo, had strengthened the determination and unity of the Mozambique people against "colonialist aggression." Later in his speech, Mr. Machel referred to the dialogue now under way between Frelimo and the Portuguese Government.

He said it could not develop into proper negotiations until Portugal recognised Mozambique's right to total and absolute independence. He added that Frelimo would also have to be recognised as the Mozambique people's legitimate representative.

Source: Reuters News Archive.

Sara Tavares - Eu Sei

MARCUS GARVEY / GARVEY'S GHOST
BURNING SPEAR
Red, Gold and Green + Workshop

Produced by L. Lindo (Jack Ruby)
Arranged by Winston Rodney

This video demonstrates the five major techniques used by potters in Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Nigeria. The techniques include concave mold, convex mold, coiling, direct pull, and hammer and anvil. You can see Bwa, Jelly, and Mossi potters in Burkina Faso, the Ashanti potters in Kumasi Ghana, and Igbo and Yoruba potters in Nigeria. In addition there are two detailed videos of pottery firing.

⁣The Diamond Empire
1 Feb 1994


⁣SEASON 1994: EPISODE 9


Second only to Christmas, Valentine’s Day is the holiday when diamonds are most often given as the ultimate token of love. Central to the diamond’s role as a romantic symbol is the belief that diamonds are one of the rarest, most precious gifts for a loved one. But it’s only a myth–diamonds are found in plentiful supply. FRONTLINE examines how the great myth about the scarcity of diamonds and their inflated value was created and maintained over the decades by the diamond cartel. This report chronicles how one family, the Oppenheimers of South Africa, gained control of the supply, marketing, and pricing of the world’s diamonds.

Fusion power is the "Holy Grail" of energy, and the first country to successful deploy fusion power at scale will upend the economic order of the world.

In under two decades, China's nuclear power industry went from functionally zero, to at least fifteen years ahead of the United States in most metrics. China now leads the global field in research, and in the number and types of reactors currently under construction. China's supply chain dominance also ensures that virtually all the components and parts are domestically sourced.

Last month, a Shanghai company announced a successful test of their newest fusion reactor, and created plasma for the first time. Their reactor is much smaller than Western types, and can be built in under 4 years, instead of 30, and for just 5% of the cost of European or American designs.

China's national plans call for rollouts of fusion reactor prototypes by 2035, and economy-wide installations by 2050. If China meets these targets, while the United States and Europe are still racing to catch up, the industrial and economic advantages to China may be irreversible and permanent.

Resources and links:

Power Technology, The US is 15 years behind China in nuclear power - report
https://www.power-technology.c....om/news/the-us-is-15

How Innovative Is China in Nuclear Power?
https://itif.org/publications/....2024/06/17/how-innov

SCMP, How China’s huge industrial supply chain may lead to ‘artificial sun’ via nuclear fusion
https://www.scmp.com/news/chin....a/science/article/32

Company website, Energy Singularity
https://www.energysingularity.cn/en/technology/

China’s Energy Singularity produces first net energy positive fusion reaction
https://www.intellinews.com/ch....ina-s-energy-singula

Oil Price, China Has Just Gained First-Mover Advantage In Nuclear Fusion
https://oilprice.com/Alternati....ve-Energy/Nuclear-Po

Investopedia, First Mover Advantage
https://www.investopedia.com/t....erms/f/firstmover.as

Closing scene, The Bund, Shanghai

By 1967, war, racism, and poverty had become the dominant issues confronting America and the Freedom Movement. On April 4, Dr. King forcefully speaks out against the Vietnam War with "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence," delivered at Riverside Church in New York City. Ten days later, in a speech at Stanford University titled "The Other America," Dr. King addresses race, poverty and economic justice. (At various times in 1967 and '68 he gave slightly different versions of "The Other America" to other audiences. - www.crmvet.org