China is using robotic bird drones with cameras to monitor its citizens

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When you gaze into the sky, what do you see? If you happen to live in China, the answer might be surveillance drones disguised as birds, according to a new report from the South China Morning Post. The new report alleges that Chinese military and government agencies have been using undercover drones to spy on segments of the population, especially in an area of Western China that borders Russia, Mongolia, and Pakistan, among other countries.

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Bird sound used to create beautiful 3D animations

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Andy Thomas creates “audio life forms” from bird sounds.

The sound of chirping and singing birds can be enough to inspire a feeling of peace and tranquility. Australian multimedia artist Andy Thomas specializes in  creating “audio life forms” and such dulcet tones have inspired something more in him: curiosity about what they might look like as sound-driven 3D animations. (Video)

 

 

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Design flaw turns solar plant into a death trap for birds

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Super-concentrated sunbeams from BrightSource Energy Plant are deadly for birds flying overhead.

In February, the $2.2 billion BrightSource Energy Plant opened up in the Mojave Desert with good intentions: to harvest clean, sustainable solar power, by using 300 mirrors to reflect sunbeams onto a steam-producing water boiler. But a design flaw has turned the plant into a death trap for birds flying overhead.

 

 

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Birds in cities sing at higher pitch: study

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“Because sounds bounce and travel in different ways, birds have to use songs that can cope with this”.

Birds living in urban areas sing at a higher pitch to reduce the impact of echoes from surrounding buildings, a study claims. Higher-pitched songs travel further in built-up areas because their echoes fade more quickly, meaning the following notes are clearer and easier to pick out.

Scientists reverse evolution to create chickens that grow alligator-like snouts

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Altering the DNA of chicken embryos can give them qualities they lost millions of years ago.

Chickens and other birds are thought to have descended from dinosaurs through a series of genetic changes. Scientists have rewound 65 million years of evolutionary history by tweaking chicken DNA to create embryos that grow alligator-like snouts rather than beaks.

U.S. military developing miniature drones that resemble birds and insects

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Researcher Dr Gregory Parker holds a small, winged drone that resembles an insect.

The U.S. military is developing these. innocent-looking devices that are actually some of the most sophisticated drones on the planet.   They resemble children’s toys that are left disgarded in closets around the world.  (Pics and video)

 

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Genetically Modified Chickens Developed Than Cannot Transmit Bird Flu

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Scientists develop GM chickens that do not spread bird flu.

British scientists have developed genetically modified (GM) chickens that cannot transmit bird flu infections — a step that in future could reduce the risk of avian flu spreading and causing deadly epidemics in humans.

 

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