The Daily Populous

Thursday April 22nd, 2021 evening edition

image for Are gorillas a danger to people?

A young boy got into the gorilla enclosure and was confronted by a silverback male gorilla named Harambe.

The story is particularly sad because Harambe was a western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), a subspecies of western gorilla that is critically endangered.

Gorillas were once depicted as violent brutes who would kill a human at any chance encounter.

It is not a coincidence that the monstrous giant ape King Kong was portrayed as a gorilla.

However, from the 1970s onwards the primatologist Dian Fossey transformed gorillas' reputation with her pioneering studies of wild mountain gorillas.

All told, there have been three instances where children have fallen into gorilla enclosures, and in two cases nobody died.

A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Earth, Culture, Capital, Travel and Autos, delivered to your inbox every Friday. »

Tribune Cuts Off Talks, for Now, With Upstart Bidder

Authored by nytimes.com
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Mr. Woods said that, given the right policies, carbon capture projects could be a major business for Exxon around the world.

A coal miners union indicates it will accept a switch to renewable energy in exchange for jobs.

The union wants the federal government to support miners who lose their jobs through retraining and by replacing their wages, health insurance and pensions. »

Signal's CEO Just Hacked the Cops' Favorite Phone Cracking Tool and Became a Legend

Authored by gizmodo.com
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As a result, its products are a favorite of law enforcement agencies across the U.S., and police frequently use them to gather evidence from seized devices.

However, despite its mission to compromise phone security everywhere, Cellebrite would appear to have little interest in securing its own software—if you believe the CEO of encrypted chat app Signal.

“We were surprised to find that very little care seems to have been given to Cellebrite’s own software security. »

Scientists brew cannabis using hacked beer yeast

Authored by nature.com
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The altered yeast can also produce cannabidiol (CBD), another major cannabinoid that’s attracted attention lately for its potential therapeutic benefits, including its anti-anxiety and pain-relief effects.

Previous work2,3 described constructing parts of the cannabinoid production line in yeast, but not the complete process.

Researchers have produced anti-malaria drugs for commercial purposes, as well as opiates in the lab, using similar yeast-grown methods before. »