Image: Jan Pelcman

These photos illustrate the close bonds between some animal parents and their offspring. For example, polar bears stay with their cubs for at least two years in order to teach them the survival skills necessary to thrive in the cold climate of their habitat.

Female African elephants immediately lend each new mother a hand (rather, a trunk) to help a calf to standing position after birth and show the baby how to nurse. The older elephants slow the pace of the herd so the calf can keep up with them. Affectionate gestures between elephant mothers and their young are routine.

See more photos in a Bored Panda post entitled "25 of the Cutest Parenting Moments in the Animal Kingdom." 

  Image: Anton Belovodchenko

  Image: Michael Nichols 
   Image: Andre Pretorius

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As noted on this Harvard Health Publications blog run by Harvard Medical School, multiple studies have concluded that interaction with animals is good for human health. I imagine that most of you have read about similar research at some point. To quote the blog entry,

"Studies going back to the early 1980s support the idea that dogs—and other pets—have enormous health benefits for people. Pets have been shown to lower blood pressure, improve recovery from heart disease, and even reduce rates of asthma and allergy in children who grow up with a Fido or a Frisky in the house. Pets also improve people’s psychological well-being and self-esteem."

But it doesn't take a scientific study to see the smiles (even happy tears, in one case) of employees in this video shot by dog treat brand Dogswell on June 20, 2014, national "Take Your Dog to Work" day. It may essentially be an advertisement, but it's a cute one that makes me smile. I hope it does the same for you. (Relax and forget what Rusty just did allll over that hedge fund!) Via Unique Daily.

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Stamford, Lincolnshire, U.K. inventor Colin Furze's wacky creations have been featured previously on Neatorama. Furze, a plumber by day, is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the World's Fastest Pram, Longest Motorbike and Biggest Bonfire entries.

This Vimeo Staff Pick gives viewers insight as to the thought processes that led to his various inventions.

Designer and engineer Oluwasey Sosanya has created a loom that weaves three-dimensional objects. The impressive apparatus forms each intricate project using a single thread.

Sosanya will present the shoe soles pictured below at the annual show of the Royal College of Art, of which he is a student in a masters program. He elaborates on his ambitious plans for future projects: 

"I am developing more technical materials for helmets and stab proof vests–I am currently working on a material that I hope will address several of the issues caused by body shape that surround stab resistant vests worn by female British law enforcement officers."

See more images at Juxtapoz. 
Images Credit: Oluwasey Sosanya

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An innovation by scientists at Stanford University is making it possible to see an intact brain in ways never before possible.

Stanford researchers named the breakthrough imaging technique CLARITY, which (quite obviously) stands for “Clear Lipid-exchanged Acrylamide-hybridized Rigid Imaging/Immunostaining/In situ hybridization-compatible Tissue-hYdrogel.”

Revealed by Stanford last year, CLARITY renders the post-mortem brain transparent. This tranparency enables researchers to view the communication pathways of neural networks in color and 3-D, without having to dissect the brain, as was standard procedure in previous methods. From a New York Times article on the technology,

Even more important, experts say, is that... the new process... preserves the biochemistry of the brain so well that researchers can test it over and over again with chemicals that highlight specific structures and provide clues to past activity. The researchers say this process may help uncover the physical underpinnings of devastating mental disorders like schizophrenia, autism, post-traumatic stress disorder and others."

View this fascinating video to see an example of CLARITY, and learn more by reading this explanation from Stanford. Get a brief breakdown of the technique at IFL Science.

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Often, as the old saying goes, "the more, the merrier." That doesn't apply when we're talking tornadoes (unless, of course, you're a tornado watcher who is anxious for action and a safe distance away)!

Storm watcher Pecos Hank posted to his YouTube account this recording of twin twisters in Pilger, Nebraska. Mother nature rages as the witnesses comment in awe. This powerful storm resulted in two fatalities. Via Unique Daily.

Whether or not any of us has seen a drone, chances are increasing that a drone has seen one of us. Photographer Tomas van Houtryve, interested in "the changing nature of surveillance, personal privacy and war," got himself a drone and made it capable of taking and transmittiing high-resolution images from the sky. 

The resulting photos, shot over U.S. skies, are part of van Houtryve's series Blue Sky Days. The project was inspired by a news report on an October 2012 drone strike in Pakistan, in which a 67-year-old woman was killed while picking okra outside of her home. At a Washington, D.C. conference with five legislators in attendance, the woman’s 13-year-old grandson said, “I no longer love blue skies. In fact I now prefer grey skies. The drones do not fly when the skies are grey.” 

Van Houtryve intended to capture shots of settings and gatherings that could conceivably be considered targets in a foreign air strike. Included were weddings, funerals, prayer and exercise groups, prisons and oil fields. See more of Tomas van Houtryve's work at his website. Via Juxtapoz. 

Images Credit: Tomas van Houtryve  

Vancouver-based photographer Spencer Kovats’ photo series Uncovered consists of a number of photo pairs. The first image in each pair is an ordinary shot of a casually clothed person. The second image is of the same person, only less clothed and covered with tattoos, which were hidden under their garments in the first shots. The series is intended as an exploration of the ages-old manner in which humans make assessments (and, thus, assumptions) about others, solely based on their appearance. 

Kovats' shoot is part of a larger project with 10 other photographers called “The Tattoo Project,” which began in 2010. Hundreds of tattooed people were invited to be photographed for various studies of body art. Via Beautiful Decay.

 
 
 

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This video is shot from inside the peloton (main group of riders in a bicycle race) of the Tour de Suisse, as the cyclists near the finish. It may be business as usual for the athletes, but it looks like a rough ride to me! Via Twisted Sifter

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CGP Grey, previously featured on Neatorama, explains common historical misconceptions involving Vikings, Napoleon, Lady Godiva, Roman vomitoriums and Christopher Columbus in this video. Via The Presurfer.

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Have you ever watched late-night television from the couch, in a post-pizza-binge haze, and briefly considered ordering a workout machine featured in one of those insidious infomercials? The ads in which F-list celebs or gym gurus faux earnestly declare their devotion to the product, as well as imply that whatever they're selling is the only thing standing in the way of their body looking like Jabba the Hutt's? 

These Japanese commercials for the abdominals workout machine "The Wonder Core" have the opposite effect on me. Suddenly I want movie popcorn! Via Geeks are Sexy.

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In this artistically shot video, London-based, Irish director and photographer Scott Carthy aims his lens at an issue related to Section 1050.6(c) of the New York City Transit Rules of Conduct. Section 1050.6(c) says that, under certain circumstances, performers may work in subway stations, but they cannot operate within subway cars.

After years of looking the other way, in 2014, the NYPD began to arrest these performers in much larger numbers. Some people claim this different pattern of enforcement is the result of a new police commissioner, Bill Bratton. According to an article in Business Insider, 

"Forty-six subway dancers have been arrested and charged with reckless endangerment since January, an NYPD spokesman said in April. Another 50 dancers with less flashy tricks (essentially those who keep their feet on the ground), have been charged with the lesser count of disorderly conduct.

In total, subway panhandling and peddling arrests are up 271% year over year with 371 arrests in 2014, compared to 100 by this period in 2013, according to NBC.

The sharp increase appears to be rooted in a quality of life campaign helmed by newly minted Police Commissioner Bill Bratton.

Bratton, who cut his teeth in New York City tackling subway crime, was brought up on the broken-windows theory of policing: Crack down on small but highly visible crimes of disorder such as turnstile jumping, prostitution, and vandalism, and rates of more serious crimes will fall as well. Panhandling falls into this low-level crime category." 

Read more of this article here. 

A manatee calf was born on April 24, 2014 at ZooParc de Beauval in France, after a 12-month gestation. Every birth is important for these animals, listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as vulnerable to extinction. The biggest threat to these gentle creatures are humans, due to collisions with boats,  becoming ensnared in fishing gear, hunting, toxic algae and pollution.

The calf weighed 55 pounds at birth. Adult manatees weigh anywhere from 880 to 1,210 pounds; females are generally heavier than males. Manatees are born underwater. The mother usually leads the calf up to the surface of the water so they can take their first breath. 

See more photographs at Zooborns.  

Images Credit: ZooParc de Beauval

 
 

Bounce Below is a series of slides and trampolines mounted up to 180 feet high on the walls of an abandoned slate mine. The attraction is located in Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales. On opening day, July 4, 2014, members of the public are invited to show up, descend into the mine via train, and amuse themselves with the net-protected trampolies as they enjoy a light show. Read more at this article at Wales Online. Via Colossal.

Images Credit: Bounce Below 

 

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I've lost count of how many ways in which parents can embarrass their kids in public. Jimmy Fallon, to his credit, has come up with another one. He filmed a staffer asking the parents of Harry Potter fans a few Potter trivia questions at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort. The parents' answers had their kids hanging their heads in shame. How well would you do? Via Viral Viral Videos.