Researchers have developed a method for encoding messages using ice bubbles, associating various sizes, shapes, and orientations to Morse code and binary characters. By applying their freezing technique, they created ice bubbles that served as representations of the desired characters. The next step involved photographing the ice layer, converting the image to grayscale, and training a computer to detect the size and position of the bubbles, enabling it to interpret the message into English letters and Arabic numbers. Notably, the researchers discovered that binary coding allows for message storage that is ten times longer than Morse code.
This innovative approach could one day facilitate short message storage in frigid environments like Antarctica, where conventional information storage methods are often impractical or prohibitively expensive, according to the study’s authors. However, Qiang Tang, a researcher at the University of Australia not involved in this study, expressed skepticism regarding its practical implications in fields such as cryptography or security, remarking, “unless a polar bear may want to tell someone something,” he did not see substantial uses for the breakthrough.
Cell Physical Science, 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrp.2025.102622 (About DOIs).
Cats Have a Left Side Sleeping Preference
Caliban demonstrates a unique preference, choosing to nap on his right side.
Credit:
Sean Carroll
The internet, particularly platforms like YouTube, has become a haven for cats, showcasing millions of videos that capture the playful antics of these beloved pets. In a novel application of this phenomenon, an international team of researchers studied 408 publicly available videos of cats sleeping to determine if there was a tendency for them to prefer sleeping on their right or left sides. According to a study published in the journal Current Biology, about two-thirds of the analyzed videos revealed that cats tended to sleep on their left side.
What accounts for this observed preference? The researchers propose several potential explanations, suggesting that it might relate to how cats perceive their environment, particularly their vulnerability to predators during the extensive hours they spend sleeping, typically between 12 to 16 hours per day. They highlight that the right hemisphere of a cat’s brain is responsible for spatial attention, while the right amygdala processes threats. Consequently, since many species react more swiftly to threats approaching from the left side, the authors propose that “sleeping on the left side can therefore be a survival strategy,” especially given how a cat’s left visual field is processed by the dominant right hemisphere of its brain.
