Thursday, July 24th, 2025

Good Morning! 🌞

Saw this video today of animals literally helping each other out — and boom: mission complete.

It’s the kind of thing that makes you pause and think:
If they can do it with zero planning and no group chat… what’s our excuse? 😆 

Earth Science

Biggest Black Hole Crash Ever

A groundbreaking collaboration between the world’s three leading gravitational wave observatories—LIGO in the U.S., Virgo in Italy, and KAGRA in Japan—has detected the most massive black hole merger ever observed. The event, dubbed GW231123, resulted in the formation of a black hole with an astonishing 225 times the mass of the Sun. This record-setting collision not only pushes the limits of current detection technology but also challenges our fundamental understanding of how such colossal black holes form.

The event occurred between 2 and 13 billion light years from Earth and involved two rapidly spinning black holes—one 103 solar masses, the other 137—each rotating 400,000 times faster than our planet. “The black holes appear to be spinning very rapidly—near the limit allowed by Einstein’s theory of general relativity,” said Charlie Hoy of the University of Portsmouth. “That makes the signal difficult to model and interpret. It’s an excellent case study for pushing forward the development of our theoretical tools.” The detection was one of over 200 signals picked up during the LVK collaboration’s most recent observation run.

What makes GW231123 particularly compelling is its potential origin story. Standard models of stellar evolution can’t account for black holes of this size, suggesting a more complex history. “Black holes this massive are forbidden through standard stellar evolution models,” explained Mark Hannam of Cardiff University. “One possibility is that the two black holes in this binary formed through earlier mergers of smaller black holes.” As researchers dig into the data, alternative theories are being explored. “It will take years for the community to fully unravel this intricate signal pattern and all its implications,” said Gregorio Carullo of the University of Birmingham. “Exciting times ahead!”

Sports

Bat Boy Takes the Stage

In a feel-good moment straight from the dugout, the Philadelphia Phillies gave their bat boy, Adam Crognale, a shot at the spotlight—and it paid off in a big way. Bat boys typically stay behind the scenes, quietly keeping the game moving. But the Phillies changed the script, releasing a hype video showcasing 26-year-old Adam’s quick reflexes and unwavering hustle. The video went viral, helping him win a 3-day public vote to serve as the National League’s bat boy in this year’s MLB All-Star Game.

“I know I’m living the dream of some 8 or 10-year-old kid in the stands,” Adam told CBS Philadelphia. “It’s a dream come true. I don’t take it for granted…” That dream is especially meaningful given Adam’s journey. As a young man, he was diagnosed with lymphoma in his knee—a battle that temporarily robbed him of the ability to run. But he fought back, earned a degree from Temple University, and eventually claimed his dream job with the Phillies.

“There’s nothing better than coming to this ballpark,” Adam said in a 2024 interview. “I’ve said that since I was a 5-year-old kid, and I probably will not stop saying that.” Now, with a bat in hand and a roster spot at the All-Star Game, Adam Crognale is no longer just part of the team behind the scenes—he’s officially an all-star.

Environment

Animals React to Secret Sounds

Scientists have discovered that plants emit distinct sounds when under stress—and some animals can hear and respond to them. The emerging field of phytoacoustics is still in its early days, but the findings are already reshaping how we think about plant communication. The sounds are too high-pitched for human ears, but when converted to audible frequencies, they resemble the crackling pop of corn kernels in a pan.

In one experiment, researchers at Tel Aviv University studied a genus of moths that lays eggs on tomato plants. The team tested whether moths could detect and avoid stressed plants—such as those suffering from dehydration—based solely on sound. The logic: a stressed plant would yield fewer or lower-quality tomatoes, leading to weaker larvae. Sure enough, when visual cues were removed, the moths consistently avoided plants emitting stress signals. “This is the first demonstration ever of an animal responding to sounds produced by a plant,” said Professor Yossi Yovel, who co-led the study. “This is a vast, unexplored field—an entire world waiting to be discovered.”

Yovel has also found that stressed plants emit airborne sounds that can be recorded and classified at a distance, and that some plants increase their nectar sugar content when they detect the sound of nearby pollinators. His team now aims to build a catalog of plant sounds and explore how various animals might respond to them. “It could be that all sorts of animals will make decisions based on the sounds they hear from plants, such as whether to pollinate or hide inside them or eat the plant,” he told the BBC. While researchers clarify that plants are not sentient and the sounds result from structural changes—not intention—others, like forester and author Peter Wohlleben, believe this research could help decode broader forms of plant communication. BBC has posted some of these plant sounds, now available for curious listeners.

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Mind Stretchers

⁉️

I’m one word,
But sound like a plan.
Tropical gold,
Held in your hand.
What am I?

Yesterday’s Answers to the Mind Stretchers:

— background, James Godfrey got this correct first!

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