A newly discovered species of beetle that has sex organs shaped like a bottle opener has been named Carlsberg after the beer giant. Many animals face an uncertain future thanks to changes to their habitats. So, when a brand new species is discovered it is an exciting thing for scientists. It allows experts an opportunity to get creative with the name, with some previous examples including a new rainbow fly species named after RuPaul and an ancient egg-laying mammal named after Sir David Attenborough. Now researchers from the University of Copenhagen have discovered six new South American beetle species of the rove beetle genus Loncovilius, one of which caught the eye. Because the insect’s penis was shaped like a bottle opener. The unusual shape led to researchers giving it the very apt name – Loncovilius carlsbergi. Biologist Aslak Kappel Hansen, from the Natural History Museum of Denmark, explained: “This species is characterised, among other things, by the fact that the male’s sexual organ is shaped remarkably like a bottle opener. "Therefore, we thought it is obvious to dedicate this species to the Carlsberg Foundation, which has generously supported independent research for many years. “Their support for various projects, expeditions, or purchase of the scientific instruments at the Natural History Museum of Denmark contributes to the discovery of new species on our planet.” Hansen explained that the beetles’ penises evolve to be differently shaped, allowing them to only reproduce with members of the same species. “As such,” Hansen explained, “they are often the best way to identify a species. That’s why entomologists like us are always quick to examine insect genitalia when describing a species. The unique shape of each species’ genitals ensures that it can only reproduce with the same species”. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Vladimir Putin heaped praise on Elon Musk as he called the billionaire an “outstanding person” and businessman. The Russian dictator complimented the Tesla CEO and X owner just days after Mr Musk said that he refused to let Ukraine use Starlink internet to launch a surprise attack on Russian forces in Crimea. The revelation was made in excerpts of a new biography on the South African-born entrepreneur that he had refused Ukraine support for a September 2022 attack on Russian naval vessels in Sevastopol. Mr Musk reportedly refused as he did not want to be complicit in a “major” act of war, and has been heavily criticised by Ukraine’s leadership. Mr Putin was not asked about the incident during an economic forum in Vladivostok but spoke about the rocket launching success of Mr Musk’s SpaceX company. “As far as private business and Elon Musk is concerned... he is undoubtedly an outstanding person. This must be recognised, and I think it is recognised all over the world,” he said. “He (Musk) is an active and talented businessman and he is succeeding a lot, including with the support of the American state.” Last October, Mr Musk was forced to deny a report that he had spoken to Mr Putin about Russia’s unprovoked war in Ukraine. Ian Bremmer, head of the Eurasia Group political risk consultancy, had claimed that Mr Musk personally told him about the conversation with Mr Putin. “I have spoken to Putin only once and that was about 18 months ago. The subject matter was space,” Mr Musk tweeted. It came the same month Mr Musk asked his social media followers to vote on ways to resolve the bloody conflict. The suggestions included holding votes in Russian-annexed areas of Ukraine, an idea welcomed by the Kremlin. He also suggested that the rest of the world should “formally” recognise Crimea, which was illegally occupied by Moscow in 2014, as part of Russia. In response, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky posted his own poll asking users if they liked the world’s richest person more when he supported Ukraine. Read More Elon Musk: How many children does the Tesla CEO have? Fatherhood, rows with Amber Heard and ‘the woke mind virus’: six revelations from Elon Musk’s biography Elon Musk ‘hardly remembers’ his own ‘demon-like’ episodes, biographer claims Grimes says Elon Musk was ‘clueless’ about why she was upset by C-section photo Elon Musk's refusal to have Starlink support Ukraine attack in Crimea raises questions for Pentagon Pope's Ukraine peace envoy heads to China on mission to help return Ukraine children taken to Russia Ranting Putin threatens Sunak and makes wild claim UK ‘backed nuclear plant raid’ Putin says legal cases against Donald Trump are ‘persecution of a political rival’

UPDATE: Jun. 21, 2023, 11:00 a.m. EST This story has been updated to reflect the

London hasn’t seen rain in 22 days, close to breaking the previous longest stretch from last July when

Mars is often called the Red Planet, but a recent image captured by NASA’s Perseverance rover from the surface would go some way to contradicting that. Earlier this year, Perseverance snapped a sunset from Mars in which the Sun looks blue, a sight which would never be seen from our own planet. The photograph was taken on the rover’s 842nd day on the planet, and shows a Martian horizon with the sun setting behind causing an eerily cool glow. Because of Mars’ distance from the Sun, it gets less sunlight than we do on Earth. Even at its sunniest, it gets less than half our quota of light from the star. And the planet’s atmosphere, which is weaker than Earth’s, is mainly made up of carbon dioxide, with a small amount of nitrogen and a trace of oxygen. This gaseous mix and weak atmosphere causes the light to scatter in a blue haze across the sky. It’s the same process which gives us our blue sky during the daytime, when the light has less atmosphere to penetrate before it reaches our eyes. On Earth, this changes when the sun dips below the horizon, and the light has more atmosphere to penetrate, filtering our blue and violet wavelengths, leaving only reds and oranges. Meanwhile on Mars, the sunlight interacts with the dust hanging in the atmosphere, scattering red light during the day. At twilight, that red light is filtered away, leaving blues. Atmospheric scientist Mark Lemmon of Texas A&M University told Science Alert: "The colours come from the fact that the very fine dust is the right size so that blue light penetrates the atmosphere slightly more efficiently. “When the blue light scatters off the dust, it stays closer to the direction of the Sun than light of other colours does. “The rest of the sky is yellow to orange, as yellow and red light scatter all over the sky instead of being absorbed or staying close to the Sun.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

UPDATE: Jun. 22, 2023, 3:00 p.m. EDT This story has been updated to include the

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BOTHWELL, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 18, 2023--

The world’s five biggest publicly listed oil and gas companies posted just under $200 billion in total profits