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From today's featured article

Proboscis of a male Intraproboscis sanghae

Intraproboscis is a genus in Acanthocephala (thorny-headed or spiny-headed parasitic worms) containing a single species. Found in Central Africa, it infests the black-bellied pangolin and the tree pangolin, which are both threatened with extinction. Female worms reach up to 180 mm (7.1 in) long (mostly trunk) and 2 mm (0.079 in) wide; males seem to be smaller. The body consists of a long, narrow trunk and a tubular proboscis covered with hooks (pictured), used for feeding and attachment. The life cycle of I. sanghae remains unknown but it likely involves a complex life cycle with at least two hosts, the pangolin and one believed to be an arthropod, such as an insect. Within this host, the larvae develop into an infectious stage called a cystacanth. When a vertebrate consumes the intermediate host, the cystacanths enter the intestines where they mature. The worm's eggs are expelled and hatch into new larvae. Infestation by I. sanghae can cause intestinal perforation and death in the black-bellied pangolin. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Festival in Bolero, 2025

... that the 2025 celebration of Tumbuka culture (pictured) saw the unveiling of a tombstone to their first chief at Bolero in northern Malawi?
... that George F. Durand and his boss were dismissed from a project in part because they were not American?
... that Ghafur Akbar Dharmaputra led the evacuation of Indonesian citizens from Ukraine while suffering from terminal cancer?
... that an inscribed stone from the abandoned village of Tarmisa, Libya, bears a Christian Chi Rho monogram within a wreath that may have originated in a Roman-era church?
... that the anthology The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays has a section on plays that include puppetry?
... that Polish writer Magdalena Kozak combines military science fiction writing with a career as a parachute-trained paramedic and military officer, with over 300 jumps and service in Afghanistan?
... that France beat Spain 2–1 in 1955, after which a British journalist nicknamed Raymond Kopa the "Napoleon of football"?
... that Underscores described U as "music for my iPhone spy movie"?
... that Boston Navy Yard had a flirtation walk until World War II?

In the news

Francisco Carvalho

In golf, Aaron Rai wins the PGA Championship.
The African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde, led by Francisco Carvalho (pictured), wins the most seats in the parliamentary election.
Bulgaria, represented by Dara with the song "Bangaranga", wins the Eurovision Song Contest.
The World Health Organization declares the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern.
Protests erupt in Bolivia against the government of Rodrigo Paz, causing clashes between the protesters and the police.

On this day

May 22: National Maritime Day in the United States; Harvey Milk Day in some parts of the United States; Unity Day in Yemen; First day of Shavuot, (Judaism, 2026)

HMS Beagle

1629 – Albrecht von Wallenstein and King Christian IV of Denmark signed the Treaty of Lübeck to end Danish intervention in the Thirty Years' War.
1826 – HMS Beagle (pictured) departed on her first voyage from Plymouth for a hydrographic survey of the Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego regions of South America.
1960 – The most powerful earthquake ever recorded, registering approximately 9.5 M_w, struck near Valdivia, Chile, generating tsunamis that reached Hawaii and Japan.
2002 – Police announced that the skeletal remains of Federal Bureau of Prisons intern Chandra Levy, who had been missing for a year, had been found in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C.

Itzam Kʼan Ahk I (b. 626)
Rita Cetina Gutiérrez (b. 1846)
Sun Ra (b. 1914)
Joshua Zirkzee (b. 2001)

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From today's featured list

Cooper Flagg

The first overall draft pick in the National Basketball Association (NBA) is the player who is selected first among all eligible draftees by a team during the annual NBA draft. The first pick is awarded to the team that wins the draft lottery; in most cases, that team had a losing record in the previous NBA season. The NBA team that garners the top overall draft-pick selection generates significant media attention, as does the player who eventually gets selected with that first pick. China's Yao Ming (2002), Italy's Andrea Bargnani (2006), and France's Victor Wembanyama (2023) and Zaccharie Risacher (2024) are the only players without competitive experience in the United States to be drafted first overall. Eleven other international NBA players with U.S. college experience have been first picks. Cooper Flagg (pictured), selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2025 NBA draft, is the most recent player to have been drafted first overall. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) is a perennial flowering plant in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, native to Europe and southwestern Asia. It grows up to 1.5 m tall, with pinnate leaves and clusters of small, sweet-scented pale pink or white flowers that bloom in summer. The plant occurs in meadows, marshes and wet woodlands, and attracts insects such as hoverflies. Outside its native range it can be invasive, and is restricted in parts of North America. Valerian has long been used in traditional medicine, especially as a mild sedative or sleep aid, though scientific evidence for effectiveness is mixed. The European Medicines Agency recognises valerian root extract for relieving mild nervous tension and aiding sleep. The roots also have catnip-like effects on many cats. This valerian inflorescence was photographed in Niitvälja, Estonia.

Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus

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