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This is how doctors used to figure out if a woman was pregnant
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How did doctors figure out if women were pregnant back in the day? They used frogs, of course! Before the 1960's, the only reliable pregnancy test involved injecting a woman's urine into an African clawed frog and seeing if the frog spawned. This peculiar method, known as the ' frog pregnancy test,' may sound bizarre today, but it was a common practice in the early to mid-20th century. The African clawed frog, a species native to sub-Saharan Africa, was preferred for this test because of its unique reproductive system. If a woman was pregnant, her urine would contain hormones that would induce the frog to lay eggs, confirming the pregnancy. While this method may seem unusual by modern standards, it was an early example of using biological indi ...
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1466 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Meet the smallest known vertebrate
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This fly-sized frog is the world's smallest known vertebrate. Paedophryne amauensis is 7.7 millimetres long and inhabits New Guinean rain forests.
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7736 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
See the world's tallest man
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Kösen's height was caused by the production of too much growth hormone due to a tumour in his pituitary gland. The tumour was eventually removed in 2010 through revolutionary gamma-knife surgery. Amge has a form of dwarfism, caused by a mutation in a bone growth gene.
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5923 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Toxic meat
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African spur-winged geese ( Plectropterus gambensis) become so toxic after eating blister beetles that consuming their flesh can kill a human. Blister beetles (family Meloidae) are toxic due to the presence of a chemical compound called cantharidin. Cantharidin is a potent toxin that these beetles produce and store in their bodies as a defense mechanism against predators. It acts as a powerful irritant and blistering agent when it comes into contact with skin or mucous membranes. The toxicity of blister beetles serves as a deterrent to potential predators, helping them avoid being eaten. ...
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2982 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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4497 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Spitting fish
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Why do these fish look like they’re spouting puffs of magic dust out of their mouths? The tiny crustaceans (1 millimetre-long crustacean called an ostracod) that these transparent fish try to eat light them up, causing the fish to be at risk of predation themselves, so they spit them out! ...
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3757 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Become an astrobrewologist
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Launched into orbit three years ago, a vial of Scotland's 'space whisky' is due home so researchers can see how the conditions in space affect flavour. This is one small step for man, one giant leap for whisky.
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6222 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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6342 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Those aren't hairs, they're crystals
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This specimen of Millerite, housed at the Royal Ontario Museum, is one of the rarest examples in the world, with tiny, crystalline hairs that have grown from the initial rock.
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8342 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
A worm that shoots slime
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This footage of a velvet worm shooting foot-long strands of slime to immobilise its prey is pretty incredible. After trapping its victim, the velvet worm injects it with enzymes and sucks up the pre-digested flesh.
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3446 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
An arachnid like no other
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Unlike most arachnids, scorpions don't lay eggs; they bear live young. The babies are unable to feed or defend themselves so the mother carries them on her back for the first few weeks of their life.
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4132 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Blood of Heroes from ancient times
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Elafonisi Beach on the Greek island of Crete has pastel pink sand! That rosy hue is caused by tiny particles of pink shells and coral that have been ground down over many years of erosion.
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5483 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Shake, rattle, and roll
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The earthquake that struck Chile in 2010 was the sixth largest ever recorded - and made itself felt as far away as Antarctica. After the quake, several Antarctic seismic stations registered "icequakes," probably due to fracturing of the ice as the planet’s crust shook.
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4393 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
This is why geckos can walk on walks
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Geckos have 500,000 keratinous hairs on their feet, which split at the ends to create a large surface area. The hairs allow geckos to scale smooth vertical surfaces.
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1256 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
This proves that mothers are awesome
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It's official: a deep-sea octopus has broken the world record for time spent defending her eggs. After 4.5 years, they've finally hatched, so someone pass Octomum eight glasses of wine - she's earned them!
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1209 |
duddy |
9 years ago |