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Nature's gymnast lurking in the deserts of Morocco
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Found in the deserts of Morocco, the cartwheeling spider ( cebrennus rechenbergi) uses all eight of its legs to cartwheel and roll away from predators. Using forward or backward flips, this movement effectively doubles its normal walking speed similar to acrobatic flic-flac movements used by gymnasts. Interestingly, C. rechenbergi is the only spider known to use this unique form of rolling locomotion!
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4161 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
World's rarest mushroom
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A star-shaped mushroom, called the Devil’s Cigar ( Chorioactis geaster) is one of the world’s rarest fungi. These fungi had been detected only in central Texas, two remote locations in Japan, and most recently in the mountains of Nara. The Devil’s Cigar is a dark brown cigar-shaped capsule that transforms into a tan-coloured star when it splits open to release its spores. It is also one of only a few known fungi that produce a distinct whistle sound when releasing its spores. ...
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1827 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
What's the ocean's equivalent to the cheetah?
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The shortfin mako ( Isurus oxyrinchus) is probably the champion speedster among sharks. Its speed has been recorded at 40 km/h (25 mph) with bursts of up to 74 km/h (46 mph). What's more, this high-leaping fish can leap approximately 9 m (30 ft) high or higher in the air. With its highly streamlined body, a lunate tail supported by keels, a sharply pointed snout, large eyes and some of the wickedest-looking teeth in its class, the mako shark is a highly sought-after game fish worldwide. ...
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9447 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
If you thought being left-handed was odd, read this
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A rare condition, known as situs inversus, is when a person has their major organs mirrored from their normal positions. So, for example, the heart would be on the right side of the body, or the liver and gall bladder are on the left side. It is a congenital condition (meaning it's tied to your genetics) that affects 1 in 20,000 people - including Spanish-born singer Enrique Iglesias. Situs inversus is generally an autosomal recessive genetic condition, although it can be X-linked or found in identical "mirror image" twins. ...
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25454 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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16205 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
A lake above an ocean in the Faroe Islands
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The lake Leitisvatn/Sørvágsvatn sits about 30 metres above sea level. The Faroe Islands are an archipelago between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Norway and Iceland, 320 kilometres (200 mi) north-northwest of mainland Scotland. The area is approximately 1,400 km 2 with a 2010 population of 50,000. Here's another look. ...
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13901 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Tiny bird packs a big punch
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This blackpoll warbler ( Setophaga striata), weighing no more than 12 grams can migrate over the Atlantic Ocean from New England and eastern Canada to the Caribbean islands - a 2500 kilometer flight - nonstop! These finding were discovered after researchers tagged these little birds with miniature geolocators on their backs. They concluded that no other "bird this size migrates for this long in one go... it is truly one of the most amazing migratory feats ever recorded." ...
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21803 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Did you know underwater cables power the internet?
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I didn't lol Hundreds of thousands of kilometres of submarine cables lye on the ocean floor - sometimes at depths nearing 8,000 metres. These cables are essential for powering the modern Internet, transmitting 99 percent of all international data. The Submarine Cable Map is a free resource from TeleGeography. Data contained in this map is drawn from the Global Bandwidth Research Service and is updated on a regular basis. ...
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25701 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
This strange animal can drink through its feet
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The thorny dragon ( Moloch horridus) is an Australian lizard that grows up to 20 cm in length, and it can live for up to 20 years. Not only is it covered entirely with conical spines, it has the uncanny ability to suck in water from all over its body - including its feet - through capillary action.
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32066 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Pine cones the size of melons!
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The Australian Bunya pine drops pine cones that are the size of melons. The cones are 20–35 cm in diameter, and are opened by large birds, such as cockatoos, or disintegrate when mature to release the large (3–4 cm) seeds or nuts.
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27905 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
The African Renaissance Monument
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I bet you've never seen this statue before. Neither had I until today. It's "The African Renaissance Monument" in Dakar, Senegal. The monument stands at a height of approximately 49 meters (160 feet), including its base, making it one of the tallest statues globally. It was designed by Senegalese architect Pierre Goudiaby Atepa and was built by a North Korean company. The statue was inaugurated on April 4, 2010, during Senegal's 50 th independence anniversary celebration, and symbolizes Africa's emergence from a history of colonization and oppression and its progress toward a brighter future. ...
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105040 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Some people simply get away with more because of their look
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Which of these faces looks more trustworthy to you? Science says that some people just get away with more stuff, because they have more trustworthy looking faces. A trustworthy face, as psychologists have determined over years of research in this area, has two major characteristics: The eyebrows are slightly lifted, so that together, they form a kind of upside-down V shape; likewise, the corners of the mouth are also lifted slightly. An untrustworthy face, on the other hand, is the opposite: The eyebrows point slightly downward, forming a V shape, and the corners of the mouth are turned down a bit, too. Source: http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/01/some-faces-just-get-away-with-stuff.html ...
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29974 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
She developed the building blocks for modern 'software engineering'
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Margaret Hamilton was the leader of the team that developed the flight software for the agency's Apollo missions. The concepts she and her team created became the building blocks for modern 'software engineering.' One example of the value of Hamilton's software work occurred during the Apollo 11 mission. Approximately three minutes before Eagle's touchdown on the moon, the software over rode a command to switch the flight computer's priority processing to a radar system whose 'on' switch had been manually activated due to a faulty written operations script provided to the crew. The action by the software permitted the mission to safely continue. Source: http://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11Hamilton.html ...
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20996 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
How to check for dead batteries
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![](https://biology-forums.com/gallery/47/4_24_01_15_3_08_43.png) Dead or depleted batteries, especially cylindrical ones like AA or AAA batteries, can exhibit a unique behavior known as "bouncing" when dropped from a short height. This phenomenon is primarily due to changes in the battery's internal chemistry and physical properties as it becomes discharged. Inside a battery, there are chemical reactions that generate electrical energy. As a battery discharges and its chemical energy is depleted, its internal chemistry changes. One of the changes that occur is a reduction in the pressure of gases within the battery. This decrease in gas pressure can make the battery feel lighter, contributing to its bounce. As a battery discharges, its internal components, such as the cathode, anode, and electrolyte, unde ...
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90787 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Higher testosterone levels linked to men who enjoy spicy food
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According to a recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Grenoble in France, the results published were plain and simple - men who enjoyed dipping their food into hot, spicy sauce happened to have higher levels of free testosterone floating around their bloodstream after the meal. Salt preference, however, didn’t seem to have any link to testosterone levels. What does this correlation entail? Does capsaicin - the chemical responsible for spiciness - increase testosterone, or are those who are more likely to take risks possess higher levels of this potent male hormone? ...
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34438 |
duddy |
9 years ago |