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Proboscis monkey nose
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Meet the proboscis monkey ( Nasalis larvatus), a monkey only found in Borneo Island, Asia. The proboscis monkey is one of the largest monkeys native to Asia. It's very easily identified (for obvious reasons). The species has very pronounced sexual dimorphism, with the male being much larger than the female. Males also have much larger noses (the individual pictured is a male), but the noses of females are still very pronounced. The bigger the nose a male proboscis monkey has, the bulkier he will be — increasing his chances of attracting a large harem. Both sexes have bulging stomachs that give them the impression of having a pot belly. The proboscis monkey is assessed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and listed in Appen ...
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17586 |
bio_man |
11 years ago |
Regal ringneck snake
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This is the regal ringneck snake ( Diadophis punctatus regalis), a subspecies of ringneck snake endemic to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Unlike other subspecies of ringneck snakes, the regal ringneck is almost exclusively ophiophagous, meaning that it has a diet that consists almost entirely of other snakes. They have a weak venom that serves to immobilize their small prey, but is harmless to humans.
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15386 |
bio_man |
11 years ago |
Why do we get wrinkly fingers and toes when we leave our digits in water for too long?
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This question has puzzled scientists for a long time.Scientists think that they have the answer to why the skin on human fingers and toes shrivels up like an old prune when we soak in the bath. Laboratory tests confirmed a theory that wrinkly fingers improve our grip on wet or submerged objects, working to channel away the water like the rain treads in car tyres. People often assume that wrinkling is the result of water passing into the outer layer of the skin and making it swell up. But researchers have known since the 1930s that the effect does not occur when there is nerve damage in the fingers. This points to the change being an involuntary reaction by the body's autonomic nervous system — the system that also controls breathing, heart ...
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7289 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Urodid moth cocoon
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Check out this amazing image of am urodid moth cocoon. According to entomologist and Amazon explorer Phil Torres, It has a really beautiful woven lattice structure that hangs about a foot below a leaf on a thin silk string. This is an unusual structure because the pupa, resting inside the cocoon, seems fairly exposed to the elements. The hanging likely helps to prevent predation from ants, and the bright orange color may serve as an aposematic signal to predators to prevent it from getting eaten. The tube part at the bottom is the 'escape hatch' from which it eventually will exit as an adult moth. There is not a lot of research that has been done on the evolutionary origin structure - this is one of the many mysteries of the Amazon you can c ...
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10245 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
How Japanese kids learn to multiply in primary school
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The lines over the circles are colour coded. Notice the single red line and 3 blue lines representing 13 groups together while the single green and 2 black lines take their own group. Simply draw your first group of lines in one direction then your second group of lines going over the first, count the groups of intersections and there\'s your answer.
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7554 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Yellow Pages -- a waste of resources
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The Yellow Pages use no virgin paper in the production of their directories, but to produce and deliver 540 million a year requires immense amounts of water and uses immense amounts of energy and fuel. If you need the Yellow Pages, keep it! But if you are among the 70% polled who say they never even open them, opt out. It is just a waste not to.
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5340 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Meet the goliath frog
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Meet the goliath frog! This beast is the largest extant anuran on Earth. They can grow up to 33 cm (13 inches) from snout to vent, and can weigh up to 3.2 kg. They have a fairly small habitat range, mainly in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea and sadly their numbers are dwindling due to habitat destruction. They are also hunted for both consumption and for the pet trade.
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8849 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
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6004 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Mount Fuji with a hat
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This is an example of a lenticular cloud, also known as altocumulus standing lenticularis. These are stationary, lens-shaped clouds that are formed at high altitudes. They are included in the middle layer cloud family because the bases of the clouds are stationed between about 2,000 and 7,000 meters. These clouds form when moist air is forced to flow up around mountains and large hills. The water is super cooled and condensed from air below the dew point temperature.
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4794 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
A baby macaw
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Here are some adorable images of macaw parrot chicks getting weighed and measured. The one on the left is just one week old, and the one on the right is seven weeks old. Researchers at the Tambopata Research Center have been studying the wild macaw populations for years and tracking the growth of the nestlings. By climbing up into the trees and gathering data on these macaws, the researchers are able to do a lot of interesting science and gather information critical to protecting these species. ...
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4793 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Ever heard of a frilled shark?
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This is a frilled shark. Frilled sharks are found throughout deep waters in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is often described as a living fossil because of its resemblance to extinct, Paleozoic sharks. They are rarely seen alive because of their preference for deep water.
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4383 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Why is my eyelid twitching?
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Fasciculations (muscle twitches) are the result of some kind of irritability of the nerve fibers. Because fasciculations are benign, they have not been studied particularly deeply (but, not all involuntary muscle twitches are fasciculations--more on that later). So we do not really know even where in the nerve the irritation is picked up--it could be in the cell body, could be further out in the fibers, nobody really knows. It is also thought that the exact localization of the fasciculation is random, meaning that you will feel a twitch in your arm or leg or eyelid without having necessarily irritated a nerve anywhere near the place you experience the twitch. Causes are also only loosely understood; there are certain behaviors that can trigg ...
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4037 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Aerogel
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Also known as frozen smoke, Aerogel is the world's lowest density solid, clocking in at 96% air. It is basically just a gel made from silicon, except all the liquid has been taken out and replaced with gas instead. If you hold a small piece in your hand, it is practically impossible to either see or feel, but if you poke it, it is like styrofoam. Aerogel is also quite useful. It supports up to 4,000 times its own weight and can apparently withstand a direct blast from two pounds of dynamite. It is also the best insulator in existence, which is why we do not have Aerogel jackets: it works so well that people were complaining about overheating on Mount Everest. ...
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3905 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Metal melts in your hand almost instantly
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Gallium is a silvery metal with atomic number 31. It is used in semiconductors and LEDs, but the cool thing about it is its melting point, which is only about 85 degrees Fahrenheit. If you hold a solid gallium crystal in your hand, your body heat will cause it to slowly melt into a silvery metallic puddle. Pour it into a dish, and it freezes back into a solid. While you probably should not lick your fingers after playing with it, gallium is not toxic and it will not make you crazy like mercury does. And if you get tired of it, you can melt it onto glass and make yourself a mirror. ...
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6908 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Turn the taste of sour to sweet with these natural tablets
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By themselves, miracle berries do not taste like much. The reason to eat them is that they contain a chemical called miraculin that binds to the sweet taste receptors on your tongue, changing their shape and making them respond to sour and acidic foods. The upshot of this effect is that some things you eat taste spectacularly different. Straight Tabasco sauce tastes like donut glaze. Guinness tastes like a chocolate malt. Goat cheese tastes like cheesecake. After about an hour of craziness, your taste buds go back to normal, no harm done. ...
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5312 |
duddy |
11 years ago |