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Shape-shifting metal
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Ever seen 'memory metal' in action? Watch this paperclip - made from an incredible shape-shifting metal called Nitinol - be bent completely out of shape and then restored instantly as it touches a simple bowl of warm water.
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5977 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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1 |
5721 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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This sweet fruit grows in the most unbelievable place
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The Brazilian Jaboticaba tree well and truly takes advantage of all the surface area on its trunk by growing its sweet, grape-like fruits all over it. It's said to have evolved its trunk-fruit so animals could reach them and distribute the seeds.
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1 |
4176 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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How an elephant scratches its waist
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Here's a good reminder of how enormous elephants are - this one's using a Volkswagen as a scratching post. Photographed in South Africa, the elephant was in musth, which is a sexually aggressive period experienced by elephant bulls once a year.
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1 |
5236 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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Snapping turtles: Nature's answer to the bear trap
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Woah. This is an Alligator Snapping Turtle from the Suwanee River in Florida, and you don't want to mess with it - it delivers a nasty bite and can hold onto its victims for several HOURS. This guy was caught as part of routine environmental surveys involving Professor Arthur Georges, the Chief Scientist of the Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra.
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5330 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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A new and creative way to focus energy
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This weather-tracking glass sphere can concentrate sunlight up to 10,000 times, and generate electricity even on a cloudy day. According to its researchers, this solar-harvesting device is 35% more efficient than traditional flat panels. It also looks really good.
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5329 |
savio |
9 years ago |
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World's first bicycle escalator
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Trampe is the world's first bicycle lift intended for urban areas. The prototype was built in 1993. During its 15 years of operation, Trampe pushed more than 200.000 cyclists up the 130 m long hill Brubakken in Trondheim, Norway.
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5883 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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Can this sea snail cure herpes?
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Australian scientists are creating a new herpes-blocking drug using a protein found in the blood of abalones. If successful, it could prevent the virus from entering human cells, thereby prevent future outbreaks of cold sores.
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4334 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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Bioluminescence in Japan
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In Japan, firefly squid - or hotaru ika, as the locals call them - rise 600 metres (2,000 feet) to the surface of the water and light it up with their electric blue bioluminescence.
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5370 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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3506 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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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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3439 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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5956 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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5793 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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Ever seen an egg without its shell?
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This is a chicken's egg without its shell. The egg white consists of 90% water and 10% dissolved proteins, while the yolk contains 100% of the egg's fat and cholesterol. Which is why it tastes so great...
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7232 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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Kids, keep away from books
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Meet the tiny book scorpion, Chelifer cancroides. If you have a collection of old books, you probably have an army of book scorpions protecting it, because they eat the book lice that eat the glue that was once used by traditional bookbinders.
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8438 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
