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4276 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Flying squid exist!
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You guys remember this? It turns out, they actually exist Many tales of flying squid have been reported over the years but this behaviour was only confirmed last year. Turns out they don't just fly - they fly through the air faster than Usain Bolt can run! They launch themselves into the air using a high powered jet of water and can cover upwards of 30m using this method. ...
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3024 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Don't like centipedes? They may be beneficial
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If you have a house centipede crawling around on your floors, you’re in luck! These little guys feed on pests such as termites, cockroaches, spiders, and ants to keep your home’s biodiversity to a minimum. Adult centipedes have 15 pairs of legs that help it achieve top speeds of 0.4 meters per second. To mate, centipedes become acquainted through the touching of antennae, and the male deposits sperm onto the ground, which the female then uses to fertilize her eggs.
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4262 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Dental cavities could be a thing of the past
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Dental cavities aren’t caused by sugar, but by a byproduct from bacteria that feed on that sugar. A new molecule called Keep 32 has been created to eliminate that bacteria in the mouth. If the human trials go well, Keep 32 may begin to appear in toothpastes to help make dental visits less painful and keep smiles healthier and brighter.
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2551 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Chicken-like bird
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The greater sage grouse is found in the western parts of the United States and Canada. When mating season is upon the birds, males and females meet at breeding locations known as leks. The males strut around, inflating and deflating the air sacs in their chests to impress the females.
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2230 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Breastfeeding guidelines for neanderthals
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Ancient baby's teeth have revealed that Neanderthals followed today's breastfeeding guidelines. Scientists analyzed a fossilized baby tooth from a Neanderthal child, and found the infant was breastfed exclusively for the first seven months of life and given supplementary foods and mother's milk for another seven months before being weaned. This fascinating discovery sheds light on the remarkable similarities between Neanderthal parenting practices and contemporary breastfeeding guidelines. By examining the composition of the fossilized baby tooth, scientists have uncovered valuable insights into the dietary patterns of our ancient relatives. The Neanderthal infant's exclusive breastfeeding for the first seven months of life mirrors the advice ...
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5697 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Blue lobsters are more common than you think
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It's estimated that one in every two million American lobsters are blue. The genetic mutation causes the lobster to produce an excessive amount of a particular protein, which combines with a red carotenoid molecule already present to form a blue complex. This gives the lobster its coloration. Only six blue lobsters have ever been recorded as caught alive. They're all in aquariums today.
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3497 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Bacterial growth at -15°C
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Researchers from McGill University in Montreal have discovered a bacterium living in the frozen permafrost of the high Arctic. The permafrost bacterium, Planococcus halocryophilus strain Or1, grows and divides at -15°C and can even remain metabolically active at -25°C. This bacteria is yielding clues about how extraterrestrial organisms might endure extreme conditions - as one of the things that makes it extremely hard for life to flourish in foreboding places like Mars and the moons of Saturn is the punishing cold. ...
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3756 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
A woodpecker's incredibly long tongue
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Some species of woodpecker have amazing tongues. It is covered in small hooks that allow it to ensnare insect larvae from a piece of wood. The tongue is approximately three times the length of the beak, allowing it to capture evasive prey. It is so long, it has to fork at the back of the throat and wrap around the woodpecker’s skull when retracted.
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3109 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
A visionary solution for the hearing impaired
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For the hearing impaired, a trip to the movies involves a special screening time for captioned movies or a large, bulky viewer that can be distracting to others. New glasses have been developed to minimize this inconvenience. Captions are projected on the bottom of the glass. It even works with 3-D movies, without adding another pair of glasses. This device doesn’t only work for deaf patrons. Visually impaired moviegoers can boost audio and have descriptions of the action played directly into a headset. This technology will be available in thousands of theaters across the United States by the end of the month. ...
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3987 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
A strange surrogate mother
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After the tsunami in 2004, an orphaned baby hippo was found stranded on a coral reef off the coast of Kenya. He was brought to a wildlife sanctuary, but couldn’t be put with the other hippos because the oldest male may have viewed him as a threat and killed him. The hippo, named Owen, was put in with a 130-year-old tortoise named Mzee. Owen was desperate for a mother figure and immediately took to Mzee. In the coming months, the two became inseparable. They snuggled together and even tried to communicate. While hippos are known for being social, the same is not true for tortoises. Workers at the sanctuary feared for Mzee’s safety as Owen continued to grow. They were separated in 2007 and a young female hippo named Cleo provided companions ...
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4977 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
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1 |
4218 |
bio_man |
11 years ago |
A scary looking bat
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The wrinkle-faced bat is found in some regions of Central and South America. If you’re worried about this coming after you in the night, don’t be. It feeds only on fruit, preferring juicier, overripe mangos and bananas. Actually, it’s quite helpful to humans because it pollinates crops.
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2167 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
A human confused as an alien
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This bizarre looking thing is "Ata the humanoid", a mummified corpse found in the Atacama Desert ten years ago. It's strange appearance led to many calling it an "alien", claiming it as proof that extraterrestrials have visited Earth. Well, it's finally been submitted to a battery of tests and the results show it to be fully human. DNA analysis has even managed to pinpoint the location and nationality of its mother. The results do suggest that it was once alive and human, not a hoax, and so asks more questions than they answer. The bone analysis suggests that this is not a fetus, but a child between the ages of 6-8. The specimen has just ten ribs (as opposed to 12), is just six inches long and has severe facial deformities. These symptoms do ...
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1 |
4587 |
duddy |
11 years ago |