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Smallest bone in the body
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Take a good look at that tiny piece of art. It is the smallest bone in the body is called the stirrup (or stapes) bone. It is one of the three bones that make up the middle ear; measuring about 2-3 millimetres. It has a U-shape and is the inmost bone that collects sound vibrations and then passes them along to the cochlea for interpretation by the brain. ...
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Biology Forums Blog |
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5612 |
savio |
10 years ago |
Long middle finger
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The aye-aye lives in the forests of Madagascar. Despite looking like a very scared rodent, the aye-aye is a kind of lemur with a bushy tail and super-thin, elongated middle fingers that they use to dig grubs out of hollow branches. Aye-ayes also have huge lower incisors to chew through wood and bamboo—and in captivity they’ve been known to chew through concrete cinder blocks ...
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Biology Forums Blog |
0 |
5393 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
New island forms in Pakistan after a major earthquake
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Barely half an hour after being jolted by a major earthquake on Tuesday, people of the Pakistani coastal town of Gwadar had another shock when they saw a new island emerge in the sea, just over a kilometre from the shore. It has a rough surface, much of which is muddy and some parts are mostly made up of fine- to coarse-grained sand. ...
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Biology Forums Blog |
3 |
5298 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Next time you experience acne, try not to remember this
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Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevisare are parasitic mites that particularly favour the hair follicles of eyebrows and eyelashes and measure a mere fraction of a millimeter long. They crawl about your face in the dark to mate and then crawl into the pores to lay their eggs and die. Healthy adults have around one or two mites per square centimetre of facial skin, though people with the condition rosacea can have 10 times more. Demodex does not have an anus and therefore cannot get rid of its faeces. Instead, their abdomen gets bigger and bigger, and when the mite dies it decomposes and releases its faeces all at once into the pore. ...
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Biology Forums Blog |
1 |
5286 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Gold comes in many different forms
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The Golden Tortoise beetle is found in the Americas. They feed on the leaves of plants related to the sweet potato, including the morning glory and bindweed, though they rarely eat enough to cause serious damage to the plant.
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Biology Forums Blog |
1 |
5285 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
What accounts for blue blood found in invertebrates
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Hemocyanins are proteins that transport oxygen throughout the bodies of some invertebrate animals. These metalloproteins contain two copper atoms that reversibly bind a single oxygen molecule (O 2). They are second only to hemoglobin in frequency of use as an oxygen transport molecule. Unlike the hemoglobin in red blood cells found in vertebrates, hemocyanins are not bound to blood cells but are instead suspended directly in the hemolymph. Oxygenation causes a color change between the colorless Cu(I) deoxygenated form and the blue Cu(II) oxygenated form. ...
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Biology Forums Blog |
1 |
5247 |
bio_man |
10 years ago |
Brain defects go a long way
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This is a human brain without grooves and folds, a condition known as lissencephaly. It belonged to a patient who died in a mental health facility in 1970, and almost a year ago a photographer found the jar containing the brain in a collection at the University of Texas, Austin. People with this rare condition suffer from seizures, muscle spasms, a range of learning difficulties, and usually die before the age of ten. ...
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Biology Forums Blog |
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5188 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
The strangest medical story ever
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This 22-year-old man had a car accident last year and as a result his nose became infected and deformed. Doctors weren’t able to repair it, but decided to take cartilage from one of the young man’s ribs to grown a new nose. The nose, which is temporarily attached to his forehead, has been developing for 9 months and is ready to be transplanted.
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Biology Forums Blog |
4 |
5048 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Here's why birds and ants get along so well
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Some birds, such as woodcreepers and cuckoos, are known to follow army ant raids on forest floors. As the army ant colony travels on the forest floor, they stir up various flying insect species. As the insects flee from the army ants, the birds following the ants catch the fleeing insects. In this way, the army ants and the birds are in a commensalistic relationship because the birds benefit while the army ants are unaffected. ...
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Biology Forums Blog |
0 |
5044 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
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Biology Forums Blog |
0 |
4846 |
savio |
10 years ago |
Imagine being able to draw while you're sleep
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Artist Lee Hadwin has a unique talent - he can only produce his artwork in his sleep, as shown above. Lee cannot remember doing anything while he is asleep, and cannot recreate his work while he is awake. He says he has no real interest in art, but has been producing his own work since a small child.
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Biology Forums Blog |
2 |
4806 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
So, chemistry is all theory, right?
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Using high-resolution atomic force microscopy, a hydrogen bond has been imaged for the first time. This technique is quite similar to the one used to photograph bonds breaking and reforming that was announced earlier this year.
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Biology Forums Blog |
1 |
4732 |
savio |
10 years ago |
Commensalism
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Sloths have a commensal relationship with several insects. Their thick fur readily traps bacteria and algae, which makes a good home for many beetles. The beetles are able to lay their eggs in a place that is rich in nutrients upon hatching, and the sloths don’t care either way. One sloth was reported to have over 900 beetles living in its fur!
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Biology Forums Blog |
0 |
4606 |
savio |
10 years ago |
Ink poisoning
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Varieties of the inky cap mushroom can be around the world. While they are edible, ingesting alcohol while eating the mushrooms increases symptoms of nausea and vomiting, and can even cause a heart attack. After the mushroom has released its spores, the cap begins to liquefy. The thick black liquid that is seen dripping from the edges is how the inky cap got its name.
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Biology Forums Blog |
1 |
4564 |
savio |
10 years ago |
Catch me if you can
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The relative speed is based on body length. The tiger beetle ( Cicindela hudsoni) run so fast, their eyes can’t process information as quickly as they need to and they temporarily blind themselves. Some sources claim that the tiger beetle can up to 9 km/hour! When attacking prey, the beetle will aim itself at its target and start running, but will need to stop and relocate the prey because it cannot keep an eye on it. Once it has reoriented itself, it charges forward again and hopes to run into the target. ...
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Biology Forums Blog |
1 |
4403 |
duddy |
10 years ago |