No more moldy bats!
White-nose syndrome is the fungal disease (you might recall) that’s killing bats. Millions of them. But now, National Geographic is giving us hope that a bacteria might be able to… Read the rest “No more moldy bats!”
zoology
A new hybrid super-termite… made in Florida.
PopSci reports on the PLOS One study on what happens when two invasive exotic species combine forces:
… Read the rest “A new hybrid super-termite… made in Florida.”The two termite species, which originated in separate areas of Asia, spread across
Science Art: Vespertilio Formosus
A mouse-eared bat, from Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, as found on the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
It falls between a rather pleasant-looking bush… Read the rest “Science Art: Vespertilio Formosus”
Science Art: Nest of the Honey-Wasp Attacked by Jaguar, 1916
From Marvels of Insect Life: A Popular Account of Structure and Habit, edited by Edward Step, found in the BioDiversity Library.
This is probably not exactly the book Dylan… Read the rest “Science Art: Nest of the Honey-Wasp Attacked by Jaguar, 1916”
Dancing to the beat makes fiddler crab sexual… failures.
New Scientist turns our human expectations upside down once in the world of fiddler crabs. They seem musical (thus the name, after all), and they use that rhythm to win mates. But on closer… Read the rest “Dancing to the beat makes fiddler crab sexual… failures.”
New poison dart frog discovered. Tiny. Cute. Poisonous. But tiny. And cute.
National Geographic reveals the newest Panamanian sensation to enter the world of science:
… Read the rest “New poison dart frog discovered. Tiny. Cute. Poisonous. But tiny. And cute.”A new species of poison dart frog so teeny it can fit on a fingernail has been discovered in a rain
Science Art: Tadarida teniotis Rafinesque.
This is a bat from Tajikstan. According to the 2002 State of the Environment Report, it’s a rare bat. The European free-tailed bat.
No, he doesn’t look very free in that image.… Read the rest “Science Art: Tadarida teniotis Rafinesque.”
Science Art: Polar Bear – POV Cams (Spring 2014), by the USGS
As the U.S. Geological Survey puts it:
… Read the rest “Science Art: Polar Bear – POV Cams (Spring 2014), by the USGS”This video was edited and compiled from raw footage recorded by a camera equipped radio collar that was put on a female polar bear in the Beaufort Sea
Animals are people too.
Or so says National Geographic-profiled biopsychologist Lori Marino, an expert in the brains of “lesser” animals:
… Read the rest “Animals are people too.”Formerly a full-fledged research scientist who found
Elephants really never forget… their enemies’ words.
Nature reveals proof that elephants recognize individual humans – including the languages used who did them wrong:
… Read the rest “Elephants really never forget… their enemies’ words.”Biologists Karen McComb and Graeme Shannon at the University
Guild Salute: Michael Hearst, Songs for Unusual Creatures
Michael Hearst! Composer! Writer! Player of atypical instruments! Science fan!
You are compiling instrumentals based on wonderful animals, like the glass frog, the magnapinna squid… Read the rest “Guild Salute: Michael Hearst, Songs for Unusual Creatures”
Elephants empathize.
Science magazine reaches out with new research showing that elephants don’t just mourn their dead, but also try to comfort those in anguish:
… Read the rest “Elephants empathize.”The study “is the first to investigate
Chimp civilization found in Congo.
OK, that’s a little hyperbolic, but only a little. The Guardian has more on the last chimp “mega-culture” just found in the central African jungle:
… Read the rest “Chimp civilization found in Congo.”Harboured by the
Dogs poop in alignment with the Earth’s magnetic field
I can’t even begin with this one. But yes, researchers at the Czech University of Agriculture have determined that dogs orient themselves to magnetic north when excreting:
… Read the rest “Dogs poop in alignment with the Earth’s magnetic field”We measured
Science Art: Plate 721: Mus minor, Souris; Mus major, Rat from … well, ostensibly Description, vertus et usages de sept cents dix-neuf plantes…,
Rodents, as appearing in a book of medicinal herbs (619 of them?) by Etienne-Francois Geoffroy and Francois Alexandre de Garsault.
Or so BioDiv Library would have us believe. Leafing through… Read the rest “Science Art: Plate 721: Mus minor, Souris; Mus major, Rat from … well, ostensibly Description, vertus et usages de sept cents dix-neuf plantes…,”