Caffeinated Cravings: Putting The Buzz Back In Your Bumble… It seems it’s not just us humans who seek out regular caffeine kicks - the bees are at it as well! New research has shown that honey bees are three times more likely to remember and seek out food associated with the smell of a coffee or citrus plant (both of which naturally contain caffeine) than food presented without these scents. Well, would you blame ‘em?!… Christy Ullrich of NGS reports:  Bitter-tasting caffeine primarily arose in plants as a toxic defense against herbivores like garden slugs. At high doses, caffeine can be toxic and repellent to pollinators. However, at low concentrations, caffeine appears to have a secondary advantage, attracting honeybees and enhancing their long-term memory, said lead author Geraldine Wright, a neuroscientist at Newcastle University in England, whose study was published online March 7 in the journal Science. “We show that caffeine—a compound whose ecological role is mainly to deter and poison herbivores—actually acts like a drug in an ecologically relevant context,” Wright said. “The plant is secretly drugging the pollinator. It may help the bee, but the plant cares more about having a pollinator with high fidelity!” Read the rest of the report via NGS here.
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Caffeinated Cravings: Putting The Buzz Back In Your Bumble…

It seems it’s not just us humans who seek out regular caffeine kicks - the bees are at it as well! New research has shown that honey bees are three times more likely to remember and seek out food associated with the smell of a coffee or citrus plant (both of which naturally contain caffeine) than food presented without these scents. Well, would you blame ‘em?!…

Christy Ullrich of NGS reports: 

Bitter-tasting caffeine primarily arose in plants as a toxic defense against herbivores like garden slugs. At high doses, caffeine can be toxic and repellent to pollinators.

However, at low concentrations, caffeine appears to have a secondary advantage, attracting honeybees and enhancing their long-term memory, said lead author Geraldine Wright, a neuroscientist at Newcastle University in England, whose study was published online March 7 in the journal Science.

“We show that caffeine—a compound whose ecological role is mainly to deter and poison herbivores—actually acts like a drug in an ecologically relevant context,” Wright said. “The plant is secretly drugging the pollinator. It may help the bee, but the plant cares more about having a pollinator with high fidelity!”

Read the rest of the report via NGS here.

Murky Mentalness: Deep Ocean Vents Just Got Deeper, And Hotter… Scientists working at the deep sea trench known as the Cayman Trough (near the Cayman islands in the Caribbean) have recently discovered a new group of vents which reading show are the deepest (at 4,968 metres - approximately 3 miles) and hottest (401 degrees celcius) to be found yet. The scientists are hoping the research they are conducting in this mysterious black-water-belching murkiness can help us better understand exactly how, and why life has come to exist in such extremely hostile environments. See some video footage and read more from BBC News’ David Shukman here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21520404
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Murky Mentalness: Deep Ocean Vents Just Got Deeper, And Hotter… Scientists working at the deep sea trench known as the Cayman Trough (near the Cayman islands in the Caribbean) have recently discovered a new group of vents which reading show are the deepest (at 4,968 metres - approximately 3 miles) and hottest (401 degrees celcius) to be found yet. The scientists are hoping the research they are conducting in this mysterious black-water-belching murkiness can help us better understand exactly how, and why life has come to exist in such extremely hostile environments. See some video footage and read more from BBC News’ David Shukman here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21520404
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Murky Mentalness: Deep Ocean Vents Just Got Deeper, And Hotter… Scientists working at the deep sea trench known as the Cayman Trough (near the Cayman islands in the Caribbean) have recently discovered a new group of vents which reading show are the deepest (at 4,968 metres - approximately 3 miles) and hottest (401 degrees celcius) to be found yet. The scientists are hoping the research they are conducting in this mysterious black-water-belching murkiness can help us better understand exactly how, and why life has come to exist in such extremely hostile environments. See some video footage and read more from BBC News’ David Shukman here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21520404
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Murky Mentalness: Deep Ocean Vents Just Got Deeper, And Hotter… Scientists working at the deep sea trench known as the Cayman Trough (near the Cayman islands in the Caribbean) have recently discovered a new group of vents which reading show are the deepest (at 4,968 metres - approximately 3 miles) and hottest (401 degrees celcius) to be found yet. The scientists are hoping the research they are conducting in this mysterious black-water-belching murkiness can help us better understand exactly how, and why life has come to exist in such extremely hostile environments. See some video footage and read more from BBC News’ David Shukman here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21520404
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Murky Mentalness: Deep Ocean Vents Just Got Deeper, And Hotter…

Scientists working at the deep sea trench known as the Cayman Trough (near the Cayman islands in the Caribbean) have recently discovered a new group of vents which reading show are the deepest (at 4,968 metres - approximately 3 miles) and hottest (401 degrees celcius) to be found yet. The scientists are hoping the research they are conducting in this mysterious black-water-belching murkiness can help us better understand exactly how, and why life has come to exist in such extremely hostile environments. See some video footage and read more from BBC News’ David Shukman here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21520404

creepycrawlieslove: Periplaneta americana The American cockroach^ (native to Africa) Yes, introduced from Africa to the United States as early as 1625, this neat little Neoptera is owed some thanks from us for helping to shape our early understanding of the neuro-endocrine system: German-born American biologist Berta Scharrer (1906–1995) and her biologist husband Ernst Scharrer pioneered the field of neuroendocrinology, the study of the interaction between the nervous system and the endocrine glands and their secretions. Fighting against accepted scientific beliefs about cells—as well as against prejudice toward women in the sciences—Scharrer established the concept of neurosecretion, or the releasing of substances such as hormones by nerve cells. Prior to the discoveries of Scharrer and her husband, scientists believed that neurons or nerve cells could not have a dual function. They either secreted hormones, in which case they were endocrine cells belonging to the endocrine system, or they conducted electrical impulses, making them nerve cells belonging to the nervous system. In the 1930s, after having come to America, Scharrer and her husband set out to prove their theories with no real professional standing and therefore lacking a budget for lab animals. Scharrer reportedly collected cockroaches in the basement of the lab and used them for experiments. Soon she began experimenting on South American cockroaches she had discovered scurrying around in the bottom of a cage of lab monkeys that had arrived from South America. Scharrer found that they made better research subjects because they were slower than the American cockroach. From that point forward, she used the South American cockroaches, which traveled with her wherever she and her husband moved. By 1950, Scharrer’s research and theories on neurosecretion had become accepted as fact by the scientific community. For her pioneering scientific work, Scharrer received many honors. Included among these was the naming of a cockroach species, scharrerae , in her honor. Read more: http://www.faqs.org/health/Body-by-Design-V1/The-Endocrine-System-Workings-how-the-endocrine-system-functions.html#ixzz2LYBFBeRb
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creepycrawlieslove:

Periplaneta americana
The American cockroach^ (native to Africa)

Yes, introduced from Africa to the United States as early as 1625, this neat little Neoptera is owed some thanks from us for helping to shape our early understanding of the neuro-endocrine system:

German-born American biologist Berta Scharrer (1906–1995) and her biologist husband Ernst Scharrer pioneered the field of neuroendocrinology, the study of the interaction between the nervous system and the endocrine glands and their secretions. Fighting against accepted scientific beliefs about cells—as well as against prejudice toward women in the sciences—Scharrer established the concept of neurosecretion, or the releasing of substances such as hormones by nerve cells.

Prior to the discoveries of Scharrer and her husband, scientists believed that neurons or nerve cells could not have a dual function. They either secreted hormones, in which case they were endocrine cells belonging to the endocrine system, or they conducted electrical impulses, making them nerve cells belonging to the nervous system.

In the 1930s, after having come to America, Scharrer and her husband set out to prove their theories with no real professional standing and therefore lacking a budget for lab animals. Scharrer reportedly collected cockroaches in the basement of the lab and used them for experiments. Soon she began experimenting on South American cockroaches she had discovered scurrying around in the bottom of a cage of lab monkeys that had arrived from South America. Scharrer found that they made better research subjects because they were slower than the American cockroach. From that point forward, she used the South American cockroaches, which traveled with her wherever she and her husband moved.

By 1950, Scharrer’s research and theories on neurosecretion had become accepted as fact by the scientific community. For her pioneering scientific work, Scharrer received many honors. Included among these was the naming of a cockroach species, scharrerae , in her honor.

Read more: http://www.faqs.org/health/Body-by-Design-V1/The-Endocrine-System-Workings-how-the-endocrine-system-functions.html#ixzz2LYBFBeRb

(via scientificillustration)

Source: library.wur.nl

Strange Squeakcies: This Frog’s Call Ain’t No Croak…

Recorded by wildlife enthusiast and photographer Dean Boshoff among the sand dunes of Port Nolloth in South Africa’s Northern Cope province, this first YouTube video of his went viral within a matter of days - and it’s easy to see why. Or, rather, hear why. You’d be forgiven for suspecting that this is nothing more than the result of some doggy-chew-toy-dub-over of a hoax. However this is the real deal folks. Yup, that sound is actually coming out of that animal!

This little sandy ball of hilarious squeaky cuteness is a desert rain frog* (Breviceps macrops). Although it has elsewhere been reported to be a mating call, the sound it’s so ardently emitting is actually a warning call, triggered by the presence of a threat such as a predator (or in this case, most likely the perceived threat of big bad Dean and his camera). Other species of frog are also known to make this type of warning call and a quick search of YouTube will bring up more examples of it, however I’ve yet been able to find one that’s quite as cute as this lil’ guy!

The desert rain frog is a fossorial species, spending most of its life buried under the sand hiding from predators (hence the state of our new celebrity) and only surfaces at night to feed. Its eggs are laid in underground chambers and are covered in a thick, viscous, jelly-like substance. Once the eggs hit tadpole stage, the jelly softens into a fluid in which they live until they fully metamorphose into frogs (absorbing nutrients from the egg yolk as they grow). This lack of dependence on water for the tadpole stage is what makes this dumpy dude particularly and uniquely suited to life in an arid environment. 

So there you have it; the desert rain frog; sandy, silly, squeaky and all together supersauce, No go press play again. You know you want to, tee hee…

  • *NOT, in fact, a Namaqua rain frog (Breviceps namaquensis), as it has been identified as elsewhere and indeed by my good self in an earlier version of this post (Oops, my bad!). The confusion is understandable however, as both species are extremely similar in terms of how they look, how they live and indeed where they live. While the Namaqua rain frog is not endangered, it should be noted that the desert rain frog is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List due to habitat fragmentation caused by diamond mining. So don’t all go rushing out to try and buy one from the pet stores after seeing this video! Coz that’d be bad, m’kay…
Rainbow-eyed Surprise: Refraction Of Light Captures Third Prize Delight… This spectral spectacular (top photo), captured by American photographer Randall Benton, was awarded third prize recently in the Nature (singles) category of the 2013 World Press Photo contest. Although it looks like some weird demon-possessed other-worldly creature of the night, this prize pic shows nothing more sinister than a very-much-of-our-worldly trumpetfish of the Caribbean. The rainbow-eyed effect is the result of light bending as it passes through the eye of the fish which causes it to split into different wavelengths (ie, colours) - a phenomenon known as dispersion.  Trumpetfish (Aulostomus maculatus) are long thin fish who derive their name from their snouts, which look a bit like - you guessed it - a trumpet. Masters of disguise, trumpetfish can often be found hanging out around pipe sponges, sea fans and sea whips in a vertical, head down position which helps them to blend in with their surroundings as they wait for unsuspecting prey to pass by or indeed, try to avoid becoming prey themselves. They are also known to swim alongside the vertical lines of other fish while hunting. The trumpetfish’s mouth is able to stretch to a size equal to the diameter of its body and creates a vacuum which sucks up its prey (this is known as “pipette feeding”). Typically a mottled reddish-brown in colour, these fish can also change their colour to suit their surroundings, much like squid and octopus do. Changes in colouration are also observed during trumpetfish courtship rituals (known as “dances”. For a video complete with groovy guitar music, see here). As with their close relatives the seahorses, it is the male trumpetfish who carries most of the reproductive burden. Having received eggs from the female following a successful courtship (score!), he then fertilizes them and carries them in a special pouch until they are born. Haha, suckers… For more cool info on trumpetfish, check out here and here. For a picture of an actual demon-possessed creature, check here (but be warned, it will eat your soul!)
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Rainbow-eyed Surprise: Refraction Of Light Captures Third Prize Delight… This spectral spectacular (top photo), captured by American photographer Randall Benton, was awarded third prize recently in the Nature (singles) category of the 2013 World Press Photo contest. Although it looks like some weird demon-possessed other-worldly creature of the night, this prize pic shows nothing more sinister than a very-much-of-our-worldly trumpetfish of the Caribbean. The rainbow-eyed effect is the result of light bending as it passes through the eye of the fish which causes it to split into different wavelengths (ie, colours) - a phenomenon known as dispersion.  Trumpetfish (Aulostomus maculatus) are long thin fish who derive their name from their snouts, which look a bit like - you guessed it - a trumpet. Masters of disguise, trumpetfish can often be found hanging out around pipe sponges, sea fans and sea whips in a vertical, head down position which helps them to blend in with their surroundings as they wait for unsuspecting prey to pass by or indeed, try to avoid becoming prey themselves. They are also known to swim alongside the vertical lines of other fish while hunting. The trumpetfish’s mouth is able to stretch to a size equal to the diameter of its body and creates a vacuum which sucks up its prey (this is known as “pipette feeding”). Typically a mottled reddish-brown in colour, these fish can also change their colour to suit their surroundings, much like squid and octopus do. Changes in colouration are also observed during trumpetfish courtship rituals (known as “dances”. For a video complete with groovy guitar music, see here). As with their close relatives the seahorses, it is the male trumpetfish who carries most of the reproductive burden. Having received eggs from the female following a successful courtship (score!), he then fertilizes them and carries them in a special pouch until they are born. Haha, suckers… For more cool info on trumpetfish, check out here and here. For a picture of an actual demon-possessed creature, check here (but be warned, it will eat your soul!)
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Rainbow-eyed Surprise: Refraction Of Light Captures Third Prize Delight… This spectral spectacular (top photo), captured by American photographer Randall Benton, was awarded third prize recently in the Nature (singles) category of the 2013 World Press Photo contest. Although it looks like some weird demon-possessed other-worldly creature of the night, this prize pic shows nothing more sinister than a very-much-of-our-worldly trumpetfish of the Caribbean. The rainbow-eyed effect is the result of light bending as it passes through the eye of the fish which causes it to split into different wavelengths (ie, colours) - a phenomenon known as dispersion.  Trumpetfish (Aulostomus maculatus) are long thin fish who derive their name from their snouts, which look a bit like - you guessed it - a trumpet. Masters of disguise, trumpetfish can often be found hanging out around pipe sponges, sea fans and sea whips in a vertical, head down position which helps them to blend in with their surroundings as they wait for unsuspecting prey to pass by or indeed, try to avoid becoming prey themselves. They are also known to swim alongside the vertical lines of other fish while hunting. The trumpetfish’s mouth is able to stretch to a size equal to the diameter of its body and creates a vacuum which sucks up its prey (this is known as “pipette feeding”). Typically a mottled reddish-brown in colour, these fish can also change their colour to suit their surroundings, much like squid and octopus do. Changes in colouration are also observed during trumpetfish courtship rituals (known as “dances”. For a video complete with groovy guitar music, see here). As with their close relatives the seahorses, it is the male trumpetfish who carries most of the reproductive burden. Having received eggs from the female following a successful courtship (score!), he then fertilizes them and carries them in a special pouch until they are born. Haha, suckers… For more cool info on trumpetfish, check out here and here. For a picture of an actual demon-possessed creature, check here (but be warned, it will eat your soul!)
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Rainbow-eyed Surprise: Refraction Of Light Captures Third Prize Delight… This spectral spectacular (top photo), captured by American photographer Randall Benton, was awarded third prize recently in the Nature (singles) category of the 2013 World Press Photo contest. Although it looks like some weird demon-possessed other-worldly creature of the night, this prize pic shows nothing more sinister than a very-much-of-our-worldly trumpetfish of the Caribbean. The rainbow-eyed effect is the result of light bending as it passes through the eye of the fish which causes it to split into different wavelengths (ie, colours) - a phenomenon known as dispersion.  Trumpetfish (Aulostomus maculatus) are long thin fish who derive their name from their snouts, which look a bit like - you guessed it - a trumpet. Masters of disguise, trumpetfish can often be found hanging out around pipe sponges, sea fans and sea whips in a vertical, head down position which helps them to blend in with their surroundings as they wait for unsuspecting prey to pass by or indeed, try to avoid becoming prey themselves. They are also known to swim alongside the vertical lines of other fish while hunting. The trumpetfish’s mouth is able to stretch to a size equal to the diameter of its body and creates a vacuum which sucks up its prey (this is known as “pipette feeding”). Typically a mottled reddish-brown in colour, these fish can also change their colour to suit their surroundings, much like squid and octopus do. Changes in colouration are also observed during trumpetfish courtship rituals (known as “dances”. For a video complete with groovy guitar music, see here). As with their close relatives the seahorses, it is the male trumpetfish who carries most of the reproductive burden. Having received eggs from the female following a successful courtship (score!), he then fertilizes them and carries them in a special pouch until they are born. Haha, suckers… For more cool info on trumpetfish, check out here and here. For a picture of an actual demon-possessed creature, check here (but be warned, it will eat your soul!)
Zoom Info

Rainbow-eyed Surprise: Refraction Of Light Captures Third Prize Delight…

This spectral spectacular (top photo), captured by American photographer Randall Benton, was awarded third prize recently in the Nature (singles) category of the 2013 World Press Photo contest. Although it looks like some weird demon-possessed other-worldly creature of the night, this prize pic shows nothing more sinister than a very-much-of-our-worldly trumpetfish of the Caribbean. The rainbow-eyed effect is the result of light bending as it passes through the eye of the fish which causes it to split into different wavelengths (ie, colours) - a phenomenon known as dispersion. 

Trumpetfish (Aulostomus maculatus) are long thin fish who derive their name from their snouts, which look a bit like - you guessed it - a trumpet. Masters of disguise, trumpetfish can often be found hanging out around pipe sponges, sea fans and sea whips in a vertical, head down position which helps them to blend in with their surroundings as they wait for unsuspecting prey to pass by or indeed, try to avoid becoming prey themselves. They are also known to swim alongside the vertical lines of other fish while hunting. The trumpetfish’s mouth is able to stretch to a size equal to the diameter of its body and creates a vacuum which sucks up its prey (this is known as “pipette feeding”). Typically a mottled reddish-brown in colour, these fish can also change their colour to suit their surroundings, much like squid and octopus do.

Changes in colouration are also observed during trumpetfish courtship rituals (known as “dances”. For a video complete with groovy guitar music, see here). As with their close relatives the seahorses, it is the male trumpetfish who carries most of the reproductive burden. Having received eggs from the female following a successful courtship (score!), he then fertilizes them and carries them in a special pouch until they are born. Haha, suckers…

  • For more cool info on trumpetfish, check out here and here.
  • For a picture of an actual demon-possessed creature, check here (but be warned, it will eat your soul!)
Blue Whale Scale: Getting Into The Heart Of The Matter… If you happened to catch the neat infographic on animal hearts posted by the National Wildlife Federation earlier, then you’ll now know that a Blue Whale heart is, incredibly, as big as a small car (If you didn’t see the infographic, then guess what?; a Blue Whale heart is as big as a small car). Amazeballs. And just as neat and amazebally is this model of said heart constructed by the New Zealand company Human Dynamo Workshop.Originally commissioned for The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the model impressed curators at the LWL Museum of Natural History in Munster, Germany, so much that they ordered one for themselves. The model was designed to be crawled through and contains an integrated sound system which enables arterial-explorers to hear and feel the whale’s heartbeat. Groovy! The model is currently on display at the “Whales - Giants of the Ocean” exhibition at the LWL Museum until the 11th of March, 2013. So what are you waiting for, get booking your flights to Deutschland pronto! Or, if you’re a tad bit totally-completely-and-utterly-wayyy-too-broke for that (like me!), you can just read more about the model here.
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Blue Whale Scale: Getting Into The Heart Of The Matter… If you happened to catch the neat infographic on animal hearts posted by the National Wildlife Federation earlier, then you’ll now know that a Blue Whale heart is, incredibly, as big as a small car (If you didn’t see the infographic, then guess what?; a Blue Whale heart is as big as a small car). Amazeballs. And just as neat and amazebally is this model of said heart constructed by the New Zealand company Human Dynamo Workshop.Originally commissioned for The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the model impressed curators at the LWL Museum of Natural History in Munster, Germany, so much that they ordered one for themselves. The model was designed to be crawled through and contains an integrated sound system which enables arterial-explorers to hear and feel the whale’s heartbeat. Groovy! The model is currently on display at the “Whales - Giants of the Ocean” exhibition at the LWL Museum until the 11th of March, 2013. So what are you waiting for, get booking your flights to Deutschland pronto! Or, if you’re a tad bit totally-completely-and-utterly-wayyy-too-broke for that (like me!), you can just read more about the model here.
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Blue Whale Scale: Getting Into The Heart Of The Matter… If you happened to catch the neat infographic on animal hearts posted by the National Wildlife Federation earlier, then you’ll now know that a Blue Whale heart is, incredibly, as big as a small car (If you didn’t see the infographic, then guess what?; a Blue Whale heart is as big as a small car). Amazeballs. And just as neat and amazebally is this model of said heart constructed by the New Zealand company Human Dynamo Workshop.Originally commissioned for The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the model impressed curators at the LWL Museum of Natural History in Munster, Germany, so much that they ordered one for themselves. The model was designed to be crawled through and contains an integrated sound system which enables arterial-explorers to hear and feel the whale’s heartbeat. Groovy! The model is currently on display at the “Whales - Giants of the Ocean” exhibition at the LWL Museum until the 11th of March, 2013. So what are you waiting for, get booking your flights to Deutschland pronto! Or, if you’re a tad bit totally-completely-and-utterly-wayyy-too-broke for that (like me!), you can just read more about the model here.
Zoom Info

Blue Whale Scale: Getting Into The Heart Of The Matter…

If you happened to catch the neat infographic on animal hearts posted by the National Wildlife Federation earlier, then you’ll now know that a Blue Whale heart is, incredibly, as big as a small car (If you didn’t see the infographic, then guess what?; a Blue Whale heart is as big as a small car). Amazeballs. And just as neat and amazebally is this model of said heart constructed by the New Zealand company Human Dynamo Workshop.Originally commissioned for The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the model impressed curators at the LWL Museum of Natural History in Munster, Germany, so much that they ordered one for themselves.

The model was designed to be crawled through and contains an integrated sound system which enables arterial-explorers to hear and feel the whale’s heartbeat. Groovy! The model is currently on display at the “Whales - Giants of the Ocean” exhibition at the LWL Museum until the 11th of March, 2013. So what are you waiting for, get booking your flights to Deutschland pronto! Or, if you’re a tad bit totally-completely-and-utterly-wayyy-too-broke for that (like me!), you can just read more about the model here.

Bloody Valentine’s: Don’t Bite My Head Off For Mentioning V-Day!… You can try to run, you can try to hide, but you just can’t escape it; yup, Valentine’s Day is here folks! And that means plenty’o’love from the Ecolologist today. Here’s a sweet treat to start you off, via the lovely folks at The Nature Conservancy. Check out their romantic slideshow of animals that are willing to die - or kill - for l’amour…  
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Bloody Valentine’s: Don’t Bite My Head Off For Mentioning V-Day!…

You can try to run, you can try to hide, but you just can’t escape it; yup, Valentine’s Day is here folks! And that means plenty’o’love from the Ecolologist today. Here’s a sweet treat to start you off, via the lovely folks at The Nature Conservancy. Check out their romantic slideshow of animals that are willing to die - or kill - for l’amour…

 

Oooh, AppendicitiNG Parties!: Join Us At The 18 - 38 Club… Long considered to be the whimpy kid in the vestigial organ class, research over the last decade (in particular) has seen this worm-shaped wonder transformed into something of a badass beneficial-bacteria bolsterer. The strongest evidence yet that the appendix serves a purpose comes by way of a recent study by an international team of scientists which reports that the structure must have evolved independently (ie: convergent evolution, folks!) at least 32 times. Wowsers! (However, there seems some are uncertain this figure is correct, concluding it may actually be as high as 38 times or as low as 18. Still though, wowsers!). Read Colin Barras report over at Science Now here. Oh, and if you’re curious as to what other animals are party to an appendix, there’s about 50 and they include (*DEEP BREATH!*) the platypus, the short-beaked and western long-beaked echidnas, dusky-shrew opossum, mountain cuscus, wombat, west Indian manatee, red-slender loris, aye-aye, Bornean orangutan, Celebes crested macaques, hamadryas baboon, silvery marmosets, African bush-tailed porcupine, Afghan pika, Cape mole rat and meadow vole. If you want to know the rest, all I can say is, LOOK ‘EM UP YO’SELF COZ WHADDAM I? YO MOMMA!?! And calm…    (via Appendix Evolved More Than 30 Times - ScienceNOW)
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Oooh, AppendicitiNG Parties!: Join Us At The 18 - 38 Club… Long considered to be the whimpy kid in the vestigial organ class, research over the last decade (in particular) has seen this worm-shaped wonder transformed into something of a badass beneficial-bacteria bolsterer. The strongest evidence yet that the appendix serves a purpose comes by way of a recent study by an international team of scientists which reports that the structure must have evolved independently (ie: convergent evolution, folks!) at least 32 times. Wowsers! (However, there seems some are uncertain this figure is correct, concluding it may actually be as high as 38 times or as low as 18. Still though, wowsers!). Read Colin Barras report over at Science Now here. Oh, and if you’re curious as to what other animals are party to an appendix, there’s about 50 and they include (*DEEP BREATH!*) the platypus, the short-beaked and western long-beaked echidnas, dusky-shrew opossum, mountain cuscus, wombat, west Indian manatee, red-slender loris, aye-aye, Bornean orangutan, Celebes crested macaques, hamadryas baboon, silvery marmosets, African bush-tailed porcupine, Afghan pika, Cape mole rat and meadow vole. If you want to know the rest, all I can say is, LOOK ‘EM UP YO’SELF COZ WHADDAM I? YO MOMMA!?! And calm…    (via Appendix Evolved More Than 30 Times - ScienceNOW)
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Oooh, AppendicitiNG Parties!: Join Us At The 18 - 38 Club… Long considered to be the whimpy kid in the vestigial organ class, research over the last decade (in particular) has seen this worm-shaped wonder transformed into something of a badass beneficial-bacteria bolsterer. The strongest evidence yet that the appendix serves a purpose comes by way of a recent study by an international team of scientists which reports that the structure must have evolved independently (ie: convergent evolution, folks!) at least 32 times. Wowsers! (However, there seems some are uncertain this figure is correct, concluding it may actually be as high as 38 times or as low as 18. Still though, wowsers!). Read Colin Barras report over at Science Now here. Oh, and if you’re curious as to what other animals are party to an appendix, there’s about 50 and they include (*DEEP BREATH!*) the platypus, the short-beaked and western long-beaked echidnas, dusky-shrew opossum, mountain cuscus, wombat, west Indian manatee, red-slender loris, aye-aye, Bornean orangutan, Celebes crested macaques, hamadryas baboon, silvery marmosets, African bush-tailed porcupine, Afghan pika, Cape mole rat and meadow vole. If you want to know the rest, all I can say is, LOOK ‘EM UP YO’SELF COZ WHADDAM I? YO MOMMA!?! And calm…    (via Appendix Evolved More Than 30 Times - ScienceNOW)
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Oooh, AppendicitiNG Parties!: Join Us At The 18 - 38 Club… Long considered to be the whimpy kid in the vestigial organ class, research over the last decade (in particular) has seen this worm-shaped wonder transformed into something of a badass beneficial-bacteria bolsterer. The strongest evidence yet that the appendix serves a purpose comes by way of a recent study by an international team of scientists which reports that the structure must have evolved independently (ie: convergent evolution, folks!) at least 32 times. Wowsers! (However, there seems some are uncertain this figure is correct, concluding it may actually be as high as 38 times or as low as 18. Still though, wowsers!). Read Colin Barras report over at Science Now here. Oh, and if you’re curious as to what other animals are party to an appendix, there’s about 50 and they include (*DEEP BREATH!*) the platypus, the short-beaked and western long-beaked echidnas, dusky-shrew opossum, mountain cuscus, wombat, west Indian manatee, red-slender loris, aye-aye, Bornean orangutan, Celebes crested macaques, hamadryas baboon, silvery marmosets, African bush-tailed porcupine, Afghan pika, Cape mole rat and meadow vole. If you want to know the rest, all I can say is, LOOK ‘EM UP YO’SELF COZ WHADDAM I? YO MOMMA!?! And calm…    (via Appendix Evolved More Than 30 Times - ScienceNOW)
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Oooh, AppendicitiNG Parties!: Join Us At The 18 - 38 Club…

Long considered to be the whimpy kid in the vestigial organ class, research over the last decade (in particular) has seen this worm-shaped wonder transformed into something of a badass beneficial-bacteria bolsterer. The strongest evidence yet that the appendix serves a purpose comes by way of a recent study by an international team of scientists which reports that the structure must have evolved independently (ie: convergent evolution, folks!) at least 32 times. Wowsers! (However, there seems some are uncertain this figure is correct, concluding it may actually be as high as 38 times or as low as 18. Still though, wowsers!). Read Colin Barras report over at Science Now here.

Oh, and if you’re curious as to what other animals are party to an appendix, there’s about 50 and they include (*DEEP BREATH!*) the platypus, the short-beaked and western long-beaked echidnas, dusky-shrew opossum, mountain cuscus, wombat, west Indian manatee, red-slender loris, aye-aye, Bornean orangutan, Celebes crested macaques, hamadryas baboon, silvery marmosets, African bush-tailed porcupine, Afghan pika, Cape mole rat and meadow vole. If you want to know the rest, all I can say is, LOOK ‘EM UP YO’SELF COZ WHADDAM I? YO MOMMA!?!

And calm…   

(via Appendix Evolved More Than 30 Times - ScienceNOW)

Source: news.sciencemag.org

D-Day On A B-Day: Celebrate In Style For Science And Reason… Charles Darwin was born on February 12th, 1809 - which means had he been some sort of weird immortal Vampire (Finch, geddit?! No?!? Ok, geek your a$$ up here!) he would have been a respectably young 204 years old today. Hip hip! Hooray!!! So what better way to celebrate the b-day of the man himself that by throwing a Darwin Day party?! The International Darwin Day Foundation has been promoting a global celebration of science, humanity and reason since 1993. Specifically, it aims to celebrate the life and discoveries of Darwin himself and to express gratitude for the enormous benefits that scientific knowledge has contributed to the advancement of humanity. Check out their site and see if there’s anything going on in your area or even see about organising your own event! Oh, and while you’re there, why not “Like” their Fbook page and show your friends you’re in full support of science and reason! Oh, and in case you’re wondering, that beautifully surreal rendering of Mr. D above is the work of the awesomesauce artist David Revoy. Check out his webpage and read what inspired him to produce this animal-tangle-tastic montage here.
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D-Day On A B-Day: Celebrate In Style For Science And Reason…

Charles Darwin was born on February 12th, 1809 - which means had he been some sort of weird immortal Vampire (Finch, geddit?! No?!? Ok, geek your a$$ up here!) he would have been a respectably young 204 years old today. Hip hip! Hooray!!! So what better way to celebrate the b-day of the man himself that by throwing a Darwin Day party?! The International Darwin Day Foundation has been promoting a global celebration of science, humanity and reason since 1993. Specifically, it aims to celebrate the life and discoveries of Darwin himself and to express gratitude for the enormous benefits that scientific knowledge has contributed to the advancement of humanity. Check out their site and see if there’s anything going on in your area or even see about organising your own event! Oh, and while you’re there, why not “Like” their Fbook page and show your friends you’re in full support of science and reason!

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, that beautifully surreal rendering of Mr. D above is the work of the awesomesauce artist David Revoy. Check out his webpage and read what inspired him to produce this animal-tangle-tastic montage here.

Splotch Watch: Mamma Knows Best When It Comes To Choosing The Nest… Offer a Japanese quail hen a choice of four substrates on which to lay her eggs and she will invariably choose the type that provides the best camouflage for said eggs. Depending on the degree of maculation (that’s splotches, to you and me!) of the eggs, the bird will opt for either a substrate that matches the base colour of the egg (little splotching on these eggs) or that matches the shade of the maculation (lots of big splotches on these eggs). Personally, what I find most impressive about this experiment is that it shows not just that the birds have an awareness of camouflage techniques, but that they make their nest choices prior to laying, suggesting that they know and remember from previous lays what their own individual egg patterning looks like. Amazeballs!  Read the rest of the story from National Geographic here 
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Splotch Watch: Mamma Knows Best When It Comes To Choosing The Nest…

Offer a Japanese quail hen a choice of four substrates on which to lay her eggs and she will invariably choose the type that provides the best camouflage for said eggs. Depending on the degree of maculation (that’s splotches, to you and me!) of the eggs, the bird will opt for either a substrate that matches the base colour of the egg (little splotching on these eggs) or that matches the shade of the maculation (lots of big splotches on these eggs). Personally, what I find most impressive about this experiment is that it shows not just that the birds have an awareness of camouflage techniques, but that they make their nest choices prior to laying, suggesting that they know and remember from previous lays what their own individual egg patterning looks like. Amazeballs! 

Read the rest of the story from National Geographic here 

Source: National Geographic