| COMMON AQUATIC ANIMALS SHOW EXTREME RESISTANCE TO RADIATION. FINDING COULD STIMULATE NEW STUDY OF FREE RADICALS’ ROLE IN INFLAMMATION, CANCER, AGING. |
| Scientists at Harvard University have found that a common class of freshwater invertebrate animals called bdelloid rotifers are extraordinarily resistant to ionizing radiation, surviving and continuing to reproduce after doses of gamma radiation much greater than that tolerated by any other animal species studied to date. |
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| HOW ONE PEST ADAPTED TO LIFE IN THE DARK |
| A type of beetle that lives its entire life burrowing through stored grain has been found to lack full colour vision, and what’s more the vision it does have breaks the rules. Most other insects have trichromatic vision – they are sensitive to ultraviolet, blue and long wavelength light. In a report published in the online open access journal Frontiers in Zoology, scientists reveal that this beetle has lost photoreceptors that are sensitive to blue wavelengths. |
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| A HELPING HAND FROM THE ‘GRANDPARENTS’ |
| A team of scientists led by the University of East Anglia has discovered the existence of ‘grandparent’ helpers in the Seychelles warbler – the first time this behaviour, which rarely occurs except in humans, has been observed in birds. |
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| Indonesia's 'Lost World' reveals more surprises. 2 mammals believed new to science discovered in pristine wilderness |
| A tiny possum and a giant rat were recorded by scientists as probable new species on a recent expedition to Indonesia’s remote and virtually unknown “Lost World” in the pristine wilderness of western New Guinea’s Foja Mountains. |
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| WHY DIVING MARINE MAMMALS RESIST BRAIN DAMAGE FROM LOW OXYGEN |
| No human can survive longer than a few minutes underwater, and even a well-trained Olympic swimmer needs frequent gulps of air. Our brains need a constant supply of oxygen, particularly during exercise. Contrast that with Weddell seals, animals that dive and hunt under the Antarctic sea ice. They hold their breath for as long as 90 minutes, and remain active and mentally alert the whole time. The seals aren't fazed at all by low levels of oxygen that would cause humans to black out. What's their secret? |
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| CAT FLEAS' JOURNEY INTO THE VACUUM IS A 'ONE-WAY TRIP' |
| Homeowners dogged by household fleas need look no farther than the broom closet to solve their problem. Scientists have determined that vacuuming kills fleas in all stages of their lives, with an average of 96 percent success in adult fleas and 100 percent destruction of younger fleas. |
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| THAT MONKEY CAN READ YOUR MIND |
| Monkeys can deduce what other monkeys and humans think, want and see based on visual cues, according to a new paper.
The study, in this week's issue of the journal Current Biology, is the first to show that monkeys, like humans, not only react to visual information, they can also use it to reason about the behaviour of others. |
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| CICADA INVASION FEEDS FORESTS |
| A huge troop of cicadas known as Brood X emerges in the eastern United States every 17 years, covering streets, cars and buildings with a crunchy coating of insects. Although they aren't welcome in the cities, the nutrients from the Magicicada carcasses provide a valuable boost to forest ecosystems, says a California ecologist. |
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| CLONED COWS GET SANE FUTURE |
| Researchers in the United States and Japan claim to have created cow embryos that cannot produce the protein responsible for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Without it, the animals should be immune to mad cow disease. |
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| SCIENTISTS DISCOVER SECRET OF DOLPHIN SPEED |
| Physicists in Japan have discovered how the surface of a dolphin's skin reduces drag and helps them glide smoothly and quickly through water. These findings could help scientists design faster, energy-efficient boats, ocean liners, and submarines. This research is published in the Institute of Physics journal, Journal of Turbulence. |
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