Termite Bite Is Fastest in the World
Posted on November 25, 2022
| 2 minutes
| 351 words
| Patria Henriques
Panamanian termites have the fastest draw not only in the West, but in the whole world: They can clamp their jaws down on an invader at nearly 157 mph (70 meters per second), killing their enemy with a single blow.
Researchers studying the termites needed a high speed video camera running at 40,000 frames per second to capture a mandible strike in action. (Mandible is the biological word for jaw or biting mouthpart.
[Read More]Whale Experts 'Cautiously Optimistic' That Once Starving Grandma Orca Will Survive
Posted on November 25, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 619 words
| Patria Henriques
A grandmother orca who was on death's door late last year is still alive, although her health remains in a precarious state, according to researchers who spotted her swimming off the western Canadian coast last week.
This past December and January, researchers tracking the J pod — one of three pods of orca whales (Orcinus orca) that swim along the westerns coasts of the United States and Canada — noticed that a 42-year-old orca matriarch, known as J17, was not looking well.
[Read More]Why Eyes Are So Alluring
Posted on November 25, 2022
| 4 minutes
| 779 words
| Fernande Dalal
For humans, the eyes are more than just windows to the outside world. They are also portals inward, providing others with glimpses into our inner thoughts and feelings.
Of all primates, human eyes are the most conspicuous; our eyes see, but they are also meant to be seen. Our colored irises float against backdrops of white and encircle black pupils. This color contrast is not found in the eyes of most apes.
[Read More]'The Terrorist Inside My Husband's Brain': Robin Williams' Widow Details His Disease
Posted on November 24, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 626 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
It was only after actor Robin Williams' death in August 2014 that doctors found the true cause of the symptoms that had plagued him for years, according to Williams' widow, Susan Schneider Williams.
Writing in an editorial published Sept. 27 in the journal Neurology, Schneider Williams detailed the intense difficulty of determining the cause of her husband's symptoms.
After his death, doctors finally determined that Williams had a condition called Lewy body disease, which Schneider Williams described as a "
[Read More]10 things we learned about our human ancestors in 2020
Posted on November 24, 2022
| 6 minutes
| 1223 words
| Patria Henriques
Early humans left behind clues — footprints, chiseled rocks, genetic material and more — that can reveal our species survived and spread across Earth. These ancient people weren't so different from us; they traveled far and wide, hooked up with one another and even mined for natural resources (in this case, the reddish mineral ochre). Here are 10 things we learned about our human ancestors in 2020.
1. Mystery loverEarly humans (Homo sapiens(opens in new tab)) didn't sleep with just one other.
[Read More]7 Surprising Health Effects of Drought
Posted on November 24, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 617 words
| Arica Deslauriers
With more than half the U.S. currently in drought, concerns have mounted over the consequences of the arid climate on the country's crop yields. But droughts have far reaching effects beyond the farm, including many effects on human health, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Here are seven potential health concerns that occur with drought:
Bad air
Droughts can reduce air quality and compromise the health of people with certain conditions, according to the CDC.
[Read More]Ancient Maya Predicted 1991 Solar Eclipse
Posted on November 24, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 446 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
LONG BEACH, Calif. — The Maya, best known these days for the doomsday they never foretold, may have accurately predicted astronomical phenomena centuries ahead of time, scientists find.
A new book, "Astronomy in the Maya Codices" (American Philosophical Society, 2011), which was awarded the Osterbrock Book Prize for historical astronomy here at the American Astronomical Society conference Monday (Jan. 7), details a series of impressive observations made by Mayan astronomers pre-16th century.
[Read More]Atten-TION: Male Soldiers Are Growing Breasts
Posted on November 24, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 432 words
| Trudie Dory
Like armies everywhere, the German military is filled with macho, chest-thumping rituals. But one battalion has found there's a downside to all that chest-thumping: The male soldiers are growing breasts — and only on their left sides.
The Wachbataillon unit performs precision military drills at official ceremonial functions, the German Herald reports. Many of their drills involve smacking their rifles against the left side of the soldiers' chests. And all that pounding on the same spot has stimulated the production of hormones that cause man boobs to grow.
[Read More]Bizarre Valentine: Why Mating Snails Stab With 'Love Darts'
Posted on November 24, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 450 words
| Patria Henriques
When snails decide to get it on, they don't turn on Barry White to get in the mood. Nor do they give each other chocolates or roses. Instead, during snail foreplay, one partner stabs the other with a so-called "love dart," a sharp dart produced by the snail's body to aid copulation. Talk about romantic.
About a third of all snail species manufacture these darts that are either calcareous (made of calcium carbonate, essentially chalk) or chitinous (made of or chitin, the stuff of insect exoskeletons).
[Read More]Boa Constrictors Invade Puerto Rico
Posted on November 24, 2022
| 2 minutes
| 334 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
Scientists are urging swift action to stop the spread of boa constrictors in Puerto Rico now that new research shows the invasive species has established a breeding population on the island.
"We've learned from dealing with other invasive snakes that understanding the source of these populations and preventing spread as soon as possible is important to protect ecosystems," Bob Reed, a scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) who was involved in the new study, said in a statement.
[Read More]