Odd Creatures News

September 9, 2016

Spider Webs for Transmitting Vibrations

New Genus of Bacteria in Fracking Wells

Researcher Just Served World First CRISPR Meal?

Curious Case of Mount Etna's Wandering Craters

Latest Headlines

updated 1:11am EDT

Bacteria Supply Their Allies With Munitions

Sep. 8, 2016 — Bacteria fight their competitors with molecular spear guns, the so-called Type VI secretion system. When firing this weapon they also unintentionally hit their own kind. ... read more

Picky Ants Maintain Color Polymorphism of Bugs They Work With

Sep. 7, 2016 — Researchers have found that ants have a particular preference for aphid colonies with certain colors, which could be why these bugs are able to keep their colors ... read more

Fish 'Biowaste' Converted to Piezoelectric Energy Harvesters

Sep. 6, 2016 — Large quantities of fish are consumed in India on a daily basis, which generates a huge amount of fish 'biowaste' materials. In an attempt to do something positive with this ... read more

Crab from the Chinese Pet Market Turns out to Be a New Species of a New Genus

Sep. 7, 2016 — Shimmering carapaces make crabs attractive to pet owners. To answer the growing demand, fishermen collect and trade ... read more

Placenta in Females, Muscle Mass in Males: Dual Heritage of a Virus

Sep. 2, 2016 — It was already known that genes inherited from ancient retroviruses are essential to the placenta in mammals. Scientists have now revealed a new chapter in this astonishing ... read more

'Ghost Snake' Discovered in Madagascar

Sep. 2, 2016 — Researchers discovered a new snake species in Madagascar and named it 'ghost snake' for its pale grey coloration and elusiveness. The researchers named it Madagascarophis ... read more

Crop Domestication Is a Balancing Act: Some Ants Are Still Trying to Get It Right

Sep. 2, 2016 — The ancestors of leaf-cutter ants swapped a hunter-gatherer lifestyle for a bucolic existence on small-scale subsistence ... read more

A Strange Thing Happened in the Stratosphere

Sep. 2, 2016 — High above Earth's tropics, a pattern of winds changed recently in a way that scientists had never seen in more than 60 years of ... read more

Lunar Cycle Affects Timing of Birth in Cows

Aug. 31, 2016 — A popular belief that there is a higher number of births around the full moon has been shown to be true for dairy cows, report investigators. Analysis showed that the birth ... read more

Fossil Pollen 'Sneeze' Caught by Research Team

Aug. 30, 2016 — Researchers have recorded the only known example of prehistoric pollen caught in explosive mid-discharge from a fossil flower. The team describes this "freeze-frame" ... read more

London Zoo's Animals Have Annual Weigh in

Common Houseplants Could Make Nail Salons Safer

Electric Hive Reveals Secret Lives of Bees

There Might Be A Giant Snake On The Loose In Maine

Throughout History, Humans Have Preferred Their Pigs to Be Black, Suggests Study

Sep. 6, 2016 — An international team of researchers studied the mitochondrial DNA and MC1R gene sequences in tissue samples collected from 57 modern feral Hawaiian pigs. They found a novel mutation in all the ... read more

Social Networks Key to Crickets' Success

Aug. 30, 2016 — Human relationships and interactions form our social network. Crickets are no different, except their networks are simpler. A researcher found the insects' social network remains mostly ... read more

Cannabinoid Receptor Activates Spermatozoa

Aug. 30, 2016 — Biologists have detected a cannabinoid receptor in spermatozoa. Endogenous cannabinoids that occur in both the male and the female genital tract activate the spermatozoa: they trigger the so-called ... read more

Trapped in a Nuclear Weapon Bunker Wood Ants Survive for Years in Poland

Aug. 30, 2016 — Having built their nest over the vertical ventilation pipe of an old nuclear weapon bunker in Poland, every year a large number of wood ants fall down the pipe to never return to their colony. ... read more

Cows in Glass Tanks Help to Reduce Methane Emissions

Aug. 30, 2016 — In the future, the breeding of the climate-friendly cow can be sped up by using genetic information. A recent study identifies areas in the cow’s genotype which are linked to the amount of methane ... read more

Female Fiddler Crabs Want Protection Not Sex

Aug. 30, 2016 — New research has resolved a mystery over why female fiddler crabs visit and leave many males during mating season, and found the females aren't just being ... read more

Anti-Friction Solutions? Very Thin Layers of Water Can Become Ice-Like at Room Temperature

Aug. 29, 2016 — New research shows that a nanometer-thin layer of water between two charged surfaces exhibits ice-like tendencies that allow it to withstand pressures of hundreds of atmospheres. The discovery could ... read more

Hiding in Plain Sight: Vast Reef Found Hiding Behind Great Barrier Reef

Aug. 26, 2016 — Scientists working with laser data have discovered a vast reef behind the familiar Great Barrier Reef. High-resolution seafloor data provided by LiDAR-equipped aircraft have revealed great fields of ... read more

More to Rainbows Than Meets the Eye

Aug. 25, 2016 — In-depth review charts the scientific understanding of rainbows and highlights the many practical applications of this fascinating interaction between light, liquid and ... read more

X-Raying the Earth With Waves from Stormy Weather 'Bombs'

Aug. 25, 2016 — Using a detection network based in Japan, scientists have uncovered a rare type of deep-earth tremor that they attribute to a distant North Atlantic storm called a 'weather bomb.' The ... read more

A Mammoth Undertaking: Can De-Extinction Be Ecologically Responsible?

Aug. 25, 2016 — Can the woolly mammoth be brought back from the dead? Scientists say it's only a matter of time. A conservation ecologist and colleagues have examined ecologically responsible de-extinction, and ... read more

300 Teeth: Duck-Billed Dinosaurs Would Have Been Dentist’s Dream

Aug. 25, 2016 — Imagine how much dental care you'd need if you had 300 or more teeth packed together on each side of your ... read more

Well-Wrapped Feces Allow Lobsters to Eat Jellyfish Stingers Without Injury

Aug. 25, 2016 — Lobsters eat jellyfish without harm from the venomous stingers due to a series of physical adaptations. Researchers examined lobster feces to discover that lobsters surround their servings of ... read more

Mutually Helpful Species Become Competitors in Benign Environments

Aug. 24, 2016 — Nature abounds with examples of mutualistic relationships. Think of bees pollinating flowers whose nectar nourishes the bees. Each species benefits the other, and together their chances of survival ... read more

Endangered Cuban Solenodon Evolved After the Extinction of Dinosaurs

Aug. 24, 2016 — The Caribbean islands form a natural laboratory for the study of evolution due to their unique biological and geological features. There has been heated discussion since the early 20th century on how ... read more

African Bird Shows Signs of Evil Stepdad Behavior

Aug. 24, 2016 — An African desert-dwelling male bird favors his biological sons and alienates his stepsons, suggests new research. The species is the southern pied babbler, a black and white bird found in Botswana, ... read more

BPA Can Disrupt Painted Turtles' Brain Development Could Be a Population Health Concern

Aug. 23, 2016 — Often, aquatic environments such as rivers and streams become reservoirs for BPA, affecting turtle habitats. Last year, a team of researchers determined that BPA can disrupt sexual function in ... read more

Brief Rapamycin Therapy in Middle-Aged Mice Extends Lives

Aug. 23, 2016 — In mice, the drug rapamycin is known to extend lives and delay some age-related problems. Questions remain about about how it promotes healthy aging, when, how much and how long to administer ... read more

New Tiny Species of Extinct Australian Marsupial Lion Named After Sir David Attenborough

Aug. 23, 2016 — The fossil remains of a new tiny species of marsupial lion which prowled the lush rainforests of northern Australia about 18 million years ago have been unearthed in the Riversleigh World Heritage ... read more

'Cyclops' Beetles Hint at Solution to 'Chicken-and-Egg' Problem in Novel Trait Evolution

Aug. 22, 2016 — Beetles with cyclops eyes have given scientists insight into how new traits may evolve through the recruitment of existing genes -- even if these genes are already carrying out critical ... read more

Tuesday, September 6, 2016