zooillogix | August 20, 2007Although most humans probably do not lament the disappearance of dog-sized insects, a handful of scientists do. These scientists obviously don't watch the same movies we do. Recently, a group of researchers from Argonne National Laboratory's Advanced Photon Source along with some other researchers from less badass sounding institutions used advanced x-ray equipment to try to determine why giant insects don't roam the earth devouring amorous teenage couples today.
X-ray imaging of beetles helps confirm that tracheal system design may limit size in insects.The answer lies in their primitive…
zooillogix | August 8, 2007Turns out the monkey isn't the only creature in the forest getting bombed. Check out this video of the African booze tree.
Special thanks to Tom Ferriss for finding this clip.
zooillogix | August 7, 2007In two tantalizing shark discoveries, scientists in Germany have learned that playing certain songs to sharks in aquariums increases their libidos. Meanwhile, a different group of scientists may have discovered the secret rendezvous spot where great white sharks go to mate.
Bon-Chicka-Bow-Wow
Out of sheer frustration with the lack of sexual behavior in their captive sharks, researchers in German aquariums tried playing different music to the fish, hoping that it would help put them in the mood. The same tactic has proven successful with captive panda bears and primates in the past, and lo…
zooillogix | August 6, 2007
A voyage sponsored by the Census of Marine Life (CoML) has netted some newly discovered species in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. The trawling net was pulled at the level between 1000 meters and 5000 meters deep. About 500 species were cataloged out of thousands caught. Most of the creatures were of the gelatinous sort, specially adapted to live in frigid waters deep in the depths. The scientists, trying to be nice, immediately plunged the creatures into icy water upon hoisting them into the boat, but of course, many of them did not survive the trip to the surface.
A tiny winged snail,…
zooillogix | August 3, 2007Jumping spiders have exceptional vision and therefore, their courtship displays have a highly visual component. This nifty video shows a male jumping spider doing its equivalent of the Booty Drop. Make sure to have your volume on.
For more MTV Grind worthy jumping spider action, check out the Tree of Life Web Project.
zooillogix | August 2, 2007Scientists have created a jellyfish with twelve heads in a lab at Hanover University of Veterinary Medicine in Germany. Bernd Schierwater and colleague Wolfgang Jakob (or "God" as they like to collectively call themselves) claim to have created the freakish monstrosity to study how colonies of multiheaded organisms develop in nature. By manipulating certain Cnox genes, a specific kind of gene which helps control how the bodies of jellyfish embryos form, Schierwater and Jakob caused the embryo to develop in strange ways. Simply by inhibiting the Cnox-2 gene, up to twelve heads would form. The…
zooillogix | August 1, 2007As you know, we rarely stray into the realms of cryptozoology. But when reports emerge of a monstrous, Amazonian sloth that shows no fear and has the power to hypnotize its victims, we just can't resist.
As it turns out, legends of the creature called the mapinguary (pronounced ma-ping-wahr-EE) have existed for centuries. Hundreds of alleged eyewitnesses have independently come up with very similar descriptions of the mapinguary, including members of different Indian tribes who have never had contact with one another. Could there be some truth to the rumors?
Eyewitnesses seem to agree on…
zooillogix | July 27, 2007Zooillogix has been invited to join ScienceBlogs and we have decided to take them up on the offer. ScienceBlogs is a unique community of science related blogs that run the gamut from highly informed and technical to... errr.... us.
What this means for you the reader (e.g. the bored desk slave, bored 12 year old boy or renowned zoologist doing research on your next paper):
The Content Won't Change: You can expect the same fascinating stories and questionable attempts at humorTechnical Difficulties: There may be a short "outage" period of a day or two, during which time you will be forced to…
zooillogix | July 27, 2007Harvard professor Robert Wood unveiled his newest creation recently, a robotic fly that can be used as a spy, according to this posting on engadget.com. The fly weighs only .002 ounces and has a wingspan of 1.18 inches. Due to light weight carbon joints, the fly's wings beat 110 times per minute and the creature mimics the exact movements of a real fly. Funded, obvi, by the generous folks at the U.S. Defense Department, the little robo-pest has myriad possible uses like surveillance and monitoring the air for chemical agents. Wood plans to install a battery and a remote controlling device to…
zooillogix | July 25, 2007Funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, scientists are manufacturing antidotes to deadly nerve gases through the milk of genetically modified goats. According to an article in on BBC.com, the antidote, named recombinant butyrylcholinesterase, could be used as a precautionary drug to protect soldiers on the battlefield from nerve gas attacks and also as a treatment for people already exposed to such gases as sarin and VX.Milking goats...saving lives.
Recombinant butyrylcholinesterase is an enzyme naturally produced in human bodies but only in tiny amounts, much too small to use as an…
zooillogix | July 24, 2007A few weeks ago, Zooillogix brought you a story about Japanese researchers using giant jellyfish as an ingredient in cosmetics. Jellyfish are predominantly composed of mucin (mucus is made of mucins), and one of our news sources quoted Dr. Tony Corfield, a Mucin Biologist from the University of Bristol. We decided to track down Dr. Corfield and see if he might illuminate the shadowy, sticky field of mucin biology for Zooillogix readers. We are very grateful For Dr. Corfield's thoughtful responses to our sometimes less than respectful questions and his sense of humor.
What exactly is the field…
zooillogix | July 24, 2007Finally, New Jersey tax payers are investing time and money to discern birds' preference in popular music. Elizabeth Demaray and John Walsh at Rutgers University are conducting an exhibition, featuring four ten-foot tall red perches. On each perch a different style of music will be played on repeat: classical, rock, country and jazz. The songs will include Vivaldi's Concert in D Major', Miles Davis's 'Blue and Green', Led Zepplin's 'Kasmir', 'Marching Jaybird' by Etta Baker, 'Birds' by Neil Young, and 'I'm a Cuckoo' by Belle and Sebastian. The intrepid researchers will then record the…
zooillogix | July 23, 2007The best part of this video is the wholesome message at the end: consistently drunk monkeys "tend to make better leaders and command greater respect!"
Vervet monkeys, Cercopithecus aethiops. Thanks to Brent Edwards for sending along this gem.
zooillogix | July 23, 2007The Japanese public watched in fascination last month as the first manta ray birth in captivity was broadcast nationwide from the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. Adult manta rays are large with ,Aeuwingspans,Aeu up to 25,Aeo across. However, baby manta rays are hardly guppies, emerging from their mother after a 374 day gestation period with a 6,Aeo wingspan. Wrapped like a burrito, the baby manta pops out and instinctively begins to beat its fins.
Live manta birth from Japanese television
Unlike other rays whose mouths are on the underside of their bodies, manta ray's mouths are forward facing.…
zooillogix | July 23, 2007Turns out that honey bees might not have the ideal socialist society after all. Researchers at Otago University in New Zealand have discovered that worker bees behave like drones because of a powerful, brainwashing pheromone released by the queen. The queen bee prevents aggressive behavior in the workers by releasing homovanillyl alcohol or HVA. As described by the New Zealand Herald, the HVA, released from the queen's mandibles, "blocks aversive learning, the acquisition of negative memories which would normally trigger an aggressive 'sting reflex' in the bees." Bees who don't learn to sting…
zooillogix | July 20, 2007Scientists at Holar University College and the University of Iceland have identified two species of amphipods which have likely survived since well before the last ice age. Quoted in an article in Nature-Science, Bjarni K. Kristjansson, the scientist who made the discovery, says, "These finding can only be explained by these animals surviving glaciations in some kind of refugium under the glaciers." The finding is significant because scientists had believed that ice ages wipe out all animals on land and freshwater in large portions of the Northern Hemisphere.
Why wasn't this adorable little…
zooillogix | July 18, 2007In a story that needs no embellishment, the Iranian state news agency, IRNA, is reporting that fourteen "spy squirrels" were captured infiltrating Iran. According to IRNA: "In recent weeks, intelligence operatives have arrested 14 squirrels within Iran's borders. The squirrels were carrying spy gear of foreign agencies, and were stopped before they could act, thanks to the alertness of our intelligence services."
Allegedly, the critters were equipped with modern technology including GPS units, cameras, and listening devices. The report also said that the squirrels were trained for espionage…
zooillogix | July 18, 2007
Elephants migrating into Angola seem to have learned how to avoid land mines, according to an article in National Geographic. During Angola's long and gruesome civil war, thousands of elephants were slaughtered. Since peace has returned, so have the pachyderms.
Specifically, the elephants are making their way back to the Luiana Partial Reserve in the Cuando Cubango province. When they first began their migration, scores of elephants had their legs and trunks "blown off" by such mines, causing long, painful deaths. Quoted in the article however, Michael Chase, the head of Elephants Without…
zooillogix | July 17, 2007Locals deep in the forests of the Congo have told stories of massive, lion-eating chimps for more than 200 years. Called bili apes or Bondo mystery apes, these creatures had previously been considered as scientifically important as the Loch Ness monster, Bigfoot and the theory of intelligent design. Suddenly, however, scientists have begun to change their tune.
Reported photo of a Bondo mystery ape (as it appeared in National Geographic)
Sporadic accounts of the large, gray apes have emerged from expedition crews in the last few decades, but now Cleve Hicks, a researcher at the University of…
zooillogix | July 13, 2007Late last month the Genesis II Pathfinder spacecraft was delivered into orbit and along with it went a bold group of unwitting arthropods. Bigelow Aerospace was founded in 1999 with the vision of creating orbital hotels for "space tourists." In an equally lucrative move, this Space Camp for bugs was conceived by Robert Bigelow, the company's founder and namesake, while on vacation.
In the middle of last year, he called his payload team into a room and showed them five dirt-filled containers. Inside each one was an entire colony of ants that he had coaxed, prodded and pried from the ground…