That's amoray

Moray eel stirs up truly Gigerlicious ideas with second set of jaws.

One of those amazing biological wonders that has gone unchecked, it's now known that moray eels have a second set of functioning jaws deep in their throats that snap forward to drag prey further down its gullet.

I love science.

Breaking our arbitrary laws.

Mule gives birth, biologists neenered and hounded.

I myself got stuck somewhere between the nutshell and the voluminous truth about how an alleged sterile mule might give birth, but suffice it to say, the genetic code of organisms is more plastic than our narrow familiarity with the animal wing of life may suggest. Bacteria, fungi and plants routinely run afoul of convention genetic understanding, so when an animal like a mule, which is already crossing over steep species barriers gives birth, it really shouldn't be too terribly surprising.

Still, maybe the gal just found a clever loophole out of being a pack animal.

The Invasion has begun

Giant squid launch shock and awe campaign.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is like heaven on earth, I can see why they'd attack there first.

That is all.

Redefining snuggly

Angier has a new take on lab's best friend.

I've always had a soft spot for rats, which is why I raised many as pets during my college years. The heaps of rat anecdotes I possess are legion, but the most amusing could possibly be when Goya, my favored albino, had a staring match with my wife. Unfortunately, she didn't care for the fact the little furball knew how to get out of her cage.

Rats have personalities, and they can be glum or cheerful depending on their upbringing and circumstances. One study showed that rats accustomed to good times tend to be optimists, while those reared in unstable conditions become pessimists. Both rats will learn to associate one sound with a good event — a gift of food — and another sound with no food, but when exposed to an ambiguous sound, the optimist will run over expecting to be fed and the pessimist will grumble and skulk away, expecting nothing.

Too true. A rattle of potato chips was enough to drive my broods into quivering frenzy.

Smuggling Reptiles the Hard Way

Woman attempts to smuggle three crocodiles strapped to body.

Woman was said to appear 'Strangely Fat.'

Tentacles on Ice

Fishermen net ultra-rare Colossal Squid. I recall as a youth that while occasional parts of these beasts washed up on shore or were found in the bellies of Sperm Whales, no person had ever seen one live. Over the years we've gotten the occasional peak, but this really takes the cake as a thousand pound squid was caught by chance.

At the time it was caught, O'Shea said it would make calamari rings the size of tractor tyres if cut up — but they would taste like ammonia.

Once again science shows not all dreams can come true.



Image credit: Ministry of Fisheries, New Zealand

Viva la Inner Ear Evolution

Fossil gives insight to evolution of ear.

I love the name of the creature, by the way. Yanoconodon - that just rolls off the tongue. I have a love of words that cram tons of syllables into a word by alternating vowels and consonants....like consonants or manufacturer. I'll have to figure out how to work 'Yanoconodon' into as many conversations as possible.

Oh right, the science. This adds another great piece to vertebrate evolution, showing how a very intricate and complex structure could arise from precursor forms to give mammals their exceptional terrestrial hearing. Expect creationist retaliation within the week.

Arachnidus Interruptus

I'm all about ensuring your mate isn't cheating on you, but some species to ridiculous ends.

When a male wasp spider discovers a potential partner, he turns her on by shaking her web. The female thereupon supports herself on her long legs on the web so that the male, who is much smaller, can then creep under her body. The rest works hydraulically: the tip of a transformed leg filled with sperm is inserted into the female’s sexual orifice — like a ski boot in its binding.

How erotic. These kind of modified special appendages speak to the plasticity of multicellular organisms. There's a dirty joke in there somewhere, but I'm sure you're clever enough to supply your own setup and punchline.

I like the diametric conclusions drawn, most of which makes sense.

On the one hand detaching part of the genital organ could help the male to escape from the female’s murderous attack. On the other hand it might be a mechanism ensuring that paternity is maintained, preventing or impeding further copulation by the female.

Enjoy the hard source for those interested in further detail. Of course, any time you can work the term 'genital damage' into your title, you know you're gonna get some press! Here you are!

Science and Politics (or Sex)

With the significant changes to the political landscape this month, it's now finally possible to see what is in store for science in general with the Democrats at the rudder.

As noted here, the Science and Technology committee was heading in a very different direction under the previous Republican oversight. Some of the claims the Executive administration used distorted the scientific findings in some rather grievous manners, most notably the suppression of contradictory data, a fundamental transgression of what science holds dear, a dogged and unbiased search for natural truths.

Gah, that's too depressing. Here, have some much more fun eye candy about the invisible world of spider sex. Don't say I never did anything for you.

I'm easy like a Sunday Morning

When I was younger my brother had a Faith No More B-sides album that we played a lot. It only contained four songs, but between a cover of The Commodores 'Easy' and the disturbingly quirky 'Das Schutzenfest', it got a lot of play time between the two of us.

I was immediately reminded of such a great disc when I read about a glorious rhino birth.

Artificial insemination is nothing new, but the fact that the Father's name was Easy Boy was all too coincidental.

In much more disturbing sperm news, there this bit about a couple who have won the right in court to use their dead son's sperm to sire a grandchild in the name of continuing their genetic legacy. I mean, I know grandparents tend to get fixated on the prosperity of their kids' kids, but this is ridiculous.

And every once and a while, someone doesn't even bother with sperm and goes the virgin route.

Speaking of virgins, apparently Mary has shown up as a popsicle.