Sex Pranks of the Orchid World

Seeded on Thu Nov 26, 2009 5:58 AM EST (discovermagazine.com)

One day Gaskett was watching a wasp embracing an orchid. When the wasp finally flew away, she noticed a tiny drop of fluid on the flower. She began to notice the drops on other flowers too.

science, biology, wasps, orchids

Jupiter - friend or foe? III: the Oort cloud comets

Seeded on Wed Nov 25, 2009 3:56 AM EST (astro-ph updates on arXiv.org)

It has long been assumed that the planet Jupiter acts as a giant shield, significantly lowering the impact rate of small bodies on the Earth.

science, astronomy, solar-system

Violent World of Raptors Explored

Seeded on Wed Nov 25, 2009 3:46 AM EST (plosone.org)

Despite the ubiquity of raptors in terrestrial ecosystems, many aspects of their predatory behaviour remain poorly understood. Surprisingly little is known about the morphology of raptor talons and how they are employed during feeding behaviour.

science, biology, raptors, zoology

Can we observe spontaneous smiles in 1-year-olds?

Seeded on Tue Nov 24, 2009 4:35 AM EST (sciencedirect.com)

Five infants were observed longitudinally. In over 30 h of observations, seven spontaneous smiles and one spontaneous laugh were found. All smiles were observed in infants between the ages of 10 and 15 months.

science, psychology, infants, smiles

FIRST PICTURES: "Predator" Corals Eat Jellyfish

Seeded on Tue Nov 24, 2009 3:43 AM EST (National Geographic)

Sorry, kids—scientists have not discovered the first known bubblegum-blowing sea creature. But they have found the only known corals to eat adult jellyfish, a new study says.

science, biology, corals

Enhanced lithium depletion in Sun-like stars with orbiting planets

Seeded on Mon Nov 23, 2009 4:00 AM EST (News at Nature)

Here we report Li abundances for an unbiased sample of solar-analogue stars with and without detected planets.

science, astronomy

Giant Lungless "Worm" Found Living on Land

Seeded on Fri Nov 20, 2009 3:52 AM EST (National Geographic)

A new amphibian species can survive on land with no nostrils, lungs, or legs, say researchers who discovered the bizarre beast.

science, biology, worm

Cousins of prehistoric supercrocodile inhabit lost world of Sahara

Seeded on Fri Nov 20, 2009 2:51 AM EST (Science Daily)

A suite of five ancient crocs, including one with teeth like boar tusks and another with a snout like a duck's bill, have been discovered in the Sahara by National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Paul Sereno.

science, palaeontology, crocodiles

Taking aim at hard-to-treat fungal infections

Seeded on Fri Nov 20, 2009 2:49 AM EST (Science Daily)

A team of researchers at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center at Gateway Park has developed a new model system to study fungal infections.

science, medicine, infections, fungi

Cigarettes harbor many pathogenic bacteria

Seeded on Fri Nov 20, 2009 2:43 AM EST (Science Daily)

Cigarettes are "widely contaminated" with bacteria, including some known to cause disease in people, concludes a new international study conducted by a University of Maryland environmental health researcher and microbial ecologists at the Ecole Centrale de Lyon in France.

science, medicine, smoking, cigarettes

The evolution of orchids

Seeded on Fri Nov 20, 2009 2:41 AM EST (PhysOrg.com)

Charles Darwin and many other scientists have long been puzzled by the evolution of orchids, the largest and most diverse family of flowering plants on Earth. Now genetic sequencing is giving scientists insights into how these plants could evolve so quickly.

science, biology, orchids

First report of a South American short-faced bears' den

Seeded on Thu Nov 19, 2009 10:29 AM EST (informaworld.com)

Here we report the first example of associated short-faced bear fossils from South America.

science, palaeontology

The evolution of bat migration

Seeded on Thu Nov 19, 2009 4:23 AM EST (Science Daily)

Most people know the term of "migrating bird" but "migrating bat" is not very established. However, some bat species migrate every year long or short distances.

science, biology, bats

Scientists unravel evolution of highly toxic box jellyfish

Seeded on Thu Nov 19, 2009 4:19 AM EST (EurekAlert!)

With thousands of stinging cells that can emit deadly venom from tentacles that can reach ten feet in length, the 50 or so species of box jellyfish have long been of interest to scientists and to the public.

science, biology, jellyfish

Extinct moa rewrites New Zealand's history

Seeded on Wed Nov 18, 2009 11:56 AM EST (EurekAlert!)

DNA recovered from fossilised bones of the moa, a giant extinct bird, has revealed a new geological history of New Zealand, reports a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

science, biology, geology, moa

Vanished Persian Army Said Found in Desert : Discovery News

Seeded on Tue Nov 17, 2009 8:51 AM EST (Discovery.com)

The remains of a mighty Persian army said to have drowned in the sands of the western Egyptian desert 2,500 years ago might have been finally located, solving one of archaeology's biggest outstanding mysteries, according to Italian researchers.

science, archaeology

Maya "Painted Pyramid" Reveals 1st Murals of Daily Life

Seeded on Tue Nov 17, 2009 3:47 AM EST (National Geographic)

A series of unusual Maya wall murals, complete with hieroglyphic captions, are providing archaeologists with a priceless look at day-to-day life in the empire circa A.D. 620 to 700.

science, archaeology, maya

Goat Lived Like a Reptile -- A First

Seeded on Tue Nov 17, 2009 3:36 AM EST (National Geographic)

A prehistoric goat survived for millennia on a resource-poor island by living like a reptile—changing its growth rate and metabolism to match the available food supply, according to a new study of the animal's bones.

science, zoology, goats

Scientists demonstrate 'universal' programmable quantum processor

Seeded on Mon Nov 16, 2009 3:30 AM EST (PhysOrg.com)

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have demonstrated the first "universal" programmable quantum information processor able to run any program allowed by quantum mechanics -- the rules governing the submicroscopic world -- using two quantum bits (qubi …

science, physics, quantum

Humans still evolving as our brains shrink

Seeded on Fri Nov 13, 2009 8:26 PM EST (msnbc.com)

Seeded by rochart (Clipped by Ivan Pavlov)

"When you develop agricultural diets, you might need adaptations to survive on them, the way the digestive systems are regulated," Hawks said.

health, government, freedom, organic, natural, monsanto, genetic-engineering, gom

Bats Have Creative Sex Lives

Seeded on Fri Nov 13, 2009 11:05 AM EST (Discovery.com)

Certain primates, including humans, engage in oral sex. The practice has been documented in bonobos as well. But now researchers have documented fellatio in bats, marking the first time oral sex has been seen in an animal other than a primate.

science, sex, biology, bats

An estimate of the chemical composition of Titan's lakes

Seeded on Thu Nov 12, 2009 5:32 AM EST (astro-ph updates on arXiv.org)

Hundreds of radar-dark patches interpreted as lakes have been discovered in the north and south polar regions of Titan.

science, astronomy, solar-system, titan

Asteroids were born big

Seeded on Thu Nov 12, 2009 5:27 AM EST (adsabs.harvard.edu)

How big were the first planetesimals? We attempt to answer this question by conducting coagulation simulations in which the planetesimals grow by mutual collisions and form larger bodies and planetary embryos. [...] We find that, if the initial planetesimals were small (e.g.

science

Bug wears armor made of poo

Seeded on Thu Nov 12, 2009 5:20 AM EST (msnbc.com)

A beetle apparently protects itself by constructing armor made from excrement, researchers now reveal.

science, biology, insects, beetles

'Earth Claw': New Species Of Vegetarian Dinosaur Close To Common Ancestor Of Gigantic Sauropods

Seeded on Thu Nov 12, 2009 5:14 AM EST (Science Daily)

The discovery of a new species of dinosaur from the early Jurassic period (approximately 195 million years old and seven metres long) has been announced and described by Dr Adam Yates, the primary investigator and a palaeontologist from the Bernard Price Institute for Paleontolog …

religion, palaeontology, dinosaur

– Show More

Comments & Feedback

Ivan replaced my "Science" category in Google News.

— Guy Montag

'Where does he get all those wonderful toys?' (A quote from 'Batman Returns')

In Ivan's case, just substitute the words ' science articles' for 'toys'.

— Robert Blevins - AB of Seattle

Put simply: Ivan Pavlov rules.

— ApostleZeruel

Ivan is one of my favorite seeders and writers here on the vine. His weekly science reviews are a must read for all members and he seeds so many excellent stories that everyone should have him on their watchlists.

— praetor605

By "watching" you I often find links to interesting articles, that I use elsewhere. Articles I might not have found, using the ordinary search tools. This is something which is special about Newsvine, I think.

— mogmich

I don't know how you snuck under my radar for so long, but you're on my watchlist now ;)

— Calvin Tang

Reading your first article made my brain hurt in wonderful ways, and I expect it won't be the last time your writing has that effect on me. :D

— Brad Leclerc