Science is Totally Awesome!

Science is Totally Awesome! 1 Terrafugia’s Next Hybrid Car Some of you might be thinking of the Jetsons but this is for real! It's the Terrafugia’s TF-X concept flying car that is also a Hybrid and a street legal plug-in. Can you imagine lifting-up from a highway during rush hour traffic and flying away?! The next TF-X will have four-seats, collapsible wings, retractable propellers and an emergency parachute system. The best part is, it will be capable of driving and flying on its own! Terrafugia’s CEO Car Dietrich said, “This is the right time for us to begin thinking about the future". We think he's right and wonder what type of license we will need to drive/fly one of these. We especially can't wait to try that "Vertical Takeoff and Landing"! 2 Mechanitis Butterfly Chrysalis These metallic mirrored beauties are the chrysalis of the Mechanitis polymnia, or Orange-spotted Tiger Clearwing butterflies. This grouping of chrysalis was found in Costa Rica. While as butterflies they're indigenous to the neotropical regions of Mexico, Central and South America. It's no wonder the chrysalis' are as spectacular as their adult butterfly counterparts, of which there are two types. One has tortoise shell patterns on its wings and the other is the "glasswings", with transparent or translucent wings. The butterfly is unpalatable to birds, and therefore mimicked in appearance by many other butterfly species and even insects. Birds "memorize butterfly patterns" and steer clear of the Mechanitis and their mimickers. Human observers too find the original Mechanitis tricky to identify! 3 The Beautiful Death The Ring Nebula is a old relative of our Sun, but it's dying as it runs out of hydrogen fuel at its core. The size of its gas cloud spans 10-trillion kilometers across as it explodes. At one time it was estimated to be twice the size of our Sun, although it gives scientists clues to what someday will happen to our Sun. The Ring Nebula has many names: NASA also dubbed the star, 'Cat's Eye Nebula' when the Hubble Space Telescope captured it in 1994, and it's official label is NGC 6543. The Ring Nebula's estimated age is 1,000 years old, and it's 3,000 light-years away in the northern constellation Draco. It's shape now is like a hollow barrow with hot gases creating a rainbow lit interior. We use the term 'Nebula', which refers to the glow of spectacular colors! 4 Nemo: a Hermaphrodite? Yes, studies reveal that Clown Fish is just "that". Actually their scientific condition is termed.. ready for this? "Protandrous Sequential Hermaphrodites"! Sequential Hermaphrodite's sex organs can change from male to female at some point in their life. This benefits their species' reproduction and survival. Studies show the Clown fish live within a group of all males and one lone female. If the female dies, the alpha male turns into a female and takes over her role. So this possibly means when Nemo's mom died, his father could've changed into a female. Surely we'll never watch 'Finding Nemo' the same way again. 5 Belly-button Organisms You may have gone your whole life without needing to know this, but "bacteria, fungi and yeasts are among the different types organisms found in the belly-button". If you have an 'innie', that moist space holds 100 different organisms, and microbial mixes differ between individuals too. The good news is we don't have mushrooms growing out our belly buttons, and the microbial benefit us by helping to fight off pathogens! The Department of Biology at North Carolina State University noted that, "Although we find about 60 or 70 species on the average person, we have found more than 1400 species overall". Scientists don't understand why there's great differences of bacterial species among individuals and a relatively few shared among us. 6 Rare Asiatic Cats Bred in Test Tubes A pair of Asiatic golden cats have been bred using artificial insemination. This is due to the fact that they are on the endangered species list. This is the first time in history for test-tube breeding these gorgeous felines. The Asiatic Cat count is now at 51 individuals in captivity in Europe and Asia. As adults, they grow to 3 times the size of house cats. They're shy and solitary, only coming together for mating. This breeding program is essential for their survival. Sadly the cats are often poached for their golden fur. Also some cultures in the Far East, believe burning the Asiatics cat's fur or even eating their flesh brings good luck. 7 Australia’s Lake Hillier Is this otherworldly lake man-made? No, and it's not where Pepto-Bismol comes from! Scientists believe its bright pink bubble-gum color is due to mother-nature. One theory is its color comes from a combination of low nutrient concentrations and the bacteria, "Dunaliella salina and Halobacterium". Another suspect is the "red halophilic bacteria" that thrive in the lake's salt deposits. Although Lake Hillier looks "toxic", an Australian Environmentalist group noted it does not have "adverse effects upon humans". Also mentioned is that the lake when seen from the shore appears translucent pink, not opaque as when viewed from above. Unfortunately, it's prohibited to walk on Middle Island in Western Australia where the lake is located, therefore it can only be seen from the sky. 8 Killer Radiation on Mars NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover has revealed the amount of radiation levels given off by the planet Mars would be at unsafe for astronaut exposure. Curiosity noted while traveling to Mars, the radiation was about "660 millisieverts during a 360-day roundtrip flight". That's not even including any time spent on the planet's surface! (A millisievert is a measurement of radiation exposure.) In comparison, a medical body X-ray scan approximates 10 millisieverts. Reaching levels over 1,000mSv pose a serious risk of developing fatal cancers and "neurological and eyesight damage". This finding puts a damper on our future goals to explore the Red Planet. Humans will have to be patient and continue learning through our robot companions like Rover. 9 Eyes: The Windows To Health New findings published by 'Psychological Science' could get us to schedule an eye exam.. or maybe not? It appears that a person's IQ is linked to the blood vessel size located at the back of the eyes. Blood vessels in the eyes share size, structure, and function with blood vessels in the brain; and blood supplies oxygen and nutrients. Which size of blood vessel correlates to lower cognitive test scores and possible dementia later in life? Interestingly scientist claim it's the wider not thinner size. Studies also show individuals with wider "retinal venues" at age 38 had lower IQ in childhood, suggesting brain health begins years before, when dementia and other deficits occur. These understandings will help doctors establish preventative care and health treatments. 10 Triceratops Skeletons In Wyoming This finding is unique because it's the first time a group of Triceratops have been found together. Also these fossils are in great condition, with one being a complete skeleton. The bones were found on a private ranch and they're 67-million years old! This three-horned herbivore is one of the most-loved of dinosaurs. Unfortunately it was picked on by the terrifying Tyrannosaurus Rex as a regularly meal! Triceratops was thought to be a loner. Although this newly discovered grouping of fossils will lead scientists into more insights of the dinosaurs' social behavior. Exciting also, is the individuals were of various ages, which gives clues to the variation within the species. 11 A Scientific Remedy For Baldness? People have long been waiting for a valid breakthrough on baldness, and now Penn University has studied a new Growth Factor (protein-Fgf9) that is showing promise. The scientists examined wounds and scars, where hair is known not to regrow. They questioned why an adult person has blocked hair follicle growth upon wound-healing while mice do not? It appears that adult mice have the ability to create more Fgf9 versus adult humans. When scientist reduced the Fgf9 response in mice, their hair regrowth in wounds was in fact inhibited. Could the next step be treatments intended to compensate for the lack of Fgf9 to benefit hair regrowth in its entirety for humans? If studies continue perhaps baldness may be a thing of the past. 12 Shark Skin Magnified Is Covered In Teeth Shark skin looks smooth and slick to the naked eye, but under a microscopic it resembles sharp rugged scales that rival its teeth! These shapes are termed "denticles" and they indeed have more in common with teeth than fish scales. Like teeth, denticles have a central core or pulp, which around it grows enamel.. Wow! The quality of the shark's skin therefore creates an impossible surface for organisms, like barnacles to grow on. This clean design allows it be fast-swimming with underwater aerodynamics. Interestingly, scientists are looking to shark skin structures to create new manmade surfaces. One application is a study to repel microorganisms and possibly prevent hospital-aquired infections, another is athletes' swimsuits. Sharks may seem even scarier with teeth-like spears covering their entire bodies but they're invaluable too! 13 Nudibranch: Sea Slugs These colorful creatures are an eyeful and a handful when being both predator or prey. With no shell for armor, they've developed vast strategies of survival. As a predator they ingest hydrozoids (jellyfish) which contain "stinging cells". They internalize the stinging cells and use them for their own defense system! The Nudibranch' defense against predators is not deadly, instead they create toxins that induce hypotension in a predator. The predator in turn becomes stunned, allowing for effective escape. This Sea Slug species comes in all shapes, sizes and colors. Much like an octopus, they mimic their environment or sea plant-life as camouflage, and they have tentacles with which they, "touch, taste, and smell." 14 Fairyfly: A New Species Tiny Tinkerbella nana is not make-believe! It's a fairyfly native to the Costa Rican forests. Its size defies logic, measuring only 250 micrometers long or 2.5 times the width of a human hair! How is it possible that this smallest known arthropods was even found? Dr. John Noyes from the Natural History Museum, UK, and Entomologist Dr. John Huber carefully extracted specimens by hand after sweeping vegetation with a fine net. Dr. John Noyes says, it was "equivalent to finding a solitary needle in 200 haystacks." The name "nana" is a combination of the Greek word meaning "dwarf". . . and we all know who "Tinker Bell" is! Isn't it wondrous to think of the biodiversity on our planet? 15 The Evolutionary Shell Turtles are a novelty, no other animals share their incredibly hard external shell. Although an ancestor, the 260-million year old fossil, Eunotosaurus (on the right) has sparked new research. We see its structure, with ribs, shoulder bones and vertebrae from which the turtle evolved. Turtles today are made up of around 50 bones that fuse together creating it's unique shell. Eunotosaurus share in the same T-shaped ribs but not the broad spine on its vertebrae or the fully flattened and fused ribcage. They also lacked the muscles that now grow between the ribs in turtles. The ancient fossil almost looks recognizable, as if it's from the same family. By comparing the species of two eras, the Eunotosaurus has help scientist demystifies the turtle's evolutionary process. ........

4 Nemo: a Hermaphrodite?

Murtaza Rangwala

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