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☆ Strange fungus turns cicadas into zombies
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

But some of these insects won’t succeed in their goal of procreating — instead, they’ll be controlled like zombies into spreading a strange fungus that hijacks cicadas’ bodies and behavior. At some point, the insects are exposed to spores of the fungus Massospora cicadina. Courtesy Angie Macias/WVUDespite having a chalky gumdrop of spores instead of genitals, the infected cicadas still attempt to mate, with gusto. Both male and female cicadas infected with Massospora flick their wings to draw in amorous, soon-to-be-infected males. But attempting to mate is just one part of how infected cicadas spread the fungus.

Persons: procreating —, John Cooley, It’s, ”, Matt Kasson, Angie Macias, ” Cooley, ” Kasson, Kasson, Cooley, “ We’re, “, Kate Golembiewski Organizations: CNN, University of Connecticut, West Virginia University, WVU, Midwest Locations: Hartford, Illinois, Chicago

☆ Cicadas 2024: What to expect from the Brood XIII and Brood XIX emergence of cicadas
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The 13-year group, known as Brood XIX, or the Great Southern Brood, is the largest periodical cicada brood, stretching across the southeastern United States. The Northern Illinois Brood, or Brood XIII, emerges every 17 years. Periodical cicadas are smaller and mostly black, with bright red eyes and orange-tinged wings and legs. Billions of cicadas are expected this spring as two different broods — Broods XIX and XIII — emerge simultaneously. However, predictions of a cicadapocalypse — in which Brood XIII and Brood XIX show up at the same place at the same time — are probably an exaggeration.

Persons: hasn’t, Thomas Jefferson, —, “, ”, Jonathan Larson, don’t, XIII —, Jason Bergman, ” Larson, We’re, Chris Simon, XIII haven't, Chip Somodevilla, Larson, Cheney Orr, ” Simon, Kate Golembiewski Organizations: CNN, Southern, Northern Illinois, University of Kentucky, Midwest, University of Connecticut, Reuters Locations: United States, Indianapolis, Northern Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky , Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina , Georgia, Alabama , Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Columbia , Maryland, America, Chicago

☆ Why axolotls are everywhere — but a rarity in the one lake they call home
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“They’re teenagers, at least in appearance, until they die.”Mexico's Lake Xochimilco is the only spot where axolotls are found in the wild. Daniel Cardenas/Anadolu/Getty ImagesWhile the wild axolotls of Lake Xochimilco have dwindled to near-extinction, countless axolotls have been bred for scientific laboratories and the pet trade. However, the axolotls you might find at a pet shop are different from their wild relatives in Lake Xochimilco. That means that the axolotl extinction crisis can’t simply be solved by dumping pet axolotls into Lake Xochimilco. (Plus, the pet axolotls likely wouldn’t fare well with the poor habitat conditions in the lake.)

Persons: Randal Voss, Voss, “, ’ ”, Xolotl, “ ACK, uhl, ” Voss, Hector Vivas, they’re, Luis Zambrano, ” Zambrano, Daniel Cardenas, they’ve, Axolotls, Zambrano, axolotls, ”, ” Kate Golembiewski Organizations: CNN, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, “, Aztecs, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Axolotl, Amphibians Conservation, Anadolu, Getty Locations: Mexican, Xochimilco, Mexico City, It’s, Lake Xochimilco, Mexico, French, Europe, California , Maine , New Jersey, Washington, Minecraft, Chicago

☆ Seeing Stars, Sperm and Millions of Spawn After a Valentine’s Day Rendezvous
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The happy couple, a pair of sunflower sea stars, belonged to a species that has nearly vanished because of climate change. Sunflower sea stars are a far cry from their smaller pink cousins that you might know from Finding Nemo and SpongeBob SquarePants. “In a perfect, climate-change-free world, they would be keeping the kelp forest ecology at a perfect eco-balance,” Ms. Torres said. As a consequence of the heat, a strange wasting condition began spreading among the sunflower sea star population. Since then, an estimated 90 percent of all sunflower sea stars have perished.

Persons: Melissa Torres, Nemo, SpongeBob, They’re, Ms, Torres Organizations: Scripps Institution of Oceanography Locations: La Jolla, Calif, Pacific Northwest, North, California, Oregon

☆ Brood XIII and Brood XIX: What to expect from 2024’s rare double brood emergence of cicadas
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

☆ Mucus-Covered Jellyfish Hint at Dangers of Deep-Sea Mining
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Deep-sea mining companies have set their sights on these minerals, aiming to use them in batteries and electronics. Environmentalists warn that the mining process and the plumes of sediment it would dump back into the sea could affect marine life. A series of shipboard experiments on jellyfish in the Norwegian fjords, published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, offer insights into those warnings. The scientists approximated the effects of mining by pumping sediment into the jellies’ tanks, essentially asking how the animals would cope with the muddy water. The researchers selected helmet jellyfish as their research subjects because of the ubiquity and hardiness of the dinner-plate-size creatures.

Persons: ”, Helena Hauss Organizations: Nature Communications, Norwegian Research Center, Helmholtz, Ocean Research Locations: Norwegian, Ocean Research Kiel, Germany

☆ Some Whales May Have Been Wiped Out by Medieval Europeans
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Industrial-scale whaling in the 19th and 20th centuries nearly drove many whale species into extinction. But it turns out that whaling’s effects on where whales live go back much deeper into human history. As early as 8,000 years ago, humans carved their attempts to capture whales into South Korean cliffs. More recently, medieval texts described the whaling preferences of Europeans. So he and his colleagues examined 719 pieces of whale bones collected at archaeological sites from Norway to Portugal.

Persons: Moby, Dick, ”, Ahab, Ishmael, van den Organizations: Royal Society Open Science, Norwegian University of Science, Technology Locations: Norway, Portugal

☆ Neanderthal flower burial theory called into question by new study
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Faye Chiu | Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Archaeologist Ralph Solecki discovered the flower burial, as it came to be known, while exploring Shanidar Cave in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. However, elements of the flower burial theory didn’t seem to add up. “That was, for us, an indication that maybe there was something going on with the flower burial,” Hunt said. Shanidar Cave in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq is seen in May. Its presence is due to the activity of bees and not flower burial, suggests a study led by Chris Hunt, professor emeritus at Liverpool John Moores University in the UK.

Persons: Ralph Solecki, Solecki, ”, Chris Hunt, Hunt, ” Hunt, Christopher Owen Hunt, they’re, Christopher Owen Hunt Hunt, “, Paul Pettitt, Pettitt, Hunt “, Fred Smith, it’s, Grandma, Joe, ’ ” Hunt, Shanidar Organizations: CNN, Liverpool John Moores University, Archaeological Science, Durham University, Illinois State University Locations: Kurdistan, Iraq, United Kingdom, Shanidar

☆ This Tiny Snake Has a Big Mouth
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Snakes can’t really unhinge their jaws, but for some, that doesn’t get in the way of swallowing absurdly large prey. For instance, Burmese pythons, like the invasive ones making their way north in Florida, have been known to consume 70-pound deer and 100-pound alligators. But new research indicates that, relative to their size, the snakes that can gulp down the largest meals are harmless, three-foot-long egg eaters. “This particular group of snakes may be No. 1 when it comes to big mouths in the snake kingdom,” said Bruce Jayne, a biology professor at the University of Cincinnati and the author of a paper on the subject published this month in the Journal of Zoology.

Persons: doesn’t, ”, Bruce Jayne Organizations: University of Cincinnati, Zoology Locations: Florida

☆ Scientists tickle rats to learn about brain activity during play
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

To learn more about the neuroscience behind this widespread behavior, he and his colleagues played with and tickled rats and observed the rodents’ brain activity. Researchers studied how playing and being tickled affected rats’ brain activity. Key brain areaTo learn more about how playing and being tickled affect rats’ brain activity, the researchers devised a series of experiments. The researchers played “hand chasing games” with their rat subjects and gently tickled them, while tiny, wireless neural probes recorded the rats’ brain activity. Furthermore, in trials where the scientists inhibited activity in this part of the brain, the rats were less inclined to play or laugh when tickled.

Persons: Michael Brecht, they’re, Brecht, it’s, ” Brecht, “, ”, everyone’s, —, one’s, we’ve, Alexa Veenema, Veenema, ” Veenema, Kate Golembiewski Organizations: CNN, Bowl, Humboldt University, Michigan State University Locations: Berlin, Chicago

☆ What you need to know about ticks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

There are more than 800 species of ticks found around the world, and 84 that have been documented in the United States. The most common ones are blacklegged ticks (also known as deer ticks, but they feed on lots of animals besides deer), lone star ticks, American dog ticks and brown dog ticks. Both male and female ticks feed on blood by inserting their barbed, straw-like mouthparts into the skin of their host (unlike mosquitoes, which only bite if they’re females preparing to lay eggs). However, only female ticks drink to the point that they become engorged. Yes, they can be a public health concern, but we don’t want you to let ticks keep you indoors,” she said.

Persons: ”, Kait Chapman, Thomas Mather, ” Chapman, Lyme, they’ll, “, Mather, Chapman, permethrin, Kate Golembiewski Organizations: CNN, University of Nebraska, University of Rhode, Vector, Environmental Protection Agency Locations: United States, Lincoln, University of Rhode Island, Lyme, Chicago

☆ This Fossil Is a Freeze-Frame of a Mammal Fighting a Dinosaur
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

From scattered bones and teeth, scientists studying fossils extrapolate entire long-dead creatures, and even relationships between different species. This could be the case with a newly described fossil of a badger-like mammal and a Labrador retriever-sized dinosaur, locked in what appears to be an eternal brawl. But the unlikely fossil depicts combat between a mammal called Repenomamus robustus and a bipedal, plant-eating relative of Triceratops called Psittacosaurus lujiatunensis. Size-wise, the dinosaur had an advantage, but Repenomamus, preserved with its teeth clamped into Psittacosaurus’s rib cage, appears to have punched above its weight. The dinosaur’s bones don’t show evidence of being gnawed on by scavengers, indicating that the Repenomamus encounter happened when the Psittacosaurus was still alive.

Locations: what’s, China

☆ Break Out the S’mores: This Star Is Cooler Than a Campfire
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When you sit at a campfire and look up at the stars, even the tiniest pinpricks of light that you see are massive furnaces, producing intense heat. But hidden among these infernal embers are celestial bodies so dim that they’re invisible to the naked eye. One such star, a brown dwarf smaller than Jupiter, recently became the coldest star ever to be detected with a radio telescope. At a paltry 797 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s cooler than the average campfire: an ideal star for roasting marshmallows. The existence of brown dwarfs was hypothesized 60 years ago, but “they were very hard to find, because they’re not very bright,” Dr. Murphy said.

Persons: Don’t, graham, Kovi Rose, ”, Tara Murphy, Rose, “, they’re, Dr, Murphy Organizations: University of Sydney

☆ Spider mite males ‘undress’ their partners to mate ASAP
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Spider mites are tiny arachnids, distant cousins of spiders, smaller than the tip of a standard ballpoint pen. Living together in dense colonies can make for fierce competition in finding a mate, especially because female spider mites only use the sperm from the first male with which they mate. Males will guard females that are nearly mature, so that as soon as the females are set to mate, the males will be ready. While farmers and gardeners often revile spider mites as plant-eating pests, many biologists use them as model organisms. “I hope they are fascinated about what type of sophisticated behaviors have evolved, even in such tiny animals as spider mites,” he said.

Persons: Dr, Peter Schausberger, ”, Schausberger, —, doesn’t, ” Schausberger, Tomasz Klejdysz, Yukie Sato, ” Sato, There’s, that’s, Rebecca Schmidt, Kate Golembiewski Organizations: CNN, University of Vienna, University of Tsukuba, US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service Locations: Japan, Chicago

☆ How to repel mosquitoes, according to science
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Here’s the lowdown on how mosquitoes hunt us, what attracts them, and what scientists recommend for keeping them at bay. The science of mosquito bitesMost of the time, mosquitoes drink plant nectars and juices, and even help pollinate flowers. “How attractive you think you are to mosquitoes might not necessarily correlate with how attractive you actually are to the mosquitoes,” McMeniman said. The itchiness and discomfort from mosquito bites come later when the perpetrator is no longer at risk of getting swatted. No silver bullet exists to protect yourself from mosquito bites, but get a good bug spray and reapply it as needed.

Persons: “ We’re, ”, Conor McMeniman, ” McMeniman, Olivier Morin, “, We’re, there’s, Rick Bowmer, Kristen Healy, Healy, ” Healy, they’ve, McMeniman, tantalizing, Kate Golembiewski Organizations: CNN, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Getty, Louisiana State University, American Mosquito Control Association, Environmental Protection Agency Locations: Baltimore, It’s, AFP, coexisting, Chicago

☆ The Secret in the Spots on Monarch Butterflies’ Wings
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Every fall, monarch butterflies embark on one of nature’s greatest journeys. These insects flap more than 2,000 miles from their summer homes in Canada down to the mountains of central Mexico. Researchers have found a shared trait in the butterflies that make it: The edges of their wings tend to be slightly spottier. He added, “All of a sudden, it seems like they’re really important.”Monarch wings are mostly orange, but their edges are black, punctuated with tiny white spots. Dr. Davis was curious if those black edges contributed to monarchs’ migratory capabilities.

Persons: ”, Andy Davis, Davis, Mostafa Hassanalian Organizations: University of Georgia, New Mexico Institute of Mining, Technology Locations: Canada, Mexico

☆ Billion-year-old rocks reveal traces of ancient life
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

V. Diekamp/MARUM/University of BremenThe evidence of these ancient eukaryotes took the form of biological molecules that they produced. Advances in biochemical analyses have allowed scientists to identify ancient molecules preserved in the fossil record, particularly in old rocks that have been relatively undisturbed by geological processes. In the new Nature study, Nettersheim and his colleagues, including Brocks, a professor of geobiology at the Australian National University, examined rocks from Australia’s Barney Creek Formation. Previous studies established that the Barney Creek rocks, which are more than 1 billion years old, contain traces of ancient biomolecules. But “people never looked, really, for these primordial types of steroids in those kinds of rocks,” Nettersheim said.

Persons: Benjamin Nettersheim, ”, Nettersheim, “, Dr, ” Nettersheim, Jochen Brocks, Konrad Bloch, Bloch, Barney, Susannah Porter, Porter, Roger, ” “ Konrad Bloch, Brocks Organizations: CNN, MARUM Center, Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Australian National University, University of California, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Locations: Australia, Nature, geobiology, Germany, MARUM, Santa Barbara

☆ Contraceptive injections for cats show promise
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Now, scientists have announced a potential new method of feline contraception that’s shown early promise: long-lasting contraceptive injections that prevent ovulation. “That’s what led us to start collaborating with Bill (Swanson).”The Cincinnati Zoo, Swanson says, is home to the widest array of wild cats in North America, including lions, tigers and tiny sand cats. Three cats were a control group, while six received injections of the gene of the hormone in question, hitched to a mild virus. The three control-group cats all became pregnant, but none of the six cats in the experimental group did. “We’re really focused on adopting these cats out,” said Swanson, who’s adopted three cats from earlier studies.

Persons: ”, Bill Swanson, “, David Pépin, Pépin, ” Pépin, Bill, Swanson, ” Swanson, Michelle, Betty, Abigail, Nancy, Dolly, Barbara, Rosalyn, Jacque, Mary, We’re, can’t, we’ll, it’s, Pierre Comizzoli, It’s, ” Jacque, Jacqueline, Jackie, Kennedy Onassis, who’s, they’ve, Kate Golembiewski Organizations: CNN, Cincinnati Zoo, Botanical, Nature Communications, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Animals Foundation, Michelson, Conservation Biology Institute, Kennedy Onassis . Cincinnati Zoo Locations: Massachusetts, Boston, Angeles, North America, Cincinnati, Chicago

☆ These Spiders Look Frightening, but They May Be Scaredy-Cats
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Joro spiders are the size of your palm. “If you’re an arachnophobe, they’re the stuff of your nightmares,” said Andy Davis, a biologist at the University of Georgia who studies them. But, Dr. Davis said, joros are “gentle giants” that are prone to shyness and are more inclined to freeze than to fight. By comparison, smaller spiders appeared relatively unfazed, indicating that even big, scary spiders can be scaredy-cats. Joros were first spotted in northeastern Georgia in 2013; Dr. Davis’s best guess is that the spiders’ eggs arrived in shipping containers, because they tended to show up around highways.

☆ A body odor buffet reveals which scents attract mosquitoes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Anyone who has spent a summer evening swatting away mosquitoes, or a summer day scratching mosquito bites, can agree: Mosquitoes stink. In a scientific report published Friday, scientists helped pinpoint the different chemicals in body odor that attract these insects by building an ice-rink size testing arena and pumping in the scents of different people. Hundreds of mosquitoes in the main 20-by-20-meter facility were then treated to a buffet of the sleeping subjects’ scents. The researchers found what many who have been on a picnic would attest to: Some people attract more mosquitoes than others. (Vosshall said that even scrubbing with unscented soap doesn’t get rid of the natural scents that attract mosquitoes.)

☆ Why Researchers Turned This Goldfish Into a Cyborg
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

To keep the computer from weighing the fish down and impeding its ability to swim, the researchers attached buoyant plastic foam to the device. The closer the fish swam to the tank’s edges, the more the navigational cells in their brains lit up. The fish’s brain-computer helped reveal that goldfish use a system of navigation that is subtly different from what scientists have found in mammals. For humans (and other members of our class), navigational cells specialize in pinging our precise location within our environment and building a map around that spot. Mammals have specialized neurons that create these “you are here” pins in their mental maps; the researchers didn’t find those cells in fish.

☆ Your Hair Is Going Gray. This Glitch May Explain Why.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But gray hairs are one of the most obvious clues that the body isn’t working like it used to. Our hair turns gray when melanin-producing stem cells stop functioning properly. “This is a really big step toward understanding why we gray,” said Mayumi Ito, an author of the study and a dermatology professor at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine. Unlike embryonic stem cells, which develop into all sorts of different organs, adult stem cells have a more set path. The melanocyte stem cells in our hair follicles are responsible for producing and maintaining the pigment in our hair.

☆ Carnivorous plants may lure their insect prey with specialized scents
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Sarracenia pitcher plants, found in bogs throughout eastern North America, look like trumpet-shaped flowers, often in purplish or reddish hues. Different kinds of Sarracenia pitcher plants tend to eat different kinds of insects — some species trap more ants, while others feast on bees and moths. But recently opened pitcher plants that don’t stink of rotting bug carcasses provide an opportunity to identify the scents, she explained. The biggest challenge with the study, honestly, is that they did it in France,” rather than in the Sarracenia pitcher plants’ native North American bogs. It’s important to study pitcher plants due to the unique role they play in their increasingly fragile ecosystems, he added.

☆ An elephant living in a Berlin zoo has taught herself how to peel a banana
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Now a team of researchers in Berlin have documented an elephant using her trunk for another novel behavior: peeling bananas. Pang Pha was a baby when she arrived at the Berlin Zoo, where she was fed bananas. Lena KaufmannThe star of this new study, an Asian elephant named Pang Pha, was a baby when she arrived at the Berlin Zoo in 1987. When Pang Pha peels a banana, she doesn’t crack the stem and peel down the sides one by one. It’s also not possible to definitively say that she learned to peel bananas by copying her human caretaker.

☆ For T. rex and kin, it was a stiff upper lip, not a toothy grin
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] The skeleton of "SUE", the Tyrannosaurus rex is displayed at the Field Museum of Natural History in this undated handout picture. Sealed lips would help saliva secretions in the mouth keep teeth, particularly the enamel, hydrated, Cullen said. An examination of the relationship between tooth size and skull size undercut the idea that large theropods simply had teeth too big to be covered by lips. The study identified large lizard species with lips alive today that possess teeth proportionally bigger than T. rex, relative to skull size. In crocs, teeth show asymmetrical wear, with the side of the exposed teeth facing outward more beat up than the inner side.

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