Botany & zoology. (Science News of the year: the weekly newsmagazine of science).Mad deer disease? A wildlife brain ailment ail·ment n. A physical or mental disorder, especially a mild illness. , once limited to a small part of the West and some game farms, turned up in wild deer in new areas, such as Wisconsin (162: 346 *). Upside way down The first video of the deep-ocean dwellers called whipnose anglerfish anglerfish Any of about 210 species of marine fishes (order Lophiiformes) named for their method of “fishing” for prey. The foremost spine of the dorsal fin is located on the head and is modified into a “fishing rod” tipped with a fleshy showed that scientists have had it wrong and the fish actually swim "upside down" (162: 262). Species splits Researchers found that a walking stick insect may be evolving into two species by adapting to different environments (161: 350), and reef corals that spawn in great, churning, multispecies soups may be maintaining diversity because hybrids are nearly sterile (161: 374). Lamprey lamprey, name for several primitive marine and freshwater fishes of the order Cyclostomata, or jawless fishes (see cyclostome). As in the other member of the order, the hagfish, the adult lamprey retains the notochord, the supporting structure that in higher allure An unusual sex attractant--male bile acid--turned up in an analysis of sea lampreys, and it may inspire new ways to defend the Great Lakes against this invasive species (61: 213). Altruistic sperm Microscopy revealed that the sperm of wood mice hook together by the thousands to form high-speed teams racing toward an egg, even though only one of each pack can win the prize (162: 20). Glow-in-the-dark bird A budgerigar's head literally fluoresces, and both males and females prefer to court partners with a glow, a study found (161: 40). Ant peace and war The largest ant supercolony yet found stretched in a network of cooperating nests from Italy to the Atlantic (161: 245). Gecko gecko (gĕk`ō), small or medium-sized lizard of the family Gekkonidae. The more than 300 species are distributed throughout the warm regions of the world, mostly in the Old World. Despite folklore to the contrary, their bite is not poisonous. toes Scientists pinned down the molecular basis of the geckos GeckOS is an experimental operating system for MOS 6502 and compatible processors. It offers some Unix-like functionality including preemptive multitasking, multithreading, semaphores, signals, binary relocation, TCP/IP networking via SLIP and a 6502 standard library. prowess at scampering up polished walls and hanging from ceilings (162: 133). Cryptic Invasion A mild-mannered reed native to the United States was found innocent; it was being blamed for the environmental damage caused by an evil twin from abroad (161: 118). Bleeding trees A microbe microbe /mi·crobe/ (mi´krob) a microorganism, especially a pathogenic one such as a bacterium, protozoan, or fungus.micro´bialmicro´bic mi·crobe n. related to the one that caused the Irish potato famine Irish Potato Famine (1845–49) Famine that occurred in Ireland when the potato crop failed in successive years. By the early 1840s almost half the Irish population, particularly the rural poor, was depending almost entirely on the potato for nourishment. was tentatively identified as the long-sought culprit killing majestic beech trees in the northeastern United States (162: 70). * An asterisk indicates that the text of the item is available free on SCIENCE NEWS ONLINE (http://www.sciencenews.org). |
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