Nature is wild



This is pretty incredible.

Also was reading up on scorpions and they can hold their breath for up to 6 days and go 12 months without food...which is mad!
 
Scientists discovered the first true millipede. It's called Eumillipes persephone and lives in Western Australia. They found a couple of specimens, all of which had far fewer than 1,000 legs; but also one with 1,306 legs - all in a length of just 95.7mm! (and a width of 0.95mm) It appears that these millipedes are born with just two segments and four legs, but keep adding segments in the course of their lives, so 1,306 legs might not be the maximum. Here is our beauty:

41598_2021_2447_Fig1_HTML.jpg


Study: The first true millipede—1306 legs long | Scientific Reports (nature.com)

The Corinthian said:


This is so cool.
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That's awesome! :)
 
The Corinthian said:
This is remarkable…

https://amp.theguardian.com/science...inosaur-embryo-preparing-to-hatch-like-a-bird

Scientists find perfectly preserved dinosaur embryo preparing to hatch like a bird
At least 66m-year-old fossil discovered in southern China reveals posture previously unseen in dinosaurs

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When I first saw this news, I thought for a moment it actually looked like in those pictures. :lol: But no, of course not; it's actually like this:

d7733e104d8371dc9fd849f13d9ee550


In any case, as I said in the History/Archaeology thread (just gonna repeat myself here): it's really interesting how science keeps learning that dinosaurs are really a lot like birds - as confirmed now again by the way this embryo was positioned inside its egg. (I.e., much like a bird, not like other bird-laying animals.) Dinosaur depictions are often still like they were 20 years ago, but once illustrators really start working with all these new findings, our kids' image of dinosaurs will be very different from ours. (No more naked skin or single colours!)
 
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Cheimoon said:
When I first saw this news, I thought for a moment it actually looked like in those pictures. :lol: But no, of course not; it's actually like this:

d7733e104d8371dc9fd849f13d9ee550


In any case, as I said in the History/Archaeology threa (just gonna repeat myself here): it's really interesting how science keeps learning that dinosaurs are really a lot like birds - as confirmed now again by the way this embryo was positioned inside its egg. (I.e., much like a bird, not like other bird-laying animals.) Dinosaur depictions are often still like they were 20 years ago, but once illustrators really start working with all these new findings, our kids' image of dinosaurs will be very different from ours. (No more naked skin or single colours!)
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When I saw the 'heavily touched up' photos and 'egg' and 'In China' I immediately thought of this:

http://www.hoaxorfact.com/Health/china-s-fake-eggs-made-of-plastic-facts-analysis.html
 
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The Corinthian said:
‘Life…uh, finds a way’ …is all I got!
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:D

For these kinds of weirdos, I like trying to figure how they may have evolved from some simple kind of being into something quite as specific as this. But I'm kinda drawing a blank here. :)
 
This Twitter is just amazing. This moth literally has drawn shit on its body to ward off predators…

 
Peter van der Gea said:
Is this a new thing? It's pretty nuts.

Though, the Arctic or the Antarctic, can't remember which, probably Antarctica, counts as a desert because of the lack of water in the air. So there's nothing that says deserts have to be hot
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It can happen, as far as I know. Deserts can actually get pretty cold at night, so add precipitation, and there is a chance it'll sometimes snow. It's very rare though; I found an article that explains it and says it's only happened a handful of times in the last 40 years. It also says it might occur more frequently because of climate change actually!

https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/what-sahara-desert-weather-snow-b1995607.html
 
Cheimoon said:
It can happen, as far as I know. Deserts can actually get pretty cold at night, so add precipitation, and there is a chance it'll sometimes snow. It's very rare though; I found an article that explains it and says it's only happened a handful of times in the last 40 years. It also says it might occur more frequently because of climate change actually!

https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/what-sahara-desert-weather-snow-b1995607.html
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I thought climate change would have its dirty little fingers in it.

Its nuts to think that 6000 years ago the Sahara was green.
 
Almost 500-mile-long lightning bolt crossed three US states


An almost 500-mile long bolt of lightning that lit up the sky across three US states has set a new world record for longest flash, scientists have confirmed.
The lightning bolt, extended a total of 477.2 miles (768 km) and spread across Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-60221521
 
The human immune system is so complex and cool.
Nature Briefing said:
What Omicron reveals about immunity

Immunologists have raced to work out how to protect against Omicron and other variants of SARS-CoV-2. Their research has yielded a wealth of insights — and a few surprises. “It’s an amazing natural experiment,” says immunologist Donna Farber. “It’s just this unbelievable opportunity to look at human immune responses in real time.”
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Full story: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00214-3

This one is about some new insights, but there was also a long article in The Atlantic last year that went into the immune system more broadly. It starts like this:
The Atlantic said:
There’s a joke about immunology, which Jessica Metcalf of Princeton recently told me. An immunologist and a cardiologist are kidnapped. The kidnappers threaten to shoot one of them, but promise to spare whoever has made the greater contribution to humanity. The cardiologist says, “Well, I’ve identified drugs that have saved the lives of millions of people.” Impressed, the kidnappers turn to the immunologist. “What have you done?” they ask. The immunologist says, “The thing is, the immune system is very complicated …” And the cardiologist says, “Just shoot me now.”
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Link: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/...nity-is-the-pandemics-central-mystery/614956/
 
The Corinthian said:
Almost 500-mile-long lightning bolt crossed three US states


An almost 500-mile long bolt of lightning that lit up the sky across three US states has set a new world record for longest flash, scientists have confirmed.
The lightning bolt, extended a total of 477.2 miles (768 km) and spread across Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-60221521
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Imagine being the guy that had to measure that?
 
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