You
must have heard about self-service restaurants, let me now tell
you about a self-serviced orchid! Named Holcoglossum amesianum,
this orchid fertilises itself without the aid of insects or
wind. The plant does not take the help of sticky fluids or any
other method used by self-pollinating plants. Instead, the male
part of the flower twists itself into the necessary shape
required for the fertilisation of the female one! This unique
orchid is found in the Yunnan province of China.
New Member
Meet the new
member of the volcano family: the ‘petit spot’! ‘Petit spot’ is
a new type of miniature volcano in the western Pacific Ocean.
The volcanoes are tiny, sized between 0.005 to 1 cubic
kilometers, and are spotted near the underwater Japan Trench.
According to researchers, the findings may reduce the strength
of a popular ‘hotspot’ volcanism theory, which states that
molten lava wells up from deep below and creates volcanoes. Hmm…
seems like the ‘petit spot’ is going to have a big effect on
many things!
Off-shoot
An
endangered bird named Sumatran ground cuckoo was “by chance”
captured on film while an Indonesian-British surveying team was
trying to photograph wild tigers in the Indonesian jungle! The
short, brown fowl, with black and green plumes, is pictured
gazing into the lens! The spotting near Kerinci Seblat National
Park in central-west Sumatra is the third known recording of the
bird since 1916! The best off-target ever!
Dino Cruz
Argentina’s
Santa Cruz Province may soon be called “Dino Cruz”! Because,
Santa Cruz was once roved by one of the world’s largest
dinosaurs! Argentinean scientists have recently discovered the
bones of Titanosaurs, a gigantic plant-eating Sauropod dinosaur.
According to paleontologists, this newly discovered species was
115 to 131 feet (35 to 40 meters) long, weighing between 88 and
110 tonnes (80 and 100 metric tonnes)! Phew! Size surely does
matter!
Salutary Snails
Ever
heard of a beneficial poison? Here it is! Cone shells are home
to snails that produce one of the most complex venoms in nature.
These snails have the ability to change the chemical compounds
in their venom, keeping pace with evolution. Scientists may use
this complex neurotoxin to turn off individual functions of the
nervous system helping them to develop a greater understanding
of the human brain! A new painkiller is the first drug to be
developed from these snails.
Crickety
Canyon
The Grand Canyon – Parashant National Monument, located on the
Utah-Arizona border, was recently discovered to house four more
new species of crickets! A barklouse (insect living on the bark
of plants) was also found here. The type is common in South
America, but not North America, where it was found. Kyle Voyles,
a state of Arizona cave coordinator and a physical science
technician with the Bureau of Land Management, and J. Judson
Wynne, a Northern Arizona University doctoral candidate, made
the discovery from a spring sample taken from the area.
You
must have heard about self-service restaurants, let me now tell
you about a self-serviced orchid! Named Holcoglossum amesianum,
this orchid fertilises itself without the aid of insects or
wind. The plant does not take the help of sticky fluids or any
other method used by self-pollinating plants. Instead, the male
part of the flower twists itself into the necessary shape
required for the fertilisation of the female one! This unique
orchid is found in the Yunnan province of China.
An
endangered bird named Sumatran ground cuckoo was “by chance”
captured on film while an Indonesian-British surveying team was
trying to photograph wild tigers in the Indonesian jungle! The
short, brown fowl, with black and green plumes, is pictured
gazing into the lens! The spotting near Kerinci Seblat National
Park in central-west Sumatra is the third known recording of the
bird since 1916! The best off-target ever!
Argentina’s
Santa Cruz Province may soon be called “Dino Cruz”! Because,
Santa Cruz was once roved by one of the world’s largest
dinosaurs! Argentinean scientists have recently discovered the
bones of Titanosaurs, a gigantic plant-eating Sauropod dinosaur.
According to paleontologists, this newly discovered species was
115 to 131 feet (35 to 40 meters) long, weighing between 88 and
110 tonnes (80 and 100 metric tonnes)! Phew! Size surely does
matter!
Ever
heard of a beneficial poison? Here it is! Cone shells are home
to snails that produce one of the most complex venoms in nature.
These snails have the ability to change the chemical compounds
in their venom, keeping pace with evolution. Scientists may use
this complex neurotoxin to turn off individual functions of the
nervous system helping them to develop a greater understanding
of the human brain! A new painkiller is the first drug to be
developed from these snails.