...........Years ago a famous writer turned the idea of finding ancient, possibly dinosaur, DNA and turning it into a theme park with dinosaurs grown in modern times. Around the same time, dinosaur experts, such as the famous Jack Horner, postulated that all of the DNA needed to make a modern day dinosaur probably resided, in adjusted, re-used, or silenced form, in living birds. If only you could make fine adjustments to the expression of existing DNA you could hatch a dinosaur, starting with, for example, a turkey. .......The Particle That Broke a Cosmic Speed Limit by Natalie Wolchover at Quanta Magazine:
On the night of October 15, 1991, the “Oh-My-God” particle streaked across the Utah sky. A cosmic ray from space, it possessed 320 exa-electron volts (EeV) of energy, millions of times more than particles attain at the Large Hadron Collider, the most powerful accelerator ever built by humans. The particle was going so fast that in a yearlong race with light, it would have lost by mere thousandths of a hair. Its energy equaled that of a bowling ball dropped on a toe. But bowling balls contain as many atoms as there are stars. “Nobody ever thought you could concentrate so much energy into a single particle before,” said David Kieda, an astrophysicist at the University of Utah......The fly's neural compass works just like a mammal's by Mo Costandi at Neurophilosophy:
Fruit flies have a neural compass that tracks orientation by combining visual and self-motion cues, according to a study published today in the journal Nature. The new research show that the compass in the fruit fly brain works in a similar way to that of mammals, suggesting that this tiny creature could teach us a few things about how our own compass works.....Aliens Will Be Bear-Size, According to Math by Jesse Emspak at Live Science:
With thousands of planets outside Earth's solar system, there's a pretty good chance that some of them have the conditions needed for life. If alien life does exist, scientists aren't quite sure what it would look like, but they might be able to see how much these foreign "beings" might weigh. Most of these creatures will be big — nearly 700 lbs. (314 kilograms), one cosmologist says........
Northern birds invade the south thanks to a shifting climate by Jason G. Goldman at Conservation:
“Facultative migrants” are animals whose annual travels aren’t locked in. Their migration pathways are uncertain, as is whether they migrate at all during any given year. As weather and food fluctuate over time, so too do the movements of facultative migrants. Perhaps the most well known facultative migrants are birds. While some birds fly south for the winter and north in the spring at intervals you can predict with astonishing accuracy, others are more flexible in their movements. They can breed or overwinter over consecutive years in the same places, before suddenly switching their attention elsewhere. With food and weather as their guides, the birds seek out the most favorable habitats.....Why Pluto’s Moons Turned William Shatner Into a Sad Volcano by Nadia Drake at No Place Like Home:
Nearly two years ago, I called William Shatner and wrecked his day. At least, one can surmise as much based on how the actor responded to the news that his favored name for one of Pluto’s two new moons hadn’t been selected: “What? That’s impossible! I’m going to lead a revolt,” Shatner told me. It was mid-2013, and I’d just revealed that “Vulcan” — Shatner’s proposal — had been rejected by the International Astronomical Union. He was not expecting that......Beware Eurosceptic versions of history and science by Rebekah Higgitt at The H word:
Readers of the Guardian Science pages may not have noticed the group called Historians for Britain, or a recent piece in History Today by David Abulafia asserting their belief “that Britain’s unique history sets it apart from the rest of Europe”. Since it is a pressure group, connected to Business for Britain, that aims to use history to steer the debate over the EU referendum, it will probably become increasingly vocal. It requires critical scrutiny from everyone with an interest in Britain’s relationship with the rest of the world, and in evidence-based political discussion.....GMO Labels Could Reassure Consumers More Than Scare Them Away by David Ropeik at Risk: Reason and Reality:
Opponents of genetically modified food claim that their demand for labeling is only intended to provide choice for consumers. In truth, as many of them have said, they hope that labels will scare people away from buying such products and kill GMO technology itself. But a new survey suggests that by giving consumers choice, labels might actually reassure, and encourage sales, more than scare and dissuade....When the Brain Can't Make Its Own Maps by Katherine Foley at The Atlantic:
.......Locating what should be a familiar landmark isn’t just hard for Roseman. Most of the time, it’s impossible. Roseman has a neurological condition called Developmental Topographical Disorientation, or DTD for short. She’s one in a relatively small population—there’s no official tally, though some researchers estimate 1 to 2 percent of people—of people who have extremely limited navigational skills and cannot form what scientists call “cognitive maps.”.......Horses Use Their 'Voices' To Convey Their Emotions Just Like Humans Do by Macrina Cooper-White at The Huffington Post:
What's in a neigh? A lot more than you might think. According to a new study conducted by researchers in Switzerland, a horse's whinny reflects its emotions -- much like our voices can betray how we're feeling -- in a very unusual way. The study adds to a small but growing body of research on horse vocalizations. Previous research has shown that whinnies carry information about a horse's sex, body size, and identity, and that horses produce different kinds of sounds when they're excited than when they're distressed......
And if that is not enough, more readings for later this weekend:
Teaching Children to Love Bees, Not Fear Them by JENNIFER BERNEY at Motherlode
Citizen scientist divers help track the success of artificial reefs. by Carolyn Graybeal/Michael Bear at CitizenSci
A day in the life of a Marchantia lab by Cecilia Lara-Mondragón and Mario Arteaga-Vázquez at the Node
In a variable world, are averages just epiphenomena? by Jeremy Fox at Dynamic Ecology
How to Be a Better Sleeper by John Pavlus at Scientific American Mind
Seasonal Genes by Ashley P. Taylor at The Scientist
An early use of the term “precision medicine” by Nathaniel Comfort at Genotopia
You Can Go To Jail For Doing Citizen Science In Wyoming by Mary Beth Griggs at Popular Science
Is there a limit to how many species can the earth hold? by Caroline Tucker at The EEB & Flow
Rice and Beans: The Private Role of Food by Krystal D'Costa at Anthropology in Practice
Explanation, Orgasm And The Need For Basic Science Research Funding by Tania Lombrozo at 13.7: Cosmos And Culture
Weighing Up Anonymity and Openness in Publication Peer Review by Hilda Bastian at Absolutely Maybe
Death and Landscapes: Why Does Location Matter? by Katy Meyers Emery at Bones Don’t Lie
Things that get under your skin: Parasitoids by Chris Hedstrom and Christine Fleming at Buzz Hoot Roar
Does the Justice System Neglect Forgiveness? by Oriel FeldmanHall and Peter Sokol-Hessner at Scientific American Mind
Do hyaluronic acid injections help knee pain? Don't waste your money. by Steven Salzberg at Genomics, Medicine, and Pseudoscience
Previously in this series:
FieldNotes: a view to spotted horses in the morning
FieldNotes: The Word For World is Blue (or is it Gold?)
FieldNotes: Golden Mean, polite middle-ground, and optimal numbers of legs.
FieldNotes: speeding up and slowing down time
FieldNotes: from Captain Ahab to Jeff Goldblum, chasing the giants
FieldNotes: this is not your grandparents' neuroscience!
FieldNotes: Brontosaurus in, Food Babe out.
FieldNotes: Rogue Microwave Ovens Call Home
FieldNotes: Let the sleeping apes lie
FieldNotes: one thing leads to another leads to another
FieldNotes: Seductive Allure of Seductive Allure of Neuroscience Explanations
FieldNotes: do African horses do flehmen at the sight of Derby hats?
Image: UTCT/digimorph.org