lickystickypickywe: REPRODUCTIVE TRICKS OF THE “LESBIAN LIZARDS” As if being able to re-grow a tail isn’t cool enough, some species of whiptail lizards (genus Cnemidophorus) have another trick: They can clone themselves. These species actually consist completely of females able to reproduce by parthenogenesis. The original sexless females, known as parthenogens, come from the hybridization of two separate lizard lines. The parthenogen has one copy of chromosomes from its mother, and one analogous but slightly different copy from its father. It can give rise to offspring that are their exact clones, without their two genetic copies recombining. Asexual whiptails have a special trick for making spermless reproduction work: The egg cells in other animals first double their choromosomes once and then divide twice, leaving them as haploid cells, with half the normal number of genetic material. But the whiptails’ egg cells first double their chromosomes twice and then divide twice, leaving them with the normal number of chromosomes and rendering a sperm cell unnecessary. Pairs of female whiptails sometimes engage in mock sex, which led to the nickname “lesbian lizards” and seems to encourage the production of egg cells. But they do seem to have some interest in the opposite gender: Sometimes these parthenogens are mate with males of different species, creating a species with 50 percent more genes than normal. The animal kingdom upstaged humans this time……..

lickystickypickywe:

REPRODUCTIVE TRICKS OF THE “LESBIAN LIZARDS”

As if being able to re-grow a tail isn’t cool enough, some species of whiptail lizards (genus Cnemidophorus) have another trick: They can clone themselves. These species actually consist completely of females able to reproduce by parthenogenesis.

The original sexless females, known as parthenogens, come from the hybridization of two separate lizard lines. The parthenogen has one copy of chromosomes from its mother, and one analogous but slightly different copy from its father. It can give rise to offspring that are their exact clones, without their two genetic copies recombining.

Asexual whiptails have a special trick for making spermless reproduction work: The egg cells in other animals first double their choromosomes once and then divide twice, leaving them as haploid cells, with half the normal number of genetic material. But the whiptails’ egg cells first double their chromosomes twice and then divide twice, leaving them with the normal number of chromosomes and rendering a sperm cell unnecessary.

Pairs of female whiptails sometimes engage in mock sex, which led to the nickname “lesbian lizards” and seems to encourage the production of egg cells. But they do seem to have some interest in the opposite gender: Sometimes these parthenogens are mate with males of different species, creating a species with 50 percent more genes than normal.

The animal kingdom upstaged humans this time……..

(via allcreatures)

moderation: Star System With a Record 9 Planets Found — The sun-like star, called HD 10180, located approximately 127 light-years away in the constellation Hydrus, is home to a record nine planets, making it  the most populated system of extrasolar planets yet found. In a previous study that was published in August 2010, astronomers identified five confirmed alien worlds and two planetary candidates. If confirmed, the planetary system around ‘HD 10180’ would be the richest-ever discovered.  The new study confirms both previous candidates in the HD 10180 system, and also suggests that two more planets could be orbiting the star said lead author Mikko Tuomi, at the Centre for Astrophysics Research at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield, UK. “Now that Pluto is not a planet, this system is likely more planet-rich than the Solar System,” says Tuomi. Tuomi’s analysis, accepted for publication on 6 April by the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, is a re-interpretation of 190 measurements made between 2003 and 2009 by the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS), a spectrograph on the 3.6-metre La Silla telescope in Chile, which looks for periodic wobbles in a star caused by the tug of its planets. The 2010 announcement from the HARPS team identified five planets, with suggestions of a sixth and seventh. Since the newly detected candidates are still unconfirmed, more research is needed to determine if they are bona fide planets, and not erroneous signals. (via dailygalaxy)

moderation:

Star System With a Record 9 Planets Found

—

The sun-like star, called HD 10180, located approximately 127 light-years away in the constellation Hydrus, is home to a record nine planets, making it  the most populated system of extrasolar planets yet found. In a previous study that was published in August 2010, astronomers identified five confirmed alien worlds and two planetary candidates. If confirmed, the planetary system around ‘HD 10180’ would be the richest-ever discovered. 

The new study confirms both previous candidates in the HD 10180 system, and also suggests that two more planets could be orbiting the star said lead author Mikko Tuomi, at the Centre for Astrophysics Research at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield, UK. “Now that Pluto is not a planet, this system is likely more planet-rich than the Solar System,” says Tuomi.

Tuomi’s analysis, accepted for publication on 6 April by the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, is a re-interpretation of 190 measurements made between 2003 and 2009 by the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS), a spectrograph on the 3.6-metre La Silla telescope in Chile, which looks for periodic wobbles in a star caused by the tug of its planets. The 2010 announcement from the HARPS team identified five planets, with suggestions of a sixth and seventh.

Since the newly detected candidates are still unconfirmed, more research is needed to determine if they are bona fide planets, and not erroneous signals.

(via dailygalaxy)

(via scinerds)

scinerds: Researchers claim quantum breakthrough Researchers say they have designed a tiny crystal that acts like a quantum computer so powerful it would take a computer the size of the known universe to match it. Details of the crystal, which is made up of just 300 atoms, are published today in the journal Nature. “Quantum computing is a kind of information science that is based on the notion that if one performs computations in a fundamentally different way than the way your classical desktop computer works,” says study co-author University of Sydney’s Dr Michael Biercuk. “There’s a huge potential to solve a variety of problems that are very, very hard or near impossible for standard computer.” The crystal simulator uses a property of quantum mechanics called superposition, where a quantum particle appears to be in two distinct states at the same time. This means the particle, known as a qubit, can be used to solve two equations simultaneously. As the number of qubits increase, the number or states increases exponentially. For example, 2 qubits can simultaneously be in 4 states, 3 qubits in 8 states: 2 to the power of n states for n qubits. [Photo Source: Britton/NIST] Read More

scinerds:

Researchers claim quantum breakthrough

Researchers say they have designed a tiny crystal that acts like a quantum computer so powerful it would take a computer the size of the known universe to match it.

Details of the crystal, which is made up of just 300 atoms, are published today in the journal Nature.

“Quantum computing is a kind of information science that is based on the notion that if one performs computations in a fundamentally different way than the way your classical desktop computer works,” says study co-author University of Sydney’s Dr Michael Biercuk.

“There’s a huge potential to solve a variety of problems that are very, very hard or near impossible for standard computer.”

The crystal simulator uses a property of quantum mechanics called superposition, where a quantum particle appears to be in two distinct states at the same time. This means the particle, known as a qubit, can be used to solve two equations simultaneously.

As the number of qubits increase, the number or states increases exponentially. For example, 2 qubits can simultaneously be in 4 states, 3 qubits in 8 states: 2 to the power of n states for n qubits.

[Photo Source: Britton/NIST]

Read More

jtotheizzoe:

The Sky Is Calling Us: A Cinematic Love Letter to Space Exploration

“We will not choose to sit quietly while the cosmos move on.”

Heed this gorgeous call to arms. The question of whether our scientific high water mark is behind us or ahead of us is ours to answer. If you’d like to have your voice heard, go to theskyiscalling.us and sign up to tell Congress you want more of our money dedicated to space exploration and the innovation that comes with it.

(ᔥ Brain Pickings)

(via scinerds)

ichthyologist: CAN YOU SEE ME? | ANIMAL CAMOUFLAGE: Leaf mimics Nature is fascinating, and some of Nature’s best work—or evolution rather—is illustrated by animals that have adapted to mimic leaves. Leaf mimics use an extraordinary type of camouflage to evade detection from predators or prey. These animals mimic leaves by using leaflike color patterns, modified exoskeletons, and cryptic behavior. Click HERE for more amazing leaf mimics!

ichthyologist:

CAN YOU SEE ME? | ANIMAL CAMOUFLAGE: Leaf mimics

Nature is fascinating, and some of Nature’s best work—or evolution rather—is illustrated by animals that have adapted to mimic leaves. Leaf mimics use an extraordinary type of camouflage to evade detection from predators or prey. These animals mimic leaves by using leaflike color patterns, modified exoskeletons, and cryptic behavior.


Click HERE for more amazing leaf mimics!

(via scinerds)

myampgoesto11: Alex Kawazaki Photography - São Paulo, Brazil Specimen: Pupil of a Macrobrachium amazonicum (freshwater prawn) (20x) 11th place Nikon Small World 2006

myampgoesto11:

Alex Kawazaki Photography - São Paulo, Brazil

Specimen: Pupil of a Macrobrachium amazonicum (freshwater prawn) (20x)

11th place Nikon Small World 2006

(via scinerds)

the-star-stuff:

Why does this blue stone have yellow light coming out of it?

You’d expect this cloudy blue glass to throw a blue light onto its surroundings. The light it throws, though, is clearly a bright orange-yellow. Can you guess why?

How can a light change from blue to orange? The Tyndall Effect shines through.

Top Image: Optick

(via scinerds)

micro-scopic: Cryo-SEM image of rapid frozen Barley leaf (Hordeum vulgare) - with Trichomes (hair like structure) and stomata pores on the epidermal surface. Very fine wax crystallites are also visible on the surface of the leaf and in red fungal mildew spores with sprouting fresh infectious tube. A short fungal tube is spreading along a groove formed by adjacent plant cells and not towards the stomata structure. Image: R. Wepf and U. Hässler, Electron Microscopy ETH Zurich

micro-scopic:

Cryo-SEM image of rapid frozen Barley leaf (Hordeum vulgare) - with Trichomes (hair like structure) and stomata pores on the epidermal surface. Very fine wax crystallites are also visible on the surface of the leaf and in red fungal mildew spores with sprouting fresh infectious tube. A short fungal tube is spreading along a groove formed by adjacent plant cells and not towards the stomata structure.

Image: R. Wepf and U. Hässler, Electron Microscopy ETH Zurich

(via scinerds)

The Bizarre Object We Believed Was Impossible to Visualize.

scinerds:

Mathematicians have now visualized abstract mathematical objects called flat tori — items resembling donuts with corrugated, fractal surfaces. These were thought to be impossible to envision in ordinary 3-D space… until now.

To imagine a flat torus, imagine a video game with a wraparound…

(Source: io9.com)

lickystickypickywe: The pistol shrimp competes with much larger animals like the Sperm Whale and Beluga Whale for the title of ‘loudest animal in the sea’. It is distinctive for its disproportionately large claw, (larger than half the shrimp’s body) which does not have pincers at the end. A joint allows the “hammer” part to move backward into a cocking position like a gun. When released, it snaps into the other part of the claw, creating a cavitation bubble capable of stunning fish and breaking small glass jars. amazing video here.

lickystickypickywe:

The pistol shrimp competes with much larger animals like the Sperm Whale and Beluga Whale for the title of ‘loudest animal in the sea’. It is distinctive for its disproportionately large claw, (larger than half the shrimp’s body) which does not have pincers at the end. A joint allows the “hammer” part to move backward into a cocking position like a gun. When released, it snaps into the other part of the claw, creating a cavitation bubble capable of stunning fish and breaking small glass jars.

amazing video here.

(via allcreatures)

itsfullofstars:

Cranking them out tonight…

Other sets in the series:

Our Solar System 1

Our Solar System 2

Deep Space

Early American Manned Spaceflight

- spacedriver

(via scinerds)

allcreatures: An albino killer whale nicknamed Iceberg swims in a pod of 13 orcas near Bering island in the Commander islands in Russia. Picture: E.LAZAREVA/AFP/Getty Images

allcreatures:

An albino killer whale nicknamed Iceberg swims in a pod of 13 orcas near Bering island in the Commander islands in Russia. Picture: E.LAZAREVA/AFP/Getty Images

dvdp: Following Jun Mitani’s flickr photostream of his beautiful origami forms for a while. Check out his own design tool too. Here I found an interview.

dvdp:

Following Jun Mitani’s flickr photostream of his beautiful origami forms for a while. Check out his own design tool too. Here I found an interview.

(via proofmathisbeautiful)

…for the glory of the skies… (Taken with instagram)

…for the glory of the skies… (Taken with instagram)

8bitfuture: Printable solar cells could turn anything into an energy source. A team at MIT has developed a process to ‘print’ solar cells onto almost any surface. Using chemical vapour deposition, the process uses “abundant organic molecules” to convert about 2 percent of the available energy into light. Typical solar panels are around 12-17% efficient, but the team thinks 10% efficiency is achievable. The cost of installing panels keeps many people from adopting solar power, Barr says. By integrating it into ordinary materials, he thinks he can clear that hurdle. “You’re already hanging a curtain in your house,” he says. “Why not add some energy to that?”

8bitfuture:

Printable solar cells could turn anything into an energy source.

A team at MIT has developed a process to ‘print’ solar cells onto almost any surface. Using chemical vapour deposition, the process uses “abundant organic molecules” to convert about 2 percent of the available energy into light. Typical solar panels are around 12-17% efficient, but the team thinks 10% efficiency is achievable.

The cost of installing panels keeps many people from adopting solar power, Barr says. By integrating it into ordinary materials, he thinks he can clear that hurdle. “You’re already hanging a curtain in your house,” he says. “Why not add some energy to that?”

(via scinerds)

NIGHTNIGHT by DEDDY