Showing posts with label biology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label biology. Show all posts

Jurassic Piranha Fossil is Earliest Flesh-Cutting Fish

The fossil of a piranha-like jurassic fish shows a flesh-slicing eating ability. The specimen was the first bony fish to have this capacity. Teeth were much like the South American piranha. However, the ancient creature lived in the ocean not in freshwater. People eat the piranha and say it tastes like other fish.

fossils jurassic piranha-like fish reveal brilliant meat-eating strategy inverse cookie policy website uses cookies ensure experience website learn decline got explore follow science biology share subscribe jurassic flesh eater ingeniously ensured constant supply food finding sheep snarl wolf sarah sloat october 2018 filed animals dinosaurs evolution predator long ago jurassic seas devious fish emerged belonged group called pycnodontids looked different others relatives cobble-shaped teeth slurping insides hard-shelled prey fish long pointed dagger-shaped teeth serrated edges fish flesh chomper write scientists current biology brilliantly ensured always meat eat jaw scientists explain study released thursday wasn’t designed crush cut ancient fossils newly identified species piranhamesodon pinnatomus discovered south german limestone deposits.

victims fish nibbled deep 50 million years ago curious bite patterns victims suggested renewable source meat bloodthirsty fish study co-author martina kölbl-ebert ph.d wrote paper colleagues james cook university australia discovery surprising given scientists knew meat-eating habits jurassic fish stunned fish piranha-like teeth kölbl-ebert finding sheep snarl wolf fish found quarry solnhofen region germany fossil represents earliest record bony marine fish lived fish previously scientists believed bony fishes fed invertebrates swallowed prey whole jurassic era least ancient reef fish something bloodier dinosaurs walking earth dinosaurs fly pterosaurs fish swimming feet tearing fins flesh each co-author david bellwood ph.d computer analysis specimen video revealed jaw morphology shape tooth pattern consistent slicing flesh fins bite marks left victims found fossilized nearby.

suggested preference latter — fossilized fish found same deposit chunks missing fins team believes missing chunks indicate clever hunting practice used p pinnatomus theorize fed predominantly fins fish instead flesh fins regrow — thus ensuring renewable source food analysis piranha-like lower jaw videos scientists discovered bare minimum exercise needed brain boost 39 share video facebook twitter email link copied rewind seconds scientists discovered bare minimum exercise needed brain boost live 00 00 00 40 00 40 closed captions share video videos settings fullscreen videos 02 scientists discovered bare minimum exercise needed brain boost 02 predator final red band trailer insane gore dogs 00 40 analysis piranha-like upper jaw 00 59 animals white camouflage risk standing snowfall declines 02 29 pills examines american obsession adderall 00 06 scientific weightlifters nose bleeds 00 23 wolves work together complete rope task 01 39 first-ever video deep-sea anglerfish sex missionary flashy close analysis jaw biting fish scientists concluded oldest known flesh-eating fish shares remarkable convergent evolution modern piranhas.

today latter found freshwater piranhamesodon pinnatomus living piranhas sometimes bite tear mouthfuls flesh sometimes feed fish fins today it’s estimated 30 60 species piranhas live rivers lakes ranging northern argentina colombia greatest diversity you’ll to amazon river it’s different quarry germany least flesh-eating fish chomping photos james cook university james cook university related stories white americans love genetic testing making easi scared terror fee scientists grew bits human eyeballs dish leonardo da vinci's art roots physical diso physician scientist shares uncovered mysteries single ancestrydna ® test gave insight origins trace back heritage danny paez october 2018 filed maps science chill e time person would ask heritage would simply shrug mom born italian seaside town ancona dad hails quito — mountainous capital ecuador falling love east coast italian peninsula parents settled years swampier peninsula — florida that’s yours truly picture continue reading there's term word repeated loses meaning word word word word word word sarah sloat october 2018 filed experiments human behavior internet culture psychology reddit t’s satisfying thing learn there’s word experience didn’t described word learning example clinomania excessive desire stay bed philocaly.

love beauty enriches mind vocabulary reddit recently united experience discovery phenomenon spoken linguistic classes semantic satiation continue reading coral reefs ideas crazy work weird ideas start sound pretty times peter hess october 2018 filed climate change evolution genetics microsoft oceans weather t dan harrison didn’t idea would taken seriously situations become dire crazy-sounding ideas start sound … pretty plan cloud brightening frankly reads premise sci-fi movie geo-engineering concept literally change sunny skies overcast ones sounds far-fetched great barrier reef weather hacks required it’s creative methods scientists order world’s sensitive important living organisms harrison research fellow sydney institute marine science saw great barrier reef suffering one-two punch back-to-back mass bleaching events 2015 2016 warm water kills coral polyps leaving white skeleton that’s stripped living tissue mass die-offs called bleaching events massive coral system coast queensland australia covers area 33 000 square miles.

wonder natural world warming water temperatures factors remove organic life killed large portions great barrier reef australian researchers reported journal nature last year situation dire harrison growing movement scientists working creative innovative solutions crisis facing world’s coral reefs it’s absolutely shocking dive reef turn white space week past years kind world’s coral reefs climate change warming world’s oceans creating mass bleaching events single heat wave 2016 killed two-thirds corals 29 percent reefs great barrier reef analysis die-offs scientists found clear correlation water temperature bleached coral climate change threat facing coral reefs boats — large yachts cruise ships — regularly damage reefs anchors chains chemical residues water threaten health coral chemicals oxybenzone octinoxate sometimes called octyl methoxycinnamate commonly found sunscreen thought contribute coral bleaching.

july state hawaii banned sunscreen contains oxybenzone chemical harmful coral reefs demonstrated harm caused chemicals scientists aren’t exactly hurt coral response corals related disrupting specific signaling system general stress response ann tarrant ph.d biologist woods hole oceanographic institution studies effects stress coral physiology inverse july knowing exactly what’s going scientists certain enough hawaii imposed ban donna mercado kim hawaii state senator co-sponsored bill called step reef protect deterioration reported spokesman-review we’ve heard challenges facing coral reefs recent years issue building steam decades it’s limited great barrier reef scientists politicians inventive preserve reefs overwhelming odds three ideas executed d.i.y clouds harrison’s cloud brightening idea sounds incredibly simple create clouds block sun reef water temperatures getting hot execution slightly complicated large nozzles spray sea water air large fans propel water higher water rises.

evaporates salt remains stratosphere water vapor condenses salt particles forming clouds great barrier reef receives human-made cloud cover project gained momentum attention australian government needed feasibility studies government funding bespoke equipment harrison colleagues undeterred they’re pushing forward last years show cloud-brightening works cool waters reef enough mitigate nearly bleaching moment obviously progressively less climate change becomes worse harrison tells inverse group consulting teams working cloud brightening project feasibility phase australian government included project reef restoration adaptation program rrap multi-institution project mission preserve great barrier reef future australian government granted million rrap scoping phase inform additional 00 million allocated 2019 sounds money remember great barrier reef provides irreplaceable ecosystem services contributes 6.4 billion australia’s economy it’s alone facing serious threats diagram cloud brightening simple assembling ikea furniture initially spare time weren’t funded work dan harrison there’s threats reefs deal daily basis adding large detrimental effect reef hard stomach erinn muller coral researcher erinn muller ph.d coral reefs don’t easily bounce back loss events disease outbreaks bleaching hot water program manager science director elizabeth moore international center restoration florida keys decline.

gone decades we’ve coral cover loss well-documented last 50 years tells inverse transitioning 50 percent reef covered living corals we’re five percent coral cover disease outbreak wreaking havoc reefs florida keys sloughing living tissue coral leaving bare skeletons matter weeks it’s occurring four years gradually spreading throughout reefs surrounding keys it’s hard there’s threats reefs deal daily basis adding large detrimental effect reef hard stomach hopefully setting precedent whenever there’s outbreak instead monitoring studying death group scientists collaborators we’re taking action try stop grim situation muller heartened cooperation solve problem consortium experts florida assembled share information pathology disease spreading active interventions years research she’s people mobilize literally talk week provide everybody updates we’re studying i’m happy grateful disease outbreak model anything happens future muller looking solution applied larger scale would benefit entire ecosystem people realize evolution efficient rapid mikhail matz past april article published journal plos genetics illustrated team researchers found corals great barrier reef actually adapting warming waters.

continue future mikhail matz ph.d associate professor coral genomics university texas led research matz colleagues demonstrated 2015 paper science heat tolerance genetic trait passed generation generation coral populations carry variations genes genes inevitably coral withstand strange environmental conditions computer modeling suggests genes adapt heat spread throughout entire population generations people realize evolution efficient rapid matz tells inverse genetic models turn accurate coral’s adaptation pace climate change rest century it’s possible corals florida keys develop resistance diseases threatening looks prediction future entirely depend corals able adapt matz genetically modifying coral survive hotter world matz’s research natural adaptive abilities corals leads obvious question genetically modifying corals least speeding process evolution enter so-called assisted evolution lab-grown corals subjected harsh conditions warm acidic waters corals survive harsh conditions considered promising sources future stock revitalizing depleted reefs researchers aren’t ruling — matz isn’t convinced it’s necessary everybody’s asking question main message papers don’t matz based research matz believes assisted evolution crispr-cas9 genome editing method would speed rate coral adapts warming acidifying waters unnecessary coral’s immense capacity rapid efficient natural evolution it’s already play.

don’t create anything resilient corals already spread genes populations matz decades perfect process genetically modifying coral stand hotter polluted waters don’t genes modify don’t traits modify everybody thinks it’s resistance heat it’s resistance temperature range winter summer it’s resistance disease heated stuff ease crispr-cas9 allows scientists edit dna they’re editing research shown finding suitable gene editing target simple traits don’t single gene associated instead there’s usually set genes encode specific characteristics words scientists can’t genetic code coral switch dies hot water gene loves hot water gene matz team found hard paper published april proceedings national academy sciences shows it’s possible genetically modify coral versatile crispr-cas9 gene editing tool traits encoded multiple genes making trickier alter simple physical traits traits successfully altered persisted several cell cycles creating persistent genetic changes populations changes would stick long enough alter future generations wild corals microsoft artificial intelligence coral mapping lightning fast coast indonesia’s sulawesi island microsoft-backed project uses 360-degree cameras artificial intelligence survey reefs helping scientists map analyze corals quickly a.i rapidly analyze photographs coral vastly improved efficiency emma kennedy phd benthic marine ecologist university queensland statement would coral reef scientist minutes takes machine seconds machine learns similar human brain weighing lots minute decisions it’s looking builds picture confident making identification project early stages researchers involved hope yield insights better reef management preservation practices fact project already showed survey areas bounced back quickly expected mass bleaching event would coral reef scientist minutes.

takes machine seconds emma kennedy future future corals depends ability slow pace climate change incredible capacity coral evolve adapt changing ecological conditions thing allowing reefs hold moment scientists harrison muller matz working stem worst effects coral reef loss making progress curbing rate carbon emissions they’re slowing inevitable result climate change environmental degradation it’s going scientists limb pursue inventive ideas i’m confident corals extinct hundred years confidence able hold don’t anything climate change matz reduce carbon emissions stop global warming trend 00 years corals richard mattk1979 g al check ocean thornton vevers wikimedia james toby photos unsplash flickr mote catlin harrison bailhache survey allen hughes dan ocean saved seaview agency xl agency hudson laboratory france paul philanthropies marine matz et reef mikhail christophe follow inverse facebook follow humans facebook follow star wars facebook follow science chill facebook follow inverse flipboard follow inverse apple news watch brain blank facebook sign newsletter sign advertise archive browse privacy commerce terms dmca corrections 2018.

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Cane toad

There are 100 Million Unnamed Species


Biology - 100 million unnamed species exist on the planet.

We know that many species on the planet are dying out. Apparently, we have nothing to fear. Though 2 million species have been named, a massive 100 million more are out there. This does not include currently unnamed bacteria.

Using clear categories will never be an adequate way to name species. Like human gene pools that are blurred across the world it seems that animals are also on a graduated scale, looking alike while being genetically different.

Each living creature is placed in a species category because it has independent evolutionary lineage. A horse and donkey for example are different species, but they both have a common ancestor. If they do breed their offspring are infertile. There is debate about this with claims that some mules have had young. This gets into the argument about Neanderthals breeding with humans when they have a different number of chromosomes. Interbreeding should not be possible.
Brewer's Sparrow
Brewer's Sparrow
The problem with naming is that animals from two species can look virtually identical. The African elephant is a misnomer. There are actually two species: the bush elephant and the forest elephant. One is genetically distinct from the other.
Clay-colored Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Using clear categories will never be an adequate way to name species. Like human gene pools that are blurred across the world it seems that animals are also on a graduated scale, looking alike while being genetically different.
 Biology by Ty Buchanan 
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BIR
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New Fish Species by the Dozen in the Kimberley

Scientists know everything! Unfortunately, they don't. Much is still being discovered. The Kimberley in Western Australia should be called the place of the unknown because new species are being found there all the time.
New species of gudgeon kimberley
New Gudgeon Species
Forays into the Kimberley rivers area have brought to light 16 new species of grunter (Terapontidae), three gudgeons (Electridae) and a hardyhead (Atherinidae). Twelve were found during the first three weeks.
New hardyhead species kimberley
Hardyhead from the Kimberley
Famous people become more famous because they are - well, famous it seems: one of the new species is to be named after the writer Tim Winton. The rest will be given Aboriginal names, after all, there is the little thing about them being the first on this continent.
New grunter species kimberley
Kimberley Grunter
 Biology by Ty Buchanan 
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Wasps Favor Large Size for Sex

Size matters when it comes to sex. When in the orchid world it does anyway! The plants rely on wasps for fertilization. Apparently, male wasps are attracted to the largest orchids. Shape of plants also has a role.
Male wasps visit large orchids to pollinate them
Orchids are a replica of female wasps, in shape and scent. Two orchids who had two kinds of wasps enamored with them were observed. The wasps did visited both types of plants but they spent more time "copulating' with their favored orchid.

Scent is offered to male wasps on little black beads. This only attracts males to the flowers. Once there, shape and size of blooms affects whether wasps stay or go. Orchids also benefits from this because plants with larger flowers are fertilized and they produce the next generation of orchids.
Chemistry by Ty Buchanan
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wasps orchids plants attract fertilization blooms scent smell male female
MALE WASPS GO FOR SIZE

Australia's Exports of Genetic Material is Growing

Animal genetics in Australia is going strong. Exports of genetic material is growing particularly in Columbia, Chile and Mexico. The world generally is its oyster. 
Australian animal genetic exports semen
Semen is the primary export product. Chile imports bovine semen while sheep and goat semen is purchased by Columbia. Latin America is the main market. Australia has a way to go to reach the U.S. and Canada. However, it is quickly catching up.

The quality of Australian beef is high and breeds suit the climate of South America. Sheep and goats are highly regarded. Surprisingly, even canine semen is exported to SA. Embryos are also sent there.
Genetics by Ty Buchanan
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Dangerous Frogs of South America

Though South American animals have been named little is known about many of them. Scientists fell into the trap of taking frogs for granted. They got more than they bargained for.  Aparasphenodon brunoi and Corythomantis greeningi are the first venomous frogs to be identified. The dart frogs have bony spines on their faces that they jab into potential predators.
Venomous toxic frog corythomantis greeningi
Like snakes, the frogs inject a toxin into the body of threats. This is odd really, because the frogs have evolved this defence while having no natural enemies. The target of a frog was Edmund Brodie, a biologist, who suffered intense, radiating pain lasting for over five hours. He was lucky: a gram of this venom can kill 300,000 mice or 80 people. It would take many frogs, though, to make this much toxin.

The attack on the scientist was a glancing blow by C. greeningi, which is not as potent as A. brunoi. The team was not going to test out A. brunoi, however. Another thing was learned by the biologist: when you walk in the jungle don't go around picking things up. You may get a surprise!
Biology  by Ty Buchanan
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Man Still Has a Hunter Gatherer Body

The big debate - has Man evolved to eat anything? Of course, eating everything is a huge claim. Human beings have only lived in large groups for 10,000 years. Is this time enough to evolve to eat processed foods? Personally, I would say no. Even scientists who claim this are misguided. They are believing their own propaganda.
Paleo diet of primitive man hunter gatherers
Evolutionary biologist Marlene Zuk says evolution over the last few thousand years has allowed us to digest milk. Don't be fooled by the expertise claimed by this scientist. It should be remembered that many people especially Asians still cannot consume milk without becoming sick. This evolutionary "benefit" is not yet complete. She also says that the hunter-gatherer diet is not known. This is wrong. A great deal is known about the diet of primitive Man. Study of isolated African tribes shows that women collected tubers and berries while men brought home meat every few days. This did not change for hundreds of thousands of years.

Until the last century most humans lived in sparsely populated regions. Was evolutionary "progress" sufficient to change the dietary capability of people in such a short time? Certainly not! Ms Zuk's claims are rubbish. It has been proved that autism is dietary in nature. Changing a diet improves the well being of a sufferer. Scientists still ignore this proven truth.

Processed food may keep you alive but it makes you suffer as well. High intake of sugar for the general population began in the United States in the early 20th century. The Americans were fatter than the British, for example, at that time due to the sugar. Only the wealthy could afford sugar in 19th century Victorian England.  Unfortunately, the Western diet has spread throughout the whole world. The problem with processed food is that vitamins, minerals, protein and particularly carbohydrates can be concentrated into a product, but toxic elements are concentrated as well. However, we do not know which elements are making us ill. Carbohydrate gives potent amounts of energy, but it also makes us fat if we don't use it.

Biology by Ty Buchanan
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Pheidole Ants Rule the World

Man is not the only animal to dominate the Earth. Pheidole ants have spread over all the livable continents. They are so common that a walk in a tropical forest means some are killed by just stepping forward.

There are 1,200 species of the genus Pheidole. Each has developed to exist in a particular niche of the ecosystem. In a study of 300 species it has been found that certain species evolved similar characteristics independently.

Species proliferated dramatically - from one to 600 species in the Americas. The evolutionary goal was to dominate all niches, first in the New World then in the Old. Expansion across one was independent of the other. Evolution took its own course.

Ants are essential for healthy ecosystems. They aerate the soil, disperse seeds and help move nutrients. In biomass they equate with all vertebrates. Their study is indeed important
Biology by Ty Buchanan
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New Mushroom-Like Organisms found off Australian Coast

There may be alien creature "out there" - Well many believe that there is - but some weird things live on this planet. In the ocean depths of Australia odd living organisms have recently been discovered.

At first glance they look like floating mushrooms. They are not related to fungi though. The creatures are actually flowering plants and vertebrates. Dendrogramma mostly consist of a stomach surrounded by jelly-like skin.

Scientists believe they are the remnants of early life forms which appeared before the life that went on to dominate the Earth. In other words they were a dead end. They are unique, not related in any way to life that eventually became successful across the globe.

There are a lot of new things still continuing their existence at the bottom of the oceans. Many are very specialized living off toxic substances that would kill other organisms. Don't bother to look for life in the stars. Much still awaits discovery beneath our feet.
 Science by Ty Buchanan 
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New Catfish Species in Australia

Carfish are fairly mundane creatures. If you are fishing and you hook one thinking it is a big pike you are annoyed when you drag it in, and "drag" it the defining word. They are usually a dead weight on the line.

On the other hand if you are a biologist all animals are of interest. A combined US, Australia team has discovered a new catfish species in North Queensland. It has a tail like an eel, not the usual fish-like tail. Apparently, people knew of its existence for many years and just assumed it was like any other catfish.

Tandanus tropicanus is cylindrical in body shape. It has a large head and tiny eyes. DNA tests showed that the fish is a distinct species. Overall, its body configuration is different from other catfish.

Unlike many catfish it is good to eat. Fishermen have been catching it for many years for food not knowing how unique it was. Despite the accumulation of human knowledge about the world there is a lot we still do not know about nature.
Biology by Ty Buchanan
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