I ❤ Micaria Sociabilis

Many male spiders are thought to have made a habit of copulating with every female spider that they come across. This is not true. In over 160 laboratory experiences the male spiders have been found to murder the female spiders and consume them. This finding has lead to new discoveries on the mating methods, and daily survival of many spider species. With the astounding percent of 60% female deaths during the male-female encounters, scientists are rethinking the behaviors of spiders, and their evolutionary tendencies.




http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/350369/description/News_in_Brief_Cannibalistic_spiders_may_just_be_choosy_guys

I ❤ Deep-Sea Bone-eating Worms

These bone-eating worms have made a living off of the remains of fallen fish. The real question however is how these worms are able to break down these bones into consumable products. The answer of course is acid. But this discovery reveals a second question. How do these small creatures produce such potent and effective acid? The answer to this is that these worms posses key proteins located in the root like bases that are pumped into the bone, which then secretes the nutritious collagen and fat that is hidden deep within the structure of the bone. Majestic.


http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/350092/description/News_in_Brief_Deep-sea_worms_drop_acid_to_get_dinner

I ❤ Swifts and Hummingbirds

Two of the most agile birds have been found to have a common ancestor. Even though the flight patterns of swifts and hummingbirds vary vastly, they have been found by fossil records to be ancestors of Eocypselus Rowei. The wings on the Eocypselus Rowei were found to be smaller than the swifts, but larger than the hummingbirds. This fossil suggests that the bird could not hover or glide very efficiently. The lack of ability to accomplish these skills suggests that this was a turning point in evolution suggesting that hummingbirds and swifts are very closely related to this bird.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/350048/description/News_in_Brief_Fossil_illuminates_ancestry_of_swifts_and_hummingbirds

I ❤ Egyptian Fruit Bats

Recent studies have uncovered very interesting uses of neurons in the Egyptian Fruit Bat brain. These neurons, otherwise known as place cells have been put to a very curious use in the daily life of the bat. They use these cells to map out 3-D landscapes. Like a dot on a road map, the cells are used to map out the rooms that they have been put in. Scientists recorded these results by strapping brain-wave reading technology onto the heads of the bats, and discovered this amazing evolutionary benefit.
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/349761/description/News_in_Brief_Bats_are_3-D_cartographers

I ❤ Ceramic Fish Cookers

Ancient Japanese pottery has been found that suggests that hunter-gatherers were using vessels such as the pot found to prepare food. The chemical analysis reveals that this pot was used between 11,200 and 15,300 years ago to cook a type of fish. They found it was fish because even though fatty acids don't tend to preserve well, they found small samples that were left within the stains on the inside of the pot. This type of pottery has been questioned for years, and is now just being traced to hunter-gatherer tribes in ancient china.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/349564/description/Pottery_cooked_from_the_start

I ❤ Niumbaha Superba

There's a new genus of bat in town that appears to be striped like a badger. While conducting field research in South Sudan the team found this strange bat by accident on the Bangangai Game Reserve. Once back in America the team found that it was the same bat that had been found in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1939, and had been named under the genus Glauconycteris Superba . After some research they found that this particular bat did not fit into the genus. After hitting a dead end, the team had no other choice than to name a completely new genus of bat. This new genus has now been named Niumbaha Superba.

I ❤ Not Sound

For the first time in history scientists have been able to completely block sound waves from an object with a simple plastic cover. This discovery may lead to very important findings in sound pollution and also allowing ships and submarines to remain unseen. Because they were able to completely block a kind of waves, this opens doors to blocking other waves. This discovery is the beginning of a new innovative world that is able to block any type of wave. This can alter the entire world we see today......seriously

I ❤ Alligator Snapping Turtles

In Florida it has been declared illegal to posses a snapping turtle without a permit. Just this week a man was found with one and was fined and sent to jail after being found with one inside his washing machine. Along with the turtle they also found snakes lizards and other reptiles in the household. Wright, the owner of the house was put into jail after trying to deny the police access to his house. It was not illegal for him to have the other animals, but he did not have a permit for the snapping turtle, and also denied the police entrance to search the premises.

http://www.ksat.com/news/Illegal-snapping-turtle-found-hidden-in-man-s-washer-dirty-laundry/-/478452/19485334/-/33laop/-/index.html

I ❤ Cliff Swallows

Cliff Swallows are known to build small mud huts on cliffs for their young to mature in. Because of the increasing urbanization of our planet the Swallows have made a habit of building their huts underneath bridges. Scientists have been drooling over the "Jaw dropping" drop in Swallow deaths around roadways in the last 30 years. After delving deeper into this conundrum, they have also found the wing span on cliff Swallows to have also dropped drastically..... about the size of a Tic Tac. They have also found that the dead Swallows have ad slightly longer wings. So the conclusion is that the Cliff Swallows have adapted to the copious amounts of traffic by shortening their wings through natural selection so that dodging cars is much easier. So here it is, a shining example of Darwin's theory happening right in front of our faces, and right in our country....The incredibly wonderful United States of America.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/349028/description/Shorter-winged_swallows_evolve_around_highways

I ❤ Tadpoles

Scientists have been attempting to find an answer to the question of whether eyes can be planted on the body, and then utilized. They have finally been able to solve it. 134 tadpoles of the African Clawed Frog species have been experimented on. The scientists grafted eyes onto the tails of the tadpoles, and then removed the eyes. After doing so the tadpoles were put into a pool with blue light areas that were safe, and red areas that would zap the tadpoles with a small amount of electricity. The areas would change so the tadpoles couldn't memorize the locations. They then used the eyes on their tales to avoid the red areas, proving that they were using them. Life-changing.

http://www.livescience.com/27518-tadpoles-sprout-eyeballs-on-tails.html

I ❤ Goldfish

Lake Tahoe, one of the deepest lakes in America has recently become infested with large goldfish. This problem became known during a yearly study of the lake in 2006. Many scientists are seriously concerned on account of these goldfish impacting other native wildlife in the lake.  "Goldfish are very good at getting what they need. They can potentially compete with native fish for food, vegetation and bugs". Additionally goldfish consume a lot of food in a very little amount of time. This presents another factor of their excrement which will ultimately pollute the water. Multiple attempts have been taken to stop them, like electrocuting the water. This has proved futile against the majestic fish.

http://topnews.ae/content/214904-invasion-goldfish-lake-tahoe-worries-researchers

I ❤ Plumage

Rock pigeons are abundant in the world. Therefore there are many breeds of rock pigeons that are slightly different from one another. There is also a single gene among them that causes prominent ruffles in certain parts of their plumage. Scientists have been able to pinpoint a single gene that causes this. Finding this gene is important because it is proof that scientists can pinpoint certain genes that can pertain to a broad selection of traits among the Aves class. Now they can begin to pick apart what makes feather color, and other displays that can link different bird species together, therefore supplying a good environment to discover why some ornamentation is similar between different bird species.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/347984/description/Pigeons_prominent_plumage_traces_to_one_gene

I ❤ wrinkly hands

So everybody thinks that pruned hands come from water seeping into the skin, it is actually  nerve response. It allows the skin to wrinkle. But why would humans have that? Well many experiments were executed and supplied the solution that wrinkled hands/fingers transport wet objects much more inefficiency then the standard hand form. Branching off of the hand wrinkles it is also believed that the toes also wrinkle because they would supply sure footing on slick surfaces. This find brings us into touch with our past and creates an interesting window into why our hands get super gross every time we go swimming.



http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/347439/description/Pruney_digits_help_people_get_a_grip

I ❤ Baby Sharks

Scientists have recently uncovered that baby sharks can sense and react to danger before they are even born. For example an embryonic bamboo sharks freeze in response to the dangers. What happens is that the shark is able to pick up the electrical fields released by the predators and therefore are able to react accordingly. Scientists began by taking captive bamboo shark eggs and presenting electrical fields or simply movement near them while underwater, and they froze in place so as not to attract attention.





http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/01/baby-sharks-can-sense-danger/

I ❤ White Throated Sparrows

Much like humans react to music birds react to the sound of surrounding bird calls. It has recently been found that birds react and display emotions while listening to other birds sing. For example during mating season the female sparrow will react to the male sparrows song as though it was soothing and pleasant music to a human.There are signs in the amygdala (The brains emotion center) of strong emotions when they hear possible female mates, and different emotions when hearing a competitive male singing nearby. Because of hormonal changes in the bodies of these birds they perceive the songs differently than the standard song.


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/01/science/birds-found-to-have-emotional-reactions-to-song.html?ref=science&_r=0