A mouse’s heart looks like a tornado
It may look like some sort of multicoloured tornado but this image is actually illustrating the muscle fibres (myofibres) of a mouse’s heart. Each fi bre is shown in a different colour to distinguish between each type. The heart is only about one centimetre (0.4 inches) in size and the fibres work using a twisting motion that helps pump the fresh blood through the arteries and around the body.
Elephants have the best smelling sensors
The African bush elephant has come out on top in an investigation to fi nd the best nose in the animal kingdom. The mammal contains 2,000 scent receptors in its sniffer, compared to ‘only’ 1,000 or so in dogs. It is believed that the smell-sensing genes duplicated in the African bush elephant after a previous species division. Reports that the police are hiring newly trained sniffer elephants are unconfirmed…
Face recognition can find your lost dog
The days of putting up posters of your lost pooch are over. Scientists at the University of Utah have made an app that uses facial recognition to help others fi nd your missing pet by uploading a picture to www.FindingRover.com.
Lower testosterone is the key to civilisation
Evidence has shown the human race only began to boom about 50,000 years ago after a signifi cant lowering of testosterone in the human body. The levels of testosterone were measured by analysing the differences in facial shape on many ancient skulls. By curbing their aggression, the brain developed to appreciate art and technology so society and civilisation could begin to fl ourish.
There’s a new diseasedetecting app
It seems there’s an app for everything these days. Now your smartphone can even analyse your very own blood cells! Athelas works by uploading a picture of your blood to its server where in-house experts will study the sample. Using a predictive cell-counting method, the app’s creators have claimed that it can help detect malaria and some types of cancer.
Saturated fats aren’t all bad
Saturated fats get a pretty bad rap most of the time. However, recent research has found that saturated fats in dairy products aren’t as harmful as previously thought and could in fact prevent the onset of type-2 diabetes. This is because they have an odd number of carbon atoms while saturated fats from red meat and fried food contain the devilish even number.
Worms stabilised Earth’s oxygen
A recent study has revealed that we owe burrowing animals much more than we previously thought. By digging into sediment and exposing it to oxygenrich water, the fi rst worms stabilised the amount of oxygen on Earth around 540 million years ago. The newly oxygenated bacteria began to take in more phosphate, which left the environment with more O2. So to only slightly paraphrase the 20-year-old Lion King: Slimy but stabilising…
A wristband can alert us to sunburn
A new UV wristband has been developed that will tell you exactly how long you should spend in the Sun’s rays before you get burnt. When the band is exposed to UV light, an acid-release agent within it decomposes, changing the colour of the band from yellow to pink. When it changes, you’re in danger of getting burnt.
An endangered beetle is rediscovered
A rare insect known as the iridescent tansy beetle has been spotted in Cambridgeshire, England, for the fi rst time since 1973. The critter was thought to only exist in Yorkshire but the Woodwalton Fen National Nature Reserve could now be another potential home for the creepy crawler.
Tidal energy generator comes to Wales
Pembroke Port has become the first place in Wales to have a full-scale tidal energy generator. Installed by Tidal Energy Ltd, it will produce green and sustainable power after a year of testing. Known as the ‘Spirit of the Sea’, the demonstration device will generate 400kW (536hp) and power 100 nearby homes before expanding to a potential 10,000 residences post-testing.
