Study finds parrots use their heads as a 'third limb'

No vertebrate (fish, mammal, bird, reptile, or amphibian) has ever had an odd number of limbs. Despite this "forbidden phenotype," some animals seem to use other body parts as a third or fifth "limb" to move from one place ...

Pollen stays on bee bodies right where flowers need it for pollination

After grooming, bees still have pollen on body parts that match the position of flower pollen-sacs and stigmas, according to a study published September 6, 2017 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Petra Wester from Heinrich-Heine-University, ...

Lifelike wobble thanks to new software

The cartoon characters so loved by young and old audiences alike are becoming increasingly lifelike. In order for them to look realistic, animators invest a lot of time in making a fat belly wobble as naturally as possible ...

Exploring the details of a German mummy collection

Researchers at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany have carried out the first comprehensive analysis of some 20 mummy fragments from collections in the University's archives and have presented their findings in Annals ...

Using the placenta to understand how complex organs evolve

Considering how different they look from the outside, it might be surprising that all vertebrates – animals with a backbone – share the same, conserved set of organs. Chickens, fish, human beings – all have hearts, ...

'Frankenstein design' enables 3D printed neutron collimator

The time-tested strategy of "divide and conquer" took on a new, high-tech meaning during neutron experiments by scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. They discovered that the problems they ...

Knobbly knees in competition with fingerprints

Forget digital fingerprints, iris recognition and voice identification, the next big thing in biometrics could be your knobbly knees. Just as a fingerprints and other body parts are unique to us as individuals and so can ...

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