Science Etcetera, Marsday 20091027

Posted in Science Etcetera on October 27th, 2009

Researchers have discovered a fly that lived 100 million years ago that had a horn topped by three eyes on its head preserved in amber.

Unicorn Fly
Credit: George Poinar

Mantis shrimp can see 10 times as many colors as humans and can see circular polarized light (CPL), which no other creature can see, and these remarkable eyes are now inspiring possible innovations in high-definition media.

Hwang Woo-suk has been convicted of embezzling research funds and illegally buying human eggs for his fraudulent research where he claimed to have cloned a human. He was spared jail time, but is on a form of parole for three years.

Amputees who experience “phantom limbs” were asked to visualize moving the missing limb in impossible ways, and most reported feeling the missing limb accomplishing the impossible.

Tapejara wellnhoferi was a pterosaur whose wings and head crest allowed it to sail in water like a boat.

Tapejara wellnhoferi
Credit: Sankar Chaterjee

Robotics, Galaxy-hunting, and molecular data storage are just a few of PopSci’s profiles of ten geniuses whose innovations could have a significant impact on the world.

Palms flourished in the Antarctic 50 million years ago, which is surprising not only because it means temperatures did not dip below freezing then, but also because the palms would have to survive five months of darkness every year.

The more pain a person appears to experience under torture, the guiltier we perceive them to be.

On October 8th, an asteroid exploded over Indonesia with the force of three atomic bombs, and not one telescope saw it coming.