127 results found.
... a homing instinct. But snails? Taxonomically lowly molluscs? But read this letter to the London Times. "For ten days I have tried to banish a large snail which threatens soon-toemerge seedlings. Each day the snail gets lobbed into long grass of a nearby paddock and each night it quits the paddock, crosses a concrete driveway and returns to lurk under its favourite rock. There is no question of mistaken identity because its shell was marked with white paint after the first return trip." (Roberts, M.I .L .; "Snail Tale," London Times, May 21, 1999. Cr. A.C .A . Silk.) References. Human homing capabilities (BHT18 in Humans I); other mammals (BMT2 in Mammals I); birds (BBT5 in Birds). Snail heading home! From Science Frontiers #125, SEP-OCT 1999 . 1999-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... one Y chromosome), part female (two X chromosomes). This hermaphrodite-like condition apparently developed because "he" was conceived via in vitro (IVF) fertilization. Probably both a male embryo and a female embryo were transferred to "his" mother's uterus, where they fused and formed a single fetus. (Anonymous; "Two into One," New Scientist, p. 21, January 24, 1998. Cited source: The New England Journal of Medicine, 338:166, 1997.) Comments. We have already cataloged two similar conditions: Human blood-chimeras, where one person has two types of blood due to the absorption of one fetus by its twin, each having different blood types. (BHC15 in Biological Anomalies: Humans II) Birds that are female on one side and male on the other (bilateral gynandromorphism). (BBA1 in our forthcoming Biological Anomalies: Birds) From Science Frontiers #116, MAR-APR 1998 . 1998-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... do not seem to be recognized by science. His list is based upon his collection of 20,000 references. Obviously we cannot reproduce all his descriptions here, but we will pass along three of the most interesting. A dolphin with two dorsal fins, both curved backwards, the anterior one set on the forehead like a horn. The first observation was apparently by Mongitore in the Mediterranean. During the Uranie and Physicienne expedition, Quoy and Gaimard reported a whole school of them between the Sandwich Islands and New South Wales. They were spotted black and white. Hairy "wild men," known as satyrs in classical antiquity. These were probably Neanderthals that survived into historical times. The most recent sightings were in 1774, in the Pyrenees, and 1784, in the Carpathians. Giant birds of prey in North America -- the famous "thunderbirds." Observers put the wingspans between 10 and 16 feet, making thunderbirds much larger than the Andean condor. Reports have come in from all over the southern United States. Some remains of these carnivorous birds have been dated at 8,000 years. (Heuvelmans, Bernard; "Annotated Checklist of Apparently Unknown Animals with Which Cryptozoology Is Concerned," Cryptozoology, 5:1 , 1986.) Comment. Although Heuvelmans has a file of 20,000 references, formal scientific recognition usually requires specimens, or something better than testimony. Reference. The subject of cryptozoology is covered in BHU and BMU in our catalogs: Biological Anomalies: Humans III and Biological Anomalies: Mammals II, respectively. For ordering information, visit: ...
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... . Well, both sexes can play these games. Some females have ways to eject sperm from undesired males. For example, female feral fowl (hens gone wild!) prefer to mate with dominant males. Often, however, subdominant males force themselves on the females despite resistance and stress calls. The female response to such rapes is differential sperm ejection; that is, they immediately expel the unwanted ejaculate -- at least most of it -- raising the probability that they will be fertilized by the preferred dominant males. (Pizzeria, T., and Birkhead, T.R .; "Female Feral Fowl Eject Sperm of Sub-dominant Males," Nature, 405:787, 2000.) Comment. An interesting sort of sperm ejection occurs among Dunnocks, small brown birds common in English gardens. Alpha males try to prevent matings by lower-ranking males but are rarely successful. Most Dunnock matings are preceded by a ritual-like phenomenon called "cloaca-pecking." The female raises her tail exposing the cloaca. Instead of mating, the anticipating male pecks at the cloaca, an action that stimulates a pumping action and ejection of a droplet of sperm from previous matings. After the male inspects the droplet, normal mating follows. This bizarre scenario required the coordinated evolution of two different kinds of behavior (male and female) as well as the development of the female's sperm-ejection mechanism. See BBB23 in Biological Anomalies: Birds . From Science Frontiers #131, SEP-OCT 2000 . 2000 William R. Corliss Other Sites of ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 99: May-Jun 1995 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Biological precursors of the 1995 kobe earthquake The Japanese are meticulous observers of animals. Many keep birds, insects, fish, etc. as pets. When scientists at the Osaka City University asked for reports of unusual animal behavior around the time of the great January 17 quake, over 1,200 people in the Kobe-Osaka area came forth with anecdotes. Some typical pre-quake observations were: Doves flying into walls. Caged birds (Chinese hawk-cuckoos) flying against the sides of their cages. Fish rising to the surface in great numbers. At the port of Shioya, "millions" of gizzard shad turned the surface of the water into silver. Captive stag beetles and turtles emerging from hibernation. And strangest of all, silkworms and fish in ponds orienting themselves in the same directions. (Minami, Shigehiko; "Creatures Went a Bit Batty, Maybe Knew Quake Was Coming," Asahi Evening News, February 25, 1995. Cr. N. Masuya) Cross reference. Many luminous phenomena were also seen. For descriptions of so-called "earthquake lights" refer to GLD8 in our catalog Lightning, Auroras, etc. It is listed here . From Science Frontiers #99, MAY-JUN 1995 . 1995-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 44: Mar-Apr 1986 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Evolving on half a wing (and a prayer?)Just about everyone agrees that half a wing is of little use to an animal "straining" to develop the capability of flight. So, how did the marvelously crafted wings of birds, insects, and mammals evolve in infinitesimal steps? Biologists, including Darwin himself, have long puzzled over this. Stephen Jay Gould in a recent article explores a currently favored way of circumventing the negligible additional survival value of half a wing, or even 90% of a wing. This solution (? ) maintains that protowings were not "intended" for flight at all but were developed initially as aerodynamic stabilizers, thermoregulatory systems, sexual attractors or other functions requiring large areas. Gould describes the experiments of Kingsolver and Koehl in which protowings were modelled and tested for their thermoregulatory and flight values. Surprisingly, there was a sharp transition, as the size of the protowing increased, from good thermoregulation but poor flight capability to the reverse -- good flight capability and poor thermoregulation. In other words, a structure developed for one purpose, if enlarged, might be useful for something else! (Gould, Stephen Jay; "Not Necessarily a Wing," Natural History, 94:14, October 1985. See also: Lewin, Roger, "How Does Half a Bird Fly?" Science, 230:530, 1985.) Comment. The work of Kingsolver and Koehl ...
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... the slit. Thus, cats and snakes hunting close to the ground can better detect their prey over a wide horizontal field. But how about the horses, goats and other grazing animals that must keep their eyes open for predators across a wide horizon? Pupils with horizontal slits would seem to defeat this purpose. Ah, but when they lower their heads to graze, their vertical pupils become horizontal. Simple! (Anonymous; "Eye to Eye," New Scientist, p. 85, December 11, 1999.) Comments. But puzzles remain, otherwise we wouldn't address this subject. (1 ) Some snakes have round pupils (as in the illustration) having apparently been subjected to different environmental forces; (2 ) Of all the 9,000+ species of birds, only the skimmers own pupils with vertical slits. You would expect ground-feeding birds like robins and larks to also have them; (3 ) Most interesting are the cuttlefish with pupils shaped like Ws. That's a tough one. Some snakes, the grass snakes, for example, have round pupils. From Science Frontiers #130, JUL-AUG 2000 . 2000 William R. Corliss Other Sites of Interest SIS . Catastrophism, archaeoastronomy, ancient history, mythology and astronomy. Lobster . The journal of intelligence and political conspiracy (CIA, FBI, JFK, MI5, NSA, etc) Homeworking.com . Free resource for people thinking about working at home. ABC dating and personals . For people looking for relationships. Place your ad free. ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 66: Nov-Dec 1989 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology Found: the lost pyramids of rock lake DOUBTS ABOUT TWO RITUALLY RECITED THEORIES Astronomy GLOBULAR CLUSTERS UPSET THEORY OF GALAXY FORMATION Down with the big bang NEPTUNE SPINS TOO FAST AND ITS MAGNETIC FIELD IS AWRY Biology The bird that smells like cow manure Army ants: a collective intelligence? The babirusa: a quasi-ruminant pig A BAT FALL Care for a cup of viruses? Geology DRUMLINS MAY RECORD CATASTROPHIC FLOODS STRANGE BLUE POOL FOUND AT THE BOTTOM OF CRATER LAKE Biogenic minerals Geophysics Rogue waves Psychology MEMORY STRUCTURE OF AUTISTIC IDIOT SAVANTS Was burt stitched up? General Cold fusion died only in the media ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 70: Jul-Aug 1990 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology A RELUCTANT, LONG-OVERDUE PARADIGM SHIFT Astronomy "TAIL WAGS DOG" IN SOLAR SYSTEM Two anomalous types of stars Tilted planetary magnetic fields Biology Killer bamboos Killer whale dialects Wandering albatrosses really wander Crystal engineering Bird brain Artificial molecule shows 'sign of life' Geology Why aren't beach pebbles round? Antarctic ice sheets slipping? Natural gas explosion? Geophysics Double image of lunar crescent Elliptical halos Belgian flying triangle Lightning "attacks" vehicles Spinning ball of light inscribes crop circles General Successful predictions mean little in science ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 72: Nov-Dec 1990 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology The clovis police Birds of burden Astronomy Nature, hypothesis, and the big bang At last, a theory of everything! Biology 1989 SIGHTINGS OF OGOPOGO Hypermutation rather than Geology Baikal's deep secrets Is the arctic ice cover thinning? Impact crater beneath lake huron Wagnerian sands of the desert Geophysics Icy minicomets not so dead! CROP CIRCLE UPDATE: WHAT ARE "THEY" TRYING TO TELL US? UPWARDLY DIRECTED LIGHTNING FROM CLOUD TOPS Psychology HYPNOTIC SUGGESTION SUPERIOR TO SALICYLIC ACID General The belgian flying triangle updated ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 74: Mar-Apr 1991 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Echidna Eccentricities Monotremes: platypus (below); one of two species of echidnas (above) The echidna is one of the monotremes-- an egg-laying mammal. Like its relative, the platypus, it is a strange mixture of mammalian, marsupial, and reptilian characteristics. For example, echidna eggs are soft and leathery, like those of reptiles, but they are brooded in a marsupial-like pouch. The emerging baby echidna has an egg tooth like the birds and reptiles, while the adult has no teeth at all. Rather, it has a narrow snout through which it ingests ants and termites caught on its sticky tongue. In this it resembles the mammalian ant-eaters, which are also toothless but an ocean away from Australia. In fact, the echidna is often called a "spiny anteater" for it has the sharp spines of a hedgehog or porcupine. There are more anatomical peculiarities, but let us focus on the echidna's strange behavior during the mating season. At this time, 2 to 8 echidnas can be seen roaming the Australian bush in "trains" headed by a female with the smallest male acting as a caboose. When mating time arrives, the female anchors herself to a tree with her forelegs. To-gether the males dig a circular "mating rut" up to 10 inches deep around the tree. (Australians have puzzled over these circular trenches for years. ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 77: Sep-Oct 1991 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology PLIOCENE SCULPTURES OR FREAKS OF NATURE? A PAPER TRAIL FROM ASIA TO THE AMERICAS Astronomy Mercury: the impossible planet Eclipse shadow-band anomalies Biology Supernova theory exploded NO UNKNOWN MONSTERS IN THOSE FIJI UNDERWATER CAVES: NEVERTHELESS, THE MYSTERY DEEPENS DO BIRDS USE GENETIC MAPS DURING MIGRATION? Cooler heads, bigger brains? The aye-aye, a percussive forager identical Geology VALLEYS OF DEATH AND ELEPHANT GRAVEYARDS Anthracite man? METHANE HYDRATE: PAST FRIEND OR FUTURE FOE? The gruyerizaton of switzerland faulting Geophysics CROP CIRCLES: DAISY PATTERNS AND A RED BALL OF LIGHT Hovering ball of fire SOME OLD GEYSERS ARE NOT SO FAITHFUL WATER'S MEMORY OR BENVENISTE STRIKES BACK Physics Drip, drop, drup, dr** ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 79: Jan-Feb 1992 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Spooky Spike The readers of New Scientist continue to supply delightful observations of Nature's quirks. The following is from J. Turner, in Warwickshire: I have in my garden a round red plastic container which holds water for the birds. In last winter's first hard frost, I found an odd ice formation in the bowl. Although the weather the previous day had been clement and the water was fluid, we had that night a sharp frost down to about -4 C. The following morning I noticed what appeared to be something sticking up out of the frozen water in the dish. On closer examination, it proved to be a solid 'spike' of ice, ending in an arrowhead. The ice was solid and came out of the side of the frozen water at an angle of about 45 . It was about 9 inches long and solid throughout." (Turner, Judy; "Spooky Spike," New Scientist, p. 54, November 2, 1991.) Two weeks later, the same journal published two radically different explanations of the ice spike. G. Lewis called the spike an "ice fountain" and stated that it is due to the well-known expansion of water as it freezes. R. Blumen-feld, on the other hand, attributed the growth of the spike to the fact that water molecules on the surface and in surrounding air are electrical dipoles. ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 81: May-Jun 1992 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Biological Evidence For Two Very Early New World Contacts Talking turkeys? Did the Vikings ship American turkeys back to Europe circa 1010 AD from their reputed colonial foothold in Massachusetts? Some radical archeologists think so, pointing to two old depictions of turkey-like birds from Precolumbian Europe. The upper figure was painted on a wall in Schleswig Cathedral about 1280. The lower sketch is reputed to be from the Bayeux Tapestry, which dates back to 1066-1077. (Anonymous; "Talking Turkey," Fortean Times, no. 61, p. 27, February-March 1992.) Comment. The Bayeux Tapestry turkey, in particular, questionable. In fact, a careful search has not found it! See: SF#103. An archeological hot potato! Mangaia is a small volcanic island in the Cook Island group. During the excavation of a rock shelter on this island, large fragments of sweet potato were discovered. These were subsequently carbondated at about 1000 AD. "The prehistoric transferral of this South American domesticate into Polynesia obviously raises issues of cultural contact between the coast of South America and the Polynesian Islands. In our view, the most likely transferrors would have been the seafaring Polynesians, on a voyage of exploration to South America and return." (Hather, Jon, and Kirch, P.V .; "Prehistoric Sweet Potato ( Ipomoea batatas ) from Mangaia Island, Central Polynesia," Antiquity, ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 81: May-Jun 1992 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Latte Stones When one thinks of megaliths, Stonehenge, Carnac, and the other classic sites of Europe come to mind. In actuality, megalithic ruins of sorts are to be found almost everywhere. In Oceania, for example, we have the Latte Stones found decorating many of the Mariana Islands in Micronesia: "Looking a bit like immense bird-baths, the Latte are shaped like truncated pyramids (halenges) capped with enormous hemispherical stones (tasas). They range in height from 5 to 20 feet with circumferences of up to 18 feet and weights that have been estimated at up to 30 tons. The columns are found throughout the Marianas, usually in double rows of up to six stones." Are the Latte Stones burial monuments or, as some are convinced, merely supports for the dwellings important personages in ancient Micronesia? But why would anyone build a house 20 feet above the ground? Even the Micronesians scoff at the idea. Instead they attribute the Latte Stones to the taotaomona, the spirits of the "before-time" people! The Latte Stones are so old that even when Magellan discovered the Marianas in 1521, no one remembered what they had been used for. (Davis, Esther Payne; "The Strange Latte Stones of Guam," World Explorer , 1:23, Spring/Summer 1992.) Reference. Scientific opinions concerning the Latte stones can be found in our handbook: Ancient ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 85: Jan-Feb 1993 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology Clams before columbus Europe's mystery people Astronomy Heavy traffic in near-earth space WHY INTELLIGENT LIFE NEEDS GIANT PLANETS Biology Biology's big bang Singing caterpillars The lures of mussels WHEN A BIRD IN THE HAND IS WORSE THAN TWO IN THE BUSH Growth spurts in children GEOMAGNETIC STORMS AND HUMAN HEALTH Our chemical brain Geology Biogeology Two tsumani tales Geophysics A PARADE OF SPINNING PHOSPHORESCENT WHEELS BALL LIGHTNING PUNCHES CIRCULAR HOLE IN WINDOW Unclassified Three views of mortality Electronic channeling ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 87: May-Jun 1993 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Uniqueness Of Human Adolescence What major biological characteristics separate humans from other animals? The usual list begins with our large brain and bipedality, but these features are shared with dolphins and birds, respectively. Even our peculiar reproductive biology (permanent breasts, continuous sexual receptivity of both sexes, etc.) no longer seem so unique, particularly after reading about the antics of the bonobos (pygmy chimps)! But wait! No other animal, even the other primates, go through adolescence. That time period between puberty and the attainment of adult stature turns out to be something uniquely human. The great puzzle of adolescence, according to B. Bogin, is its evolutionary origin. What possible advantage does adolescence confer on humans in the battle for survival? To the contrary, skipping the teens would appear to be an advantage in the survivability of parents! One guess is that adolescence -- all 8 or so years of it -- is required for the development of the complex social skills needed by adults. (Bogin, Barry; "Why Must I Be a Teenager at All?" New Scientist, p. 34, March 6, 1993.) From Science Frontiers #87, MAY-JUN 1993 . 1993-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 93: May-Jun 1994 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology The spirit pond inscription stone Molecular clock places humans in new world 22,000-29,000 bp Astronomy Anomalous horizon glows seen on the moon From dust unto dust Biology Marine snow A REALLY ERRANT PIGEON A REALLY ERRANT SEAL Cold-blooded birds? Why snakes have forked tongues Lactating male bats Geology The nebraska sand hills: wind or water deposits? The giant crystal at the heart of the earth Geophysics Strange explosions at sasovo, in russia Just plane weird Psychology The healing of rents in the natural order Mathematics Btt and surreality ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 93: May-Jun 1994 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects A REALLY ERRANT PIGEON Two years ago, a racing pigeon, owned by Londoner W. Pope, disappeared during a 556-mile race from southern France to Western England. Just recently, this bird fluttered into a pigeon loft in Beijing! (Anonymous; "British Pigeon, Missing 2 Years, Lands in Beijing," Baltimore Sun, March 25, 1994.) From Science Frontiers #93, MAY-JUN 1994 . 1994-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 97: Jan-Feb 1995 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology The "inscribed wall" at chatata, tennessee Whence the 200,000 logs of chaco canyon? Astronomy How can some stars be older than the universe itself? Did the universe have a beginning? Solar-system puzzles Biology Fruit dupe Possible survival of giant sloths in south america The early (and persistent) insect catches the bird! Geology The earth's most common topographical feature: abyssal hills The 627-foot water slide between australia and india The age of fire and gravel Geophysics Football-sized snowflakes A LINE IN THE SEA Rubber duckies chase nike shoes across pacific Psychology A MAJOR STUDY OF DOWSING Mentally influencing the structure of water Does the past influence the future? ...
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... superficially featureless Pacific. How did these peoples, a thousand years ago, sail reliably from one speck of land to another, thousands of miles distant? The archeology of Oceania confirms that the Polynesians made such voyages centuries before they learned about compasses and navigation satellites. But were these voyages anomalous; that is, did the Pacific peoples possess devices or talents unrecognized today by mainstream science? For the most part, the answer seems to be NO. While the navigational abilities of the Polynesian seafarers seemed supernatural to early European explorers, it has been convincingly demonstrated -- through modern voyages -- that the senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch, and time-passage are and were sufficient for most interisland voyages. The early Pacific navigators were adept at observing the waves, stars, birds, clouds, winds, and several other natural phenomena that carry subtle directional cues. There are, however, modern instances in which Pacific navigators bereft of the usual sensory cues seem to employ an anomalous "sense." B. Finney, in his study of the possibility of human magnetoreception, tells how one native Hawaiian navigator, though wellschooled in traditional Polynesian navigational techniques, conquered the dread doldrums on a 3,000mile voyage from Hawaii to Tahiti in a way we might call "psychic.". In the doldrums, the sky is often overcast and the seas leaden, expunging the usual cues. This particular navigator, Nainoa Thompson, entered the doldrums on a black night, with 100% cloud cover. The wind was switching around and the waves cueless. Nainoa's ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 103: Jan-Feb 1996 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Two Probable Frauds That turkey on the Bayeux Tapestry. Fortunately, we added a caveat when we mentioned this turkey (see sketch) in SF#81. If said turkey really appears on the Bayeux Tapestry, which dates back to the Eleventh Century, it would clearly indicate Precolumbian contact with the New World. However, careful study of a copy of the Tapestry has failed to find this typically New World bird anywhere. (Sørensen, Erik Ringdal; personal communication, November 2, 1995) That crystal skull in the British Museum. Considered a first-class anomaly, this compelling artifact is carved out of hard crystalline quartz. It is said to exert an eerie effect on its viewers. Some say it was carved by the Atlanteans, but the Aztecs are generally credited with this amazing job of manufacture. The big puzzle is: How could the Aztecs have done it without modern lapidary tools -- the skull is so smooth and perfect? Well, maybe the Aztecs didn't carve it! A. Rankin, of Kingston University, has examined the tiny trails made by fluid inclusions in the quartz matrix. He finds that they are characteristic of Brazilian quartz. In fact, there seem to be no suitable sources of massive quartz crystals anywhere in Mexico; and the Aztecs do not appear to have made any incursions into Brazil. Even worse, British Museum experts have now found small cuts made by steel tools on ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 121: Jan-Feb 1999 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects October 5, 1998: Dark Day for Homing Pigeons Just what happened on October 5 may never be known. On that day thousands of homing pigeons were released by their proud owners in widely separated locations expecting they would quickly race home to their lofts. Few made it. In three separate races in New York and Pennsylvania, a total of 4,000 birds were released on October 5. Only 400 returned home. 3,000 pigeons released in California on the same day are still missing. All over the planet, homing pigeons are not homing as well as they used to. Performance has been falling steadily over the past two decades. The favorite theory blames geomagnetic storms, but no such correlation has been shown. Microwaves are fingered next. Cell phones and satellite communications fill the atmosphere ever more densely with microwaves that may throw off the navigation equipment of homing pigeons, but this hasn't been demonstrated yet either. (Ensley, Gerald; "Case of the 3,600 Disappearing Homing Pigeons Has Experts Baffled," Chicago Tribune, October 18, 1998. Cr. J. Cieciel. Also: Schoettler, Carl; "Pondering the Great Homing Pigeon Panic," Baltimore Sun, October 18, 1998.) From Science Frontiers #121, JAN-FEB 1999 . 1999-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 124: Jul-Aug 1999 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Fall Of Hot Globules January 6, 1909. Santa Cruz, California. "It rained hot bird shot at Santa Cruz today for nearly an hour, according to Mrs. W.H . Burns and her neighbors. Some of the shot has been preserved. "Mrs. Burns's curiosity was aroused yesterday by the peculiar antics of a number of barefooted children who were playing in front of her house. When she asked them what was the matter they told her that the air was full of electricity and that hot shot was falling from the clouds. "Then she heard a clatter on the housetop like hail and saw little white threads of steam rising from neighboring roofs. The steam was found to be the result of the dropping of little hot globules on the damp shingles. "This peculiar rain continued from about 3 to 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and varied in intensity. At one time the children, who were bareheaded and unshod, were compelled to take cover." (Anonymous; "Hot Shot from the Sky," New York Times, January 7, 1909. Cr. M. Piechota.) From Science Frontiers #124, JUL-AUG 1999 . 1999-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 10: Spring 1980 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology A Sun-and-spiral Clock Astronomy Io's Electrical Volcanos Double Hubble: Age in Trouble Biology Chinese Hunt Red-haired Bigfoot The Universal Urge to Join Up Why Birds Are Pretty Dynamic DNA Geology Cosmic Death Waves The Nuclear Threat: Bad Dates Geophysics Homing in on the Hum Ice-flake Fall Long-delayed Radio Echoes Luminous Ripples Move Through the Night Sky Psychology Bend Interferometers Not Spoons ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 13: Winter 1981 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Human Compass In recent years, scientists have found magnetic material (magnetite) in birds, snails, porpoises, bacteria, and other animals. The utility of these biologically manufactured compasses is obvious. Humans, too, seem to have a magnetic sense, although no one has yet dissected the human head to search for magnetite crystals. Rather, the proof of a magnetic sense comes from direction-finding experiments by Robin R. Baker, in England. In a series of tests involving many subjects, blindfolded humans have been taken far afield and then asked, while still blindfolded, to point "home" and north. The results were surprising. Sense of direction was not lost despite long journeys. Furthermore, tests after removal of the blindfolds showed a marked deterioration of the directionfinding ability. The attachment of magnets and simulated magnets to the subjects proved that the magnets upset di-rection-finding capabilities. The controls with brass "magnets" retained their magnetic sense. (Baker, Robin R.; "A Sense of Magnetism," New Scientist, 87:844, 1980.) Reference. To read more about the human navigation sense, see BHT18 in our Catalog: Biological Anomalies: Humans I. This book is described here . From Science Frontiers #13, Winter 1981 . 1981-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 27: May-Jun 1983 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects A COMPASS IN OUR SINUSES?You may not feel any north-directed nasal twinges, but the thin hard bones lining the human sinuses contain deposits of magnetic ferric iron. This discovery adds man to a long list of organisms from bacteria to birds known to possess localized accumulations of magnetic material. Experiments with these animals, including humans, seem to indicate a widespread ability to detect ambient magnetic fields. Some animals appear to use this sense for navigation. Whether humans do or do not is still a moot question. (Baker, Robin R., et al; "Magnetic Bones in Human Sinuses," Nature, 301: 78, 1983.) From Science Frontiers #27, MAY-JUN 1983 . 1983-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 28: Jul-Aug 1983 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology Romans in Rio? Nazca Figures Duplicated Astronomy Beautiful Objects, Beautiful Theories The Better, Bigger Big Bang The Foamy Cosmos Chiron: the Black Sheep of the Solar System Biology Memory in Food-hoarding Birds Evolution by Numbers Geology The Alaskan Jigsaw Puzzle Hope for Atlantis? Bones of Contention Land Animals: Earlier and Earlier Geophysics Ball Lightning with Bizarre Structure Psychology Different Personalities: Different Brainwaves ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 30: Nov-Dec 1983 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Hot Plants You've heard of hot potatoes, but they aren't naturally hot. However, in the early spring skunk cabbages are and so are some philodendrons during their flowering periods. In fact, some philo-dendrons burn fat to generate their heat, just like animals. Metabolism based on fats allows some philodendrons to reach temperatures of 124 F. In terms of their rates of metabolism, they rival those of the humming birds. Further-more, philodendrons can regulate their chemical fires, whereas skunk cabbages, which burn only starch, consume all their stored energy like a rocket in one snow-melting crescendo. Why do plants generate heat? Apparently to attract pollinating insects. The hot skunk cabbage poking through the snow is the only food in sight for early spring insects, while the philodendrons may attract pollinating insects who like to bask or mate in warm places. (Blakeslee, Sandra; New York Times, August 9, 1983, p. C4. Cr. P. Gunkel) Comment. Are plants really "lower" forms of life? From Science Frontiers #30, NOV-DEC 1983 . 1983-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 33: May-Jun 1984 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects California Sea Serpent Flap During October and November 1983, several sightings of a dark, eel-like creature came from the California coast. (Stinson Beach, north of San Francisco, and Costa Mesa). Three humps (just like in the classic sea serpents on old maps) followed a small head, which rose above the surface to look around. Many individuals saw the serpent, some with binoculars. At Stinson Beach, the animals was followed by about 100 birds and two dozen sea lions. (Anonymous; "' Sea Serpents' Seen off California Coast," International Society of Cryptozoology Newsletter, 2:9 , Winter 1983.) Comment. Of the vertebrates, only mammals are built so that they can easily flex vertically. Reference. We catalog mammalian "sea serpents" under BMU in Biological Anomalies: Mammals II. For more information on this book, visit: here . From Science Frontiers #33, MAY-JUN 1984 . 1984-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 137, Sep-Oct 2001 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology Alaska's "Mummy People", Where they Ainus? Granite-Working in Ancient Egypt Astronomy The Ashen Light of Venus Martian "Flares" Solar Model Confirmed, But Standard Model Crippled Biology Bird's Eggs as Information Carriers Unexpected Signals Within Life Forms Mysterious Losses and Acquisitions of Color Vision Geology Fuzz in the Climate Record The Missing Helium Geophysics The Long Reach of the Hawaiian Islands The Ship-Swallowers An Expanding Semicircle of Light in the Night Sky Psychology Phantom Bodies Sex and TGA Unclassified Something Rotten at the Core of Science Luck or Fate? ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 39: May-Jun 1985 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Upside-down animals Stephen Jay Gould's recent essay, "The Flamingo's Smile," like all his writing, is thought-provoking. The essay goes far beyond the happy flamingo. It is about unusual adaptations in nature, as illustrated by three inverted or partially inverted creatures. The flamingo is a filter-feeder that strains food out of the water with its bill while its head is upside-down. The flaming's bill and tongue are (and must be ) radically different from those of other birds to succeed in this strange behavior. One type of jellyfish, rather than swimming around with its pulsating bell on top, plunks itself upside-down on the bottom and uses its bell as a suction cup to anchor itself. It then shoots poisonous darts attached to strings of mucous at passing targets and reels them in. Some African catfish graze on algae on the undersides of water plants. They swim upside down all the time and display a reversed color scheme, being black on the bottom and light on top. Gould employs these three examples to argue that changes in animal behavior must have preceded the many changes in form, function, color, etc. that make upside down living profitable. In other words, the proto-flamingos tried feeding with their heads upside down; and it didn't work too well. But "nature" responded with a series of random biological changes ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 55: Jan-Feb 1988 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology Archeological Stonewalling and Shadow Science Curious Sand-filled Cavities in the Great Pyramid Sardinia's Prehistoric Towers Demystifying Those Australian Craters Early Boomerang Astronomy An Astronomical Paradox Why Do Spiral Galaxies Stay That Way? Or Do They? Biology Migrating Birds Collide with Magnetic Bump The Scientific Basis of Astrology The Ubiquity of Sea Serpents A Glitch in the Evolution of Whales Geology Do We Really Understand the Dinosaurs? Cyclothems As Solar-system Pulse Recorders Geophysics Wheels of Light: Sea of Fire Powerful Concentric Waves The Zeitoun Luminous Phenomena Presumed Ball Lightning Things That Bo Buzz in the Night Psychology Psyching Out Piezoelectric Transducers Goethe's Optics Reevaluated ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 138: NOV-DEC 2001 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Britain More Hazardous Than Ever Accident figures derived from selected British hospital admission records show that visitors to this island nation must be very careful indeed. It seems that the most innocent-looking objects may put you in the hosptial! The following data are extrapolated to the country-as-a -whole. Type of Accident Increases 1998/1999 Tea cosies 20/37 Place-mats 157/165 Trousers 5137/5945 Socks and tights 9843/10733 Vegetables [bananas?] 12362/13132 Tree trunks 1777/1810 Bird baths 117/361 Bean bags 957/1317 (Anonymous; "Feedback,' p. 104, June 7, 2001.) From Science Frontiers #138, NOV-DEC 2001 . 2001 William R. Corliss Other Sites of Interest SIS . Catastrophism, archaeoastronomy, ancient history, mythology and astronomy. Lobster . The journal of intelligence and political conspiracy (CIA, FBI, JFK, MI5, NSA, etc) Homeworking.com . Free resource for people thinking about working at home. ABC dating and personals . For people looking for relationships. Place your ad free. ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 63: May-Jun 1989 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Caterpillars That Look Like What They Eat While E. Greene was studying insecteating birds, he was startled when an oak tree catkin started to crawl away from him. The crawling catkin turned out to be a cleverly camouflaged caterpillar ( Nemoria arizonaria ). When these caterpillars start eating oak catkins in the spring, they soon take on the golden color and fuzzy appearance of the catkins. However, the second brood, which matures after the catkins have disappeared, develop instead a twig-like appearance after consuming oak leaves. Thus, both broods acquire the proper protective camouflage for each season. Experiments show that plant chemicals control the appearance of the caterpillars. (Green, Erick; "A Diet-Induced Developmental Polymorphism in a Caterpillar," Science, 243:643, 1989. Also: Wickelgren, I.; "Caterpillar Disguise; You Are What You Eat," Science News, 135: 70, 1989.) Comment. Is it naive to wonder why the oaks contribute to their own destruction by providing the caterpillars with chemicals that help conceal them from predators? Plants are usually very clever about producing insect-discouraging chemicals in their leaves. One would expect that "evolutionary forces" would have produced chemicals that would have made the caterpillars more obvious to their predators instead of visa versa. From Science Frontiers #63, MAY-JUN 1989 . 1989-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 156: Nov - Dec 2004 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology Hot-desert frozen desserts Were Europe's magnificent cave paintings actually rendered by those brutish Neanderthals? Astronomy Flying blankets threaten satellite Francis filament is too long Biology "We are all mutants" Limboids Organizers on the chicken-coop floor Unexplained Exodus Psychic birds Geology Why is the Earth so wet? The Vitim bolide event Geophysics Infrared Foo Fighters? Spray devils off Cyprus Psychology Total-Zombies and cinematographic vision Physics Errant beach sand 20-degrees: the magic angle in stone-skipping ...
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... the infrasound range, 8 Hertz and less, and could not be heard by the researchers directly -- only their instruments could "listen." (Schneider, David; "Country Music," Scientific American, 273:28, November 1995.) Comments. There is no physical reason why such a subterranean trombone cannot play in the audible range. Such a mechanism might explain some of the mysterious hums heard in various localities, such as the Taos hum. (SF#88) Many unusual natural sounds are cataloged in Chapter GS in our catalog: Earthquakes, Tides, Unidentified Sounds. Ordering information here . Some animals can hear infrasound. Pigeons, for example, have special organs on their legs (of all places!) that respond to infrasound. Could pigeons and other birds use "musical mountains" for homing and other navigation feats? From Science Frontiers #103, JAN-FEB 1996 . 1996-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... hit the earth at this point in history, causing widespread biological extinctions? To add some perspective, Leigh M. Van Valen has tossed 15 arguments against impact extinctions on the scales. Ten of these are reproduced below, as taken from Nature. More de-tails may be found in Paleobiology, 10: 121, 1984. Freshwater life was unaffected; In Montana and its vicinity, the last occurrence of dinosaurs was detectably below the crucial boundary; Transitional floras also exist below the boundary; Apparently extraterrestrial material exists below the boundary; The expected effects of eliminating atmospheric ozone are missing; The Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary is coincident with a very large marine regression, suggesting a nonextraterrestrial cause; Marsupials but not placentals were nearly eliminated, while most aboreal multituberculates (a type of vertebrate) and birds survived; The predicted cooling effects on the earth are absent; The predicted effects of acid rain cannot be found; and Assuming a marine impact, no turbidites can be found; assuming a land impact, no large terrestrial crater has been discovered. (Van Valen, Leigh M.; "The Case against Impact Extinctions," Nature, 311:17, 1984.) From Science Frontiers #36, NOV-DEC 1984 . 1984-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... every 128 seconds. Furthermore, these notes (sound pulses) carry for hundreds of kilometers. C. Clark, a Cornell scientist, believes these notes are really sonar pulses used for fixing a whale's location. Echoes returned from distant seamounts, continental shelves, and other undersea topography enable the whales to map their positions within the wide ocean basins as they wander far and wide. (Hecht, Jeff; "Rhythm of Blues Charts the Ocean Depths," New Scientist, p. 19, June 20, 1998.) Comment. Short -range sonar is widely used by bats, Oilbirds, Edible-nest Swifts, and, of course, dolphins. As far as we know, the blue whale is the only animal employing sonar for longrange mapping. However, some birds seem to use distant infrasound sources (ocean surf, wind flowing over mountain ranges, etc.) as crude beacons during migration. From Science Frontiers #119, SEP-OCT 1998 . 1998-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... together, these results indicate that laurionite and phosgenite must have been synthesized in Ancient Egypt using wet chemistry. The Egyptians manufactured artificial leadbased compounds, and added them to the cosmetic product. The underlying chemical reactions are simple, but the whole process, including many repetitive operations, must have been quite difficult to achieve." It had been recognized earlier that the Egyptian chemists had used fire-based technology 500 years earlier (2 ,500 B.C .) to manufacture blue pigment. Wet chemistry represented another forward technological step. (Walter, P., et al; "Making Make-Up in Ancient Egypt," Nature, 397:483, 1999.) Comment. Uncowed by the successes of the ancient Egyptian chemists, those in the employ of Nissan have synthesized artificial bird droppings for use in testing automobile paints. The real stuff, you see, in inconsistent from batch to batch! (Anonymous; "Best Automotive News," Parade Magazine, December 27, 1998. Cr. J. Cieciel.) From Science Frontiers #123, MAY-JUN 1999 . 1999-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... expeditions established mining colonies here." Thus runs the lead paragraph of an article in a popular Australian publication. This purported pyramid boasts 18 recognizable terraces. The bottom 14 terraces are built from rather small stones; but the top four consist of slabs weighing up to 2 tons. Trees as old as 600 years poke up through the stones, attesting to a pre-European origin. Another much larger pyramid inhabits dense scrubland near Sydney. The claim that these admittedly crude structures are Egyptian is based upon the discovery of artifacts in the area with Egyptian and Phoenician characteristics; i.e ., a stone idol resembling a squatting ape, an onxy scarab beetle, and cave paintings with Egyptian symbols. Aborigine legends also tell of "culture heros" arriving at Gympie in large ships shaped like birds. (Gilroy, Rex; "Pyramids of Australia," Australasian Post, August 30, 1984. Cr. A. Jones.) Comments. Professional archeologists are very wary of anything R. Gilroy claims. Further, our Australian readers warn that Australian newspapers are not always as skeptical as they should be about radical claims. Underside of a stone scarab dug up in an Australian cane field (From Ancient Man) From Science Frontiers #41, SEP-OCT 1985 . 1985-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 113: Sep-Oct 1997 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The View From Within A hypnotized individual can sometimes be coaxed to hallucinate his or her body image as seen by the unconscious mind. The hallucinated body image may be radically different from that conceived by the conscious mind. In cases of mental illness, the hallucinated unconscious body image may not even be a human figure but rather a bird, a fish, or an inanimate object or geometric figure. The nature of the unconscious body image seems to depend upon the nature of the emotional pathology and may even be useful in diagnosis and treatment. (Freytag, Fredericka; "The Hallucinated Unconscious Body Image," American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 7:209, 1965.) From Science Frontiers #113, SEP-OCT 1997 . 1997-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Two Eves! Not only has African Eve aged precipitously but there may have been a non-African Eve, too. J. Hey and E. Harris, at Rutgers, have presented data suggesting that the famous African Eve was the mother of only modern sub-Saharan Africans. Everyone else seems to have descended from an entirely different Eve. These data, if confirmed, demolish the African Eve theory and support the often-reviled multiregional theory of humans origins. (Pennisi, Elizabeth; "Genetic Study Shakes Up Out of Africa Theory," Science, 283:1828, 1999. Bower, B.; "DNA Data Yield New Human-Origins View," Science News, 155:181, 1999.) Genetic Clocks Are Fickle. mtDNA clocks have implied that modern birds and mammals were contemporaneous with dinosaurs, and that some animals evolved millions of years before their first fossils. For good reasons, evolutionists are becoming wary about these molecular clocks. It is fast becoming obvious that: "Clocks tick at different rates in different lineages and at different times. And new work on the biology of mitochondria suggests that their evolution may be more complicated than researchers had suspected." (Strauss, Evelyn; "Can Mitochondrial Clocks Keep Time?" Science, 283:1435, 1999.) From Science Frontiers #123, MAY-JUN 1999 . 1999-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... .S . east coast. He finds that these cetaceans tend to run aground at spots where the earth's magnetic field is diminished by the local magnetic fields of rocks. These coastal magnetic lows are at the ends of long, continuous channels of magnetic minima that run for great distances along the ocean floors. Kirschvink believes that the stranded whales and dolphins were using these magnetic troughs for navigation and failed to see the stop sign at the beaches and ran aground. The mag-netic troughs in this view are superhighways for animals equipped with a magnetic sense. If Kirschvink's theory is correct, the magnetic sensors of the whales and dolphins are extremely sensitive, because the deepest magnetic troughs are only about 4% weaker than the background magnetic field. Magnetite crystals have been found in birds, fish, and insects, where they are thought to contribute to a magnetic sense of some sort. So far, no magnetite has shown up in whales and dolphins. (Weisburd, S.; "Whales and Dolphins Use Magnetic 'Roads,' Science News, 126:389, 1984.) From Science Frontiers #38, MAR-APR 1985 . 1985-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... think of the ancient Egyptians as stay-at-homes who were too busy building pyramids to explore far lands. But many artifacts from the South Pacific and even Hawaii hint that they were otherwise. Some Hawaiian rock carvings include well-known Egyptian motifs and even a few hieroglyphics. The three main sites are: (1 ) the great boulders at Luahiwa, Lanai; (2 ) the old landing at Anaehoomalu; and (3 ) at Kii, Kauai. The evidence for an Egyptian presence is even stronger in New Guinea, where the Egyptians may have had a gold-mining colony. Other ancient cultures also frequented New Guinea, where Sumerian beads and bronze weapons have been found by Australian archeologists. Further, there seems to have been a thriving market in the Middle East for bird-of-paradise skins, which could only have come from New Guinea. (Knudsen, Ruth; "Egyptian Signs in the Hawaiian Islands," Epigraphic Society, Occasional Publications, 12:190, 1984.) From Science Frontiers #35, SEP-OCT 1984 . 1984-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... . It is like watching cream unstir itself from coffee. It smacks of magic, but it is all within the laws of thermodynamics. This strange "force" exerted by entropy may explain some puzzling biological phenomena, such as the expulsion of nuclei from mammalian red blood cells before they enter the bloodstream as sacks of hemoglobin. The idea being that the increasing entropy of the proliferating hemoglobin molecules (analogous to the smaller spheres) is maximized when the nuclei (large spheres) are squeezed out of the cells altogether. (Kestenbaum, David; "Gentle Force of Entropy Bridges Disciplines," Science, 279:1849, 1998.) Comments. The red-blood-cell example presented in the article is on shaky ground, because while mammalian red blood cells do lack nuclei those of birds and reptiles retain theirs. (See BMC6 in Mammals II .) In the above context, the origin of life (more order) anywhere in the universe can be thought to be due to the "gentle force" of entropy; that is, the result of increasing disorder elsewhere. See? It's all very simple!! When many smaller spheres are added to a sytem of larger spheres, the "gentle force" of entropy "pushes" the latter into a corner and a state of higher order From Science Frontiers #117, MAY-JUN 1998 . 1998-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... . For six months the embarrassed man endured, but then over a period of four months, his hair grew back to full black. (Nelson, Douglas; "Aaaaaargh," New Scientist, p. 93, April 11, 1998.) Mummified llamas yield superior wool. The wool found on a group of mummified llamas that had been sacrificed and buried some 1,000 years ago in Peru had hair far finer than cashmere and far superior to that of modern llamas. The ancient Peruvians apparently knew how to breed their animals to accentuate certain features. Their secret was lost during the Spanish conquest. (Anonymous; "Mummified Llamas Yield Superior Wool," NEARA Transit, 10:6 , Spring 1998.) Telestomping elephants. Elephants, rhinos, okapis, and even some birds use infrasound (frequencies below 20 Hertz) for communication. At a recent meeting of the American Acoustical Society, University of California researchers reported that elephants also send low-frequency acoustic signals by stomping the ground. Almost inaudible in the air, the sounds travel through the ground and can be picked up by ground microphones. It is thought that this communication channel has a range of as much as 50 kilometers -- far greater than the sounds could be perceived in the air. Supporting this notion, anecdotes say that elephants somehow know when other elephants are being killed far, far away. They run in the opposite direction! But how do they detect the stomping sounds if they travel through the ground? (Anonymous; "Stomping Ground," New Scientist, p. 25, ...
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... has his meal seasoned with ants. The bulk of the present article deals with thorny-headed worms, which are not as endearing as the lancet flukes. These parasites are merely bags of reproductive organs attached to a thorny probiscus, by which they attach themselves to the intestinal walls of vertebrates. Living in a sea of processed nutrients, the worms don't even have a digestive tract. Part of the life cycle of this parasite is spent in arthropods (insects, crustaceans). As with the lancet fluke, the thorny-headed worm's big challenge is getting the arthropod eaten by a vertebrate. In most instances, it alters the behavior of the arthropod in a way that makes it more conspicuous to the predators. For example, infested pill bugs do not hide from birds, as they normally do, and are snapped up. Infested crustaceans move towards the light where ducks consume them. No one knows how a parasite floating in the body cavity of its host can control the host's behavior. (Moore, Janice; "Parasites That Change the Behavior of Their Host," Scientific American, 250:108, May 1984.) Comment. One cannot but wonder if human behavior is somehow controlled by parasites. Obviously we deny such dominance. Yet, some have speculated that our urge for space travel is only DNA's way of expanding its dominion. A thorny-headed worm that cycles between ducks and crustaceans. (Adapted from Scientific American). From Science Frontiers #34, JUL-AUG 1984 . 1984-2000 William R ...
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... -colored." "The witness estimated the weight of the ice block at 7-8 kg and the piece he was able to recuperate at 6-7 kg. Unfortunately, he did not think of conserving the block in the freezer, and let it melt near his house after having shown it to his neighbor, who had also heard the noise." Swiss aviation officials claimed they could not identify any aircraft that might have been responsible "because of incertitude over the time of the incident"! (Mancusi, Bruno; "A Block of Ice Falls on Rue, Switzerland," WGN, the Journal of the IMO, 27:2 , 1999. WGN = Werkgroepnieuws.) April 9, 1999. Salt Lake Valley, Utah. "Maybe it's a bird, maybe it's a plane. But it is certainly sewage. "And it's no joke in the Salt Lake Valley, where gobs of thick, raw sewage falling from the sky a dozen times since April 9 have soiled up to seven houses at once." The smell in the area was "terrible" according to the mayor of Taylorsville. Sheriff's deputies were studying the "splatter pattern" and firemen were hosing down the houses. One house required 500 gallons of water and 30 gallons of bleach. Aircraft landing at the Salt Lake City airport sometimes pass over the afflicted area, but the Federal Aviation Administration stated -- as they always do -- that jet toilet tanks can only be flushed using an external valve. Furthermore, the bluish disinfectant ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 9: Winter 1979 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Have magnets, will travel Homing pigeons seem to possess at least two direction sensors. Years of experiments with released birds have proved that they use sun compasses on sunny days but have magnetic backups for cloudy days. But how do they sense the earth's magnetic field? Paired-coil tests suggested that the pigeon compass resided in the neck or back of the head. Narrowing the search with sensitive magnetometers and two dozen dissected pigeons, the authors discovered tiny bits of tissue containing magnetite crystals. The same tissues contained yellow crystals likely made by the iron-storage protein ferritin, which was probably used in the biological synthesis of the magnetite. (Walcott, Charles, et al; "Pigeons Have Magnets," Science, 205:1027, 1979) Comment. Many species of mud bacteria also synthesize magnetite for purposes of orientation, indicating that nature or some directive force used the same strategy in two widely separated species. From Science Frontiers #9 , Winter 1979 . 1979-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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