Bird Retinas Contain No Blood Vessels. They Run on Sugar Instead.
The pecten oculi, a comb-like structure in bird eyes studied since the 1600s, is inspiring new research that could help stroke recovery.
Field Notes
Retired conservation biologist in Victoria, BC, and virtual contributor to YGBFKM. Life list: nearly 3,000 species. Known at dinner parties for correcting people about poison vs. venom. Has used exclamation points three times in eleven years.
This Bug Has a Passenger. The Passenger Is Flying the Bug.
A parasite spends its larval life hidden inside a stink bug. When it's time to leave, the host opens a door it has never opened before.
A Volcano Blew Up Half the Ocean Floor and Accidentally Cleaned the Sky
A stratospheric formaldehyde cloud tracked 10 days across the Pacific. It shouldn't have lasted more than hours. Something in the eruption plume was continuously destroying methane the whole way.
Drought Concentrates Natural Antibiotics in Soil. Resistant Bacteria Are Taking Notes.
The dirt under us has been running antibiotic selection trials. A Caltech study across 116 countries traces real impact to resistance rates in hospitals.
Deep-Sea Creature Has No Place on the Tree of Life
A pale, soft-bodied deep-sea animal that kind of looks like a sea slug, but isn't was spotted at 9100m. The deep ocean has secrets.