Dec 3: Growling bats, seeing an exoplanet's atmosphere, making lab coats fabulous, and more…
Milking an ant and finding the symbolic site of the Anthropocene
On this episode of Quirks & Quarks with Bob McDonald
Bats growl like death metal singers to communicate with each other
While studying how bats make high-pitched sounds to echolocate, researchers have discovered how they also produce low-pitched sounds for longer ranged, less directional communication with other bats. The team from the University of Southern Denmark and led by biologist Coen Elemans used high speed cameras to film bat larynxes in action, and found that the bats use a similar vocal system to Indigenous throat singers and death metal growlers. The research was published in the journal PLOS Biology.
James Webb Space Telescope sees into the atmosphere of a distant gas giant
The JWST has passed the latest test of its capabilities with flying colours. It has been able to observe in never-before-seen detail the molecular and chemical make-up of the atmosphere of a Jupiter-sized exoplanet. Mercedes Lopez-Morales, an astrophysicist from the Center for Astrophysics Harvard and Smithsonian, was especially excited to find evidence of solar-energy driven chemical reactions, which suggests many other exoplanets may be similar. Her research is available on the website Physics arXiv.
Lab coats don't fit and aren't functional. This researcher wants to make them fabulous
The iconic white lab coat turns out not to be the favourite garb of scientists, according to a recent survey that found 9 out of 10 scientists want a better fit. They also want their lab coat to be a more functional lab coat with pockets in the right places, snap buttons that can easily be pulled open in case of an emergency, sleeves that don't get caught in anything and more protection overall. Derek MIller, the founder of Genius Lab Gear, who conducted the informal survey is using the data he collected to design a new lab coat with scientists in mind that have better fit and function.
Ants produce 'milk' during metamorphosis to feed the colony
Researchers have found that ant pupae, as they begin to transform into adult ants, reprocess part of their body into a protein and nutrient rich secretion analogous to milk that is consumed by both larvae and adults. Orli Snir from the Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behaviour at the Rockefeller University in New York found that this secretion contributes to the health of the colony. Her research was published in Nature.
WATCH: Ants harvest secretions from pupae, Rockefeller University.
Pinpointing the Anthropocene. Where is the signature of the age of humans?
We could be on the cusp of a new geological epoch. Scientists around the world are currently voting on whether the changes we've made to the planet are significant enough to warrant a formal declaration that we've moved out of the Holocene epoch and into the Anthropocene. Colin Waters from Leicester University in the UK, and chair of the Anthropocene Working Group, is leading an effort to select a single site that best characterises the boundary layer between the two epochs. Francine McCarthy from Brock University is championing a Canadian site located in Milton, Ontario, which could become the poster child for our planet's transition into the Anthropocene.
