Nature yays

[Jubal]

For brief comments and news articles from the natural world.

To start off, check out this benefit scrounging single mother who faked a pregnancy to get more care. Thatcher would never have stood for it:

Spoiler

The world's first live broadcast of a panda birth has been called off after experts said the "mother" involved may have been faking the pregnancy to receive better treatment.

"Phantom pregnancies" are common among giant pandas – but keepers at her breeding centre in Sichuan province believe six-year-old Ai Hin could be exhibiting learned behaviour that marks her out as smarter than the average bear.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/giant-panda-in-china-fakes-pregnancy-to-receive-nicer-food-and-roundtheclock-care-9693743.html

[Glaurung]

Another interesting BBC News article, about small marine organisms discovered in the ocean off Tasmania. At the moment they can't readily be placed in any of the identified taxonomic phyla, and the original scientific paper indicates that there is uncertainty about the relationships of some phyla in any case. There also seem to be some similiarities with some of the strange Precambrian creatures that we only know as fossils.

[TTG4]

yaaay moar whales
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-29069515

[comrade_general]

Well, so much for the plot of Star Trek IV.

[Glaurung]

Well, so much for the plot of Star Trek IV.

As per your instructions in the chatbox:

comrade_general [07|Sep 12:14 AM]:   Someone point out to me in the nature yays thread that in ST: IV the whales were humpbacks and not blues.

[comrade_general]

I really need to get a life. 

[Jubal]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-29661446

Scientists believe they have discovered the origin of copulation.

An international team of researchers says a fish called Microbrachius dicki is the first-known animal to stop reproducing by spawning and instead mate by having sex.

The primitive bony fish, which was about 8cm long, lived in ancient lakes about 385 million years ago in what is now Scotland.

Okay, so things to take away from this:
- Sex has evolved multiple times
- The first creatures to have sex had to hold hands while doing it which is kind of adorable
- They called the creature Microbrachius dicki. Can we just take a moment to appreciate that please.

[TTG4]

We had a lecture in about the third week of first year which was 'why have sex?'

It's actually an interesting discussion in terms of evolutionary theory. I do love latin names though, but sometimes they can be a bit silly.

[Pentagathus]

So scotland is the birthplace of intimate relations? It won't be easy but I will manage to turn this into a chat up line somehow. Probably not an effective one but who really cares if it works.

[comrade_general]

But then you have to do it square-dance style.

[TTG4]

http://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2014/10/14/time-lapse-video-gmo-arctic-apple-awaiting-us-approval-does-not-brown-over-24-hours/

How do you like them apples?

[comrade_general]

People are portugaltards.

[Jubal]

Ooh, that's pretty cool 

[comrade_general]

The apple is cool, but people are definitely portugaltards.

[comrade_general]

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/weird-science/frozen-time-9-000-year-old-bison-mummy-found-siberia-n242966