Noisy sex means death for flies, if bats are listening.

 

Based on some old papers, Stefan Greif from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology knew that Natterer’s bats shelter in cowsheds and sometimes feed on the flies within. What he didn’t know was how the bats catch insects that they shouldn’t be able to find. They hunt with sonar, releasing high-pitched squeaks and visualising the world in the returning echoes. Normally, the echoes rebounding from the flies would be masked by those bouncing off the rough, textured surface of the shed’s ceiling. The flies should be invisible.

And they mostly are. Greif filmed thousands of flies walking on the shed’s ceiling, and not a single one of them was ever targeted by a bat. That changed as soon as they started having sex. Greif found that a quarter of mating flies are attacked by bats. Just over half of the attacks were successful and in almost all of these, the bat swallowed both partners.

It’s not their larger silhouette that gives the mating flies away. When Greif stuck pairs of dead flies onto the shed’s ceiling, in a macabre sexual diorama, the bats never attacked. Instead, the male fly dooms both himself and his partner by being too noisy. As he mates, his wings flutter and release a stream of clicks. Our ears can pick out the low-pitched parts of the buzz, but to Natterer’s bats, the high-pitched portions must sound like klaxons. Greif demonstrated the allure of these sounds by playing recordings of them. When he did, the bats would attack the speakers.

The cowshed provided a rare opportunity to test the hunting tactics of the Natterer’s bats, but Greif suspects that they do the same thing in more natural settings like forests and meadows. You might expect that evolution would lead the flies towards quieter sex, and that’s something Greif wants to analyse next.


Reference: Siemers, Kriner, Kaipf, Simon & Greif. 2012. Bats eavesdrop on the sound of copulating flies. Current Biology http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2012.06.030.


QUIET!!!






LINK:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2012/07/23/noisy-sex-means-death-for-flies-if-bats-are-listening/

Read more @ Source:
Noisy sex means death for flies if bats are listening | Not Exactly Rocket Science | Discover Magazine

Leo Villareal to Create Giant Glowing LED Buckyball For Madison Square Park | Inhabitat New York City

 





 New York-based artist Leo Villareal is set to install a 30-foot tall “Buckyball” sculpture comprised of 180 glowing LED tubes in Madison Square Park later this year. The sculpture will be formed of one LED rendition of the distinct spherical fullerene structures nested inside another. The installation promises to have an extraordinary dynamic presence in the park as programmable pixels located every 1.2 inches throughout the tubes will have the capacity to glow in any one of 16 million colors.


Beyond an ethereal presence, the sculpture also promises to bring a bold, colorful—and huge—representation of the tiny elements which make up our world while paying homage to the late architect and designer Buckminster Fuller. The carbon structures termed ‘fullerenes” were named for Buckminster Fuller, recognized widely for his creation of large geodesic domes beginning in the 1940s.

Read more: Leo Villareal to Create Giant Glowing LED Buckyball For Madison Square Park | Inhabitat New York City

Read more: Leo Villareal to Create Giant Glowing LED Buckyball For Madison Square Park | Inhabitat New York City

Leo Villareal to Create Giant Glowing LED Buckyball For Madison Square Park | Inhabitat New York City

Recycled Molded Glass

Philadelphia-based sculptor Amber Cowan scours markets and garage sales for American molded glass knickknacks and fires them into intricate, swirling art pieces that are deeply mesmerizing. Using techniques such as flameworking, blowing, and hot-sculpting, Cowan turns decorative pieces of glass from the 1940s-1980s into relics of femininity that are tinged with a dangerous beauty.

 SEE MORE @ LINK:http://inhabitat.com/amber-cowan-creates-eerily-beautiful-recycled-glass-sculptures-from-thrift-store-trinkets/



Source:Inhabitat | Design For a Better World!
Inhabitat | Design For a Better World!
 LINK:
http://inhabitat.com/

Bottle Village

Grandma made village out of tens of thousands of bottles http://su.pr/27M2pn

Grandmas make some pretty awesome things – pies, sweaters, and techinically, you. But can you say that your grandma ever made a village??? Ours certainly didn’t. Between 1956 and 1981 Tressa “Grandma” Prisbrey built Bottle Village using tens of thousands of bottles in mortar. The village is “an otherworld of shrines, wishing wells, walkways, random constructions, plus 15 life size structures all made from found objects.” The 1/3 acre lot in Simi Valley, CA is literally littered with the various structures that Ms. Prisbrey created as a hobby, constructive creative outlet and playful reminder of the joy of upcycling.  Unfortunately, a 1994 earthquake has left the village damaged and in need of repair, but recent media attention has helped bring in new visitors and a renewed interest in preserving this wonderful and unique place.

Read more: Grandma Made Village Out of Tens of Thousands of Bottles | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building

Since Grandma Prisbrey’s passing in 1988 at the age of 92, the property has been maintained by a small group of dedicated individuals and generous grants.  If you are in the LA area, swing by for a visit and experience the magic that these pictures can only begin to convey. You’ll be supporting the memory of Grandma Prisbrey and the spirit of making crappy stuff awesome that has definitely seen a revival in recent times. Bottle Village needs you!  Please visit their website to learn more about this inspirational and wondrous place and how you can help. + Bottle Village
+ Grandma Prisbrey Bottle Village Video
Photos by Kathy LaForce©, used with permission

Read more: Grandma Made Village Out of Tens of Thousands of Bottles | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building

 

Source:Inhabitat | Design For a Better World!
Inhabitat | Design For a Better World!
 LINK:
http://inhabitat.com/








 

Silly Advice?

Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint...................................... Mark Twain

Crabby Faced

LINK:

http://

Pierre Huyghe Zoodram 5 2011 Courtesy the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery New York  

Link to Source:

http://www.canadianart.ca/online/features/2012/06/07/zoo-macm/ 

 

Ocean Acidification Makes Clownfish Go Deaf (Poor Nemo Can't Hear Predators Anymore...)

Photo: Flickr, CC


Another Unforeseen Consequence of Global Warming The planet's oceans absorb a lot of CO2 from the atmosphere, slowly turning them more acidic than they would otherwise be. 

This can be a big problem for many species that haven't evolved in these conditions, including coral reefs and, scientists have now found, the clownfish (popularized by Pixar's Finding Nemo). Apparently, it's the clownfish's hearing that is most affected by acidification...


Photo: Wikipedia, CC


What Did You Say? Indeed, researchers found that the clownfish appears to be losing its hearing in water only slightly more acidic than what is normal in the ocean.


In this experiment, the fish could decide whether to swim towards or away from an underwater loudspeaker replaying the sounds of predators recorded on a reef, with shrimps and fish that would take a small clownfish.

But the clownfish in more acidic water showed no preference for moving away from the threatening sound, while those exposed to normal levels of acidity move away from the perceived danger source. This could seriously impact clownfish survival in the long term.

"Avoiding coral reefs during the day is very typical behaviour of fish in open water," said researcher Steve Simpson from the School of Biological Sciences at the UK's Bristol University. Indeed, coral reefs are home to many species that can feed on small clownfish.

"They do this by monitoring the sounds of animals on the reef, most of which are predators to something just a centimetre in length. But sounds are also important for mate detection, pack hunting, foraging - so if any or all of those capacities are gone, you'd have a very lost fish," he told BBC News.


Photo: Flickr, CC


Not Sure Yet What is Causing the Impaired Hearing The acidity doesn't seem to physically damage the fish's ears, so maybe the damage is neurological, or maybe they are "stressed by the higher acidity and do not behave as they otherwise would."

Look at the Bigger Picture
But the bigger lesson here is that if this happens to clownfish, there are probably all kinds of other hard-to-foresee impacts on other species. We must get CO2 emissions under control and stop ocean acidification before marine ecosystems are more damaged than they already are...






Source @ LINK:
http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/ocean-acidification-makes-clownfish-go-deaf-poor-nemo-cant-hear-predators-anymore.html




Michael Graham Richard
Technology / Clean Technology
June 1, 2011

If you like this article, you can follow me on Twitter (@Michael_GR) and Stumbleupon (THMike). Thanks.

Via BBC



 

Interesting Faces Poster

Pink Freud

Panda "Dung" Tea

Avatar Panda Tea

Published on Mar 23, 2012 by NMANewsDirect

DOWNLOAD HERE: http://newsdirect.nma.com.tw/SingleItem.aspx?asset_id=OEM_20120323_OINT_001
A Chinese businessman has used 11 tons of panda dung to fertilize a special blend of green tea in Sichuan Province. With a poor digestive system, pandas absorb less than 30 percent of the nutrition from their food, which means more than 70 percent of the fibre and nutrients are contained in their excrement. The first batches will be sold for US$3,500 per 50 grams, approximately US$200 per cup of tea. Sources: Sky News, ABC news

License:  Standard YouTube License

25 Jul 2012 1:42 PM

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This walrus can whistle, growl, and gurgle on command

By Jess Zimmerman

E.T., a 30-year-old walrus at Tacoma’s Point Defiance Zoo, is clearly in training to replace Wilford Brimley. He has the looks down, and he’s working on his acting; he can already do eight different types of vocalization on command.


The sight of a walrus puckering up to whistle is probably the most startling part, but that last sound (the command is “bell”) gets more impressive every time I listen to it. It’s like the Tuvan throat singing of walrus noises.

Jess Zimmerman is the editor of Grist List.

Source:
This walrus can whistle, growl, and gurgle on command | Grist

 Link:
 http://grist.org/list/this-walrus-can-whistle-growl-and-gurgle-on-command/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=gristlistacct

Gallery: Memories of the Cave, Vancouver, B.C.

 

Memories of the Cave


Surely the nightclub most missed by Vancouverites is The Cave, an 850-seat icon at 626 Hornby that anchored the downtown entertainment scene for decades. It was called The Cave because the inside was done up to look like one. The coup-de-grace was papier mache stalactites that hung from the ceiling. It sounds bizarre, but in the dim lighting of a nightclub, it kind of looked like a cave, which made it quite cool, and gloriously kitschy.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/Gallery+Memories+Cave/6966639/story.html#ixzz21EGsCjUt

 Link:
Gallery: Memories of the Cave

 http://www.vancouversun.com/Gallery+Memories+Cave/6966639/story.html

600-year-old linen bras found in Austrian castle - SFGate

 

This undated picture publicly provided by the Archeological Institute of the University of Innsbruck, shows a medieval bra. The bra is commonly thought to be little more than 100 years old as corseted women abandoned rigid fashions and opted for the more natural look. But that timeline is about to be revised with the discovery of four brassieres from the Middle Ages in a debris-filled vault of an Austrian castle. The find, formally announced Wednesday July 18, 2012 by the University of Innsbruck, is being described by historical fashion experts as revolutionary because it indicates that the bra was already worn around 600 years ago before being abandoned for the stiff stays dictated by the form-hugging clothing that become the mode for centuries.
Photo: University Innsbruck Archeological Institute / AP


VIENNA (AP) — A revolutionary discovery has hit the world of underwear: Women 600 years ago wore bras.

The University of Innsbruck said Wednesday that archeologists found four linen bras dating from the Middle Ages in an Austrian castle. Fashion experts describe the find as surprising because the bra was commonly thought to be little more than 100 years old as women abandoned the tight corset.

Hilary Davidson, fashion curator for the London Museum, says one specimen in particular "looks exactly like a (modern) brassiere."

Archaeologist Beatrix Nutz says the garments were unearthed in 2008 but did not make news until now. She gave a lecture on them last year but the information stayed within academic circles until a recent BBC history program.

 Source:
600-year-old linen bras found in Austrian castle - SFGate

 Link:
http://www.sfgate.com/living/article/600-year-old-linen-bras-found-in-Austrian-castle-3716403.php

VancouverSun.com - Video Centre

Sea Urchin Eating a Cookie

License:  Standard YouTube License

Here's the full take of feeding Oscar a biscuit, sped up, put to music, and some video effects for fun.

(Isn't Lil' Urchy cute? Aww!)

Interesting Movie "The Dragon Painter"

 

 

 

 

 

The Dragon Painter

by Lu Chen

The Dragon Painter (1919), Dir: William Worthington, Milestone Film and Video

Scene from The Dragon Painter

Once upon a time there was a master of dragon painting whose dragons were vivid in all senses but without eyes. Once, upon repeated pleas of a viewer, he added eyes to a dragon, and the dragon suddenly came to life, flew out of the picture, disappeared. Like this Chinese proverb, The Dragon Painter centers on the painting and unpainting of a dragon. Produced by, and starring, the Japanese-born actor Sessue Hayakawa, the film transplants an oriental tale onto the western screen, with a twist.

Tatsu, the inspired but tormented artist, never paints the dragon directly. Instead, he follows traditional Asian aesthetics to paint the spirit, rather than the shape, and leaves blank space for the unspoken meaning. The repeated vistas of natural scenery—shot in Yosemite—evoke the meaningful lightness of Tatsu’s empty landscape paintings. The traveling shots adopt no character’s point of view, just as the best known Haiku, roughly translated as “old pond/a frog jumps/the sound of water,” assumes no human watching or reacting to the scene. Tatsu, the artist, has united his being with the spirit of nature in impassioned but tranquil self-forgetfulness. The dragon, associated with water, fluidity, and infinite changes, is a perfect symbol for his lost princess—the “spiritual rhythm” of his art defying direct presentation. When, later in the film, the reincarnated princess appears in Tatsu’s dream, we see not a western cinematic dreamscape, but a scene in Noh drama, where a transcendental being from the other world visits the deuteragonist in his dream. Tastu serves as the medium for us to glimpse the higher truth of the beyond.

The film, however, leads Tatsu to find his princess incarnated and to paint her portrait, and the morning after the dream Tatsu would return to his role in a western drama. We see through his eyes the hallucinated princess, framed by the window just as she is first presented to him from behind a traditional paper screen. In both cases, Tatsu is also under the gaze of his master. This supposed fable of aesthetics becomes a story of conspiracy and betrayal.

Indeed, conspiracy and betrayal are familiar themes to Hayakawa, the first Asian actor to achieve stardom in Hollywood. In Typhoon (1914) and The Cheat (1915), he played the popular role of the diabolic Oriental, whose lecherous cunning contrasts the sweet innocence of the white women fallen into his hands. The Dragon Painter subverts racial stereotyping by casting the Caucasian Edward Peil, Sr. as the master painter and artistic father of Tatsu, and leaves the audience to savor the irony when Tatsu presents his final work—a western-styled figure painting with him and his princess chasing a real dragon. His princess summarizes the moral of the story: “Love is the servant of Art”—a classic western theme.

Best pictures from the last 24 hours - The Globe and Mail

• 

  A performer looks on as he takes part in the annual Hindu religious festival of 
  Bonalu in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad July 16, 2012. The word
   "Bonalu" is derived from the Telugu language word "Bhojanalu", the food 
  offered to Goddess Kali, the Hindu goddess of power. The main ritual in the 
  month-long festival involves offering cooked rice, jaggery, curd, water and 
  other dishes, which are brought by women in earthen pots, to the Goddess Kali. 
  Devotees believe that the offerings ward off evils and epidemics during the 
  monsoon season.
  (KRISHNENDU HALDER/REUTERS

Best pictures from the last 24 hours - The Globe and Mail

Neuropsychology / skull

 

skull

Repinned from Wishlist by Kourtney DeBoer

LINK: http://pinterest.com/pin/10907224068144219/
Neuropsychology / skull

10 Buildings Shaped Like What They Sell - Mental Floss

Longaberger is known for its handcrafted maple baskets, so its headquarters are obviously shaped like a giant basket. Not just any old basket, though. It’s a Longaberger Medium Market Basket that’s been blown up to 160 times its normal size. The basket includes a seven-story atrium, heated handles that prevent ice formation, and two 725-pound gold leaf Longaberger tags. Want to take a look the next time you’re in Ohio? Longaberger has visiting hours!

2. Twistee Treat Ice Cream

Between 1983 and the mid-1990s, Twistee Treat opened 90 or so ice cream shops around the country, and each one is shaped like a delicious cone of soft-serve vanilla. Want your own towering cone? A completely stocked one in Zephyrhills, Florida, is on the market for a mere $475,000. Or, if you’re on a budget but good with tools, the same listing also offers “A Separate Dismantled Ice Cream Cone Building” at the bargain price of $40,000.

3. Kansas City Public Library’s Parking Garage

Read the full text here: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/74157#ixzz20IgJlROO
--brought to you by mental_floss!

LINK:

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/74157
10 Buildings Shaped Like What They Sell - Mental Floss

Ben Heine (more)

Mont Saint Michel - 2 by Ben Heine

 






















 Golden Illusion by Ben Heine
 

Telephone by Ben Heine

 















 I Have a Super Power by Ben Heine
 
















Not a Drifter but a Dreamer by Ben Heinek                               

Ben Heine Art

Me And My Little Friend by Ben Heine

Ben Heine Biographyk










 






 m


















 







 Link:

























http://www.benheine.com/projects.php?dossier=72157619899724992

Pencil Vs. Camera Images

Born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and now living in Belgium, Ben Heine is an amazing artist who overlaps hand-drawn works of art with photos to create stunning images. I selected eleven of his Pencil Vs. Camera images from his Web site, but you should check out all his awesome work if you have time.













k




















Read the full text here: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/97070#ixzz20HSjX79t
--brought to you by mental_floss!



mental_floss Blog & 11 Pencil Vs. Camera Images - StumbleUpon