Science News

Study reveals how plants use their own network to chat

Washington, Sept 26 : Researchers from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) have found in a new study how plants use their own communication system to warn each other of impending danger.

Herbal plants such as strawberry, clover, reed and ground elder naturally form networks.

Individual plants remain connected with each other for a certain period of time by means of runners.

These connections, very similar to computer networks, enable the plants to share information with each other via internal channels.

NASA/ESA Solar observatory finds its first officially periodic comet

Paris, Sept 26 : The ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) has discovered its first officially periodic comet - which flies by the Sun at regular intervals. SOHO had already spotted this comet twice before.

The find is important, as this is the first one conclusively proven and officially declared by SOHO as a periodic comet.

Migratory birds 'see' magnetic field during flights, reveals study

Washington, Sept 26 : Ornithologists from Oldenburg in Germany have found that the cryptochrome-containing neurons in the eye and a forebrain region (Cluster N), of migratory birds become active when processing magnetic compass information during flights.

Cryptochromes, which fulfil the molecular requirements for sensing the magnetic reference direction, has recently been found in retinal neurons of migratory birds.

Scientists find how the zebrafish gets his stripe

Washington, September 26 : Scientists have identified an important molecule that helps the zebrafish develop one of its four stripes of pigment cells.

The researchers said that that their study focused on a particular zebrafish mutant called choker, which is distinctive because one of the four stripes running down its side is missing, and it has a dark collar around its neck instead.

Online game ‘Anti-Phishing Phil’ trains people to identify Internet scams

Washington, Sept 26 : Computer scientists of Carnegie Mellon University have developed an interactive, online game featuring a little fish named Phil that can teach people how to better recognize and avoid email "phishing" and other Internet scams.

Urban birds have developed coping mechanisms to survive in cities: Study

Washington, Sept 26 : Birds that hang out in large urban areas have adapted to survive in a much larger range of conditions than their rural counterparts, a new study by researchers from the University of Washington has found.

And not only do they survive, but as the researchers found out, they also thrive.

This, the researchers say, is a sign that urban birds have developed coping mechanisms that rural birds might not have.

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