Praying mantis and 3D technology
Guess what’s common between praying mantises and us? It so happens that they are the only insects to be able to see the world in 3D like us. Naturally a team of scientists wanted to know how they’d react to 3D movies wearing 3D glasses. They glued tiny 3D glasses to their eyes with the help of bee’s wax and showed them the movie Avatar… just kidding! These mantises were made to watch spinning circles on a screen to see how they reacted. Most surprisingly, the mantises tried to leap and tear it to pieces. It’s thought that understanding this will help in designing better stereoscopic robots.
The great flea jumping contest
In what must have been a really fun study, scientists compared how high cat fleas and dog fleas jumped from the base of a cylindrical tube. It so happens that dog fleas can jump higher than cat fleas based on a detailed analysis of their performances. Maybe this might be useful when you’re having a dilemma between buying a dog or a cat – if your pet gets fleas, what are the chances of it jumping on you? You can now safely and accurately decide!
Woodpeckers don’t get headaches!
Now this is pure genius – how many of you have wondered why woodpeckers never develop headaches despite boring tough wood with their beaks? They say that the impact force is at least 1000 times greater than gravity. Apparently it is because the brain has a smoother surface for higher impact and is more tightly packed in the skull. Add to it the fact that there is very little side to-side movement, and woodpeckers are never going to get a migraine ever. Who knows – one day we might be able to pack our brains better and then we can say goodbye to headaches, too!
Nail biting and whispers in the night
A researcher from Virginia conducted an interesting experiment to see if a brilliant brainwave could help cure nail biting. A group of boys with the bad habit were made to sleep in a cabin with a speaker playing recorded messages again and again. The messages were something like this: ‘My nails taste terribly bitter. When the speakers broke down, the steadfast scientist went and himself began to repeat these words through the night. The scientist reported that 40 per cent of the participants had managed to break the habit!
Rats aren’t as smart as you think
Barcelona University researchers have found out something stunning. They say that rats have their limitations apparently they cannot distinguish between people who speak Japanese backwards and those who speak Dutch backwards. It’s not clear how this is going to impact us, but it’s bound to be important in some way.
Dragonflies with backpacks
We’ve never clearly understood how a cricket player connects his bat with a ball in seconds or how a dog manages to catch a flying Frisbee. Since dragonflies have fewer neurons than us, scientists decided to monitor their brain while they catch flies. For this, backpacks consisting of a lightweight computer chip and antenna were fixed on their backs and these dragonflies were let into a room packed full of thousands of fruitflies. While the dragonflies enjoyed snacking, the scientists analyzed the data transmitted from their neurons. All this has been done in the hope of understanding instantaneous reactions better. At any rate, the dragonflies had a good time.
Picture Credit : Google
