Mysterious News Briefly — October 1, 2020
Researchers followed some wild bonobos (Pan paniscus) in the Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo and found they eat a previously undiscovered species of crystal-encrusted truffle, which has been named the Hysterangium bonobo in their honor. If these truffles are the reasons bonobos have so much sex, buy stock in them NOW!
A new study found that ancient humans had black-colored eyes because of an abundance of the gene OCA2, which produces the melanin that darkens both skin and irises. This might explain a lot, if only someone could get a Black Eyed Kid to take a DNA test.
They may be called blind mole-rats, but a new study found that their tiny eyes can see or perceive magnetic fields with magnetite-based receptors in the cornea, and this gives them the ability to navigate and build nests oriented to Earth’s magnetic field. If one gets into your house, is it attracted to the kitchen by the food or the refrigerator magnets?
Britain’s mysterious Devil’s Dyke – a massive earthen mound built in the 6th century CE by workers who somehow made it perfectly straight for seven miles – is being damaged by hikers and dogwalkers who ignore the signs. Is it time for the government to summon the devil for help – or does the horned one already have an office there?
An entomologist from the University of Melbourne who lets thousands of mosquitoes bite his arm in order to keep them fed for research on Dengue fever set a record when he fed 5,000 female mosquitoes at once, losing 16ml of blood. That should at least qualify him to be Cortizone’s Customer of the Year.
The biotech firm LambdaVision has teamed up with NASA to manufacture artificial retinas in microgravity conditions on the International Space Station. Will a retina made in space see nothing but floaters? (Asking for a nearsighted friend.)
According to a new study, some people who become severely ill with COVID-19 may have inherited the genes which cause their heightened susceptibility from Neanderthals living in Europe 50,000 years ago. That’s not surprising – who’s going to tell a Neanderthal to wear a mask?
While many snakes swallow their prey whole and then digest them in their stomachs, researchers have discovered that Thailand’s colubrid snake (Oligodon fasciolatus) starts from inside the stomach of its prey and eats its way out. Something to think about the next time you say to the waiter “Surprise me” at a Thai restaurant.
The National Weather Service has begun using the term “zombie tropical storms” to refer to hurricanes that die out as they move ashore, only to come back to life and regain their strength as they move across the country. Watch for “The Windy Dead” coming to television soon.
The post Devil's Dyke, Prehistoric Black Eyed Kids, Zombie Storms and More Mysterious News Briefly -- October 1, 2020 first appeared on Mysterious Universe.
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