It’s a mould breaker. Researchers have discovered the first fungus that behaves like a farmer. We already know that soil fungi can help bacteria travel quickly from A to B. The fungal filaments provide favourable conditions for the bacteria, and so act as “highways” through the soil. But these highways may impose a toll, says Pilar Junier at the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Image: ushishir
Read More
Ethiopia’s green economy is booming, but most of the locals are not feeling the benefit. Last week, the country opened Africa’s biggest wind farm. It came online just days after Ethiopia announced a preliminary agreement to build a 1000-megawatt geothermal facility, the largest in Africa – but 77 per cent of Ethiopians still lack access to electricity. Image: cabbit
Read More
Even the prettiest faces are built using junk. In mice, the shapes of the face and skull are finely tuned by junk DNA, so called because it was initially thought to lack function. The same junk DNA sequences are found in humans, so they probably shape our faces. Image: H. Morrison, MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh
Read More
Two geologists claim they have evidence that carbon dioxide levels in Earth’s atmosphere more than doubled in a single year at the end of the Palaeocene. The increase helped trigger the most extreme change in surface temperatures since dinosaurs ruled the land. The speed of the change makes an extraterrestrial impact the likely cause, they say. Image: Space Art
Read More
A part of all of us loves sums. Eavesdropping on the brain while people go about their daily activity has revealed the first brain cells specialised for numbers. Image: dullhunk
Read More
