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| So you're into sci fi? But what about sci fact? Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction... Each month our very own Voyager Science Queen* will bring you interesting, quirky and downright bizarre tasty morsels from the world of science. And its all completely, totally, 100% true! March Sci-Facts |
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Remember those old movies where explorers would stumble onto a lost world? You remember them, where there was always a female assistant who looked liked a supermodel, and she would be menaced by a dinosaur or a sabre-toothed tiger (usually creating strategic tears in her clothing). And the kindly old professor would wander around – oblivious to any dangers – as he discovered species after species that should be long extinct. Well, a team of scientist have really discovered a lost world! In a remote forest in the Foja Mountains, West Papua, a whole ecosystem of exotic new species have been observed and identified, and among the newly found species are birds, amphibians, insects and plants. The scientists, Australian, American and Indonesian, were able to handle two echidnas, indicating the animals had never previously seen people. They also discovered populations of animals thought extinct, like Berlepsch’s Six-wired Bird of Paradise. A summary of the team's main discoveries:
(Reference material from The Courier Mail & BBC News Service.) I wonder if one of the team had an attractive assistant who had strategically torn clothes.
The Antique Ant Ants are descended from wasps. And, in the southern areas of Australia, there is a missing link between the wasp-like ancestors and the true ants: Nothomyrmecia macrops. These living fossils have a social system less complex than the true ants. There is no caste of soldier ants, and the worker ants are equipped with stingers, and all the worker caste are able to complete all the tasks within the colony. It is the stinger that makes them unique. These insects live in old-growth Mallee scrub. They were first discovered in 1931 in Western Australia… but have never been seen again at that original site. The species was rediscovered in 1977 in South Australia, by a team of Australian scientists trying to beat a team of American entomologists to the punch. Strange to say, the Australians were on their way to the original discovery site, and found a colony when they stopped to camp for the night, 1300 kilometres from where they were headed. When you put together the enormity of the Outback, and the remote chance of a trained specialist stumbling onto this colony, luck was certainly a part of Nothomyrmecia’s rediscovery. This species is still considered rare, and endangered.
Biography of the Month: Sir Joseph Banks This month, I thought it would be appropriate to honour the very first man to take a serious scientific look at Australia. Joseph Banks was born on the 13th of February, 1743. He was interested in natural history at an early age, and went on to study Botany at Oxford University. A large inheritance gave him the freedom to pursuit his interest to its fullest extent. After his graduation, he travelled to Canada to collect plants, animals and rocks. It was his success in Newfoundland and Labrador that had him elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society. When the royal Society funded Lieutenant Cook’s astronomical voyage to Tahiti, to observe the transit of Venus across the face of the Sun, he was able to obtain permission to accompany the voyage of the HMS Endeavour. (In case you are wondering, Cook wasn’t made a Captain until after this trip.) He was a man with enormous enthusiasm and energy. His collection of botanical specimens was so large, that the British Museum is still in the process of identifying all of it. He is credited with the discovery of the acacias, mimosas, eucalypts and - of course – the banksias, all together about 110 new genera and 1300 new species of plants. That is quite an achievement, for anyone. It was Banks who advocated Botany Bay as the site of the new British Penal Colony, as he considered it a lush area that would be easily converted into a farming community. Unfortunately, he had identified the wet season as the Australian dry season. In 1781, Joseph Banks was made a baronet… and became Sir Joseph Banks. He was a great believer in the international community of science and scientists, and encouraged English scientists to remain in contact with colleagues on the continent during the Napoleonic Wars. He encouraged other botanists to travel and discover new plant species. He cultivated the careers of many scientists, including Robert Brown, the discoverer of Brownian Motion. Banks died on the 19th of June, 1820. He should be remembered an honoured as both a great adventurer and a great naturalist.
Concept of the Month: Species The fundamental category of taxonomic classification, ranking below a genus or subgenus, and consisting of related organisms capable of interbreeding. It is the basic unit for the classification of both animals and plants. As a Chihuahua can mate with an Irish wolfhound, and still have fertile young (amazingly); they are part of the same species. A lion can mate with a tiger, and even though they look to be more closely related that the two canines, a liger is sterile – a mule; they are of different species. A species is usually designated by its genus and species… e.g.: Homo is the genus, and sapiens is the species. And it is Homo sapiens, a single specimen isn’t a Homo sapien. (In case you were wondering… one of my pet peeves.) |
| *The Voyager Science Queen is also known as Lynne Green So, who is this woman who attempts to entertain us with Science? Well, I really am a scientist. I have a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Queensland, in Zoology. And, at the moment, I am working in a Pathology laboratory. I have always been intensely curious about every aspect of our universe, from the teeny tiny workings of the gene right up to the mind-bending forces that are twisting and knotting inside a blackhole. So, now I am sharing a brain stuffed full of trivia...and hopefully entertaining people at the same time. As well, I write Fantasy stories and novels. One day, I hope to have a book published, but don't hold your breath. Reading is my other major love, and my favourite authors are Terry Pratchett and Isaac Asimov, though I could list hundreds of others. If I had one wish, I ask for more time to write! Read previous Sci-Facts: A Comment on Comets Looking for more scientific oddities? Have you checked out Dr Steven Juan's website? He is, quite literally, the wizard of odds! |
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