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Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for January 27, 2012:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Stock market network reveals investor clustering- What drove the lunar dynamo? Moon's molten core was likely sustained by alternative power source
- Jumping spider uses fuzzy eyesight to judge distance
- Bitdefender researchers find evidence of viruses infecting worms creating new form of malware
- British team builds model showing metamaterials could be used to create gecko toe like adhesion
- Light but stable: novel cellulose-silica gel composite aerogels
- SUMO-snipping protein plays crucial role in T and B cell development
- New lung cancer test predicts survival
- Eureka! Kitchen gadget inspires scientist to make more effective plastic electronics
- Study offers new information for flu fight
- Blind moles use beauty for function, not fancy
- Report: Facebook IPO filing could come next week
- New study shows prions able to jump between species more easily than thought
- What really happened prior to 'Snowball Earth'?
- Grape seed extract kills head and neck cancer cells, leaves healthy cells unharmed
Space & Earth news
Capturing an octopus-eye view of the Great Barrier Reef
A specialized camera that allows scientists to see as reef-dwelling animals do has been built by a team of researchers at the University of Bristol. The team will travel to Lizard Island off the coast of Queensland this year to capture images of the Great Barrier Reef which they hope will provide new insight into this underwater world.
Australians make Antarctic history
Two Australian adventurers have made Antarctic history by becoming the first team to travel unaided to the South Pole and back, surviving three months of "extreme hardship", they said on Friday.
Volunteers sought for simulated Mars mission and study of 'menu fatigue'
(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronauts on a mission to Mars will need much more than freeze-dried ice cream to sustain them, and researchers at Cornell are working to determine the best way to keep them well nourished during their three-year journeys and four-month stays on the Red Planet.
Russia 'to postpone next manned space launch'
Russia is set to pospone the next two manned launches for the International Space Station (ISS) for several weeks due to technical problems with the Soyuz spaceship, an industry source told Interfax Friday.
Czechs sign deal to host EU's satellite navigation
(AP) -- The Czech government has signed a deal for Prague to host the headquarters of an ambitious satellite navigation system that is meant to become the main rival to the U.S. Global Positioning System.
GOES-13 satellite sees 'giant white spike' of clouds bringing U.S. severe weather
(PhysOrg.com) -- Severe weather is expected to impact the southeastern U.S. today, and the GOES-13 satellite captured an image of a line of clouds associated with the strong cold front that looks like a giant white spike.
Crater with dark and bright ejecta
(PhysOrg.com) -- This Dawn FC (framing camera) image is centered on a small, young, fresh crater with bright and dark ejecta rays extending from it. This image is a brightness image, which is taken directly through the clear filter of the FC, and shows the brightness and darkness of the surface. This crater is approximately 5km wide and its ejecta extends for up to 15 kilometers (9 miles). The ejecta rays outside of the crater are mostly bright. The dark ejecta rays mostly slump into the center of the crater, but there are some dark rays that extend for a few kilometers outside of the crater rim. This combination of bright and dark ejecta rays give the crater an impressively mottled appearance. There is dark and bright material located across Vesta but it is unusual to have a crater with both bright and dark ejecta rays.
New research suggests Fomalhaut B may not be a planet after all
When the Hubble Space Telescope photographed the apparent exoplanet Fomalhaut b in 2008, it was regarded as the first visible light image obtained of a planet orbiting another star. The breakthrough was announced by a research team led by Paul Kalas of the University of California, Berkeley. The planet was estimated to be approximately the size of Saturn, but no more than three times Jupiter’s mass, or perhaps smaller than Saturn according to some other studies, and might even have rings. It resides within a debris ring which encircles the star Fomalhaut, about 25 light-years away.
8-meter-wide asteroid will pass close to Earth today
A small asteroid will pass extremely close to Earth tomorrow (January 27, 2012). Named 2012 BX34, this 11 meter- (36 feet-) wide 8 meter- (26-foot-) space rock (astronomers have updated their estimates of the size) will skim Earth less than 60,000 km (37,000 miles, .0004 AU)>, at around 15:30 UTC, (10:30 am EST) according to the Minor Planet Center. The latest estimates have this small bus-sized asteroid it traveling at about about 8,900 meters/second (about 20,000 miles per hour). 2012 BX34 has been observed by the Catalina Sky Survey and the Mt. Lemmon Survey in Arizona, and the Magdalena Ridge Observatory in New Mexico, so its orbit is well defined and there is no risk of impact to Earth.
What really happened prior to 'Snowball Earth'?
In a study published in the journal Geology, scientists at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science suggest that the large changes in the carbon isotopic composition of carbonates which occurred prior to the major climatic event more than 500 million years ago, known as 'Snowball Earth,' are unrelated to worldwide glacial events.
What drove the lunar dynamo? Moon's molten core was likely sustained by alternative power source
New evidence from an ancient lunar rock suggests that the moon once harbored a long-lived dynamo — a molten, convecting core of liquid metal that generated a strong magnetic field 3.7 billion years ago. The findings, published today in Science, point to a dynamo that lasted much longer than scientists previously thought, and suggest that an alternative energy source may have powered the dynamo.
Technology news
New center developing computational bioresearch tool
The HIV virion is the virus particle that spreads the deadly AIDS infection from cell to cell.
Facebook, Washington state target online spam
Facebook is partnering with Washington state to combat a type of spam called "clickjacking" that is plaguing the social networking site, company and state officials announced Thursday.
Samsung 4Q profit rises 17 pct on smartphone sales
(AP) -- Samsung Electronics Co. reported a 17 percent jump in fourth quarter profit on the strength of smartphone sales even as the company battled claims it had copied Apple's iPhone.
Nintendo chief promises to do Wii U launch right
(AP) -- Nintendo's chief is determined to get right the launch of its next game machine, Wii U, set for this year's holiday shopping season, and acknowledged Friday some mistakes with selling its 3DS handheld.
UK judge: Social network sites differ from press
(AP) -- The British judge presiding over a wide-ranging inquiry into media ethics and practices has suggested that social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter should be seen differently than traditional publishers.
FBI seeking social media monitoring tool
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking for a tool to mine social media for intelligence tips.
WikiLeaks scandal sparks US intelligence reform
The WikiLeaks document dump, which saw hundreds of thousands of classified US files leaked, rattled US intelligence officials, forcing them to implement reforms to prevent another such breach.
Groundbreaking portable PET scanner moves closer to market, medical applications
SynchroPET, a Long Island startup company, has entered into an option agreement to commercialize a new small-scale, portable brain-imaging device invented by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory. The miniaturization of a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner allows for a dynamic range of new applications, including integration with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and compact scanners that can be “worn” by fully conscious, active rats. These new ways to “see” inside the body offer the promise of a deeper understanding of the brain and the diseases that affect it and other organs.
Twitter's block move 'collaborating with censors': RSF
Media rights group Reporters Without Borders on Friday slammed Twitter's announcement that it could now block tweets from appearing in a specific country as "collaborating with the censors".
US cybersecurity efforts trigger privacy concerns
(AP) -- The federal government's plan to expand computer security protections into critical parts of private industry is raising concerns that the move will threaten Americans' civil liberties.
Lithuanian central bank hit by cyber-attack
Lithuania's central bank said Friday it had been hit by a cyber-attack, but had eventually overcome the assault on its website and other online services.
Activists and bloggers fear Twitter censorship
Bloggers and activists from China, the Middle East and Latin America said Friday they were afraid that new Twitter policies could allow governments to censor messages, stifling free expression.
Consumers in the middle of battle over Internet privacy
Google and Facebook might have finally gotten the average consumer riled up about privacy.
Investors clamor for Facebook's IPO
Wall Street is about to get Facebook fever. The social networking giant with nearly 1 billion users is expected to file papers any day now to sell stock to the public. The timing stems partly from federal rules that would require Facebook Inc. to begin disclosing its financial information in April because of its phenomenal growth.
First US chief technology officer stepping down
Aneesh Chopra, who was tasked with bringing a dose of Silicon Valley to the US government as the first chief technology officer, is stepping down.
West takes Internet freedom for granted: Google boss
The Internet proved the only true form of free communication during the Arab Spring and yet the West has come to take the freedom it confers for granted, Google boss Eric Schmidt said Friday.
Twitter may censor tweets in individual countries
Twitter has refined its technology so it can censor messages on a country-by-country basis.
Bitdefender researchers find evidence of viruses infecting worms creating new form of malware
(PhysOrg.com) -- Romania based antivirus software company Softwin, makers of Bitdefender, have announced that they have found multiple instances of computers being infected with worms that have been infected by viruses, creating what they describe as a new Frankenstein piece of malware that should have users all over the world concerned as the new resultant mutant offspring may be more destructive than either alone and more difficult to detect by traditional software programs.
Report: Facebook IPO filing could come next week
Facebook could file regulatory papers as early as Wednesday for its highly anticipated initial public offering of stock, according to a newspaper report.
Medicine & Health news
Spike in cholera cases in DR Congo: UN
Cholera cases have soared in the Democratic Republic of Congo in recent weeks, the UN said on Friday, bringing the number of people infected in the year-long outbreak to 22,000 with 584 deaths.
Steroids prevent protein changes seen in the joints of people with rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease where the body begins to attack the joints and organs of the body. Proteins within inflamed joints are often modified by citrullination, a process that converts the protein building block arginine into citrulline. These two amino acids have very different physical properties and consequently conversion can result in aberrant changes in the three-dimensional structure of an affected protein. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Arthritis Research & Therapy shows that glucocorticoid therapy can reduce the amount of citrullination and the amount of the enzyme peptidylargininedeiminase 4 (PAD4) responsible for citrullination in the joints of people with RA.
Huge potential of NHS junior doctors being ignored
Junior doctors in the NHS are willing and able to help improve health services, but they don't feel valued or heard, reveals the results of a regional survey published online in BMJ Quality and Safety.
Assessment of COPD exacerbation severity with the COPD Assessment Test
Exacerbation severity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be reliably assessed with the COPD Assessment Test (CAT), according to a new study from the UK.
Official patient complaints about health care 'tip of the iceberg'
Official complaints about healthcare are likely to be the "tip of an iceberg," with many more people feeling they have legitimate cause to complain, but not doing so, particularly those with bad experiences of services, suggests research published in BMJ Open.
Cyberknife radiation relieves stabbing pain of facial nerve condition
A technique that delivers highly focused beams of radiation, known as Cyberknife, can relieve the stabbing pain of the facial nerve condition trigeminal neuralgia, indicates a small study published online in the Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery.
Early cystic fibrosis lung disease detected by bronchoalveolar lavage and lung clearance index
The lung clearance index (LCI) is a sensitive non-invasive marker of early lung disease in young children with cystic fibrosis (CF), according to a new study from Australian researchers.
French judge charges boss of breast implant firm
A French judge on Friday charged the founder of the breast implant company at the heart of a global health scare with "involuntary injuries", his lawyer said.
Cosmetic surgery unaffected by French implant scare: study
Cosmetic surgery is booming worldwide and unaffected by the health scare prompted by a French breast implant company that used substandard silicone, a global body of plastic surgeons said Friday.
Researchers analyze doctor-patient email interactions
(Medical Xpress) -- Many working professionals wouldn’t want to imagine what their job would be like without email. However, many physicians go about their profession with little or no email communication with patients. A new study by two University of Kansas professors examines email communications between doctors and patients in a primary care setting, finding how often they communicate, what topics they discuss and more.
Cancer Research UK launches trial of new drug to treat acute childhood leukaemia
Cancer Research UK’s Drug Development Office has opened the first trial of a new type of drug to treat children aged from six months to 18 years with acute leukaemia, who are no longer responding to treatment.
Business, social media to prevent babies with HIV
(AP) -- Business and social media leaders teamed up Friday to tackle the transmission of HIV from mothers to babies, saying the medicine and the money are largely in place, and with the right organizational skills they can eliminate HIV-infected births by 2015.
New NIH fact sheet explains test for diabetes, prediabetes
A new fact sheet from the National Institutes of Health explains the A1C test, a widely used and important test to diagnose type 2 diabetes and prediabetes, and to monitor blood glucose levels of people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Smoke-free-air laws should include bars
Exempting bars from a statewide smoking ban in Indiana would significantly reduce the health benefits of a smoke-free-air law. Including bars not only protects the health of employees, say Indiana University tobacco control experts, but would not negatively impact the hospitality industry financially.
New mechanistic insights into adaptive learning
The brain is a fantastically complex and mysterious device, too large and with too many internal connections to be entirely programmable genetically. Its internal connectivity must therefore self-organize, based on the one hand on genetically regulated biases and on experience and learning on the other. The brain can change its internal connectivity based, for example, on correlations between the inputs it receives and the consequences of actions associated with those inputs, in a phenomenon we generally call associative learning. There are, in our daily life, numerous examples of this type of learning; its consequence is that a smell or a tune on the radio can trigger memories from the past, which lay dormant for some time.
Controversial bill would end right to comprehensive health care, say UK academics
Researchers from Queen Mary, University of London, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and public interest lawyers have made a detailed legal and policy analysis of the Government’s controversial Health and Social Care Bill.
Changing people's behavior: From reducing bullying to training scientists
If you want to change how teenagers view bullying, go to the straight to the source of most school trends: the most connected crowd. According to new intervention research, targeting the most influential students in a school could be a key factor in reducing harassment and bullying.
FDA clears Pfizer drug for advanced kidney cancer
(AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new Pfizer drug for patients with advanced kidney cancer that has spread to other parts of the body despite treatment with at least one previous drug.
US blocks some orange juice imports due to fungicide
US authorities on Friday detained nine shipments of orange juice from Brazil and Canada after their contents tested positive for an illegal fungicide.
UCLA Law report urges California to take action to protect public from toxic consumer products
(Medical Xpress) -- More than 2,000 chemicals are used in consumer or commercial products such as toys, clothing and electronics; many are now also in the bodies of men, women and children.
Study of one million Americans shows obesity and pain linked
(Medical Xpress) -- A clear association between obesity and pain – with higher rates of pain identified in the heaviest individuals – was found in a study of more than one million Americans published January 19 in the online edition of Obesity. In “Obesity and Pain Are Associated in the United States,” Stony Brook University researchers Arthur A. Stone, PhD., and Joan E. Broderick, Ph.D. report this finding based on their analysis of 1,010,762 respondents surveyed via telephone interview by the Gallop Organization between 2008 and 2010. Previous small-scale studies have shown links between obesity and pain. The Stony Brook study took a very large sample of American men and women who answered health survey questions. The researchers calculated respondents’ body mass index (BMI) based on questions regarding height and weight. Respondents answered questions about pain, including if they “experienced pain yesterday.” “Our findings confirm and extend earlier studies about the link between obesity and pain. These findings hold true after we accounted for several common pain conditions and across gender and age,” says Dr. Stone, Distinguished Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, and an expert on patient reported measures of health, pain, and well-being.
The amygdala and fear are not the same thing
(Medical Xpress) -- In a 2007 episode of the television show Boston Legal, a character claimed to have figured out that a cop was racist because his amygdala activated – displaying fear, when they showed him pictures of black people. This link between the amygdala and fear – especially a fear of others unlike us, has gone too far, not only in pop culture, but also in psychological science, say the authors of a new paper which will be published in the February issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
Collaboration advances type 1 diabetes care research
(Medical Xpress) -- A study found that children with Type 1 diabetes experienced less time in deep sleep than children without diabetes, resulting in higher glucose levels, reduced quality of life and lower grades.
Most people fudge numbers on weight and height surveys
When people in the U.S. are asked to provide their weight for research surveys, they underestimate their weight and overestimate their height, despite numerous public reports about increasing rates of obesity. Whites are more likely to do so than Blacks or Hispanics, a new study finds.
Study identifies why some young people choose to get tested for STDs and others don't
(Medical Xpress) -- A recent study by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Maryland identified the reasons why college-age individuals would be tested for sexually transmitted diseases. These findings are valuable in developing public health awareness advertising campaigns.
Large-scale study of East Asian individuals reveals a number of previously overlooked genetic variants
Broad, population-based investigations known as genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are now a standard tool for helping scientists to pinpoint genetic variations that can contribute to disease risk or pathology. However, most of the studies performed to date have focused predominantly on populations of European ancestry, and therefore ignore or overlook risk markers that specifically predominate among other ethnic groups. A recent GWAS from a large team of scientists based in Korea and Japan, including Yukinori Okada of the RIKEN Center for Genomic Medicine in Yokohama, has addressed this inequity by specifically seeking out factors that might contribute to metabolic disease in East Asians (Fig. 1).
Diagnostic brain tumor test could revolutionize care of patients
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have developed what they believe to be the first clinical application of a new imaging technique to diagnose brain tumors. The unique test could preclude the need for surgery in patients whose tumors are located in areas of the brain too dangerous to biopsy.
Study pinpoints genetic variation that raises a risk linked to bisphosphonates
Researchers at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine have identified a genetic variation that raises the risk of developing serious necrotic jaw bone lesions in patients who take bisphosphonates, a common class of osteoclastic inhibitors. The discovery paves the way for a genetic screening test to determine who can safely take these drugs. The study appears in the online version of the journal The Oncologist.
Psychologists analyze development of prejudices within children
Girls are not as good at playing football as boys, and they do not have a clue about cars. Instead they know better how to dance and do not get into mischief as often as boys. Prejudices like these are cultivated from early childhood onwards by everyone. "Approximately at the age of three to four years children start to prefer children of the same sex, and later the same ethnic group or nationality," Prof. Dr. Andreas Beelmann of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany) states. This is part of an entirely normal personality development, the director of the Institute for Psychology explains. "It only gets problematic when the more positive evaluation of the own social group, which is adopted automatically in the course of identity formation, at some point reverts into bias and discrimination against others," Beelmann continues.
Bedwetting can be due to undiagnosed constipation, research shows
Bedwetting isn't always due to problems with the bladder, according to new research by Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Constipation is often the culprit; and if it isn't diagnosed, children and their parents must endure an unnecessarily long, costly and difficult quest to cure nighttime wetting.
Body location plays part in scratching pleasure
An itch is just an itch. Or is it? New research from Gil Yosipovitch, M.D., Ph.D., professor of dermatology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and a world-renowned itch expert, shows that how good scratching an itch feels is related to the itch's location.
Report: Electronic health records still need work
(AP) -- America may be a technology-driven nation, but the health care system's conversion from paper to computerized records needs lots of work to get the bugs out, according to experts who spent months studying the issue.
Research on vitamins could lead to the design of novel drugs to combat malaria
New research by scientists at the University of Southampton could lead to the design of more effective drugs to combat malaria.
New lung cancer test predicts survival
In the two largest clinical studies ever conducted on the molecular genetics of lung cancer, an international team led by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has demonstrated that an available molecular test can predict the likelihood of death from early-stage lung cancer more accurately than conventional methods. The work may eventually help improve the odds of survival for hundreds of thousands of patients each year.
Protein discovery could lead to new HIV drugs
(Medical Xpress) -- A team of researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health recently discovered a new protein that enables HIV to destroy human cells. The finding provides scientists with a critical glimpse into the complex interactions between HIV proteins and human proteins, a discovery that could potentially lead to new HIV drug therapies. The study was published in the January 19, 2012 issue of Nature.
Multitasking may harm the social and emotional development of tweenage girls, researchers say
(Medical Xpress) -- Too much screen time can be detrimental to girls 8 to 12 years old, but there is a surprisingly straightforward alternative for greater social wellness.
Grape seed extract kills head and neck cancer cells, leaves healthy cells unharmed
Nearly 12,000 people will die of head and neck cancer in the United States this year and worldwide cases will exceed half a million.
SUMO-snipping protein plays crucial role in T and B cell development
When SUMO grips STAT5, a protein that activates genes, it blocks the healthy embryonic development of immune B cells and T cells unless its nemesis breaks the hold, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports today in Molecular Cell.
Making memories last: Prion-like protein plays key role in storing long-term memories
Memories in our brains are maintained by connections between neurons called "synapses". But how do these synapses stay strong and keep memories alive for decades? Neuroscientists at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research have discovered a major clue from a study in fruit flies: Hardy, self-copying clusters or oligomers of a synapse protein are an essential ingredient for the formation of long-term memory.
Biology news
US judge denies bid to block NV mustang roundups
(AP) -- A federal judge in Nevada who handed horse protection advocates a rare victory last fall has rejected their latest request to block government roundups of free-roaming mustangs in the West, saying they'll have to go to Congress if they think the animals are being treated inhumanely and need more protection.
New taste for Thai elephant meat
(AP) -- A new taste for eating elephant meat - everything from trunks to sex organs - has emerged in Thailand and could pose a new threat to the survival of the species.
New biodiversity map of the Andes shows species in dire need of protection
The Andes-Amazon basin of Peru and Bolivia is one of the most biologically rich and rapidly changing areas of the world. A new study published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Ecology has used information collected over the last 100 years by explorers and from satellite images which reveals detailed patterns of species and ecosystems that occur only in this region. Worryingly, the study also finds that many of these unique species and ecosystems are lacking vital national level protection.
Giant cell reveals metabolic secrets
Chemical reactions within the cell produce intermediate and end products in the form of small molecules called metabolites. Using an approach called metabolomics, a Japanese research team led by Kazuki Saito of the RIKEN Plant Science Center, Yokohama and Tsuruoka, has elucidated the localization and dynamics of 125 metabolites within a single giant cell of the freshwater alga Chara australis. The team’s findings provide important insights into the fundamental processes of cells in general.
Need muscle for a tough spot? Turn to fat stem cells
(PhysOrg.com) -- Stem cells derived from fat have a surprising trick up their sleeves: Encouraged to develop on a stiff surface, they undergo a remarkable transformation toward becoming mature muscle cells. The new research appears in the journal Biomaterials. The new cells remain intact and fused together even when transferred to an extremely stiff, bone-like surface, which has University of California, San Diego bioengineering professor Adam Engler and colleagues intrigued. These cells, they suggest, could hint at new therapeutic possibilities for muscular dystrophy.
Monogamous birds... peeping on the neighbors!
(PhysOrg.com) -- It is well documented that male birds seduce females using their songs, colourful plumage and courtship dances. These signals reflect male genetic quality and will be graded by the female to determine a male's potential as a mate. The stronger the grade, the better the odds of being selected.
Scientists reveal how cholera bacterium gains a foothold in the gut
(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of biologists at the University of York has made an important advance in our understanding of the way cholera attacks the body. The discovery could help scientists target treatments for the globally significant intestinal disease which kills more than 100,000 people every year.
New study shows prions able to jump between species more easily than thought
(PhysOrg.com) -- A group of French researchers has found that prions are more easily able to jump between species than has been previously thought. In their paper published in Science, they show that prions from other species, implanted in the brains of mice showed up in other organs after a period of time, suggesting that brain autopsies are not sufficient to detect the presence of the disease. British neurology researcher John Collinge has also published a perspective on the topic in the same journal.
Study offers new information for flu fight
Influenza virus can rapidly evolve from one form to another, complicating the effectiveness of vaccines and anti-viral drugs used to treat it. By first understanding the complex host cell pathways that the flu uses for replication, University of Georgia researchers are finding new strategies for therapies and vaccines, according to a study published in the January issue of the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.
Blind moles use beauty for function, not fancy
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have long wondered why a blind mole that lives in underground darkness has beautiful iridescent hair. After all, many animals or birds with magnificent features exhibit their colorful beauty for mating purposes. Now, a new study shows that the iridescent hairs of the blind golden mole, Chrysochloridae, aren’t for attracting potential mates. Instead, the shiny coats help the rodents function efficiently underground.
Jumping spider uses fuzzy eyesight to judge distance
(PhysOrg.com) -- One of the ways in which humans determine distance is by estimating the sharpness of an image—closer objects produce a sharp image, while those further away are out of focus. For us, this is a minor additional method of judging distance, but now scientists in Japan have for the first time found an animal that appears to use this method as its primary means of depth perception.
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