Welcome to The Now

 

 When nature shows meet Looney Tunes:

 

 

  Via the Associate Press : A group of rabbits in Colorado with grotesque, hornlike growths may seem straight out of a low-budget horror film, but scientists say there’s no reason to be spooked — the furry creatures merely have a relatively common virus. The cottontails recently spotted in Fort Collins are infected with the mostly harmless Shope papillomavirus, which causes wart-like growths that protrude from their faces like metastasizing horns. Viral photos have inspired a fluffle of unflattering nicknames, including “Frankenstein bunnies,” “demon rabbits” and “zombie rabbits.” But their affliction is nothing new, with the virus inspiring ancient folklore and fueling scientific research nearly 100 years ago. The virus likely influenced the centuries-old jackalope myth in North America, which told of a rabbit with antlers or horns, among other animal variations. The disease in rabbits also contributed to scientists’ knowledge about the connection between viruses and cancer, such ...

 

 Where is the love for the animals?

 Normally this would seem to be some cinematic production, but alas, it was a real bear . 

Reuters is going all in on the idea that bats will be the catalyst of the next pandemic (while implying that they were likely behind the most recent one). It's a series of   interesting  (and mostly)  infographic stories , but I wonder why Reuters is all about blaming animals instead of (1) our capitalistic drive to ruin the environment and (2) our militaristic drive to develop new bio-weapons of destruction. That said, if said intrusion is forcing virus-spreading bats into human-populated areas we should also ask what medical steps are being taken to help the sick and prevent a world-wide infection.  Chances are I might go into each of these stories separately at a later time.

Could bee venom be the answer ?

Woman beats on tiger with a ladle to save her husband .

At least in this story it was .

Well, someone has made a online converter (as inspired by Ms. Lowden ).

Future Batman villain decides to freeze sick animals instead of paying for medical care .

Mama birds sure are proactive : By changing conditions within the egg, canary mothers leave a message for their developing chicks about the life they will face after birth. In response, nestlings adjust the development of their begging behaviour. If chicks get a message that they will be reared by generous parents then they beg more vigorously for food after hatching. But chicks that are destined to be raised by meaner parents end up being much less demanding. By attending to messages in the egg, nestlings gain weight more rapidly because they match their demands to the parents' supply of food, and can avoid either begging too little or wasting effort on unrewarded begging.

A new "never gets wet" surface inspired by the least likeliest of things : Instead, University of Florida engineers have achieved what they label in a new paper a "nearly perfect hydrophobic interface" by reproducing, on small bits of flat plastic, the shape and patterns of the minute hairs that grow on the bodies of spiders. "They have short hairs and longer hairs, and they vary a lot. And that is what we mimic," said Wolfgang Sigmund, a professor of materials science and engineering. [snip] Spiders use their water-repelling hairs to stay dry or avoid drowning, with water spiders capturing air bubbles and toting them underwater to breathe. Potential applications for UF's ultra-water-repellent surfaces are many, Sigmund said. When water scampers off the surface, it picks up and carries dirt with it, in effect making the surface self-cleaning. As such, it is ideal for some food packaging, or windows, or solar cells that must stay clean to gather sunlig...

See, because even though it's bigger than a monster truck , it looks so cute ! What could happen ? ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A SeaWorld killer whale seized a trainer in its jaws Wednesday and thrashed the woman around underwater , killing her in front of a horrified audience. It marked the third time the animal had been involved in a human death . Distraught audience members were hustled out of the stadium immediately, and the park was closed. That. That could happen.

Thank you, Internets!

Scientists using magnetism to levitate mice . Can we say, " Mouseneto ?"

Dogs being thrown into dumpsters in DC ; crazy cats in Annapolis; killer dogs in Leesburg...what's going on here?