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The Stew - With Jeff Houck

August/September 2007


Did you miss us? We hope so.

We decided to combine August and September’s list into one mega-compilation to give you - the loyal reader - a value-added reading experience.

Not buying it?

That’s okay. Neither were we.

In truth, August was a little lean on little-seen news, so we decided to wait until September to prop up In Case You Missed It.

Hope you enjoy the beefier listing:

* * * * * *

Extremophiles

Ultra-hardy bacteria species collectively known as “extremophiles” have been discovered in NASA ‘clean rooms’ used by scientists and engineers who are assembling spacecraft.

In Case You Missed It: Perhaps they should have called Mr. Clean.

* * * * * *

Fruit flies love the carbon dioxide fizz from beer. The insects have special taste receptors that are sensitive to the gas.

In Case You Missed It: The buzz is from the flies, not the beer.

* * * * * *

Lin Hui the female panda

The giant panda has a better chance of survival than previously thought. The fear had been that their bamboo diet, slow reproduction rate and isolated habitat made them unable to adapt as a species in the modern world, but research shows they are more capable of evolving than believed.

In Case You Missed It: Highly evolved pandas. Band name!

* * * * * *

U.S. scientists have discovered what they say is a fundamental flaw in the conventional view of how liquids form bubbles that grow and turn into vapors.

In Case You Missed It: I fear I may be having an attack of the vapors.

* * * * * *

A giant underwater current sweeping past Australia’s island of Tasmania toward the South Atlantic is a main contributor to regulation of carbon dioxide gasses in the atmosphere.

In Case You Missed It: So much for blaming the kindergartener for the warm water in the pool.

* * * * * *

Lectins, a family of proteins believed to be a natural insecticide, is abundant in undercooked legumes and grains and can cause diarrhea by disturbing the lining of the gastrointestinal tract.

In Case You Missed It: Meet Hannibal Lectin.

* * * * * *

New Species of Orchid in Vietnam

Eleven new species of plants and animals have been found in a remote region known as the “Green Corridor” in central Vietnam, including a snake, two butterflies and five orchid varieties.

In Case You Missed It: As if the name “Green Corridor” wasn’t a big tipoff to biological diversity.

* * * * * *

Shoppers like stores’ scents to match their sounds.

In Case You Missed It: Attention Kmart sniffers.

* * * * * *

The universe’s largest known planet is a giant ball made of mostly hydrogen that is 20 times larger than Earth and circling a star 1,400 light years away.

In Case You Missed It: Is it me or is that a giant ball of gas over there?

* * * * * *

Inorganic galactic dust can spontaneously take on the characteristics of living organisms in space, a development that could transform views of alien life.

In Case You Missed It: How will Dusty Rhodes react to this?

* * * * * *

Zhejiangosaurus lishuiensis dinosaur

A new species of dinosaur that lived about 100 million years ago in eastern China has been found near the city of Lishui in Zhejiang Province, south of Shanghai. The adult nodosaurid dinosaur, named
Zhejiangosaurus lishuiensis, was 6 meters long, about 1 meter tall and had two rows of sharp spikes on its back and tail.

In Case You Missed It: Mind if we just call you “Zeke?”

* * * * * *

Mira illustration

A supersonic red-giant star named Mira has a tail streaking through outer space that is 13 light-years long - about 20,000 times the average distance of Pluto from the sun. The star has been known for four centuries, but the tail had never been visible until it was spotted recently by NASA’s Galaxy Evolution Explorer probe.

In Case You Missed It: Nice tail.

* * * * * *

Oxygen began pulsing through the Earth’s atmosphere at least 50 million years before previously thought. The Great Oxidation Event began about 2.45 billion years ago and marked the transition from an oxygen-poor to an oxygen-rich atmosphere.

In Case You Missed It: Taking the Earth’s pulse.

* * * * * *

Wine labels

Diners at restaurants enjoy their wine and meals more if the wine has a special label, even if it’s really only $2 vintage.

In Case You Missed It: A little vino would be keen-o.

* * * * * *

Kindergarten stress

Small children stress out about starting kindergarten up to six months before school starts, suggesting youngsters may take cues from their anxious parents.

In Case You Missed It: Everybody could use a nap.

* * * * * *

Onions

An antioxidant in onions which contains sulphur binds with harmful toxins in the brain and flushes them out of the body, helping to prevent memory loss.

In Case You Missed It: Note to self: remember the onion.

* * * * * *

Cyprian asian honeybees kill hornets by smothering them our of air

Asian Cyprian honeybees kills its nemesis, the Oriental hornet, by smothering it as a mob, causing the hornet to asphyxiate.

In Case You Missed It: All for one, one for all.

* * * * * *

Bat Bug

Sex among African bat bugs is a violent affair. During copulation, males of the species pierce the abdomens of their mates with their genitals and ejaculate directly into their blood.

In Case You Missed It: Anyone remember back when buying breakfast the morning after was the big issue?

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