Ants On A Hog

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neillblomkamp:

Planet Earth II (2016) Episode 03 “Jungles” Directed by Emma Napper

Flies offer insights into motor neuron disease

ALS is one of the most common forms of motor neuron disease, killing around 1,200 people a year in the UK.

Researchers at the Babraham Institute and the University of Massachusetts have developed a new way to study the process of nerve damage, which occurs in people with ALS and other forms of motor neuron disease.

By studying nerves in legs from the common fruit fly (top image), researchers identified genes involved in the neurodegeneration process. 

They hope that this model will both increase understanding of neurodegenerative diseases and help to inform future therapies.

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Image credits: Top: Microscopic image of a fly leg, Babraham Institute

Bottom left: (top) fully-functioning neuromuscular junction from a wild type fly and neuromuscular junction showing degeneration (bottom), Babraham Institute

Bottom right: Drosophila pupae, Helio Alexandre Duarte Roque forZEISS Microscopy

How do ants keep clean?

For the first time, scientists at the University of Cambridge have uncovered the secrets of how ants use different types of hairs to clean away dirt from their antennae. 

For an insect, grooming is serious business. If the incredibly sensitive hairs on their antennae get too dirty, they are unable to smell food, follow the trails of their kin or even communicate.

Camponotus rufifemur ants have a cleaning structure on their front legs that is used to groom their antennae. The device, similar in shape to a tiny lobster claw, is covered in different types of hairs. During cleaning, the antenna is pulled through the device, clearing away dirt particles using ‘bristles’ a ‘comb’ and a ‘brush’.

In the future, the research could be applied to the field of nanotechnology - where the contamination of small things is a big problem.

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Video credit: University of Cambridge

anineillustration:

The beetles are joined by a flock of moths for tonights business view of the Degree Show. The Edinburgh College of Art Degree Show will be open to the public from Saturday onwards (June 1st) so come and look at some amazing art - I had a wee snoop around the exhibition already, everyone’s work is amazing!

onenicebugperday:

Moss-mimic Bugs from Ecuador

All photos by Andreas Kay

1. Caterpillar, Saturniidae
2. Katydid, Championicasp.
3. Inchworm caterpillar, Geometridae
4. Stick insect, Trychopeplus thaumasius?
5. Grasshopper, Sciaphilacrissp.
6. Mantis, Pogonogaster latens?
7. Unidentified caterpillar
8. Katydid, Anaphidnasp.

carrydeckcrane706:

new hobby: editing anti-wasp memes to be pro-wasp. spreading my waspaganda 

blackpink:

Simon gets distracted again! Another day of work interrupted by an inconvenient heart-on!!

instagram/twitter

strangebiology:

This Moth’s weird inflatable butt has gone viral, but these “tentacles” have a real purpose

A video from Indonesia is making the rounds on social media, and it shows a bizarre sight—a moth with long, pulsing tentacles coming out of his backside.

Speculations ran wild—is the moth infected by a parasite that is emerging? Are we looking at some sort of huge, weird penis? Maybe the video is simply CGI. As it turns out, none of those are correct. This moth, called Creatonotos gangis, is inflating his scent glands. 

The glands are called “coremata,” or “scent glands.”