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Booger Bubbles | Mushroom OS | Spidey Butts

Booger Bubbles | Mushroom OS | Spidey Butts

TCK #100!

Steve Burgess
May 13, 2023

Welcome to the 100th issue! To celebrate, here are my top 100 favorite elements!

…kidding

This newsletter started to track my goal of learning something new every day. I’ve certainly learned a lot in publishing 100 straight weeks (!) and it means so much more to share it with you.

What to expect below:

5 of my favorite recent stories
Milestone Convo Kit Clickables
st3v celebrates #100

-Steve 💯

Get the coolest STEM news in 5 minutes every Saturday, Join The Convo!

Booger Bubbles

Key to staying cool in the Australian outback: boogers. Echidnas blow snot bubbles to regulate their temperature and survive heat over 100°F.

124 short-beaked echidnas studied over 1 year
Cannot sweat, pant, or lick (like kangaroos) to keep cool
Yet body temps were regularly below ~86°F

Blowing booger bubbles creates a wet surface that evaporates over highly concentrated blood vessels. Infrared cameras captured the echidna’s blood cooling as a result. But every echidna already nose it’s cool.

Achoo

Mushroom OS

Your future computer might be a mushroom. Researchers are developing computing infrastructure using fungi mycelium.

Mycelium = web-like fungal root structure
Forms natural fungal networks to communicate underground
Electrodes in mycelium track electrical signals as inputs

They won’t be as fast as traditional computers, but mushroom networks use less energy and can self-repair. This proof-of-concept will be built upon to bring us commercially viable mycelium computers. I hope it comes with mushroom keys.

MyCPUlium

Spidey Butts

Choosing to not do 8-legged squats, sea spiders regrow their butts and legs the old fashioned way. Researchers recently stumbled upon the arthropod’s regen abilities.

First regrown limb observed after accidental dismemberment in a lab
Follow-up study: watch 19 spiders re-grow removed hind parts
Some fully recovered while others lived on without missing parts

Bottomless spiders learned to regurgitate waste the way it came in. Arthro-adults failed to regrow parts, suggesting the ability is related to premature molting processes. At the time of this writing, Spiderman has not responded to research inquiries.

Sea-spider x-rays look like ginger roots

Crying Plants

Turns out sad plants actually cry. Researchers tuned in to plant emotions and heard audible signals when their lab garden was thirsty or stressed.

Crying plants produce 35 sounds per hour
While others only speak up once an hour
Ultrasonic plant chatter is inaudible to most humans

Many animals, including bats and moths, may be able to hear and respond to these signals. More research is needed to determine if these are truly cries for help, or simply a reaction to specific stimuli. Brb, apologizing to all my succulents.

If a tree cries in the forest and no one is around…

Bee Student

Bumblebees teach each other how to look busy…and actually get things done. Researchers observed bee colonies using social learning to solve puzzles.

Sugar could be accessed by rotating a box lid with buttons
Trained “demonstrator” bees worked while their friends watched
Observer bees went on to solve the puzzle 98% of the time

Groups presented with 2 correct solutions ultimately all chose 1, confirming a social influence. Meaning any changes in colony behavior may be caused by new individuals, not necessarily an objective change in preference. Next up, buzzness school.

What all the buzz is about