- casualSTEM
- Posts
- Team Octopus | Scuba Lizards | Plastic-proof
In partnership with
Weekend plans? Cancel them so you can watch this 24/7 live feed of Moo Deng, the internet famous baby hippo! 🦛
-Steve
Get the weekly email that explains science in sweatpants. Stay smart for free.
Team Octopus
Octopuses use their many-arms to direct multi-species hunting parties. The cephalopods strategically decide when and where the group attacks.
Hunting groups include multiple fish species
Blue goatfish act as scouts, finding the best prey
Octopuses “punch” slackers and intruders
Result: fish get food hidden in crevices and octopuses save energy previously spent foraging. Future research will explore how octopuses utilize social cues on group hunts. Only a matter of time before they start running human businesses.
Check out last week’s results in “Unnatural Selection” below
Scuba Lizards
Scuba diving lizards nose breath underwater. Researchers studied how Anolis aquaticus trap air bubbles over their nostrils to evade predators.
Natural dives last 20+ minutes
Study applied moisturizer to prevent bubbles
No bubble = 32% shorter dives
A. aquaticus joins the small group of known animals to intentionally bring oxygen on dives (like diving bell spiders and humans). Next up: determining if the bubbles pull in oxygen from water. And if lizards are PADI eligible.
Plastic-proof
Tardigrades read last week’s issue and added to their long list of impressive features. Of 5,600+ tested meiofauna, water bears are the only ones that do NOT ingest microplastics.
Tardigrades = micro-animals that survive in extreme environments
Meiofauna = tiny marine invertebrates
Microplastics still stuck to tardigrade bodies
Researchers believe tardigrades’ unique feeding structure allows them to avoid accidental consumption by piercing prey rather than ingesting it whole. Time to start eating with toothpicks!
A note from 1440
Why are you seeing this ad? I’m not a baby hippo (yet) and need to buy my own food. So I personally review all ads for potential value to you. Plus, checking them out helps support the cost of running casualSTEM 🤓
Receive Honest News Today
Join over 4 million Americans who start their day with 1440 – your daily digest for unbiased, fact-centric news. From politics to sports, we cover it all by analyzing over 100 sources. Our concise, 5-minute read lands in your inbox each morning at no cost. Experience news without the noise; let 1440 help you make up your own mind. Sign up now and invite your friends and family to be part of the informed.
Clickables
🦖 We’re ruining future fossil records (xkcd)
🛒 Shop ‘til you drop with a flying cart-drone
🔬 Zoom in - award winning microscopic wonders
Unnatural Selection
Last week: “Which name do you prefer?”
But imagine if you looked in your microscope and saw two tiny bears? And a pic-a-nic basket, of course.
Make sure you vote up top for next week’s “Unnatural Selection”!
st3v on site
Recycling
st3v knows a good joke is funnier when you have to explain it. (see what I did there? It’s funny because we know it’s actually not funny if you have to explain the joke!)
Claim your sunglasses!
Sharing is caring…and also unlocks cool shades 😎
You currently have 0 referrals, only 3 away from receiving casualSTEM Sunglasses!.
or simply forward this email and tell them to click the “Subscribe Now” button in the intro! (or this one 👇️)
currently available in US only
New to the casualSTEM?
Get the weekly email that explains science in sweatpants. Stay smart for free.
Missed last week’s science in sweatpants?
Catch-up here: 🔬Water Bears | Tardigrades | B-day Party
I'd love to hear from you!
Reply to this email, I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions!
Reply