In the next selection of interesting science news of the week: From the outside, they look like a big pink cloud, but on closer inspection, scientists at the University of Exeter have discovered that each flamingo in a flock has its own unique face, and their relationships are very similar to human ones. A 5-year study at the Holstershire County Reserve found that flamingos spend most of their time in tight-knit groups of 4-5 “close friends”. Some groups interact with each other, while others carefully avoid each other. Scientists did not notice any explicit loners, but there are certain individuals (otherwise they cannot be called anything else) that the researchers called “social butterflies” that flutter from one group to another. Ornithologists have always suspected that in the wild, where flocks of flamingos can number up to 2 million individuals, the birds form complex social structures. Close observation of flamingos in a nature reserve has shown that they are not just an anonymous mass, but that each member of the community has its own, sometimes very distinct, individuality. There are pragmatists and dreamers, jokers and hooligans. Some get into the thick of things, pushing their neighbors aside to get the best food. Others try to stay in the shadows and avoid trouble. These birds have friends and enemies, they have romantic relationships, and sometimes they even have same-sex orgies. In general, everything is almost like humans. “All the evidence suggests that the flamingo community is built on long-term friendships rather than random pairings,” said the study’s leader, ornithologist Dr. Paul Rose. “Flamingos do not simply find a mate and stick with it. We have seen male and female pairs, trios and quartets. Flamingos live long lives; we have seen birds that have been together since the 1960s, and their friendship has not weakened in that time. During the mating season, which occurs in spring and summer, social contacts and many new groups are formed. But the old ones do not disintegrate, and even disease does not seem to affect relationships within the group: a sick bird is not expelled or avoided. In Rose’s opinion, being part of a small, cohesive group helps the birds find food, detect danger in time, and, most importantly, know when the flock is about to move, since being alone, at least in the wild, is certain death for a flamingo.
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Even those of us who are not arachnophobic are probably not eager to get up close and personal with poisonous spiders. And yet it is the venom of these arthropods that holds the promise of relieving chronic pain without causing addiction, unlike opioid-based drugs. Opioids – drugs derived from the milk of the opium poppy, as well as their synthetic versions – are considered some of the most effective painkillers. But they also have a huge downside: they are powerful narcotics. In 2018 alone, nearly 47 thousand deaths from overdoses of these drugs were registered in the United States. But even when opioids are used for medical purposes and prescribed by a doctor, side effects can include dizziness, nausea, and drowsiness. Not surprisingly, researchers have long been looking for an alternative, testing various natural neurotoxins such as snake venom, marine snail venom, and spider venom. All of these poisons affect the nervous system, but when the lethal component is removed, the paralyzing and numbing properties can be successfully used for pain relief.
The bird-eating spider will relieve your pain. Through such studies, researchers in the University of Queensland’s Department of Molecular Biology, led by Dr. Christina Schroeder, found that a peptide, or mini-protein, found in the venom of the bird-eating spider species Cyriopagopus schmidti, can potentially relieve severe pain without causing dangerous addiction. “We found that the mini-protein huventoxin-IV can bind to pain receptors in the human body,” said Dr. Schroeder. “By taking a three-pronged approach to developing a new drug that includes the mini-protein, its receptor and the surrounding membrane, we have modified this mini-protein to enhance its efficacy and ability to selectively suppress pain by targeting specific pain receptors.” According to Dr. Schroder, the new compound has already been tested on mice and shown to be effective. “Potentially, our discovery may lead to a new alternative method of pain relief without side effects, thus reducing the dependence of many patients on opioid-based painkillers.”
‘Oumuamua – a unique object. We first learned about it in October 2017, when it literally flew into our solar system – the first true interstellar guest. It caught the attention of scientists for many reasons. First and foremost, its cigar-like shape led some to believe it was an alien spacecraft (not scientists, of course, but those eagerly awaiting extraterrestrials). While most comets and asteroids are potato-like in shape, this one truly resembles an alien battle cruiser, 400 meters long and even an eerie reddish color, either from rust or scorched by enemy blasters. It is also moving away from the Sun at an accelerated rate, faster than gravity would suggest. Scientists explain this phenomenon as a possible degassing process in which volatile compounds, previously in a solid state (frozen), begin to evaporate under the influence of solar radiation and serve as a natural fuel. However, scientists have yet to reach a consensus on any of the questions surrounding Oumuamua, including whether it should be considered a comet or an asteroid. As for the strange shape, it appears that Yun Zhang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Douglas Li of the University of California, Santa Cruz have calculated how Oumuamua acquired it. Chan and Li decided to simulate a space situation in which a random object gets as close as possible to its star. And it turned out that tidal or gravitational forces should literally flatten it, tear it apart, and eject it further into space.
To illustrate this process visually, the authors of the study suggested using a sandcastle as an example. Children build it from many grains of sand, and many worlds are built in a similar way, held together by the force of gravity. But when the external forces acting on the planetary grain exceed the force of gravity, it is torn from its world. “The inner and outer parts of the planetary body separate from each other under the influence of the star’s tidal forces, creating a stretched strip of these very particles,” Chzan continues the analogy. “Because this planetary body is too close to the star, its surface first melts and then freezes as its fragments fly into open space. The grains of sand stick together, and the resulting debris retains an elongated shape.” Of course, no one has been able to visually observe the process, but according to the study’s authors, Oumuamua, which translates from Hawaiian as “scout” or “pioneer,” could very well be one of these elongated fragments.
Did you dream of flying to the stars as a child? And nothing came of it? Well, it’s time to make up for lost time. No, it won’t help you now, but for your kids who are bored in quarantine, NASA and the National Laboratory of the USA on the ISS offer a choice of programs for different ages, from preschool to 12 years old. Kids can choose to join the astronaut training squad, work in the design office to build rockets and even launch them into orbit, and do many other interesting things. Cadets can replicate experiments that astronauts perform in space and then compare the results. You can build a rocket from anything. No one will limit the flight of your imagination. Boys can also help astronomers by joining a group of volunteers who carefully review hundreds of thousands of images taken by space telescopes in search of new brown dwarfs or planets. If someone is more interested in their own planet, they can get involved in counting the penguin population using satellite images. Students can even help astronauts choose the plants to grow on the orbiting station. They will be delivered to orbit by SpaceX’s cargo spacecraft in October. To do this, you must become a “Vegautom” or join the “Lucerne”, “Bean” or “Lentil” team and try to prove that your chosen type is the best for the space. In addition, according to NASA and the National Laboratory of the International Space Station, parents will also improve their teaching skills: it may come in handy for them since it is not known when the students will return to their desks and homeschooling may be extended. “We know that many are currently continuing their education at home,” say the program’s organizers, “and we hope that the tasks we have developed will help in this process.”