Science

More than 100 years after it was last seen, the giant Neptune’s cup sponge (Cliona patera) has been rediscovered off the coast of southern Singapore.

First discovered in 1822, the sponges grew so large — a metre or more in both height and diameter — that their cup-like structures were sometimes used as tubs for babies. But their size made them valuable to collectors around the world and they were overharvested until they disappeared from Singapore in the 1870s. The last time living sponges were seen was 1908, when collectors found some in West Java, Indonesia. The species was then thought to be extinct.

But in the 1990s, a few dead Neptune’s cup sponges turned near Australia, giving researchers hope that they might find these massive Porifera again in the oceans around Singapore.

And now that hope has been met: Two living Neptune’s cup sponges have been found near Singapore’s St John’s Island. The first specimen was found in March by biologists with the environmental engineering firm DHI Water & Environment (S) Pte Ltd. A second sponge was found 50 meters away

Invasive rats are compensating for the loss of native pollinators in New Zealand, scientists report.

The rats, which are responsible for devastating the native pollinator populations, are attracted to the flowers for their nectar.

The results could mean that the decline of pollinating animals worldwide does not spell the end for all native plants. The results are published in a Royal Society journal — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Water, oil, blood and insects alike slide swiftly off a new super-slippery material inspired by a carnivorous plant.

Scientists searching for clever materials sometimes borrow ideas from nature. Lotus leaves, for example, are famously water repellent, thanks to their textured surfaces which trap a cushion of air for water to slide down.

The leaves have inspired a range of so-called superhydrophobic materials. But these materials have trouble repelling oils and more complex liquids, which have lower surface tensions than water and can seep into the surface at the slightest pressure — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Some squid and octopuses can switch between two different types of camouflage according to which predators are nearby, scientists have found.

In the cold, dim environment between 600 and 1,000 metres deep — known as the mesopelagic zone — some creatures have evolved to be transparent to avoid being seen from below against ambient light. However, some predator fish get around this using light-emitting organs called photophores that function as biological searchlights, scattering blue light from the eyes and internal organs of their prey.

For this reason, many animals in the lower depths are naturally red or black to reflect as little light as possible at blue wavelengths. But this means their silhouettes are easy to see from below.

Japetella heathi, a bulbous, short-armed octopus, and Onychoteuthis banksii, a squid, have the best of both worlds in that they can switch rapidly between the two states.

The study is published in the journal Current Biology — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Along came an albino spider — and it’s shocked scientists in Australia.

I nearly fell over when I saw its white head, Mark Harvey, senior curator at the Western Australian Museum, said via email.

The new-found trapdoor spider isn’t a true albino, since it still has some pigment—its body is brown, like those of other trapdoor spiders.

But the 1.2-inch-wide (3-centimeter-wide) arachnid has been dubbed the albino trapdoor spider until it’s formally described as a new species — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Geckos inspire robots, but there’s no reason to limit one’s imagination. Why not use the fantastic properties of gecko feet to make something everyone needs: tape?

At the University of Kiel in Germany, a group led by Stanislav Gorb has made a silicone tape patterned after the feet of the lizard. Unlike your garden-variety scotch tape, this stuff is strong, it can be used over and over again, and it doesn’t leave sticky goo behind. In fact it is so strong a piece a bit less than 8 inches by 8 inches (20 cm on a side) can hold up the weight of a fully grown person.

How does this work? Geckos and some insects have tiny hair-like structures on their feet called setae, and each one end in a flat structure called a spatula. When they touch a surface, the attraction between molecules, known as the Van der Waals forces, pull on them and cause them to stick. This is the same force that makes water droplets stick to the ceiling or to the side of a glass — via redwolf.newsvine.com