Scientists in England have gathered definitive evidence that a kind of cancer in dogs, known as Sticker’s sarcoma, is contagious. It is spread by tumour cells getting passed from dog to dog through sex or from animals biting or licking each other. Robin Weiss and his colleagues did genetic studies on the tumour cells from 40 dogs with Sticker’s sarcoma, collected from five continents, which showed that all the tumour cells are clones of each other. The parent cell probably arose in a domesticated dog of Asian origin — perhaps a husky — hundreds of years ago, and perhaps more than 1,000 years ago. A similarly transmissible cancer has recently been discovered spreading through populations of Tasmanian devils
A substance found in crab shells called chitosan has very useful properties. For example, it has been used in bandages to stop bleeding. But now, researchers at the University of Maryland have used the chitosan from blue crabs living in Chesapeake Bay as a component of a nanoscale sensor system which could save many lives in the future. These blue crab nanosensors will be used to improve security in airports, hospitals and other public locations by detecting tiny amounts of explosives or chemicals in air and water — via Slashdot
Just one metre square of a new super-sticky material inspired by gecko feet could suspend the weight of an average family car, say its inventors. The plastic, known as Synthetic Gecko, has been developed by researchers at aerospace and defence firm BAE Systems. Like the reptile’s foot, the polymer is covered in millions of tiny mushroom-like hairs that provide grip — via Warren Ellis
According to the World Conservation Union, the West African black rhinoceros has likely gone extinct and Africa’s northern white rhino could soon follow
Australian scientists have found the strongest evidence so far that bacteria play a key role in forming gold grains and nuggets. They have found bacteria that remove gold from the soil and deposit pure grains of it around them
Desert ants have an internal system — like a pedometer — that keeps track of how many steps they take, according to a new study. The insects seem to rely on this system to find their way back to the nest after foraging. Other insects may also possess this pedometer-like system
Ever wonder what it would be like to see Yoda fly by your head or hear Chewbacca buzz instead of roar? Now you can find out thanks to entomologists Arnold Menke and David Vincent. These bug experts named new wasp species discovered in 1983 after their favorite Star Wars characters: Polemistus chewbacca, Polemistus vaderi, and Polemistus yoda — via Boing Boing
Cthuhlu Scarf, Now Available in Tangerine!, originally uploaded by redwolfoz.
Malamute watches her favourite human.
I liked the Cthulhu Scarf so much, I made one for myself. Kept the length the same, but still cursed that decision when it came to the felting.
Researchers led by the Institute of Cognitive Science and Technology in Italy are developing robots that evolve their own language, bypassing the limits of imposing human rule-based communication. The technology, dubbed Embedded and Communicating Agents, has allowed researchers at Sony’s Computer Science Laboratory in France to add a new level of intelligence to the AIBO dog. The robot dog has learnt to see a ball and tell another one where the ball is, if it’s moving and what colour it is, and the other is capable of recognising it
Scientists have used embryonic stem cells and a soup of nerve-friendly chemicals to not just bridge a damaged spinal cord but actually regrow the circuitry needed to move a muscle, helping partially paralysed rats walk
A black bear picked the wrong New Jersey yard for a jaunt earlier this week, running into Jack, a territorial tabby, who ran the bear up a tree — twice — via RogueSun
Cthulhu Scarf Felted Detail originally uploaded by Red Wolf
The Cthulhu scarf has been felted and is now ready to take on the world with all his tentacle-y menace. Well, perhaps after he’s dried.
Still a bit iffy on whether the extra length is a good or bad thing. As he’ll eventually make his way to Scotland, I’m sure the extra length will come in handy. For Australia, perhaps not. I may leave the length at two balls of yarn if I do another one.
Cthulhu Scarf Knitted originally uploaded by Red Wolf
As the Yorick scarf has gone off to its happy new home, I thought I’d mod the pattern and go for something a little more tentacle-y. As I know what to expect from the yarn, I once more went for the Jo Sharp Luxury 8ply DK Pure Wool in violet, because you can never have too much purple in your life.
The pattern is based on Yorick from Knitty.
I dropped the jaw and left out the nose parts of the pattern and knitted each half until I ran out of wool. Then I added the tentacles using i-cord, used the remainder of the third ball to lengthen one half and grafted the two pieces together.
Now I just have to felt it. My hands will not be happy.
A man shouting that god would keep him safe was mauled to death by a lioness in Kiev zoo after he crept into the animal’s enclosure — via The Pagan Prattle Online
Scientists have discovered that Caribbean spiny lobsters, a social animal, do their best to stay the hell away from others that are sick. Biologist Mark Butler of Old Dominion University and his colleagues noticed that while healthy spiny lobsters spend their days in large groups, sick animals are left alone — via Boing Boing
Scientists are recreating the human body on a microchip — using clumps of cells from different organs linked by fluid-filled channels — to reduce the amount of animal testing for drugs. The human-on-a-chip
mimics the body’s physiology on a miniature scale, including how each organ reacts to drugs and other chemicals
In a landmark development
researchers have created an artificial penis that has allowed rabbits with damaged penises to successfully mate. The urologists say that the procedure might one day help treat men with severe erectile dysfunction
Researchers at Stanford have developed a robot that mimics the extraordinary climbing skills of the Gecko. These creatures can climb sheer surfaces thanks to the intermolecular forces exerted by millions of tiny hairs their feet, called setae. The robot, Stickybot, has polymer pads on its feed with synthetic setae
Pigtail Pilot Hat as Modelled by Disgruntled Malamute originally uploaded by Red Wolf
Malamute grungingly stepped in as hat model for the occasion. Note that she’s wearing it backwards so the hole locations are better suited to the forward position of her ears.
One of the yarns I bought to sample for the Yorick scarf ended up getting used for the final run of the pigtail pilot hat project. Despite the blue colour of the picture, the yarn is actually varigated turquoise and purple.
As I had no set pattern and was cobbling together my own from a few sources, all of which have no concept of proper yarn descriptions, the result was a bit big. The 8 ply yarn, while suited to mild Australian winters, seemed a bit flimsy for the hat, especially after I added the i-cord that holds its structure together.
So, I felted it. Half an hour in the kitchen sink by hand, then it got turned over to the mercies of the hot/cold cycle of the washing machine. It got brushed when it came out of the wash and is quite fuzzy.
The size is now perfect — for a human head, Malamute was underwhelmed by the fit on her head. The ear flaps just cover my ears instead of curling up and the holes at the top could probably hold my dreadlocks up quite nicely without the additional need of hair bands. But as I have a pair of very cute, purple cat hair bands, far be it from me to leave that step out.
A strange-looking bear shot last month by a moronic American sports hunter, Jim Martell, turned out to be half polar bear, half grizzly. Officials seized the creature after noticing its white fur was scattered with brown patches and that it had the long claws and humped back of a grizzly. Now a DNA test has confirmed that it is indeed a hybrid
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