Scorpion
dr. dolittle | July 12, 2012
Mesobuthus martensii; Image source: Wikimedia Commons, Ja
Scientists from Wuhan University in China have discovered compounds in scorpion venom that may be the next new treatment for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria and potentially other antibiotic-resistant microbes. Specifically, the peptide BmKn2 was isolated from Mesobuthus martensii and modified into another peptide, Kn2-7 which increased the natural antibacterial properties of BmKn2 while at the same time reducing the risk for hemolysis (destruction of red blood cells).
The new peptide, Kn2-7 was…
esiegel | February 29, 2008The Milky Way galaxy is a relatively big spiral galaxy. So is Andromeda. There are about 20 dwarf galaxies that are gravitationally bound to us; combined with us, all of this makes up the local group. But Andromeda is moving towards us, and eventually, it's going to merge with us. I'll once again show you a video of what this merger might look like:
But what would we see, here in the Milky Way, as Andromeda got closer and closer to us? Right now, Andromeda looks like this:
But Andromeda is also very far away: about 2.3 million light years (770 kpc). The center of it is tiny on the sky, but…
zooillogix | July 13, 2007Late last month the Genesis II Pathfinder spacecraft was delivered into orbit and along with it went a bold group of unwitting arthropods. Bigelow Aerospace was founded in 1999 with the vision of creating orbital hotels for "space tourists." In an equally lucrative move, this Space Camp for bugs was conceived by Robert Bigelow, the company's founder and namesake, while on vacation.
In the middle of last year, he called his payload team into a room and showed them five dirt-filled containers. Inside each one was an entire colony of ants that he had coaxed, prodded and pried from the ground…
zooillogix | April 11, 2007A Chinese born, Paris-based artist hailed for his groundbreaking work that helped pave the way for a new generation of young artists in China is on the defensive after his most recent installation at the Vancouver Art Gallery. His work "Theatre of the World" features snakes, lizards, scorpions and a variety of dangerous insects trapped together inside a cage shaped like a turtle shell. The artist calls it a mirror of society's conflicts. Sadistic eight year olds call it a a rip-off of a favorite Saturday afternoon pastime. Regardless, it may be short lived as the SPCA has determined that the…