Survival of the fittest. This is the law of the jungle. The very same tactic that is used by parasitoid wasps. The wasps zombify spiders and make them weave a special web. Then, the wasps use the web to suspend themselves before they finally kill their spider host.

William Eberhard, staff scientist emeritus at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Marcelo Gonzaga at the Universidade Federal de Uberlândia in Brazil have assembled wide-ranging evidence that 'zombification' involves hacking existing web-spinning mechanisms by hijacking the spider's own molting hormone, ecdysone.

In a new paper published in the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society they combined a review of all known reports of different wasp species known to zombify different spider species around the world; the results from a molecular study in Brazil; and new observations of Costa Rican spiders to demonstrate several previously unappreciated patterns that suggest that the wasp larvae use ecdysone.

It is really impressive how the wasps induce the spider to modify the design of the web. The net made by the controlled spider is forty times stronger than the conventional one thus becoming a stable home for the pupal cocoon.

(Image Credit: Marcelo O. Gonzaga)

This 4 minute epic production of stop motion and animation features delightful voice over acting and a charming story line. It appears to be a mix between the classic 1980's cartoon genre and anime all done with happy Lego babies. Enjoy!

The late great Queen frontman adored his nine cats. He lavished them with everything that they need. Here are some photos taken of Freddie Mercury with some of his cats. Most of the photos were taken by Peter Freestone and included in Freddie Mercury's memoir.

(Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Wine connoisseurs no doubt have an extensive repertoire of knowledge when it comes to wines and they have tasted everything from a chardonnay to a Sauvignon blanc to a Pinot noir.

For an amateur or a casual enthusiast in wines, one might be able to resonate with Sarah Miller's story of the monthly blind wine tasting session she attends.

Unlike experts or people who devote a significant amount of time searching and researching wines, an amateur wouldn't necessarily be able to distinguish perfectly between types of wine or brands, or when they were made. One would probably go with past experience as a point of comparison but unless one has an extensive experience of tasting wine, it won't give much headway.

You look at the wine, you smell the wine, you taste the wine. You go around the table in order and discuss various elements of the wine, related to various sensory observations, which, during those four minutes, you have responded to according to the categories provided for you on this sheet, courtesy of the Court of Master Sommeliers, which is called THE GRID, and which you can see at the top of this piece.

As they pick apart the different sensory perceptions, they would try to identify what type of wine it is, where it was made, and when. In this particular session, they were going through "classic whites". Here's how it went.

(Image credit: Elle Hughes/Unsplash)

Update: Simon is following Theo around like a puppy, Theo is a little nervous as cats can be in new environments pic.twitter.com/NtgVpspTK7

— mac (@kenziecoffman) April 25, 2019

Last week, we had the story of Simon and Theo, two cats who live in apartments opposite each other. They spent their time staring at each other until their respective owners began communicating through window signs. The two cats finally met on Thursday at the apartment Simon shares with Mackenzie Coffman.

Waiting on our group photos but overall....we think it went as well as it can with cats! Only a couple hisses, no fights, and lots of butt-sniffs. Thank u all for following along! pic.twitter.com/u5IxQXPFMr

— mac (@kenziecoffman) April 26, 2019

You can see more pictures and videos in the Twitter thread about the "date." -via Bored Panda

We tend to imagine bees generally having a specific set of color patterns but looking closely, though they exhibit the same colors, the patterns come in varieties.

"There is exceptional diversity in coloration of bumble bees," said Heather Hines, assistant professor of biology and of entomology at Penn State and principal investigator of the study. "Of the roughly 250 species of bumble bees, there are over 400 different color patterns that basically mix and match the same few colors over the different segments of a bee's body."

Evolutionary factors play into the bees' coloration. For example, one may notice that in some species, at the sting end of its body, a red spot could be found which would warn or signal danger for those who see it. The researchers also noted that bees from the same region would usually mimic patterns.

In spite of the great diversity available, color patterns tend to converge toward similarity within a particular geographic region because they serve as an important and effective warning signal. This is an example of Müllerian mimicry, where similar, often vibrant, color patterns are used among multiple species to warn predators of a dangerous feature like toxicity or sharp spines.

In researching these color patterns, the researchers were able to identify a particular region in a gene, called the Abdominal-B which regulates how the colors are expressed.

(Image credit: Krzysztof Niewolny/Unsplash)

Endgame has been released for almost a week now and social media has been abuzz with so much excitement as well as fair warnings from people who haven't watched the film not to spoil them.

In somewhat good fun, one teacher posted a note to his students saying that no discussions about the movie will take place in his class until he and his brother could watch the film.

The note was posted on Twitter, which has since been taken down, but Mashable was able to get the gist of the note here.

(Image credit: Kamilious/Twitter)

Google employees have created "pixel art" masterpieces using sticky notes on their office windows. Here's how they do it. Read more on The Keyword.

Second Wave feminism came from the acknowledgement that the vote was not enough. Women in the 1960s and '70s wanted to change a culture that saw them as the weaker sex. One form of protest was art, particularly art produced by a collective in London that channeled rebellion against the demeaning way women were portrayed in media and advertising. See Red Women’s Workshop was a printmaking cooperative founded in 1974 that produced feminist posters used in schools, galleries, and political campaigns through 1990. Pru Stevenson, one of See Red's four founding members, remembers those early days well.

Collectors Weekly: What was the status of women within the larger leftist movement at the time?

Stevenson: I think we were mainly seen as a distraction; we weren’t taken seriously. It was seen to be a side issue. Within our personal relationships, there were also issues around domestic work. It was very much seen as women’s work, and the men would say they had more important things to do. “I have to take on issues which are of state importance, and who does the housework or who looks after children isn’t important to me.” So our status on the whole was pretty low. We were very much marginalized within the Left and tended to be pushed into the kitchen, making cups of tea.

Yet See Red embraced intersectionality long before it was a buzzword, knowing that oppressed groups are all in this together. Stevenson tells the story of See Red's early days of operating with no money, the attacks they suffered, and the visions they had for the feminist movement. Read the rest of the interview and see a variety of their posters at Collectors Weekly. 

(Image credit: See Red Women's Workshop)

Scientists have been able to detect these fullerenes in interstellar medium (ISM) found between stars. Not much is known about ISM but this find may shed some light as to why they are there and what other insights it might give us.

“Currently, the leading theory is that they form as a result of carbon chemistry in the warm envelopes of dying stars, such as Red giants.”

“The confirmation of interstellar [buckminsterfullerene] represents a breakthrough in our understanding of chemical complexity in the diffuse interstellar medium [..] bringing a new understanding of the types of molecules that may be responsible for the remaining (unidentified) diffuse interstellar bands.”

(Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)

What time is it, kids? It's Howdy Doody time!

Back we go to the early days of television, where we encounter another of the legendary kids' programs, The Howdy Doody Show, the first nationally televised American children's TV program.

This program is probably my earliest TV memory. Though such a program would never survive today, 60+ years ago we kids all thought it was fantastic. From the IMDb:

I can't say that I have ever seen such a quality children's program. Maybe this is because Bob Smith & Co. were trained in radio and live television back in the 1940's, but there was something authentic about their performances. Their diction, their facial expressions, their chemistry, and their interaction with the kids... And then the story lines were not bad either. Plus, after seeing the live commercials, we all craved Wonder bread.

All you have to do is compare their work product against any children's show today and you will see what I mean. They had a connection with the audience--something the Power Rangers don't have. Frankly, I feel sad for my son's generation, because there is nothing so real on television for him to stimulate his curiosity and imagination today. Instead of finding role models like Buffalo Bob on TV, all he has are impersonal and violent cartoons.

I fondly remember the antics of Clarabell the Clown (played initially by Bob Keeshan, who later became Captain Kangaroo), Buffalo Bob, Chief Thunderthud, Princess Summerfall Winterspring, and other of the ensemble characters. I can't believe how the plugs they did for their sponsors, like Halo Shampoo or Three Muskateeres candy bar, were worked into an audience-participation thing. It's so different from what we've known the last 60 years. Instead of cutting away to a commercial, they plugged the products as part of the show. Speaking of participation, I had also forgotten exactly how young the audience - the famous "Peanut Gallery" - was, the kids all looking about five years old. This was definitely a show for very young kids.

YouTube offers many if not all episodes and I have embedded a couple of the early ones below, followed by the last full episode of 1960, wherein we see Clarabell speaking - finally - and crying as he says goodbye to the kids. This was traumatic stuff for a child to see 59 years ago.

Parents - these videos are all SAFE for young children to watch unattended.

The Salt Cathedral of Colombia is one amazing spectacle. It is located about 600 feet underground in what was once a salt mine in Zipaquirá, just outside Bogotá, the capital of Colombia.

At the bottom, the temple opens up to reveal three naves representing the birth, life and death of Christ. There is a basilica dome, chandeliers and an enormous, floor-to-ceiling cross illuminated with purple lights. The pews are jammed with the faithful and when a choir breaks into song ahead of Mass, the sound envelops the chamber.

Despite not being part of the 7 Wonders of the World, the people of Colombia still love their own masterpiece, with the Congress calling the Salt Cathedral “The First Wonder of Colombia.”

Learn more about the structure’s history on NPR.

(Image Credit: Remi Jouan/ Wikimedia Commons)

The northern lights or aurora borealis is a spectacular display of colored lights shimmering across the night sky. What causes them? (As a matter of interest the southern lights is called the aurora australis).

Via Amaze | Image credit: United States Air Force photo by Senior Airman Joshua Strang/Wikimedia

Single-cell organisms grow, engulf other cells, split, decline, and die. So do empires. Pedro M. Cruz and Penousal Machado created a visualization that illustrates the historical timeline of the British, French, Spanish, and Portuguese empires as cells undergoing mitosis. You can see how this idea of independent countries really caught on over time. -via Everlasting Blort