Freaky Phenomena

We learn a lot from the animal kingdom, and it turns out that fly larvae might hold the secret to super suction cups for humans. While superhero might be a stretch for this possible technology, it's definitely more powerful than suction cups as they stand. These little babies from Austria aren't even dislodged by river currents as they stick to rocks!

Researchers found that the larvae's suction organs can withstand forces up to 600 times their own body weight before they're moved from their perches, which is pretty incredible for any animal, let alone a baby. It could lead to scientists developing a similar product that might keep our car window Garfields from falling down--not to mention much more important functions.

Have you heard of any other bug-based tech lately? Share it in the chat. 

Have you heard of Skara Brae? It's an ancient lost city that a Scottish farmer discovered. Historians believe the city to be even older than the pyramids at over 5,000 years old. Covered with sand dunes, it's so well preserved that we can take a peek inside the underground city with these photos.

It's so cool to look and see how this city, which likely had 50 to 100 people living in it, lived. Each house has a basin that historians think might've been used for fish. It's so well preserved that people refer to it as the Scottish Pompeii. Some think that it was abandoned like Pompeii, too--in a rush during a storm--but others say that evidence points to people leaving it in a gradual fashion for an unknown reason.

What do you think about Skara Brae? What other lost worlds have you read about recently?

Remember Repo! The Genetic Opera? If not, don't worry, this is much worse: a startup company is buying the blood of teenagers to sell to rich people for thousands of dollars to help them be healthier and live longer. This is incredibly distressing, especially considering the laws already on the books about organ selling. Also? People donate rather than sell blood to save lives, yet we're allowing this to happen? There are so many ethical concerns here that I can't even. 

Life extension science, they are calling this baloney. Because we need more rich people to stay around longer and dictate how the country operates, amirite? We've had so many movies made about this, from Monty Python sketches to The Island, that it shouldn't be as surprising, but why don't we have laws catching up to the science to stop it? Just because we can doesn't mean we should.

What do you think of blood transfusions for "life extension"? 

Have you heard that rats are now driving cars? Rats in a research lab were taught to drive custom made cars in order to pick up their own food, something that, many have pointed out, many humans seem to struggle with today. It's leading scientists to believe that rats are much smarter than previously thought, which pretty much makes anyone who's been around rats say... duh.

Rats are incredibly intelligent. The escape artists form close bonds with their human companions as well as complex relationships within their own species. Just because their eyesight isn't great doesn't mean they aren't bright: they can learn a route the first time they travel it, which is much more than many humans can say.

What other incredible animal stories have you read this week? Share them in the chat.