EMBARK
|
BREAKTHROUGHS
PHOTOS: LEONARDO LANNA (ABOVE); MAGNUS WENNMAN (LEFT)ANIMALSMYTHICAL CREATURE
FOUND IN ANCIENT WOOD
PRAYING MANTIS IS A SVELTE ‘UNICORN’
Researchers exploring Brazil’s Atlantic Forest discovered some
five to seven new species of praying mantises. Among the new-
found creatures are unicorn mantises, which have mysterious,
hornlike structures on their heads, as seen above on a member
of the genus Zoolea.
It’s unclear exactly what purpose the protuberances serve. Per-
haps they’re “meant to break up the silhouette of the animals,” says
team leader Leonardo Lanna, whose Projeto Mantis expedition was
funded by the National Geographic Society. Predators may then
mistake them for something inedible, such as a leaf bud. Unlike
their magical namesake, the praying mantises of the Atlantic Forest
are experts in the art of blending in. —DOUGLAS MAIN
NEUROSCIENCETo Sleep,
Perchance
to Heal
A report in the
journal Nature
Communications
adds to the list
of sleep’s benefits.
In imaging studies
of the brains of
zebrafish, scientists
saw that cells’ DNA
repair systems
could not fix a day’s
accumulated dam-
age during waking
periods—but that
they were far more
efficient during
periods of sleep.
Researchers say
this find may help
illuminate the con-
nections between
sleep habits, brain
health, and aging.
—CATHERINE ZUCKERMAN
Flight of the Dandelion
By studying dandelion seeds as
they drift in the air, researchers
uncovered a new form of flight.
A hovering vortex created by air
flowing up through the seed’s
pappus, the tuft at its top, helps
the seed float. The find could
explain how other life-forms move
and how filter feeders eat. —CZ
DISPATCHES
FROM THE FRONT LINES
OF SCIENCE
AND INNOVATION