The Ed's Up #79

Shrub Attracts Pollinators By Glittering Under the Full Moon

"On the cliffs of the Mediterranean, there grows an untidy, scrambling shrub called Ephedra foeminea. It isn’t the prettiest of plants, but once a year, in the middle of July, it becomes far more appealing. On the night of the full moon, the shrub exudes small, sweet droplets from its red cones. Without any clouds or trees in the way, these drops catch the full intensity of the moonlight, reflecting them into the eyes of passers-by. The shrub sparkles, as if covered in diamonds." (Image: Kristina Bolinder)
 

More good reads

• "Thomas Gray lived six days, but his life has lasting impact." An amazing story on organ donations by Michael Vitez
•  “A team of neuroscientists is on a trolley headed for a cliff. A lone philosopher stands at the switch”. Sally Adee on the trolley problem, what it really means, and how it’s misused.
• Welcome the wonderful Maryn Mckenna to the Phenomena network, with her new blog—Germination—on antibiotics, food, agriculture, and more.
• "When the customer returns for dinner, the manager presents the live pangolin to the table." Sad story by Rachel Nuwer on one of the world’s most trafficked animals.
• The hunt for cute viral content is driving cruelty to wildlife. Consider that before sharing those photos of dancing frogs.
• New Facebook App Wants To Test Your DNA. Will the FDA get involved? By Virginia Hughes
• Great account by John Platt on how zoos acquire endangered animals, like orang-utans, that were bred in captivity
• "I started giving these flies funny names: this one’s genitalia look like bunny ears, I’ll name it ‘Bunny’.” Emily Hartop on how she discovered 30 new species of flies in Los Angeles.
• The universality of human experience at 7pm. By Neuroskeptic

 

More good links will be released in tomorrow's linkfest on Not Exactly Rocket Science.

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And that's it! Thanks for reading.

-Ed