October 4, 2016

Did you know that the tailless whip scorpion is pretty harmless? Although called a scorpion (and sometimes a spider), the tailless whip scorpion is actually an amblypigid. An amblypigid is still considered an arachnid, but it uses it's front two legs as feelers. In addition to those two front feelers, there are six long walking legs and thorny pedipalps that give the scorpion it's threatening appearance. But no worries, the scorpion produces no venom or toxins. It can bite but would prefer not to. Even if you did get bitten, it would be as if you got pricked by a thorn.

October 3, 2016

Did you know that the "Big Lick" walk, prized in horse show competitions, can be the result of soring? Some owners and trainers like to show off their horses' high kick trots. However to make the movement more exaggerated, some trainers resort to soring. This process involves exposing the sensitive tissue around the horse's feet to pressure and having them stand on platform shoes (stacks) embedded with nails for extra weight. Some trainers also rub diesel or kerosene around the ankles, and then tie weights around them. As a result, the horse kicks its feet up high when it walks.

September 13, 2016

Did you know that any female bee larvae can become queen? In fact, the selection process is pretty random. When it comes time to choosing a new ruler for the hive, worker bees select several female larvae and provide them with large amounts of royal jelly. Future drones and worker bees are only given a small amount of royal jelly. They are fed the secretion as it's produced. However the future queen bees are bathed in it and their royal jelly contains royalactin. The royalactin turns on the genes that will have the larvae develop into a fertile females.

September 2, 2016

Did you know that bear bile can be used as medicine? Bear bile has been used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for centuries. It contains ursodeoxycholic acid which can be used to dissolve gallbladder stones when surgery cannot be used. However just because it works doesn't mean black bears should be stuffed into small cages and have needles poked into their gallbladder to extract the bile. Like with pangolin scales, there are herbal alternatives. Although bear bile farms have been found in both China and Vietnam, the practice is only illegal in Vietnam. Luckily in a 2011 poll, 87% of the Chinese people disagreed with the practice. Traditional medicine experts even stated that a lack of bear bile would not harm anyone.

September 1, 2016

Did you know that there are scaly mammals? The pangolin's body is covered in keratin scales (your hair and nails of made of that same material). When threatened, the pangolin can roll up in a ball. Don't confuse that with the armadillo which has a leather shell made of plates of dermal bone. The pangolin is hunted for bushmeat and medicine. Because of hunting and deforestation, many species of pangolin are endangered. Despite international efforts to ban pangolin scale and meat trade, illegal trafficking still exists in East Asia (and Africa) due to the belief that pangolin scales can cure cancer and help with lactation issues. Despite several Chinese medicinal experts listing other herbs that have the same effect, demand for pangolin scales has only grown.

August 21, 2016

Did you know that some individuals have to battle dry, flakey skin all the time? Many people have experienced dandruff and skin rashes during the cold winter, but individuals affected by psoriasis have to deal with much more. Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that causes the skins cells to multiply rapidly, causing red plaques to form and layers of dead skin cells to build up. It is as if the skin is covered with silver scales. Unfortunately there is no cure, only treatments. Topical ointments can help promote the shedding of the scales and alleviate itching. Other treatments include phototherapy and systemic treatments (pills and injections).

August 10, 2016

Did you know that zebrafish can glow in the dark? The zebrafish is a great model organism for research. It produces offsprings every week (spawning occurs during the morning), has transparent embryo (so we can observe them), and shares 70% of our genes. It's also a popular aquarium fish because of its robust nature. To make zebrafish even more popular, Yorktown Technologies genetically modified them to be different colors and glow in the dark. Thus they are called GloFish. They are the only genetically modified animal available to the public in the US.