February 27, 2024: Snakes underwent a "big bang" of evolutionary adaptation, 3-D models of cosmic molecular clouds, and a famous fossil is a fake. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | | An eyelash pit viper from the New Wold tropics. Credit: Alejandro Arteaga/Khamai Foundation | | | A new study shows that as snakes diverged from lizards some 125 million years ago, they experienced a huge burst of adaptation where they acquired a dazzling (terrifying?) array of traits and characteristics. Researchers created a map of snake traits based on the genomes of 1,000 species of squamates (the order of reptiles that includes snakes and lizards). They found that snakes appear to have evolved up to about three times faster than lizards.
What they found: Some of the traits snakes evolved include chemoreceptive structures that help them pinpoint their prey using scent and heat, and flexible jaws that help them swallow oversized meals. Some snakes have evolved deadly venom to hunt larger prey. (Am I the only one who just shuddered?)
What the experts say: "Snakes are successful because of a synergism of multiple adaptions [such as] elongated bodies, constriction, venom, flexible skulls," says Michael Lee, an evolutionary biologist at Flinders University in Australia. "Many legless lizards have one or two of these snake features but haven't been nearly as successful." | | | A defensive display by a western ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus), native to the western U.S. Credit: Alison Davis Rabosky, University of Michigan | | | Astrophysicists are using 3-D printing to create models of the clouds where stars are born. Nia Imara, an artist and an astrophysicist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, works with colleagues to create 3-D printed models of the gas and dust that swirl in stellar nurseries. The researchers use computer simulations of physical conditions of known molecular clouds–their gravity or magnetic fields, for instance–as the blueprint. They then use a 3-D printer to layer 2,500 sheets of resin into a real cloud model.
Why this matters: Astronomers know that stars are born in molecular clouds, but they don't know the details of how that process unfolds inside the clouds. Afterall, clouds are three dimensional, and even the best infrared images from the James Webb Space telescope are flat. "We often can't decipher the real shape of a structure within a cloud, because we are seeing it projected onto a flat plane," writes Imara.
What the experts say: "I think of our 3-D prints as interactive maps," Imara says. "They show us where to look to identify the structures that play key roles in star formation." One type of structure is filaments, which are noodlelike clumps of dense gas that weave through molecular clouds. Imara and her colleagues hope to determine exactly what role filaments play in star formation.
More: This Astrophysicist Makes Stellar Nurseries That Fit in the Palm of Your Hand | 5 min video | | | Astrophysicist Nia Imara holds a 3-D molecular cloud in her hand. Molecular clouds (left) are the birthplaces of stars. Credit: Tulika Bose, Kelso Harper, Jason Drakeford/Scientific American | | | • A fossil discovered in 1931 of Tridentinosaurus antiquus, a small lizard-like reptile that lived during the Permian period (299-252 million years ago), turns out to be a fake. | 4 min read | | | • Two studies cited in a federal case attempting to ban medication abortion were found by outside experts to have serious design flaws and that their authors had undisclosed conflicts of interest. The papers have been retracted. | 7 min read | | | • Replication, a process where scientists attempt to repeat the work of others to either verify or disprove it, is an essential part of the scientific method. But science is suffering from a "replication crisis" which could be addressed with new agreements of information sharing, write Or Cohen-Sasson and Ofer Tur-Sinai, both scholars of law. With good reason, scientists do not want to share their methods, data, or computations. But this stymies reproducibility, the authors say. "Promoting replicability of scientific studies benefits the scientific community and fosters public trust in science." | 4 min read | | | Snakes are valuable members of ecosystems. They keep rodent populations in check and are an important food source for predators like hawks and skunks. We may not ever want to see them in person (I don't), but they are crucial and deserve protection from habitat loss and human eradication. | Thanks for reading Today in Science. My line is always open for your feedback and suggestions: newsletters@sciam.com. We'll return tomorrow! | —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters . | | | | Scientific American
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