Humans aren’t the only creatures that get frustrated. Squirrels do too. One researcher wants to know, could there be an evolutionary benefit to losing your cool?

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DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe and meet extraordinary new friends. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.

* NEW VIDEOS EVERY OTHER TUESDAY! *

YouTube viewers are well-acquainted with the squirrel genre: Thousands of videos that show squirrels going to great lengths to extract seeds from bird feeders (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgDa_cpgHWs), or the old favorite, squirrels stuffing their cheeks (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_15UrPHkVQo).

Maybe squirrels are so popular because we see some of ourselves in them. This is part of what fueled Mikel Delgado’s interest in the fox squirrels she saw at the University of California, Berkeley. An animal behaviorist and doctoral student there, she likes to quote from Charles Darwin’s book “The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex,” in which the English naturalist proposed that the differences between humans and other animals aren’t that clear-cut.

“It was controversial because people thought animals were machines and didn’t feel pain,” she said.

Inspired by Darwin, Delgado was intrigued by squirrels’ emotional worlds. The way to tell what they’re feeling, researchers have found, is to watch their tails. When threatened by a predator like a dog, a fox squirrel whips its tail in an s-shaped pattern that researchers call “flagging.”

Delgado wondered what else she could learn from watching squirrels flag their tails. For instance, do they get frustrated, the way that people do? So she devised an experiment to explore this question.

She taught some of the fox squirrels on campus to lift the lid of a plastic box to find a walnut inside. When the squirrel ate the nut, she dropped another one in. This way, she trained the squirrels to expect a walnut when they looked inside. This training was important because frustration is usually defined as not getting what you expect.

Then she replaced the walnut with corn – which squirrels don’t like as much – or left the box empty. These squirrels flagged their tails. For a third group, she locked the box. They flagged their tails the most. They got aggressive, a hallmark of frustration. And they bit, toppled and dragged the box, trying to open it.

That makes Delgado think that perhaps frustration has an evolutionary purpose, that it isn’t just for blowing off steam, but is instead a way to gather up energy to “brute-force” a solution.

--+ Is frustration an emotion?

“It’s a little bit controversial,” said Delgado. “It depends on who you talk to.”

Researchers don’t consider frustration one of the basic, or universal, emotions. In the 1960s, psychologist Paul Ekman identified six universal emotions: joy, anger, sadness, surprise, fear and disgust:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PFqzYoKkCc

Frustration is related to anger, but researchers don’t consider frustration a basic emotion. “There’s a question as to what exactly it is,” said Delgado. “Sometimes you see it described very specifically as a task: For example, when you expect a soda and you don’t get it from the vending machine. And sometimes you see it described as the response to the task.”

---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2....016/09/20/watch-thes

---+ For more information:

The lab of Lucia Jacobs, where Mikel Delgado does her research: http://jacobs.berkeley.edu/

---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:

Can a New “Vaccine” Stem the Frog Apocalypse?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IXVcyCZVBg

These Crazy Cute Turtles Want Their Lake Back
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTYFdpNpkMY

---+ See some great videos and documentaries from PBS Digital Studios!

BrainCraft: The Power of Sadness in Inside Out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST97BGCi3-w

PBS Idea Channel: 3 Fallacies For Election Season!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REp4zCum3XY

---+ About KQED

KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.

Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by HopeLab, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.
#deeplook #squirrel #squirrelbehavior

Rain falls and within seconds dried-up moss that's been virtually dead for decades unfurls in an explosion of green. The microscopic creatures living in the moss come out to feed. Scientists say the genes in these “resurrection plants” might one day protect crops from drought.

DEEP LOOK: a new ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe and meet extraordinary new friends. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.

How does moss grow?

Mosses don’t have roots. Their porous cells absorb water like a sponge, whenever it’s available.

When there’s no rain, mosses dry out completely and stop photosynthesizing. That is, they stop using carbon dioxide and the light of the sun to grow. They’re virtually dead, reduced to a pile of chemicals, and can stay that way for years. Researchers have found dry, 100-year-old moss samples in a museum that came back to life when water was added.

Read an extended article on how scientists hope to use resurrection plants to create crops that can survive drought:

http://ww2.kqed.org/science/20....15/06/25/these-resur

--

More great Deep Look episodes:

Where Are the Ants Carrying All Those Leaves?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6oKJ5FGk24

What Happens When You Put a Hummingbird in a Wind Tunnel?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyqY64ovjfY

Pygmy Seahorses: Masters of Camouflage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3CtGoqz3ww

See also another great video from the PBS Digital Studios!

It's Okay to Be Smart: Where Does the Smell of Rain Come From?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGcE5x8s0B8

KQED Science: http://ww2.kqed.org/science
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Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is supported by HopeLab, The David B. Gold Foundation; S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation; The Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation; The Vadasz Family Foundation; Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.
#deeplook

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CORRECTION, 9/26/2018: This episode of Deep Look contains an error in the scientific name of the house centipede. It is Scutigera coleoptrata, not coleoptera. We regret the error. The viewers who caught the mistake will receive a free Deep Look T-shirt, and our gratitude. Thanks for keeping tabs on us!

Voracious, venomous and hella leggy, house centipedes are masterful predators with a knack for fancy footwork. But not all their legs are made for walking, they put some to work in other surprising ways.

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Recognizable for their striking (some might say, repulsive) starburst-like shape, house centipedes have far fewer than the 100 legs their name suggests. They’re born with a modest eight, a count that grows to 30 as they reach adulthood.

If 30 legs sound like more than one critter really needs – perhaps it is. Over the last 450 million years or so, when centipedes split off from other arthropods, evolution has turned some of those walking limbs into other useful and versatile tools.

When it hunts, for example, the house centipede uses its legs as a rope to restrain prey in a tactic called “lassoing.” The tip of each leg is so finely segmented and flexible that it can coil around its victim to prevent escape.

The centipede’s venom-injecting fangs, called forciples, are also modified legs. Though shorter and thicker than the walking limbs, they are multi-jointed , which makes them far more dexterous than the fangs of insects and spiders, which hinge in only one plane.

Because of this dexterity, the centipede’s forciples not only inject venom, but also hold prey in place while the centipede feeds. Then they take a turn as a grooming tool. The centipede passes its legs through the forciples to clean and lubricate their sensory hairs.

Scientists have long noticed that because of their length and the fact that the centipede holds them aloft when it walks, these back legs give the appearance of a second pair antennae. The house centipede looks like it has two heads.

In evolution, when an animal imitates itself, it’s called automimicry. Automimicry occurs in some fish, birds and butterflies, and usually serves to divert predators.

New research suggests that’s not the whole story with the house centipede. Electron microscopy conducted on the centipede’s legs has revealed as many sensory hairs, or sensilla, on them as on the antennae.

The presence of so many sensory hairs suggest the centipede’s long back legs are not merely dummies used in a defensive ploy, but serve a special function, possibly in mate selection. During courtship, both the male and female house centipede slowly raise and lower their antennae and back legs, followed by mutual tapping and probing.

--- Are house centipedes dangerous?

Though they do have venom, house centipedes don’t typically bite humans.

--- Where do house centipedes live?

House centipedes live anywhere where the humidity hovers around 90 percent. That means the moist places in the house: garages, bathrooms, basements. Sometimes their presence can indicate of a leaky roof or pipe.

--- Do house centipedes have 100 legs?

No. An adult house centipede has 30. Only one group of centipedes, called the soil centipedes, actually have a hundred legs or more.

---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:

https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2....018/09/25/the-house-

---+ For more information:

Visit the centipede page of the Natural History Museum, London:
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-scien....ce/our-work/origins-

---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:

How Kittens Go From Clueless to Cute
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1xRlkNwQy8

This Adorable Sea Slug is a Sneaky Little Thief
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLVfWKxtfow

---+ See some great videos and documentaries from the PBS Digital Studios!

Origin of Everything: Why Do People Have Pets?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2nW7_2VUMc

Hot Mess: What if Carbon Emissions Stopped Tomorrow?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4kX9xKGeEw

---+ Follow KQED Science:

KQED Science: http://www.kqed.org/science
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---+ About KQED

KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.

Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is supported by the Templeton Religion Trust and the Templeton World Charity Foundation, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Fuhs Family Foundation Fund and the members of KQED.

This millipede uses deadly cyanide gas to keep predators at bay. But one beetle can tolerate the toxic defense and rides the millipede like a bucking bronco. Who will win this showdown in the forest?

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DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.

---

Across Northern California, as the rainy season is ending and spring is taking hold, bees are buzzing, flowers are growing and hikers are hitting the trails.

But down at ground level, the pastoral scenery is concealing a surprising battle: relentless chemical warfare between bugs.

More than 200 species of millipedes emerge from their underground lairs every year during the winter and early spring months to forage for food and seek mates.

They have to fend off insects, mammals, reptiles and amphibians looking for a tasty meal. But they have a secret weapon – toxic chemicals they shoot from special glands. One Bay Area species, Xystocheir dissecta, carries deadly cyanide and benzaldehyde.

If they’re feeling threatened, these millipedes produce an invisible, odorless hydrogen cyanide gas that they spray at predators, and which is virtually toxic to all organisms. One byproduct is benzaldehyde, which gives off the scent of bitter almonds, as an additional signal that they’re secreting poison.

The millipedes don’t poison themselves, however. They’ve developed an immunity.

The cyanide can kill nearly any other animal trying to dine on the millipedes. Except one.

New research has found that one tough beetle is the only known predator in the world that can survive a direct blast of cyanide gas and keep going.

Brandt Weary, an entomologist, studied these hardy beetles last year for his senior thesis at the University of California Berkeley.

The beetles, known as Promecognathus crassus, love to eat millipedes, even though they are only one-fifth the millipedes’ size.

Weary wanted to know more about how the beetles withstood the millipedes’ tough chemical defense. He found that while many other beetles will avoid the cyanide-spraying millipedes, Promecognathus seeks them out.

--- How many legs do millipedes have?

Most millipedes have between 34-400 legs, and the record is 750!

--- Why do these millipedes “glow” or fluoresce?

One theory behind millipede fluorescence is that it's a warning sign. Moonlight has some UV light, so maybe an animal with better night vision can see the fluorescence even if we can't.

--- Which millipedes produce cyanide?

Only millipedes in the order Polydesmida produce cyanide. It's the largest order of millipedes with about 3500 species.

---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:

https://www.kqed.org/science/1....939811/this-milliped

---+ For more information:

Kip Will at UC Berkeley: https://ourenvironment.berkele....y.edu/people/kipling
Science on the SPOT: Glowing Millipedes of Alcatraz: https://ww2.kqed.org/quest/201....3/03/19/science-on-t

---+ Shoutout!

?Congratulations ?to these fans for suggesting our *5 favorite common names* for Xystocheir dissecta, on our Community Tab: https://www.youtube.com/channe....l/UC-3SbfTPJsL8fJAPK

#5 Unom Auhasard: Walking rave stick
#4 F E: "Lumilipede"
#3 Mr.salty: " hell no"
#2 Mystery Bomb Noel: "blue galaxy"
#1 Tinkili: "Glowy Feets McGee"

---+ Thank you to our Top Patreon Supporters ($10+ per month)!

Bill Cass, Justin Bull, Daniel Weinstein, Chris B Emrick, Karen Reynolds, Jeremy Lambert, David Deshpande, Daisuke Goto, Bugeyed.fr, WhatzGames, Elizabeth Ann Ditz, Robert Warner, Shirley Washburn, Tatianna Bartlett, KW, Tanya Finch, Elizabeth Wolden, Sayantan Dasgupta, Monica Albe, Willy Nursalim, Jenn's Bowtique, Jane Orbuch, Laurel Przybylski, Johnnyonnyful, Levi Cai, Jason Buberel, Mark Joshua Bernardo, Michael Mieczkowski, Jeanine Womble, Aurora Mitchell, Edwin Rivas, Marjorie D Miller, Companion Cube, Chris Murphy, Joao Ascensao, Two Box Fish, PM Daeley, TierZoo, Robert Amling, Shelley Pearson Cranshaw, Mario Rahmani

---+ About KQED

KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.

Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by the National Science Foundation, the Templeton Religion Trust, the Templeton World Charity Foundation, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Fuhs Family Foundation and the members of KQED.

#millipede #beetle #deeplook

Are You Smarter Than A Slime Mold? Let’s go ask Joe Hanson: https://youtu.be/K8HEDqoTPgk

SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt

DEEP LOOK: a new ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe and meet extraordinary new friends. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.

---+ About Slime Molds

Flip over a rotting log and chances are you’ll see a goopy streak stuck to the wood. If you were to film this goop and play the video back in high speed, you’d see something that might remind you of the 1950s sci-fi classic “The Blob:” a jelly-like creature pulsating in a strange way, a little bit forward, a little bit back, spreading and searching for something to devour.

But this creature isn’t intent on world domination. It’s a slime mold, a very simple organism that is neither plant, nor animal, nor fungus. Unlike the cells of other living beings, which have only one nucleus that carries their genetic information, slime molds can organize into something like a cell with thousands of nuclei. Slime molds may move slowly, but they excite scientists by their ability to get a lot done with very little.

Researchers at the University of California San Diego and UC Davis have been focusing their attention on how slime molds get around, in the hope of inspiring a new generation of soft-bodied robots with medical applications.

Slime molds don’t have legs or any appendages. They eat bacteria and tiny fungi. And they move just by changing their shape.

“It’s intriguing to understand how they can move when they’re softer than the environment,” said UC San Diego engineer Juan Carlos Del Alamo. “The absence of limbs makes it a difficult problem.”

Slime mold’s locomotion is triggered by a chemical reaction. In the lab, Del Alamo and his colleagues cut off small pieces of a bright yellow slime mold called Physarum polycephalum and put them under a microscope. They watched each piece squeeze itself. This contraction is triggered by tiny calcium ions flowing inside it. The slime mold contracts its wall, then sloshes to move the calcium ions back so that they can trigger another contraction – at least that’s the researchers’ hypothesis.

---+ What are slime molds?

Let’s start with what they’re not. They can stand upright and produce spores. But they’re not fungi or plants. When they’re hungry, they spread across the forest chasing food such as tiny fungi or bacteria. But they’re not animals.

---+ Where are slime molds often found?

Slime molds are often found under rotting logs. You can also order the bright yellow slime mold in our video, Physarum polycephalum, from biological supplies companies. They’re fun to grow at home.

---+ What do slime molds eat?

In nature, slime molds eat tiny fungi and bacteria. When they’re grown in the lab, researchers feed them oats.

Read the entire article on KQED Science:
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2....016/04/19/this-pulsa

---+ More great DEEP LOOK episodes:

Can A Thousand Tiny Swarming Robots Outsmart Nature?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDsmbwOrHJs

This Mushroom Starts Killing You Before You Even Realize It
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl9aCH2QaQY

Banana Slugs: Secret of the Slime
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHvCQSGanJg&nohtml5=False

---+ More videos and documentaries from the PBS Digital Studios!

Gross Science: Why Am I Obsessed With Gross Stuff?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dfVN5w3_Y4

BrainCraft: The Prisoner's Dilemma
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1KU7i5hpM8


---+ Follow KQED Science:

KQED Science: http://www.kqed.org/science
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---+ About KQED

KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate based in San Francisco, serves the people of Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial media. KQED is also a leader and innovator in interactive media and technology, taking people of all ages on journeys of exploration — exposing them to new people, places and ideas.

Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by HopeLab, the David B. Gold Foundation, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.
#deeplook

Termites cause billions of dollars in damage annually – but they need help to do it. So they carry tiny organisms around with them in their gut. Together, termites and microorganisms can turn the wood in your house into a palace of poop.

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DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.

* NEW VIDEOS EVERY OTHER TUESDAY! *

Termites such as dampwood termites use their cardboard-like poop pellets to build up their nests, turning a human house into a termite toilet. “They build their own houses out of their own feces,” said entomologist Michael Scharf, of Purdue University, in Indiana.

And while they’re using their poop as a building material, termites are also feeding on the wood. They’re one of the few animals that can extract nutrients from wood. But it turns out that they need help to do this.

A termite’s gut is host to a couple dozen species of protists, organisms that are neither animals, nor plants, nor fungi. Scientists have found that several of them help termites break down wood.

When some protists are eliminated from the termite’s gut, the insect can’t get any nutrition out of the wood. This is a weakness that biologists hope to exploit as a way to get rid of termites using biology rather than chemicals.

Louisiana State University entomologist Chinmay Tikhe is working to genetically engineer a bacterium found in the Formosan termite’s gut so that the bacterium will destroy the gut protists. The idea would be to sneak these killer bacteria into the termite colony on some sort of bait the termites would eat and carry back with them.

“It’s like a Trojan Horse,” said Tikhe, referring to the strategy used by the Greeks to sneak their troops into the city of Troy using a wooden horse that was the city’s emblem.

The bacteria would then kill the protists that help the termite derive nutrition from wood. The termites would eventually starve.

--- How do termites eat wood?

Termites gnaw on the wood. Then they mix it with enzymes that start to break it down. But they need help turning the cellulose in wood into nutrients. They get help from hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of species of microbes that live inside their guts. One bacterium, for example, combines nitrogen from the air and calories from the wood to make protein for the termites. A termite’s gut is also host to a couple dozen species of protists. In the termite’s hindgut, protists ferment the wood into a substance called acetate, which gives the termite energy.

--- How do termites get into our houses?

Termites can crawl up into a house from the soil through specialized tubes made of dirt and saliva, or winged adults can fly in, or both. This depends on the species and caste member involved.

--- What do termites eat in our houses?

Once they’re established in our houses, termites attack and feed on sources of cellulose, a major component of wood, says entomologist Vernard Lewis, of the University of California, Berkeley. This could include anything from structural wood and paneling, to furniture and cotton clothing. Termites also will eat dead or living trees, depending on the species.

---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:

https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2....016/10/18/these-term

---+ For more information:

University of California Integrated Pest Management Program’s web page on termites:

http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7415.html

---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:

How Mosquitoes Use Six Needles to Suck Your Blood:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD8SmacBUcU

For These Tiny Spiders, It’s Sing or Get Served:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7qMqAgCqME

Where are the Ants Carrying All Those Leaves?:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6oKJ5FGk24

---+ See some great videos and documentaries from PBS Digital Studios!

It’s Okay To Be Smart: The Donald Trump Caterpillar and Nature’s Masters of Disguise
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTUCTT6I1TU

Gross Science: Why Do Dogs Eat Poop?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3pB-xZGM1U

---+ Follow KQED Science:

KQED Science: http://www.kqed.org/science
Tumblr: http://kqedscience.tumblr.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience

---+ About KQED

KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media. macro pest control
#deeplook

When attacked, this beetle sets off a rapid chemical reaction inside its body, sending predators scrambling. This amazing chemical defense has some people scratching their heads: How could such a complex system evolve gradually—without killing the beetle too?

SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt

DEEP LOOK: a new ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe and meet extraordinary new friends. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.

The bombardier beetle, named for soldiers who once operated artillery cannons, has a surprising secret to use against potential predators.

When attacked, the beetle mixes a cocktail of compounds inside its body that produces a fast-moving chemical reaction. The reaction heats the mix to the boiling point, then propels it through a narrow abdominal opening with powerful force. By turning the end of its abdomen on an assailant, the beetle can even aim the spray.

The formidable liquid, composed of three main ingredients, both burns and stings the attacker. It can kill a small adversary, such as an ant, and send larger foes, like spiders, frogs, and birds, fleeing in confusion.


How do bombardier beetles defend themselves?
They manufacture and combine three reactive substances inside their bodies. The chemical reaction is exothermic, meaning it heats the combination to the boiling point, producing a hot, stinging spray, which the beetle can point at an enemy.

What does a bombardier beetle spray?
It’s a combination of hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide (like what you can buy in the store). The reaction between these two is catalyzed by an enzyme, produced by glands in the beetle, which is the spark that makes the reaction so explosive.

Why is it called a bombardier beetle?
“Bombardier” is an old French word for a solider who operates artillery.

Read the entire article on KQED Science:
http://ww2.kqed.org/science/20....16/03/22/kaboom-this



--- More great DEEP LOOK episodes:

Halloween Special: Watch Flesh-Eating Beetles Strip Bodies to the Bone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np0hJGKrIWg

What Happens When You Put a Hummingbird in a Wind Tunnel?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyqY64ovjfY

Nature's Scuba Divers: How Beetles Breathe Underwater
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-RtG5Z-9jQ



--- Super videos from the PBS Digital Studios Network!

Nature's Most Amazing Animal Superpowers | It's Okay to Be Smart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e69yaWDkVGs

Why Don’t These Cicadas Have Butts? | Gross Science
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDBkj3DjNSM

--- For more content from your local PBS and NPR affiliate:
KQED Science: http://www.kqed.org/science
Tumblr: http://kqedscience.tumblr.com
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Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by HopeLab, the David B. Gold Foundation, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.
#deeplook

Support Deep Look on Patreon!! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook

Scientists have used a high-speed camera to film hummingbirds' aerial acrobatics at 1000 frames per second. They can see, frame by frame, how neither wind nor rain stop these tiniest of birds from fueling up.

DEEP LOOK: a new ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe and meet extraordinary new friends. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.

How do hummingbirds eat?

With spring in full bloom, hummingbirds can be spotted flitting from flower to flower and lapping up the sugary nectar inside. These tiniest of birds have the highest metabolism of any warm-blooded animal, requiring them to consume their own body weight in nectar each day to survive.

By comparison, if a 150-pound human had the metabolism of a hummingbird, he or she would need to consume the caloric equivalent of more than 300 hamburgers a day.

But it's not just an extreme appetite that sets hummingbirds apart from other birds. These avian acrobats are the only birds that can fly sideways, backwards and hover for long stretches of time. In fact, hovering is essential to hummingbirds' survival since they have to keep their long, thin beaks as steady as a surgeon's scalpel while probing flowers for nectar.

How do Hummingbirds fly?

Hummingbirds don't just hover to feed when the weather is nice. They have to keep hovering and feeding even if it's windy or raining, a remarkable feat considering most of these birds weigh less than a nickel.

More great Deep Look episodes:

Newt Sex: Buff Males! Writhing Females! Cannibalism!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m37QR_4XNY

Pygmy Seahorses: Masters of Camouflage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3CtGoqz3ww

Banana Slugs: Secret of the Slime
https://youtu.be/mHvCQSGanJg

--
See also another great video from the PBS Digital Studios!

Where Do Birds Go In Winter? - It's Okay to be Smart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds2XFvSQzBg

Read the extended article on how hummingbirds hover at KQED Science:

http://blogs.kqed.org/science/....2015/03/31/what-happ

SUBSCRIBE: http://goo.gl/8NwXqt

KQED Science: http://kqed.org/science

Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is supported by HopeLab, The David B. Gold Foundation; S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation; The Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation; The Vadasz Family Foundation; Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.
#deeplook #hummingbirds #wings

Support Deep Look on Patreon!! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook

(FYI - This episode is a *bit* more bloody that usual – especially a little after the 2-minute mark. Just letting you know in case flesh wounds aren’t your thing)

The same blood-sucking leeches feared by hikers and swimmers are making a comeback... in hospitals. Once used for questionable treatments, leeches now help doctors complete complex surgeries to reattach severed body parts.

SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt

DEEP LOOK: a new ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.

Leeches get a bad rap—but they might not deserve it. Yes, they’re creepy crawly blood-suckers. And they can instill an almost primal sense of disgust and revulsion. Humphrey Bogart’s character in the 1951 film The African Queen even went so far as to call them “filthy little devils.”

But the humble leech is making a comeback. Contrary to the typical, derogatory definition of a human “leech,” this critter is increasingly playing a key role as a sidekick for scientists and doctors, simply by being its bloodthirsty self.

Distant cousins of the earthworm, most leech species are parasites that feed on the blood of animals and humans alike. They are often found in freshwater and navigate either by swimming or by inching themselves along, using two suckers—one at each end of their body—to anchor themselves.

Upon reaching an unsuspecting host, a leech will surreptitiously attach itself and begin to feed. It uses a triangular set of three teeth to cut in, and secretes a suite of chemicals to thin the blood and numb the skin so its presence goes undetected.

---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science: https://www.kqed.org/science/1....921659/take-two-leec

---+ For more information:
David Weisblat at UC Berkeley studies leeches development and evolution
https://mcb.berkeley.edu/labs/....weisblat/research.ht

Biologists recently reported that leeches in that region can provide a valuable snapshot of which animals are present in a particular area
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14772000.2018.1433729?journalCode=tsab20&

---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:

Why the Male Black Widow is a Real Home Wrecker | Deep Look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpJNeGqExrc

For Pacific Mole Crabs It's Dig or Die | Deep Look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfoYD8pAsMw

Praying Mantis Love is Waaay Weirder Than You Think | Deep Look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHf47gI8w04&t=83s

---+ See some great videos and documentaries from the PBS Digital Studios! Above the Noise:

Cow Burps Are Warming the Planet | Reactions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnRFUSGz_ZM

What a Dinosaur Looks Like Under a Microscope | Eons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rvgiDXc12k
Hawking Radiation | Space Time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPKj0YnKANw

---+ Follow KQED Science:
KQED Science: http://www.kqed.org/science
Tumblr: http://kqedscience.tumblr.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience

---+ About KQED KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.

Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is supported by the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Fuhs Family Foundation Fund and the members of KQED.
#deeplook

Male jumping spiders perform courtship dances that would make Bob Fosse proud. But if they bomb, they can wind up somebody's dinner instead of their mate.

SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt

DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe and meet extraordinary new friends. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.

* NEW VIDEOS EVERY OTHER TUESDAY! *

During courtship, the male jumping spider performs an exuberant dance to get the female’s attention. Like a pint-sized Magic Mike working for twenties, he shimmies from side to side, waves his legs, and flaps his front appendages (called pedipalps) in her direction.

If she likes what she sees, the female may allow him to mate. But things can also go terribly wrong for these eight-legged suitors. She might decide to attack him, or even eat him for lunch. Cannibalism is the result about seven percent of the time.

These mating rituals were first described more than 100 years ago. Their study took on a new dimension, however, when scientists discovered that the males also sing when they attempt to woo their lady loves.

By rubbing together their two body segments, equipped with a comb-shaped instrument, the males create vibrations that travel through the ground. The female spiders can “hear” the male songs through ear-like slits in their legs, called sensilla.

A male spider’s coordination of the dance and the song seems to affect his reproductive success — in other words, his ability to stay alive during this risky courtship trial. But what exactly the signals mean remains mysterious to scientists.

Scientists ultimately hope to understand how a female decides whether she’s looking at a stud — or a dud.

--- Where do jumping spiders get their name?

Jumping spiders don’t spin webs to catch food. They stalk their prey like cats. They use their silk as a drag line while they hop around.

--- What do jumping spiders eat?

Jumping spiders are carnivorous and eat insects like flies, bees, and crickets.

--- Where do jumping spiders live?

A map of jumping spider habitat looks like the whole world! Tropical forests contain the greatest number, but they live just about everywhere, even the Himalayan Mountains.

---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:

https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2....016/10/04/for-these-

---+ For more information:

Elias Lab at U.C. Berkeley: https://nature.berkeley.edu/eliaslab/

---+ More great Deep Look episodes:

This Vibrating Bumblebee Unlocks a Flower's Hidden Treasure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZrTndD1H10

The Ladybug Love-In: A Valentine's Special
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-Z6xRexbIU

---+ See some great videos and documentaries from the PBS Digital Studios!

Idea Channel: Do You Pronounce it GIF or GIF?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmqy-Sp0txY

Gross Science: Are There Dead Wasps In Figs?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DQTjv_u3Vc

---+ Follow KQED Science:

KQED Science: http://www.kqed.org/science
Tumblr: http://kqedscience.tumblr.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience

---+ About KQED

KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.

Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by HopeLab, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.
#deeplook

Join Deep Look on Patreon NOW!
https://www.patreon.com/deeplook

They may be dressed in black, but crow funerals aren't the solemn events that we hold for our dead. These birds cause a ruckus around their fallen friend. Are they just scared, or is there something deeper going on?

SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt

DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.

* NEW VIDEOS EVERY OTHER TUESDAY! *

It’s a common site in many parks and backyards: Crows squawking. But groups of the noisy black birds may not just be raising a fuss, scientists say. They may be holding a funeral.

Kaeli Swift, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Washington’s Avian Conservation Lab in Seattle, is studying how crows learn about danger from each other and how they respond to seeing one of their own who has died.

Unlike the majority of animals, crows react strongly to seeing a fellow member of their species has died, mobbing together and raising a ruckus.

Only a few animals like whales, elephants and some primates, have such strong reactions.

To study exactly what may be going on on, Swift developed an experiment that involved exposing local crows in Seattle neighborhoods to a dead taxidermied crow in order to study their reaction.

“It’s really incredible,” she said. “They’re all around in the trees just staring at you and screaming at you.”

Swift calls these events ‘crow funerals’ and they are the focus of her research.

--- What do crows eat?
Crows are omnivores so they’ll eat just about anything. In the wild they eat insects, carrion, eggs seeds and fruit. Crows that live around humans eat garbage.

--- What’s the difference between crows and ravens?
American crows and common ravens may look similar but ravens are larger with a more robust beak. When in flight, crow tail feathers are approximately the same length. Raven tail feathers spread out and look like a fan.

Ravens also tend to emit a croaking sound compared to the caw of a crow. Ravens also tend to travel in pairs while crows tend to flock together in larger groups. Raven will sometimes prey on crows.

--- Why do crows chase hawks?
Crows, like animals whose young are preyed upon, mob together and harass dangerous predators like hawks in order to exclude them from an area and protect their offspring. Mobbing also teaches new generations of crows to identify predators.

---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:
https://www.kqed.org/science/1....923458/youve-heard-o

---+ For more information:
Kaeli Swift’s Corvid Research website
https://corvidresearch.blog/

University of Washington Avian Conservation Laboratory
http://sefs.washington.edu/research.acl/

---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:

Why Do Tumbleweeds Tumble? | Deep Look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dATZsuPdOnM

Upside-Down Catfish Doesn't Care What You Think | Deep Look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eurCBOJMrsE

Take Two Leeches and Call Me in the Morning | Deep Look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-0SFWPLaII

---+ See some great videos and documentaries from PBS Digital Studios!

Why Climate Change is Unjust | Hot Mess
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5KjpYK12_c

Is Breakfast the Most Important Meal? | Origin Of Everything
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxIOGqHQqZM

How the Squid Lost Its Shell | PBS Eons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4vxoP-IF2M

---+ Follow KQED Science:

KQED Science: http://www.kqed.org/science
Tumblr: http://kqedscience.tumblr.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience

---+ About KQED

KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.

Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is supported by the Templeton Religion Trust and the Templeton World Charity Foundation, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Fuhs Family Foundation Fund and the members of KQED.
#deeplook

How does a group of animals -- or cells, for that matter -- work together when no one’s in charge? Tiny swarming robots--called Kilobots--work together to tackle tasks in the lab, but what can they teach us about the natural world?

↓ More info, videos, and sources below ↓

DEEP LOOK: a new ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe and meet extraordinary new friends. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.

More KQED SCIENCE:

Tumblr: http://kqedscience.tumblr.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience
KQED Science: http://ww2.kqed.org/science

About Kilobots

How do you simultaneously control a thousand robots in a swarm? The question may seem like science fiction, but it’s one that has challenged real robotics engineers for decades.

In 2010, the Kilobot entered the scene. Now, engineers are programming these tiny independent robots to cooperate on group tasks. This research could one day lead to robots that can assemble themselves into machines, or provide insights into how swarming behaviors emerge in nature.

In the future, this kind of research might lead to collaborative robots that could self-assemble into a composite structure. This larger robot could work in dangerous or contaminated areas, like cleaning up oil spills or conducting search-and-rescue activities.

What is Emergent Behavior?

The universe tends towards chaos, but sometimes patterns emerge, like a flock of birds in flight. Like termites building skyscrapers out of mud, or fish schooling to avoid predators.

It’s called emergent behavior. Complex behaviors that arise from interactions between simple things. And you don’t just see it in nature.

What’s so interesting about kilobots is that individually, they’re pretty dumb.

They’re designed to be simple. A single kilobot can do maybe... three things: Respond to light. Measure a distance, sense the presence of other kilobots.

But these are swarm robots. They work together.

How do Kilobots work?

Kilobots were designed by Michael Rubenstein, a research scientist in the Self Organizing Systems Research Group at Harvard. Each robot consists of about $15 worth of parts: a microprocessor that is about as smart as a calculator, sensors for visible and infrared light, and two tiny cell-phone vibration units that allow it to move across a table. They are powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, like those found in small electronics or watches.

The kilobots are programed all at once, as a group, using infrared light. Each kilobot gets the same set of instructions as the next. With just a few lines of programming, the kilobots, together, can act out complex natural processes.

The same kinds of simple instructions that kilobots use to self-assemble into shapes can make them mimic natural swarming behaviors, too. For example, kilobots can sync their flashing lights like a swarm of fireflies, differentiate similar to cells in an embryo and follow a scent trail like foraging ants.

Read the article for this video on KQED Science:
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2....015/07/21/can-a-thou


More great DEEP LOOK episodes:

Where Are the Ants Carrying All Those Leaves?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6oKJ5FGk24

What Happens When You Put a Hummingbird in a Wind Tunnel?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyqY64ovjfY

Pygmy Seahorses: Masters of Camouflage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3CtGoqz3ww

Related videos from the PBS Digital Studios Network!

Is Ultron Inevitable? | It’s Okay to Be Smart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Irmtk5QG8s

A History Of Robots | The Good Stuff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK-h4oATYSI

When Will We Worry About the Well-Being of Robots? | Idea Channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLieeAUQWMs


Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is supported by HopeLab, The David B. Gold Foundation; S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation; The Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation; The Vadasz Family Foundation; Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.
#deeplook

You might suppose this catfish is sick, or just confused. But swimming belly-up actually helps it camouflage and breathe better than its right-side-up cousins.

SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt

DEEP LOOK: a new ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe and meet extraordinary new friends. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.

Normally, an upside-down fish in your tank is bad news. As in, it’s time for a new goldfish.

That’s because most fish have an internal air sac called a “swim bladder” that allows them to control their buoyancy and orientation. They fill the bladder with air when they want to rise, and deflate it when they want to sink. Fish without swim bladders, like sharks, have to swim constantly to keep from dropping to the bottom.

If an aquarium fish is listing to one side or flops over on its back, it often means it has swim bladder disease, a potentially life-threatening condition usually brought on parasites, overfeeding, or high nitrate levels in the water.

But for a few remarkable fish, being upside-down means everything is great.

In fact, seven species of catfish native to Central Africa live most of their lives upended. These topsy-turvy swimmers are anatomically identical to their right-side up cousins, despite having such an unusual orientation.

People’s fascination with the odd alignment of these fish goes back centuries. Studies of these quizzical fish have found a number of reasons why swimming upside down makes a lot of sense.

In an upside-down position, fish produce a lot less wave drag. That means upside-down catfish do a better job feeding on insect larvae at the waterline than their right-side up counterparts, who have to return to deeper water to rest.

There’s something else at the surface that’s even more important to a fish’s survival than food: oxygen. The gas essential to life readily dissolves from the air into the water, where it becomes concentrated in a thin layer at the waterline — right where the upside-down catfish’s mouth and gills are perfectly positioned to get it.

Scientists estimate that upside-down catfishes have been working out their survival strategy for as long at 35 million years. Besides their breathing and feeding behavior, the blotched upside-down catfish from the Congo Basin has also evolved a dark patch on its underside to make it harder to see against dark water.

That coloration is remarkable because it’s the opposite of most sea creatures, which tend to be darker on top and lighter on the bottom, a common adaptation called “countershading” that offsets the effects of sunlight.

The blotched upside-down catfish’s “reverse” countershading has earned it the scientific name negriventris, which means black-bellied.

--- How many kinds of fish swim upside down?

A total of seven species in Africa swim that way. Upside-down swimming may have evolved independent in a few of the species – and at least one more time in a catfish from Asia.

--- How do fish stay upright?

They have an air-filled swim bladder on the inside that that they can fill or deflate to maintain balance or to move up or down in the water column.

--- What are the benefits of swimming upside down?

Upside down, a fish swims more efficiently at the waterline, where there’s more oxygen and better access to some prey.

---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:

https://www.kqed.org/science/1....922038/the-mystery-o

---+ For more information:

The California Academy of Sciences has upside-down catfish in its aquarium collection: https://www.calacademy.org/exh....ibits/steinhart-aqua

---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:

Take Two Leeches and Call Me in the Morning
https://youtu.be/O-0SFWPLaII

This Is Why Water Striders Make Terrible Lifeguards
https://youtu.be/E2unnSK7WTE

---+ See some great videos and documentaries from the PBS Digital Studios!

PBS Eons: What a Dinosaur Looks Like Under a Microscope
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rvgiDXc12k

Origin of Everything: The Origin of Race in the USA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVxAlmAPHec

---+ Follow KQED Science:

KQED Science: http://www.kqed.org/science
Tumblr: http://kqedscience.tumblr.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience

---+ About KQED

KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.

Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is supported by the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Fuhs Family Foundation Fund and the members of KQED.
#deeplook

What if you had to grow 20 pounds of bone on your forehead each year just to find a mate? In a bloody, itchy process, males of the deer family grow a new set of antlers every year, use them to fend off the competition, and lose their impressive crowns when breeding season ends.

SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt

DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.

* WE’RE TAKING A BREAK FOR THE HOLIDAYS. WATCH OUR NEXT EPISODE ON JAN. 17, 2017. *

Antlers are bones that grow right out of an animal’s head. It all starts with little knobs called pedicles. Reindeer, elk, and their relatives in the cervid family, like moose and deer, are born with them. But in most species pedicles only sprout antlers in males, because antlers require testosterone.

The little antlers of a young tule elk, or a reindeer, are called spikes. Every year, a male grows a slightly larger set of antlers, until he becomes a “senior” and the antlers start to shrink.

While it’s growing, the bone is hidden by a fuzzy layer of skin and fur called velvet that carries blood rich in calcium and phosphorous to build up the bone inside.

When the antlers get hard, the blood stops flowing and the velvet cracks. It gets itchy and males scratch like crazy to get it off. From underneath emerges a clean, smooth antler.

Males use their antlers during the mating season as a warning to other males to stay away from females, or to woo the females. When their warnings aren’t heeded, they use them to fight the competition.

Once the mating season is over and the male no longer needs its antlers, the testosterone in its body drops and the antlers fall off. A new set starts growing almost right away.

--- What are antlers made of?

Antlers are made of bone.

--- What is antler velvet?

Velvet is the skin that covers a developing antler.

--- What animals have antlers?

Male members of the cervid, or deer, family grow antlers. The only species of deer in which females also grow antlers are reindeer.

--- Are antlers horns?

No. Horns, which are made of keratin (the same material our nails are made from), stay on an animal its entire life. Antlers fall off and grow back again each year.

---+ Read an article on KQED Science about how neuroscientists are investigating the potential of the nerves in antler velvet to return mobility to damaged human limbs, and perhaps one day even help paralyzed people:

https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2....016/12/06/rudolphs-a

---+ For more information on tule elk

https://www.nps.gov/pore/learn/nature/tule_elk.htm

---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:

The Sex Lives of Christmas Trees
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEji9I4Tcjo

Watch These Frustrated Squirrels Go Nuts!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUjQtJGaSpk

This Mushroom Starts Killing You Before You Even Realize It
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl9aCH2QaQY

---+ See some great videos and documentaries from PBS Digital Studios!

The REAL Rudolph Has Bloody Antlers and Super Vision - Gross Science
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB6ND8nXgjA

Global Weirding with Katharine Hayhoe: Texans don't care about climate change, right?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_r_6D2LXVs&list=PL1mtdjDVOoOqJzeaJAV15Tq0tZ1vKj7ZV&index=25

It’s Okay To Be Smart: Why Don’t Woodpeckers Get Concussions?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqBxbMWd8O0

---+ Follow KQED Science:

KQED Science: http://www.kqed.org/science
Tumblr: http://kqedscience.tumblr.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience

---+ About KQED

KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.

Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by HopeLab, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.
#deeplook

Most plankton are tiny drifters, wandering in a vast ocean. But where wind and currents converge they become part of a grander story … an explosion of vitality that affects all life on Earth, including our own.

SUBSCRIBE: http://goo.gl/8NwXqt

Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is supported by HopeLab, The David B. Gold Foundation; S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation; The Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation; The Vadasz Family Foundation; Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.
#deeplook

Mammalian moms, you're not alone! A female tsetse fly pushes out a single squiggly larva almost as big as herself, which she nourished with her own milk.

Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook
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DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.

---
Mammalian moms aren’t the only ones to deliver babies and feed them milk. Tsetse flies, the insects best known for transmitting sleeping sickness, do it too.

A researcher at the University of California, Davis is trying to understand in detail the unusual way in which these flies reproduce in order to find new ways to combat the disease, which has a crippling effect on a huge swath of Africa.

When it’s time to give birth, a female tsetse fly takes less than a minute to push out a squiggly yellowish larva almost as big as itself. The first time he watched a larva emerge from its mother, UC Davis medical entomologist Geoff Attardo was reminded of a clown car.

“There’s too much coming out of it to be able to fit inside,” he recalled thinking. “The fact that they can do it eight times in their lifetime is kind of amazing to me.”

Tsetse flies live four to five months and deliver those eight offspring one at a time. While the larva is growing inside them, they feed it milk. This reproductive strategy is extremely rare in the insect world, where survival usually depends on laying hundreds or thousands of eggs.

--- What is sleeping sickness?

Tsetse flies, which are only found in Africa, feed exclusively on the blood of humans and other domestic and wild animals. As they feed, they can transmit microscopic parasites called trypanosomes, which cause sleeping sickness in humans and a version of the disease known as nagana in cattle and other livestock. Sleeping sickness is also known as human African trypanosomiasis.

--- What are the symptoms of sleeping sickness?

The disease starts with fatigue, anemia and headaches. It is treatable with medication, but if trypanosomes invade the central nervous system they can cause sleep disruptions and hallucinations and eventually make patients fall into a coma and die.

---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:

https://www.kqed.org/science/1....956004/a-tsetse-fly-

---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:

“Parasites Are Dynamite” Deep Look playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2Jw5ib-s_I&list=PLdKlciEDdCQACmrtvWX7hr7X7Zv8F4nEi

---+ Shoutout!

?Congratulations ?to these fans on our YouTube community tab who correctly identified the function of the black protuberances on a tsetse fly larva - polypneustic lobes:

Jeffrey Kuo
Lizzie Zelaya
Art3mis YT
Garen Reynolds
Torterra Grey8

Despite looking like a head, they’re actually located at the back of the larva, which used them to breathe while growing inside its mother. The larva continues to breathe through the lobes as it develops underground.

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---+ About KQED

KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, radio and web media.

Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by the National Science Foundation, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Fuhs Family Foundation, Campaign 21 and the members of KQED.

#tsetsefly #sleepingsickness #deeplook

Not all roaches are filthy. The Madagascar hissing cockroach actually makes a pretty sweet pet, thanks to the hungry mites that serve as its cleaning crew.

Check out Antarctic Extremes on PBS Terra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvRAuy1ZmTc
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DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
---
As the weather starts to warm and cold days give way to balmier, sunny days, one rite of spring returns every year, just like spring flowers: cockroaches.

Most people run to buy a can of bug spray or to call the exterminator when they see the scurrying little insects in their kitchens or outside their homes.

But not all roaches are pests. Some are pets – like the Madagascar hissing cockroach.
They can be bought at pet stores or online for $5 or less. They don’t bite and don’t carry diseases. They are also much larger than the run-of-the-mill roach, with adults averaging about 3 inches long. They live up to five years. They are slow-moving and mellow – kind of like an old tabby cat. But with antennae. And an appetite for fresh vegetables.

---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:

https://www.kqed.org/science/1....955611/you-wish-you-

--- Why do the cockroaches hiss?
They’ll hiss when they’re sounding an alarm or startled, trying to attract a mate or protecting their territory from another male.

--- Are the mites harmful to the cockroaches?
No – they actually help prolong the cockroaches’ lives.

--- What happens to the mites if its host cockroach dies?
The mites will mate, give birth to their young and feed on the same cockroach their entire lives – so they’ll usually die within a few days after the cockroach dies, too, and not seek a new home.

---+ For more information:
UC Davis Bohart Museum of Entomology
http://bohart.ucdavis.edu/

---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:

It’s a Bug’s Life: https://www.youtube.com/playli....st?list=PLdKlciEDdCQ

---+ Shoutout!

?Congratulations ?to the following fans on our YouTube community tab who correctly identified the creature from a past episode most closely related to cockroaches - the termite!

Keroro407
John Marvin Accad
Battledroid0521
Tiny Stash
Jeanne Cabral

Termites are basically social roaches. More info:

https://gizmodo.com/termites-a....re-finally-being-rec

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Two Box Fish
WhatzGames

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---+ About KQED

KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.

Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, the largest science and environment reporting unit in California. KQED Science is supported by The National Science Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Campaign 21 and the members of KQED.

#hissingcockroaches #insect #deeplook

It's an all-out brawl for prime beach real estate! These Caribbean crabs will tear each other limb from limb to get the best burrow. Luckily, they molt and regrow lost legs in a matter of weeks, and live to fight another day.

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Help Deep Look grow by supporting us on Patreon!!
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DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.

On the sand-dune beaches where they live, male blackback land crabs do constant battle over territory. The stakes are high: If one of these baby-faced crabs secures a winning spot, he can invite a mate into his den, six or seven feet beneath the surface.

With all this roughhousing, more than feelings get hurt. The male crabs inevitably lose limbs and damage their shells in constant dust-ups. Luckily, like many other arthropods, a group that includes insects and spiders, these crabs can release a leg or claw voluntarily if threatened. It’s not unusual to see animals in the field missing two or three walking legs.

The limbs regrow at the next molt, which is typically once a year for an adult. When a molt cycle begins, tiny limb buds form where a leg or a claw has been lost. Over the next six to eight weeks, the buds enlarge while the crab reabsorbs calcium from its old shell and secretes a new, paper-thin one underneath.

In the last hour of the cycle, the crab gulps air to create enough internal pressure to pop open the top of its shell, called the carapace. As the crab pushes it way out, the same internal pressure helps uncoil the new legs. The replacement shell thickens and hardens, and the crab eats the old shell.

--- Are blackback land crabs edible?

Yes, but they’re not as popular as the major food species like Dungeness and King crab.

--- Where do blackback land crabs live?

They live throughout the Caribbean islands.

--- Does it hurt when they lose legs?

Hard to say, but they do have an internal mechanism for releasing limbs cleanly that prevents loss of blood.

---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:

https://www.kqed.org/science/1....933532/whack-jab-cra

---+ For more information:

The Crab Lab at Colorado State University:
https://rydberg.biology.colostate.edu/mykleslab/

---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:

Want a Whole New Body? Ask This Flatworm How
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m12xsf5g3Bo

Daddy Longlegs Risk Life ... and Especially Limb ... to Survive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjDmH8zhp6o

---+ See some great videos and documentaries from the PBS Digital Studios!

Origin of Everything: The Origin of Gender
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5e12ZojkYrU

Hot Mess: Coral Reefs Are Dying. But They Don’t Have To.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUAsFZuFQvQ

---+ Follow KQED Science:

KQED Science: http://www.kqed.org/science
Tumblr: http://kqedscience.tumblr.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience

---+ About KQED

KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.

Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by the National Science Foundation, the Templeton Religion Trust, the Templeton World Charity Foundation, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Fuhs Family Foundation and the members of KQED.

---+ Shoutout!

Congratulations to ?Jen Wiley?, who was the first to correctly ID the species of crab in our episode over at the Deep Look Community Tab:

https://www.youtube.com/channe....l/UC-3SbfTPJsL8fJAPK

#deeplook #pbsds #crab

Poema de D. Pedro Casaldáliga musicada pelo Grupo Kairoi da Espanha. Uma forma bonita de fazer memória de Maria.