News Roundup: Even 30 Miles Away, Sharks Can Home in on a Location

80beats
By Andrew Moseman
Mar 2, 2011 11:12 PMNov 20, 2019 3:46 AM

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  • Shark seek: Tiger sharks and thresher sharks remember and zero in on specific places to hunt for food in an area that might be 30 miles across. That shows they might possess not only the ability to navigate by smell or by the Earth's magnetic field, but also broader spatial memory for their home range.

  • "If you eat by shoving your entire writhing body into your meals, your dinner companions are probably going to leave." The hagfish, however, has no such concern for manners: It absorbs its nutrients right through its skin.

  • We be jammin': Satellite provider Thuraya Telecommunications and news channel Al Jazeera both report that sources in Libya are illegally trying to jam their signals, and traced the attempts to "a Libyan intelligence service facility south of Tripoli."

  • British researchers discover a way to use urine tests to screen for prostate cancer—and potentially double the accuracy of current methods.

  • Numismatist power: Coin experts create interactive digital maps of coins through history and where they came from, putting a treasure trove of information at historians' fingertips.

  • Super honey from down under: A myrtle native to Australia produces honey packed with antibacterial compounds that can stymie even antibiotic-resistant microorganisms like MRSA.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

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