Welcome to another round of Friday Smorgasbord action with some fun things to start off the weekend. First off, new research is showing that despite their name, killer whales have the need for their mothers. Sure they may be some of the fieriest ‘Mama’s Boys’ on the planet but the female Orca’s do show traits of being protective and concerned about their offsprings well past their reproductive prime. So next time your mom calls to check in on you, know you’re not the only one in the animal kingdom getting the same treatment. [via WIRED Science]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTVwgvqhwn8[/youtube] Another chapter from the book of weird in this next clip. We are always fascinated by things that resemble humans — from the Virgin Mary on a slice of toast to human-faced monkeys — we tend to be awed and freaked out at the same time. Now we all love koi ponds and have grown to enjoy seeing the different colors they possess but imaging if the next time you were feeding koi, one looked up at you with a face like a human! That is exactly what you see in the clip above. Darn freaky if you ask me.
We love us some science news and were captivated by the news that researchers from the University of Aberdeen’s Marine Biodiscovery Centre and the University of St Andrews are working on creating a new type of computer chip create by using molecules from tunicates from the bottom of the Great Barrier Reef. This research could lead to the development of a computer which is greener to produce, processes information faster and is more compact in size. How cool would it be to have this computer chip in your aquarium controller. Isn’t it ironic, don’t ya think?
[via Bits of Science]
We talked about using the tidal forces of the sea to generate power before and yesterday was a historic occasion as energy officials in Maine say a tidal power project is delivering electricity to the U.S. power grid for the first time. Bangor Hydro Electric Co. operates the grid where the tidal power connects. It says Portland-based Ocean Renewable Power Co.’s first underwater turbine was delivering to the grid the first commercially produced tidal power on Thursday afternoon. Pretty electrifying, if you ask me.
[via Huffington Post]
