Science is often thought of as a serious subject. But even though it tackles hugely important issues—many with life-or-death consequences—it also has a fun side. This year Scientific American has covered some stories that ranged from “Huh, that’s weird” to “Ew, gross” to “So. Cool.” Below, we’ve rounded up a few of our favorites . We hope you enjoy them and learn more about the amazing and odd aspects of the world—and come back to see what astounding and wild discoveries 2022 has in store.
Floral Fraud The fungus Fusarium xyrophilum is a master of botanical disguise. It infects Xyris grass, sterilizes it and then produces uncanny mimics of the plant’s yellow flowers. F. xyrophilum is evidently the first fungus known to use this strategy, which is thought to help it spread its spores. When the Perfect Gift is an Edible Body Finding the perfect present for the kids can be a hassle for harried parents around the holidays. But at least they can take comfort in the fact that they don’t have to wrap up a dead body. For certain beetle parents, a well-hidden bird or mouse corpse is the gift that just keeps on giving. Hopefully, this is one present you’ll never be able to order online.
Insect Sex Zombies As billions of Brood X cicadas emerged from their 17-year-long underground slumber this year, a subset of them became infected with a soil fungus. And here’s where it gets really gross: the fungus causes the male cicadas’ genitals to fall off, leaving behind a white plug of spores that are spread as the males try to mate. And try they do, becoming something like sex-obsessed automatons. Scientists are still trying to figure out how the fungus takes over its host.
World’s Longest “Long Winter’s Nap” Stop us if this sounds familiar, but 2021 has been a rough year. Many of us would probably like to just sleep through December and start over in the new year. But even that near-suspension of animation would have nothing on a rotifer: one of these microscopic animals, pulled out of Siberian permafrost, spent the past 25,000 years in a frozen nap before being reanimated. Even after all that rest, the little critter still might not be ready to face 2022.
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