Curio Cabinet / Daily Curio

The birds, they are a-changin’. New research shows that hummingbird feeders are not only helping hummingbirds expand their range, but driving them to evolve as well. Millions of Americans enjoy leaving out feeders full of sugar water for hummingbirds, simply to catch a glimpse of the tiny, colorful creatures. Such feeders became popular after WWII, though they've been around even longer. Homemade feeders and instructions on how to make them existed for decades before a patent was filed for a mass-produced version in 1947. In the western U.S., Anna's hummingbirds (Calypte anna) have been able to greatly expand their range thanks to the charity of their admirers. More specifically, they've been able to go further north, out of their usual Southern California range. Part of their expansion has to do with the eucalyptus trees that were planted throughout California in the 19th century, but the feeders are mostly responsible.
 
There's also something subtler going on with the SoCal natives thanks to those feeders. Their beaks have been changing over the last few generations, probably to be more efficient at drawing the nectar from feeders as opposed to flowers. According to researchers, Anna's hummingbirds’ beaks have been getting longer and more tapered, showing that the feeders have become more than a supplementary source of sustenance for the birds—they’re now central to their diet. The birds are even prioritizing manmade feeders over flowers in some areas. Researchers believe that hummingbirds have come to prefer them since the feeders are practically inexhaustible sources of “nectar” compared to flowers. Birds may even be competing for who gets to stay at them the longest. Those flitting balls of feathers are ready to throw down for some good sugar water.

 
[Image description: A blue hummingbird sipping at a red feeder.] Credit & copyright: Someguy1221, Wikimedia Commons. This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Someguy1221. This applies worldwide.

Where there's smoke, there's fire; and where there's green, there's bound to be lava. At least, that's what scientists are beginning to believe after looking at satellite images of trees growing near volcanoes. As destructive as volcanic eruptions can be, there's never been a reliable way to predict them. That's a huge problem for the many communities around the world that live around active volcanoes. Sure, not all eruptions are cataclysmic events filled with pyroclastic blasts, but lava is dangerous no matter how you look at it. Until now, scientists have been able to gauge the risk of a volcanic eruption happening by measuring seismic waves and even the rise of the ground level around a volcano, but such data can't show exactly when the eruption will occur. Yet, there may be hope of accurately forecasting eruptions in the future.
 
For a long time, scientists have noticed that trees near volcanoes get greener before eruptions. Apparently, as magma builds up under the Earth's crust, it creates pressure underground that forces carbon dioxide to rise through the surface, which in turn feeds the trees and helps them grow. It seems simple enough, then, to measure the increase in carbon dioxide levels, but even the amount that comes up through the ground to jazz up the greenery isn't easily measurable with existing equipment. Compared to the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the amount that comes up is too small. However, using satellite images provided by NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2, volcanologists are figuring out how to measure these carbon dioxide changes indirectly by tracking the surrounding vegetation instead. The process still requires more data to get a better understanding of the correlation between volcanoes and changes in the plants around them, and it won't help with volcanoes that are located in environments without vegetation, but it might one day help protect the 10 percent of the world's population who live near active volcanos. Until then, may cooler eruptions prevail.

 
[Image description: A cluster of oak leaves against a green background.] Credit & copyright: W.carter, Wikimedia Commons. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

Nothing's worse than having your fate up in the air when you’re up in the air. A passenger aircraft belonging to the German airline Lufthansa recently reached its destination safely despite neither pilot being at the controls for a time, and it was all thanks to the plane’s autopilot system. Autopilot is a tremendous help to modern day pilots, but it wasn’t always as reliable as it is today.
 
Last year, a Lufthansa plane carrying 199 passengers from Frankfurt, Germany, to Seville, Spain, encountered a potential disaster. While the captain was away from the flight deck, the first officer became unconscious. When the captain attempted to return to the cockpit, he found himself locked out without any response from his colleague. Fortunately, the first officer regained consciousness within a matter of minutes, but for a time—however brief—no human pilot was at the controls of the plane. The incident has only recently been publicly revealed by the airline after an investigation took place.
 
In the early days of aviation, such a situation would have certainly led to tragedy. Older aircraft required the constant and meticulous attention of their pilots, who had to make minute adjustments to keep their planes aloft. The first autopilot system was invented by Lawrence Sperry, whose gyroscopic automatic pilot (nicknamed "George") automatically kept planes in balance. The first digital autopilot systems were developed in the 1970s in response to data showing that most crashes occurred due to human error. Today, autopilot systems are usually integrated into a plane's flight management system, and most of the small adjustments are taken care of by onboard computers. Contrary to popular belief, autopilot systems can't fully control a plane over the entire course of its journey. Pilots fully control aircraft during takeoff and landing, which are the most difficult parts of most flights. They also maintain communication with ground crews so that they can change course in case of emergencies, stay clear of other aircraft, and let airports know exactly when they’ll be landing. Autopilots mainly maintain a plane’s course and altitude, including in emergencies. It’s a life-saving invention for sure, but most people would probably still prefer that their pilot be conscious.

 
[Image description: A blue sky with a single, white cloud.] Credit & copyright: Dinkum, Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons Zero, Public Domain Dedication.

Orange you glad they’ve solved this kitty mystery? After years of puzzlement, scientists now know what gives ginger cats their distinct orange coloration, and why so many orange cats are male. Owners of orange cats have long posited that there’s something special about them. They tend to have sillier, more laid-back personalities than average cats, and that temperament has earned them devoted followers. Among them is Professor Hiroyuki Sasaki, a geneticist at Kyushu University in Japan who crowdfunded his effort to unravel the secret behind the cats' unique fur. Scientists knew that there had to be a unique genetic link between their fur color and their sex, since orange cats are overwhelmingly male just as calico cats are overwhelmingly female. Sasaki and his colleagues raised around $70,000 to perform their research, mostly from fellow cat lovers. Their efforts paid off, and the culprit was identified: the ARHGAP36 gene, or rather, a mutation in the X chromosome that deleted a section of it in some cats. The ARHGAP36 gene is responsible for pheomelanin, the type of melanin responsible for red, orange, and yellow pigments in mammals, as opposed to eumelanin, which controls brown to black pigment. In cats with the mutation, the ARHGAP36 gene goes haywire, producing much more than it normally would. That it only occurs in the X chromosome also explains the skewed sex ratio. Since male cats only have one X chromosome, the mutation goes uncorrected. Meanwhile, female cats require the mutation to exist in both of their two X chromosomes. If only one is affected, they end up as calicos. But there might be more to the gene than meets the eye. The ARHGAP36 gene might also play a role in orange cats’ personalities. The gene is responsible for other functions in the brain and hormonal glands, so it’s possible that it produces unique inclinations and behaviors. Now if only we knew why we love cats even when they’re indifferent to us.

 
[Image description: An orange tabby cat lying on gray carpet.] Credit & copyright: Brian Adler, Wikimedia Commons.

When it comes to the end date of the universe, what's a few orders of magnitude? Scientists at Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands, have found that the universe might end much earlier than expected—but it's still a very, very long way away.
 
Estimating the universe’s remaining days might seem like an unfathomably impossible task, but physicists have come up with a few ways to figure it out. One method involves calculating how long it takes for stars to die. Larger stars collapse in on themselves, cause supernovas, and become black holes. Smaller stars will leave a nebula when they die, as well as a hot, dense core called a white dwarf. Most stars in the universe will become white dwarves in about 17 trillion years, but the story doesn't end there. Both white dwarves and black holes decay over time, and they do so at an astronomically glacial pace. Their decay releases Hawking radiation, named after the late astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, who first predicted the process.
 
Hawking only ever posited that black holes would decay in this way, but the scientists at Radboud University believe that white dwarves can also decay similarly. Since white dwarves were believed to linger on much longer, it was believed that it would take around 10 to the power of 1,100 years for the last remaining stars to die out for good. However, if they decay similarly to black holes, that number comes way down. That's not to say that it will happen anytime soon. It will still be another 10 to the power of 78 years, or one quinvigintillion years. By then, there certainly won't be anyone left to say, "Lights out!"

 
[Image description: A starry sky above a line of dark trees] Credit & copyright: tommy haugsveen, Pexels

It's time for this conductor to face the music—and lead the orchestra! A conductor in Ohio who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease 11 years ago was recently given a cutting-edge implant that some are calling a "pacemaker for the brain”, allowing him to conduct without shaking. While more invasive than previous treatments, it might give hope to those with difficult-to-manage symptoms.
 
For nearly 50 years, Rand Laycock has been living his dream of conducting a symphony orchestra in Parma, Ohio. But for the past decade, he's also been struggling with Parkinson's, which threatened his passion and livelihood. What started as a minor twitch in his thumb developed into worsening tremors in his right hand, and the very medications used to treat him also gave him dyskinesias—erratic, involuntary movements that are, unfortunately, a common side effect.
 
The symptoms of Parkinson's can vary widely, but can include changes in speech, rigid muscles, difficulty moving, and balance issues. Less noticeable are the psychological symptoms like depression and anxiety. Parkinson's is also a degenerative disease that gets worse over time and can lead to death, even with treatment. Fortunately, Laycock was able to be treated with deep brain stimulation (DBS), which uses implanted leads that deliver therapeutic amounts of electric currents to curb the worst of the symptoms. However, Laycock's symptoms were particularly difficult to treat because they tended to fluctuate in severity. That meant that they could flare up in the middle of a performance. Now, he's being treated with adaptive deep brain stimulation (aDBS), which can vary the electric currents to meet the changing needs of Laycock's condition. Thanks to the aDBS implant, Laycock can continue to perform his duties at concerts reliably. Even Parkinson’s is no match for advanced medical engineering.

 
[Image description: A digital illustration of a gray human brain against a black background.] Credit & copyright: KATRIN BOLOVTSOVA, Pexels

The Greeks had nothing on this ancient astronomer! For centuries, the oldest surviving star catalog, mapping the exact positions of heavenly bodies, was known to have come from ancient Greece. Created by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus of Nicaea some time around 130 B.C.E., it gave ancient Greece the distinction of being the first civilization to map stars using coordinates. Now, researchers in China have turned that idea on its head, as they claim to have dated a Chinese star catalog to more than 100 years before the Greeks’. It was compiled by Chinese astrologer and astronomer Shi Shen some time around 335 B.C.E. and is being called The Star Manual of Master Shi.
 
While this new star catalog shows detailed information about 120 stars, including their names and coordinates, it doesn’t include a date. To determine when, exactly, it was made, researchers had to get creative. We know that stars’ positions change over time relative to earthbound viewers due to a phenomenon called precession, in which the Earth wobbles slightly on its axis in slow, 26,000-year cycles. Researchers first compared The Star Manual of Master Shi to other manuals made in later periods, like the Tang and Yuan dynasties. Then, they used a specially-made algorithm to compare the positions in Shi’s manual to 10,000 different moments in later periods, factoring in the process of precession. The algorithm found that The Star Manual of Master Shi had to have been created in 335 B.C.E., which makes sense since that year falls right within Shi’s lifetime, at the height of his career. In the process of comparing Shi’s work to that of later astronomers, they also found that his coordinates had been meticulously and purposefully updated by another famous, ancient Chinese astronomer: Grand Astronomer Zhang Heng, of the Han Dynasty. We may have just discovered how important Shi’s manual was, but it seems that other astronomers already knew what was up (in the sky.)

 
[Image description: A starry sky with some purple visible.] Credit & copyright: Felix Mittermeier, Pexels

This week, as the weather continues to warm, we're looking back on some of our favorite springtime curios from years past.
 

Do you have trouble falling asleep? Do you get rocky "half-sleep"? Well hibernation might be just the cure for you. In two recent unrelated experiments, researchers isolated the neurons in the brain that "switch" on hibernation in mammals. One study, led by neurobiologist Sinisa Hrvatin of Harvard, intentionally reached its findings. Hrvatin and her team first hypothesized that they could trick mice into going into hibernation, mostly by limiting their diets and exposing them to cold temperatures. They were correct. Hrvatin and her team noticed that the combination of variables led some mice to enter a state of torpor in 10 hours, and others in up to 48 hours. As the mice lulled to sleep, the scientists observed and tagged neurons in their rodent hypothalami. The hypothalamus is an area of the brain largely concerned with primordial sensations like feeding, temperature, and eating. Once the scientists tagged and cataloged the neurons involved in the torpor, the scientists could stimulate those neurons on command. In other words, they could instantly thrust mice into a pleasant siesta. The second study, based in Japan, largely came to the same conclusion but unintentionally. Both teams posit that artificial hibernation could carry over to humans, allowing for the long-sought-after suspended sleep during space flights, metabolic control of body temperature during surgery, and a much safer form of sedation for unruly patients. And of course it may bring z's to all us purple-eyed, groggy insomniacs. Just remember to set a couple of alarms and set them beside your head before you drift off. Otherwise, you might oversleep until the spring of 2021!
 

Image credit & copyright: Huntsmanleader, Wikimedia Commons. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.