MINICosm

SMART ALGAE: One of the great mysteries of life on Earth has been unravelled - in a study of algae. The tiny plants are crucial in maintaining the balance of carbon in the air and they need vitamin B12 to grow properly. But they cannot make the vitamin themselves, and where they get it from has baffled experts But now scientists at the Universities of Cambridge and Kent have found some algae work with bacteria to get their supply. In return for B12, they use sunlight to produce carbon to give to the bacteria. RANDY RATS: Forget Viagra - what females need to get them in the mood is a cup of coffee, Female rats, that is. Caffeine makes the rodents have sex more often, a study found, But don't go guzzling your cuppa just yet - loading up on caffeine is not expected to improve human sex drive 'The rats had never had caffeine before,' said Fay Guarraci, of Southwestern University in the US, said: 'In humans, it might enhance sex only among people who are not habitual users. X-RAY VISION: Soldiers will soon be able to emulate Superman and 'see' through walls, thanks to a new gadget. The home telephone-sized Radar Scope can sense movements as slight as breathing up to 15m (50ft) away and through 30cm (1ft) of concrete. US troops in Iraq are expected to test out the £570 device this spring its makers believe the 700g (1.5 lb) gadget will help soldiers prioritise which rooms to go into when they are on a house-clearing operation. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at cosm@ukmetro.co.uk HEP HOPE: Anew vaccine being tested on mice may help fight hepatitis C. The breakthrough could also help people who already have the disease. Researchers took immune cells from mice and exposed them to a protein in the hep C virus. The cells were then treated with a chemical that sparks an immune response. When they put the cells back in the mice, the researchers at Saskatchewan University found the new cells 'taught' other cells to battle the virus. SOY SHOCK: Tucking into a Chinese takeaway soaked in soy sauce could cause infertility. Scientists found genistein, contained in soy beans, disrupts the growth of ovaries in new-born female mice. In tests, rodents injected with a high dose of the plant chemical became infertile, US researchers found. More studies will show how this exposure could affect humans, said National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences director David Schwartz. SNIFF TEST: Perfumes are being used to keep track of logs in the forest. An electronic 'nose' has been developed which can keep track of timber as it is moved around. At the moment the device can track only one aroma at a time but Glen Murphy, a forest engineenng professor in Oregon, hopes to be able to track up to 25 aromas within five years which would enable him to tag more than 33million logs. 'A smell is like a fingerprint,' Prof Murphy said. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at cosm@ukmetro.co.uk GOOD VIRUS: Tobacco plants are being put to a new, healthy use - in the hunt for a cure for the bubonic plague, Scientists injected the plants with a genetically modified version of the tobacco mosaic virus. Instead of making the plant leaves wilt as the virus normally does, it helped the plants produce a protein which is now to be used as a plague vaccine. The vaccine was successfully tested on guinea pigs and the US scientists are now hoping to try it on humans. FAT FIGHTER: A way of reversing obesity has been found in a gene called the hedgehog. The protein guides the early development of animals and can tell cells whether to become bone or fat tissue The gene got its name frorn the bristly, skinny appearance of fruit flies when they were exposed to it. When the gene was blocked the fruit flies became fat. Eventually, US scientists hope that by activating the gene in elderly people, it will cut fat and reduce osteoporosis. GREAT GUNS: A 'smart gun' that can recognise a person's grip is close to being put on the market. A prototype of the weapon has just been unveiled. Using sensors in its handle, the gun locks its shooting mechanism when a hand it doesn't recognise picks it up. The feature would be useful if a criminal or a child got hold of it. 'The way you hold a gun and curl your fingers around is unique to everyone,' said one of the US researchers who helped develop the gun. LIGHTS SHOW: A huge stream of charged particles has been seen betweeen the Sun and the  Earth. Satellites from the European Space Agency and NASA observed the particles outside the Earth's magnetosphere, or magnetic shield. Understanding how the particles occur could explain what causes explosive phenomena, such as solar flares, gamma-ray bursts and 'aurora', or polar lights. The stream measuring 2.5million km, was observed for two-and-a-half hours Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at cosm@ukmetro.co.uk WAVE RIDERS: A group of scientists has abandoned the 1aboratory and taken to riding out on quad bikes and jet ski's just as a storm is brewing -all in the name of research. Experts from the univerisities of East Anglia and Liverpool were studying the effectiveness of coastal defences and needed to take measurements. Just before a storm to see how much damage was caused to the beach. They used the figures in a computer model which should help plan East Anglian sea defences. WAKE-UP CALL: We've had computer viruses and now it's only a matter of time before mobile phones are wiped out in the same way. In fact, it could happen sooner rather than later - by the end of 2007, say experts. Security analysts Gartner forecast there will be enough smart phones, which are capable of being infected, by that time to make the largescale passing around of a worm or virus possible. Phone users may be sceptical about the warning after several earlier false alarms. BRAIN ACHE: Have you ever wondered why you can't concentrate on something when someone is yakking in your ear? The problem is that your brain cannot cope with sights and sounds at the same time. One part of the brain has to switch off I while another is switched on, researchers found. This explains why drivers are more dangerous if they use a mobile - they have to pay less attention to looking at the road to listen to the conversation, the US researchers told The Journal of Neuroscience. AUTISM GENE: Autisrn experts believe they are close to unlocking the key to the disease. They are examining the link between the genetic element the condition and brain functions to see if there are any patterns. Studies show genetics lie at the heart of autism, but researchers in Oxford and Cambridge have had limited success in identifying the genes responsible. They hope brain scans will reveal how genes affect the way autistic minds process information. NO TICKLING: Ever wondered why you don't laugh when you tickle yourself? It's all down to our need to be ready for the unexpected, research shows. The brain anticipates trivial sensations, such as your own touch, so it can focus on more important ones, such as a tarantula crawling up your neck. Sensation is less when the brain expects it and 'combining senses with the expected gives a picture of the outside world', researchers at University College London said. LOVE'S SPARK: When it comes to telling whether he loves you, it's all about the sparkle in his eyes-well, at least in the butterfly world. Females are attracted to the 'sparkle' from eyespots on the male's wtngs. it is actually reflected UV light and is more important in attraction than spot size, previously thought to be the key factor 'It shows size isn't everything in determining sexual choice,' said Dr Kendra Robertson of Buffalo University. BLOOD BOOST: Blood could be useful for creating bones,scientists claim.They think umbilical cord blood stem cells kept at Europe's blood banks could be used to create bone structures.If their attempts are successful,the stem cells could be used to repair bone defects and make hip replacements more durable. The £2.5 million project at the University of York will also study the ethics of stem cell therapies. STORM CLUES: A new NASA satellite is helping predict when hurricane will become more devastating. The radar satellite is able to provide thermal and heat data from inside a tropical storm. It can also tell when ice particles found high up in the storm's clouds are melting at lower levels. That is a sign the hurricane is about to become 'extra-tropical' and release heavy rain away from the storm's centre. NOT AGAIN: Déjà vu is usually so brief it was thought impossible to study. But for some the feeling is persistent. Leeds psychologists are working with suffers of chronic déjà vu - who may even stop watching TV news because it seems  to be a repeat. Dr Chris Moulin first encountered chronic sufferers at a clinic. He said: 'One man said  there was no point in coming because he'd already been there - although it would have been impossible.' BABOON BLUES: The baboon mourns like a human,a study has revealed. Researchers found stress hormones called glutocorticoids increased in baboons who lost close family members.When Sylvia the baboon lost Sierra,her closest grooming partner,she looked to friends for support, Dr Anne Engh from the University of Pennsylvania said. 'With Sierra gone,Sylvia experienced what could only really be described as depression.' Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at cosm@ukmetro.co.uk SUN RISES : Construction of the world's first full-size artificial sun is to start in China The fusion device, which aims to generate limitless, clean. nuclear energy to offset the dearth of fossil fuels, will be built in Hefei, Eastern China. Scientists hope to extract the chemical deuterium from the sea and create a sun by fusing it with tritium under temperatures of 100 million ºC.The £21 million project also involves Russia, Japan, the US, the EU and Korea. WHITE LIES: Some of our memories may be stolen from other people, reseaarch shows. While our borrowing of memories is unintntional, it appears to be done for selfish reasons, scientists found. People claim achievements and misfortunes as their own but give away those involving wrong doing. 'Some of the memories in which we play a leading role might in fact have been the experiences of others,' researchers from the US and New Zealand wrote in the journal Genes, Brain and Behavior. SPACE FILLER : The day of the spacwalk may be numbered -soon spacecraft may be able to repair themselves. Engineers studied the way human cuts heal and a fibre which could be used to make Spacecraft components. When the fibre cracks, it could release a liquid resin that seals the breach. 'When we cut ourselves we don't glue ourselves together, our blood hardens to form a seal ' said Christopher Semprimoshnig. of the European Space Agency. ROBODOC : Patients are being followed by a robot which X-rays them as they move. The aim is to produce iamges of bones, muscles and joints which can be more useful than the static X-rays we are all used to. Scott Banks at the University of Florida, said: 'We want to observe and measure how muscles and joints move when people use them.' Patients wear an LED-lit patch on the body part in  question and the robot can zoom in on it. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at cosm@ukmetro.co.uk LET'S FACE IT: The English face is changing almost every year and in the last six centuries it has evolved less prominent features and larger brains. A Birmingham University team took measurements from radiographic films of skulls dating back to the 1348 Black Death and the wreck of the Mary Rose in 1545. They found that the mediaeval English had larger jaw bones and smaller brain sizes. Spokesman Dr Peter Rock said: 'The differences are striking.' GERM LINK : Infections could cause some forms of brain cancer, scientists said yesterday. Clusters of glioma rumours - the most common form of the disease - were found at the same places and at the same times in Brabant, Holland, over 18 years A team, led by Dr Richard McNally of Newcastle University, said people could not catch cancer but infections might trigger it in a few people already genetically at risk, according to a report in the European Journal of Cancer. LISTEN UP: Owls could hold the key to treating attention disorders.The birds of prey are able to 'tune in' to a particular noise and pair that sound with what it sees.They even block out competing noises from other directions. US neurologists wired up 12 owls in a bid to understand how their brains process the data. By mapping out neurotransmitters involved in signalling attention they hope to help humans suffering from attention disorders. DIRT BUSTER: Plants could be used tc' clean up land contaminated by explosives. Micro-organisms found in soil have beeri used to turn trees into pollution-busters because they use the explosives as a source of nitrogen for growth. The system will be used on tracts of land used for military training contaminated by RDX, one of the most widely used explosives. 'The enzyme helps bio-degarde the RDX.' a US researcher said. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at cosm@ukmetro.co.uk CUT ABOVE: Super-strong water jets could reptace surgical saws in hospitals. The industrial water cutters used to sever under sea cables are quicker and more accurate than existing instruments, doctors say. They require minimal contact with a patient and can be used at room temperature, reducing damage and blood loss. After five years of research at Edinburgh University, scientists are looking for industrial partners to take the project forward. JAB BOOST: Antibodies from chimpanzees could help to fix problems associated with the smallpox vaccine. In a small minority of people, the vaccine can trigger deadly side effects. It also fails to give instant protection, rendering it of little use in a chemical attack. But in tests on chimpanzees, a more robust vaccine was used, producing powerful antibodies. These might offer instant protection and help treat side effets,say US experts. BIG BLOB: Mountains can form in just a few million years by a process called "deblobbing" geologists say. This occurs when two plates of the Earth's crust collide and the swell of a mountain range develops. Below, in the solid portion of the upper mantle, a blob of materiel clings to the rising swell, acting like an anchor as the mountains rise slowly. At some point, the blob disconnects and the mountains spring upward. US experts told Science journal. EAR WE GO: When you scream maybe at a winning goal - brain cells kick in to protect your hearing from the sound of your own voice. The cells dampen the ability of our auditory neurons to detect incoming sounds .If you stop screaming, the signal stops and hearing returns to normal in a process called corollary discharge. Humans also have a middle ear refiex that protects hearing from loud sounds, experts at Cambridge University found. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at cosm@ukmetro.co.uk NO SHAKING : A plane that doesn't judder or a golf club that won't jar your hand when you hit a divot? A new material using nanotechnology could make that a reality. By using microscopic carbon tubes called nanotubes, vibration in traditional materials can be greatly reduced. This is because nanocomposites don't have the same weight as existing polymeric materials, say researchers from the Rensselaer Polytechnic institute in the US. FIN-CY THAT: There's a little bit of shark in all of us, a new study suggests.Researchers tried to discover how the feared predators can detect electrical signals while hunting. A network of cells in the predator's heads gives them their sixth sense, the Florida University study found. The cells, which are also found in human facial bones, migrate from the sharks brains to become 'electroreceptors'. SMOKE ALERT: Mother's who smoke during pregnancy may cause their children to be obese by the age of eight, a US study has found. Although prenatal smoking is known to cause low birthweight, a survey of nearly 35,000 children also revealed it raises the risk of miscarriage and premature delivery. By the age of eight,a child whose mother smoked has a 17 per cent greater chance of being overweight Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at cosm@ukmetro.co.uk SMILEY FACE : A good sense of humour really does make a man sexy, scientists say. Researchers carried out tests which appear to prove that laughter is an aphrodisiac for women. In the study,63 women were shown pictures of two equally attractive men. Each time a photo of one of the men was shown serious statements were presented with it. A picture of the  second man came with humourous sentences. Finally each female had to rate the men. 'Routinely,women preferred the funny guy,' said a US scientist. SMELLY GAS: A new test can detect trace amounts of chemical agents in sedconds.The US system uses tiny reusable microlenses. When antibodies on the lenses come into contact with an antigen they are set to detect they bind,causing the lenses to swell.'The system could be used to detect a chemical weapons attack and increase the speed of medical testing,' said one scientist. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at cosm@ukmetro.co.uk QUICK TOADS: They were introduced to Australia in the 1940s to tackle beetles ravaging sugar cane crops. But cane toads have now adapted so well to life Down Under they are growing longer legs ro cover the larger distances the country offers. The quickest toads have legs six per cent longer than average, scientists in Darwin found. The toads are now colonising new areas at a rate of 50km per year, compared with 10km per year in the 1940s. DOPE DIET: For dieters hoping for a magic bullet to tackle obesity a cannabis-inspired pill may offer some hope. Weight loss drug Rimonabant had modest success at helping people lose weight and keep it off in clinical trials, US scientists said. The drug blocks receptors in the endocannabinoid system, which is also affected by marijuana. However, the study was marred by the fact that almost half of the 3,000 volunteers did not complete the year-long tests. RED RUMP: We may have developed colour vision to help spot when our partners are sexually aroused, as a blushed face is a sign we are ready for monkey business. US scientists found that 36 primate species with the most colour-sensitive retinas were those which expressed sexual arousal through their faces and reddening their hare rumps. It had been thought we developed colour vision to help hunt for food. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at cosm@ukmetro.co.uk GROW'I'H PAIN: Obese peopie may be more sensitive to pain than thin people, a study says. Obese arthritis patients were found to have a greater physical response to electrical stimulation to their ankles. The stimulus was applied after a 45-minute muscle relaxing exercise. 'The relaxation procedure helped both groups,' said Charles Emery, psychology professor at Ohio State University. 'But the obese participants had a lower threshold for tolerating pain.' NOAH WAY: Flooding on the scale of the Noah's Ark story may have led to climate change, Nasa scientists claim. A computer model reproduced the spell of warmer weather tnat followed a huge freshwater flood in the North Atlantic when the glaciers melted 8,200 years ago. The results have been confirmed by ice core and tree ring data. 'We only have one example of how the climate reacts to changed, the past,' said researcher Gavin A Schmidt. SPIN CYCLE: Goalkeepers who miss a spinning ball are only doing what comes naturally, a study shows. In tests, footballers could not predict if a ball spinning at 600 revolutions per minute would end up in the net on a virtual reality display. 'Spinning balls don't occur naturally. So why would nature devise a visual system adapted to them?' said Dr Cathy Craig from Queen's University, Belfast. Her research was inspired by a spectacular 'banana' freekick goal by Roberto Carlos of Brazil. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at cosm@ukmetro.co.uk MAGIC EYE: A 'bionic eye' has been used to stimulate visual sensation in people suffering a rare form of genetic blindness. Small electrodes are placed on the surface of the eye and an electrical current is used to stimulate the retina to see light. While not giving full sight, it could enable blind people to negotiate their way across a room, scientists at the Bionic Eye Foundation in Sydney said. It is an exciting development for people suffering conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa, where the retina's cells die but the optic nerve survives, a BEF spokesman said. QUIET DEER: Bambi could have been crying for hours but his mother would not have known. A study on fallow deer has revealed only adult females have distinctive calls. This means fawns can tell who their mother is but mothers are not able to distinguish between the calls of their own offspring and other fawns. This means the young deer have to lie silently in the undergrowth to avoid predators and do not call until they hear their mother return, University of Zurich researchers told The American Naturalist journal. LUNG TEST: People who eat large amounts of cured meats have a three per oent reduction in lung function compared with those who never consume these foods, a study shows. Such a difference may have a noticeable effect in a person with lung disease, such as bronchitis US researchers say. In tests, participants who consumed a lot of cured meats expelled 115ml less air per second than those who ate none. The nitrogen containing compounds used to cure meats may attack proteins that give the lungs their elasticity, experts suggest. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at cosm@ukmetro.co.uk SEE HEAR! If you ever thought some art and music fits perfectly, there is an explanation for it. Vision and hearing are interlinked in everyone's brains but only synaesthetes who have a rare condition in which the two senses mingle are conscious of it new research shows. They can hear as well as see artwork to the point where some paintings become music scientists at University College London said. LEAD FUEL Roadkill has been used to track the success of cars switching to unleaded petrol. Levels of potentially lethal lead found in the rib bones of dead otters in 2004 were less than a quarter of those in 1992. The results are important for humans because lead can damage the central nervous system including the brain Cardiff University scientist Dr Liz Chadwick said. KILLER GEAR A serial killer's clothing can help explain the Holocaust ,a scientist befieves.Prof Bruce Hood of the University of Bristol tries to convince people to wear a jumper belonging to Fred West.But even with a cash reward they won't put it on as they see it as evil. He said it provides an insight into how we can be ruled by superstition. And that feeling can lead to genocide as it means we can easily dehumanise other people,he claimed. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at cosm@ukmetro.co.uk MEAN FEET: Wasps save their young from predators by sniffing out their enemies' stinky feet Aphid parasitic wasps prevent their offspring being eaten by ladybirds by steering clear of areas contaminated by a pungent blend of chemicals that ladybirds deposit. Scientists at Hertfordshire-based Rothamsted Research have identified the chemicols involved and have also shown that the smell of different ladybird species repels different parasitic wasp species to varying degrees ICE SEE: A formula has been found for how doles form - they grow the same way as staloctites (the ones that come from the ceiling). Icicle growth is caused by the diffusion of heat away from the icicle by a thin layer of water and the resulting updraft of air over the surface. This occurs because an icicle is warmer than surrounding air, and convective I heat causes the air around it to rise, a US study shows. As it rises, it removes heat from the water layer, some of it freezes and the icicle thickens and grows. WEED IT OUT: A new method has been deVised for filtering poisonous weedkiller from drinking water. Current techniques use porous carbon filters to remove herbicides such as atrazine. However, the pores often get blocked by other organic material. A new cartridge filter created at the University of Illinois uses glass fibres coated with polymer resin, plus a catalyst to activate the fibres. It can lower atrazine levels in water to three parts per billion, the Royal Society of Chemistry reports. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at cosm@ukmetro.co.uk DOWN, SHEP: Dogs can be as jealous as humans and even deliberately get between their owner and a partner during romantic moments, a study has found. Such behaviour proves it i~ not just humans and chimps who experience emotions such as jealousy, guilt, shame and pride, researchers at the University of Portsmouth said. Dogs can develop animosity in particular when in a love triangle' involving their carer and another person or animal, they added. TOLKIEN ROT: Further doubt has been cast on claims that skeletal remains found on an Indonesian island in 2004 were those of 'hobbits' - a species of furry minihuman. Instead, the 9Ocm4all (3ft~ creatures that died out 15.000 years ago were probably ancestors of pygmies who still live on Fiores, scientists said. One specimen with an unusually small head may have suffered from microcephaly, a disease characterised by a shrunken skull, they added. LIGHTS OUT: Exposing premature babies to artificial hospital lighting can damage their development research suggests. It stoos thelr biological clock from developing properlY, according to scientists who carried out laboratory ~ests on babv mice This could result 'n an increased ~ of mood disorders su~h ns. depression, the US researchers wamed. rhey ~uggest keeping llghting 0 ~pecial ~dre hoby units to a~mioi~num. ON THE RUN: t is an issue which has divided scientists for years, but now it has been confirmed that charging elephants are technically running. Using motion capture technology from The Lord Qf The Rings fi~ms~ researchers phetographed elephant leg movements up to 240 Umes per sedond. The res~ults showed the beasts do bounce their legs a bit like pogo stidks. That is now widely accepted as a running slvie,re searchers at the University of London said. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at cosm@ukmetro.co.uk ROAD SENSE Children are not the only ones who need lollipop patrols.Chimpanzees need adults' help to cross roads built through the jungle, a study shows. Dominant males walk ahead of their group and evaluate the risks before signalling to the others to cross. Other males bring up the rear to protect females and the young. The findings which centred on a road through a rainforest in Guinea, West Africa. are reported in the journal Current Biology. LARVAE LAUGH: The larvae of blister beetles imitate the sexual characteristics of female bees as a way of getting a free meal ticket. The insects, found in the Californian desert, mimic female bees so well male bees try to mate with them. They stack up on each other to look like female bees arid emit a bee-like smell. When the male bees take them back to their nests, the larvae feast on the bees' eggs, US scientist Leslie Saul-Gershenz discovered. PURPLE PATCH: Are you feeling depressed? Well. even if you are a non-smoker you night relieve your symptoms by wearing a nicotine patch, experts say. In tests, depressed non-smokers who wore a patch for at least eight days said they felt less miserable after the trial. One expert at Duke University in the US said'. 'The same areas of the brain that are stimulated by nicotine appear to be involved in the regulation of mood.' Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at cosm@ukmetro.co.uk DARK STUFF: The first direct evidence of mysterious 'dark matter' - invisible material which makes up 22 per cent of the universe - has been found. Observations of two colliding galaxy clusters l00million light years away showed ordinary matter and dark matter being wrenched apart. Dr Douglas Clowe, of Arizona University, said: 'A universe that's dominated by dark stuff seems preposterous but this is direct proof that dark matter exists.' WHALE BARK: Meet the killer whale that behaves like a parrot. A lone whale which became separated from its pod as a juvenile learned to bark like a sea lion, a study found. Many mammals have the ability to voluntarily oontrol when to use a vocalisation. But this whale, and another isolated animal, also showed a variation in the use of their normal calls compared to their pod's repertoires. Scientists believe it may he due to the absence of a tutor. CRAVINGS UP: Smokers who give up cigarettes get withdrawal symptoms within 30 minutes, a study shows. They are angry in an hour and, within three hours they are anxious, sad and can't concentrate. Cravings, mood disturbances appetite increases and sleep problems peak within three days of quitting, US researcher Thomas Brandon found. 'Quitters are not yet in the throes of full withdrawal but are not feeling right' he added. SUGARY MIND: Newly diagnosed schizoperenics have more glucose in their brains and spinal fluids than healthy people. This suggests they use a different energy source - lactate -because glucose is not being used effectively.Researcher Dr Elaine Holmes,of Imperial College London, said: 'We can now spot the changes which occur before it becomes a major problem.' There is not yet a test for schizophrenia,which affects one in 100 people. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at cosm@ukmetro.co.uk WING-CHILL: Urbanite birds find life in the city less stressful than their country cousins. Blackbirds adapt so well to a city envronment they have lower levels of stress hormones than rural birds. The findings come from tests on hand-reared blackbirds tested by German ornithological researchers. 'City life changes physiological coping mechanisms in wild animals,' the team said. SPACEBUGS: it's been used as a blueprint for predicting trade between countries and now the laws of gravity between planets can show how insects will spread disease. The closer and healthier two plants are, the more likely it is insects will fly between them, carrying disease, US scientists say. This is comparable to the attraction between planets, which is greater the closer and larger they are. ROOTED: Just as wary humans hide their cash in money belts, plants have the ability to stash away valuables when attacked, The tobacco plant shifts life-sustaining carbon away from rapidly expanding young leaves and into its root system when itcomes into contact with fatty acids in the mouth of the tobacco hornworm. The mechanism allows the plant to live to fight another day, German researchers say. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at cosm@ukmetro.co.uk QUICK LIFE: A fish that lives fast and dies young has entered the record books. The Australian reef pygmy goby has the shortest lifespan of any vertebrate. The fish lives for just three-and-a-half weeks and reaches sexual maturity in ten days. 'For small species living in areas with many predators, evolution often favours a live fast, die young strategy,' said a Queensland University spokesman. DRY PUMP: Trees have learned to survive by sucking water from clouds. A forested area in the remote Dhofar Mountains of Oman gathers water from ground fog during the wet season. The droplets sink into the soil and sustain the trees when the weather is dry. Although cloud forests are not rare. these trees are peculiar because they live in a desert, US scientists say. EYE KNOW: The oldest known fossilised eyes from jawed fish are shedding light on how eyes evolved in early vertebrates. Dr Carole Burrow, who found the 410 million-year-old specimens in New South Wales, used X-rays to prove that a primitive fish called a placoderm had an extra muscle attached to its eye. It was assumed that six muscles were the norm for all vertebrates. Do you have a story for MiniCosm? E-mail us at cosm@ukmetro.co.uk