Top Science Stories of

2015

ScienceNews

inthe

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January 2016

Written by Rhonda Lucas Donald

New Species Discovered in 2015 Record-Breaking Hurricane Was a Gentle Giant Flowing Water on Mars New Battery May Change How You Charge

What’s Inside:

The glowing sea slug is one of the new species discovered in 2015.

P o w e r e d b y , a d i v i s i o n o f L e a r n i n g A - Z

Credits: Front cover: courtesy of Robert F. Bolland; page 2 (left to right, top to bottom): (1): © 2013 MBARI; (2): © Chris Lukhaup; (3, 9): courtesy of Robert F. Bolland: (4): Kubicki, Brian, Stanley Salazar, & Robert Puschendorf. “A new species of glassfrog, genus Hyalinobatrachium (Anura: Centrolenidae), from the Caribbean foothills of Costa Rica.” Zootaxa [Online], 3920.1 (2015): 69–84. Web. 18 Dec. 2015. Photo © Brain Kubicki; (5, 8): courtesy of Kevin C. Rowe, Museum Victoria; (6, 10): Iskandar DT, Evans BJ, McGuire JA (2014) A Novel Reproductive Mode in Frogs: A New Species of Fanged Frog with Internal Fertilization and Birth of Tadpoles. PLoS ONE 9(12): e115884. doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0115884. Photo © Jimmy A McGuire; (7): © P.B. Pelser & J.F. Barcelona

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January 2016

Glowing sea slugs (Phyllodesmium acanthorhinum) have algae living in their gut to help them digest food.

New Species Discovered in 2015

Perhaps giving birth to live tadpoles gives the fanged frog (Limnonectes larvaepartus) a head start at survival.

Most frogs lay eggs in water, and then the eggs hatch into tadpoles. But a new species of Indonesian frog gives birth to live tadpoles! The eggs hatch inside the mother’s body, and then the tadpoles emerge. The role of the father frog may be to guard the young.

Did you know that scientists discover hundreds of new species of animals and plants each year? Here are just a few of the new species identified around the world in 2015.

The glowing sea slug is a beautiful new species of marine invertebrate (an animal without a backbone). Slugs are related to snails but do not have shells. This sea slug lives in warm waters off the coast of Japan and eats coral.

The hog-nosed rat (Hyorhinomys stuempkei) likely eats insect larvae and earthworms.

It looks like a rat, but it has the nose of a pig. What is it? The hog-nosed rat! This new species of shrew rat was found in Indonesia. It has large ears and long front teeth and may move about by hopping on its hind legs like a rabbit.

SCIENCE in the NEWS

Life Science

Credits: top: © Chris Lukhaup; center left: Kubicki, Brian, Stanley Salazar, & Robert Puschendorf. “A new species of glassfrog, genus Hyalinobatrachium (Anura: Centrolenidae), from the Caribbean foothills of Costa Rica.” Zootaxa [Online], 3920.1 (2015): 69–84. Web. 18 Dec. 2015. Photo © Brain Kubicki; center right: © Photos 12/Alamy Stock Photo; bottom left: © 2013 MBARI; bottom right: © P.B. Pelser & J.F. Barcelona

New Species continued from page 2

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January 2016

Stephanie Bush, a scientist studying this cute little octopus, wants to name it Opistoteuthis adorabilis, which means adorable umbrella octopus. Species That Became Extinct in 2015

The eastern cougar was declared extinct in 2015. This cougar was a subspecies that once lived east of the Mississippi River from Canada to Florida. The only remaining cougars today are Florida panthers and western cougars. v

This new species, called Diane’s bare-hearted glass frog (Hyalinobatrachium dianae), looks just like Kermit the Frog!

The coral plant (Balanophora coralliformis) is an endangered species of plant, not coral. It lives in the mountains of the Philippines.

The flapjack octopus is so cute that “adorable” may become part of its official name! This new type of deep-sea octopus looks like a small orange umbrella. It has big eyes and flappy little fins that resemble ears. Scientists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute found this octopus off the California coast.

This vampire crab (Geosesarma dennerle) is one of two new species of vampire crab identified in 2015.

A new species of glass frog not only has a see-through belly, it also looks like a well-known TV star. Instead of appearing on the screen, these frogs live in the mountains of Costa Rica.

This rare species may look like coral, but it is a plant that grows on land. In fact, it is a parasite that grows on other living things and takes nutrients from them. The coral plant can’t make its own food through photosynthesis as most plants can.

Vampire crabs have been hanging around in people’s aquariums for years. Their bright yellow eyes and purple bodies make them popular pets. But no one knew what species they were or where they came from. This year, two kinds of these crabs have been identified as new species. They are native to rivers in Indonesia.

SCIENCE in the NEWS

Credits: left: © Demotix Live News/Demotix/Corbis; right: © Ulises Ruiz Basurto/EPA/LANDOV

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On October 20, 2015, Hurricane Patricia formed over the Pacific

Ocean near Mexico. It picked up strength rapidly to become a Category 5 storm. Now, Patricia is in the history books as the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere!

Measuring Storm StrengthThe strength of a hurricane is measured in two main ways. Hurricanes are placed in a category from 1 to 5 according to wind speed. The higher the category, the faster the wind. They are also ranked by measuring the air pressure inside them. Hurricanes with lower air pressure are more powerful. But these factors alone cannot predict how much damage a hurricane will cause. The size of the hurricane and the location where it makes landfall are also important.

Minimal DamageAccording to wind speed and air pressure data, Hurricane Patricia was an extremely dangerous storm. But four days after it started, the storm quickly weakened as it churned over mountains in Mexico. As a result, Patricia caused far less damage than was expected from such a monster hurricane. Luckily, the storm passed through rural areas where few people live. Also, the Mexican government evacuated many people before the storm hit, thanks to warnings from meteorologists.

January 2016

Record-Breaking Hurricane Was a

Gentle Giant

Hurricane Patricia as seen from space

Mexico

Patricia brought floods and power outages to rural areas of Mexico.

This chart compares three recent hurricanes. Patricia had the highest wind speed and lowest air pressure but was much smaller in diameter than Katrina or Sandy and avoided heavily populated areas.

COMPARING PATRICIA TO KATRINA AND SANDY

Hurricane Patricia Katrina Sandy

Category [at landfall]

5 [5] 5 [3] 3 [2]

Top Wind Speed (mph)

200 175 115

Air Pressure (millibars)

880 902 940

Storm Diameter (miles)

70 400 1,000

Sizing Up StormsHurricane Patricia was not harmless. It caused flooding, damaged about 3,000 homes, and nearly a quarter of a million people lost electricity. But the damage caused by Patricia was minor compared to the damage caused by other storms. Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast of the United States in 2012. It impacted millions of people and caused $50 billion in damages. Even worse was Hurricane Katrina. This storm made landfall along the Gulf Coast in 2005. Katrina took many lives, destroyed 300,000 homes, and cost more than $100 billion in damages. Nearly two million people were without power in the days following Hurricane Katrina.

Patricia may be considered the “strongest” storm, but Sandy and Katrina hit heavily populated areas. Also, both Sandy and Katrina were much larger, resulting in a path of destruction that spread for miles. v

SCIENCE in the NEWS

Earth Science

Credits: top (both): courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona; bottom (both): courtesy of NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

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It may not be drinkable, but there appears to be salty water flowing

on the surface of Mars! Perhaps even more exciting is that liquid water could mean life on Mars. Images and chemical studies from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show streaks that appear to flow and dry up at different times of the year.

Go with the FlowWater flows downhill due to gravity, and this is no different on Mars. The newly found streaks on Mars are officially called recurring slope lineae (LIH-nee-ay), which means lines that come and go on sloping land. The lineae appear when the temperature rises above –23°C (10°F). That’s far colder than fresh water can usually flow. But salts in the Martian soil may mix with the water and lower its freezing point.

It’s similar to what happens when we put salt on icy roads in the winter. The salt lowers the freezing point and melts the ice, despite the cold air.

Water WondersScientists have long thought that there was liquid water on ancient Mars. This new evidence indicates that there is still liquid water on the Red Planet today! Looking more closely at places with recurring slope lineae may lead to the discovery of life there. In additional, places with flowing water could be potential sites for future Mars missions. v

Months after the New Horizons flyby of Pluto (see the September edition of Science in the News), scientists are still making amazing discoveries about the dwarf planet and its five moons. Recent 3-D maps show what may be ice volcanoes! Instead of erupting molten rock, these volcanoes might spew out a mixture of ice and gases.

Pluto’s moons have scientists’ heads spinning. Actually, it’s the moons that are spinning. Pluto’s gravity and the gravity of its largest moon, Charon, cause the four smaller moons to rotate and spin in unusual ways. Pluto’s four smallest moons behave like spinning tops, says Mark Showalter of the SETI Institute. v

January 2016

Pluto’s Year in the Spotlight

Color was used to enhance this image of Hale Crater on Mars. The dark streaks look like water running down a hill. That’s exactly what scientists think they are.

recurring slope lineae

Wright Mons (aerial view)

Scientists think this mountain on Pluto, called Wright Mons, is an ice volcano.

SCIENCE in the NEWS

Space Science

Credits: left: courtesy of Mark Shwartz, Precourt Institute for Energy, Stanford University; right: © Brad Wynnyk/Hemera/Thinkstock

Fill I

n

the Bl

ank

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Would you like to be able to charge your computer or phone in just one

minute? A new type of battery may make this possible.

The new battery is made of aluminum and charges super fast. It can be charged many more times than regular rechargeable batteries, so it lasts much longer. It’s also flexible and less expensive to make. Aluminum batteries are safer than traditional batteries currently in use. Alkaline batteries, like those in TV remotes, contain chemicals that can harm the environment. Lithium batteries used in many computers and handheld devices sometimes catch fire.

So why isn’t this new battery in every device? For now, it is only capable of delivering about two volts of electricity. That’s about half of what lithium batteries deliver. But scientists hope to improve the battery and increase the voltage. Soon this battery could take charge of your devices! v

After reading the articles, use what you’ve learned to complete each sentence.

Show What You Know

1. Instead of laying eggs, the fanged frog gives birth to live ________________________ .

2. The coral plant is a ___________________ that grows on other living things and takes nutrients from them.

3. Hurricane Patricia is the strongest hurricane on record in the Western Hemisphere based on its high wind speed and low _______________ _______________ data.

4. Water may flow on Mars even at temperatures as low as –23°C (10°F) because _____________ lowers the freezing point of water.

5. The gravitational pull of Pluto and _____________ causes Pluto’s smaller moons to move in unusual ways.

6. A new battery made of __________________ can be fully charged in about one minute.

Fill In the Blank Answers: 1. tadpoles; 2. parasite; 3. air pressure; 4. salt; 5. Charon; 6. aluminum

January 2016

Engineer Yingpeng Wu holds the new aluminum battery. Its flexibility means that it can fit into devices of many shapes, including those that bend.

SCIENCE in the NEWS

Engineering

If you could charge your phone and other devices in only a minute, how would it change your life?