A Tiger's Strike vs. Kung Fu Tiger Style

Which generates more power - a tiger strike or a Kung Fu tiger style strike?

See for yourself.

Fedor Emelianenko vs Python

Who has a more powerful choke-hold? See for yourself.

Toucan's Beak

The toucan's bill, 1/3rd its body, has been theorized to attracted mates, peel fruits or for territorial defense. A new report says the beak acts like a radiator since birds don’t sweat. When a toucan needs to cool, its beak heats up. The beak's surface area allows heat to quickly dissipate; for example, when a toucan lowers its body temperature in preparation for sleep, it cools 10°C in minutes. When outside temperatures rose, the bill heated up, but the bird’s core body temperature did not.

Orangutan Locomotion

A study shows the secrets to how heavy orangutans (up to 180 lbs) travel through the trees to get fruit without breaking branches.

Orangutans sometimes move upright, sometimes horizontally with their limbs fully extended. They avoid repetitive motions, which could make their perches sway more. And they usually grab on to 1+ branch at a time — 1/3rd of time they’re holding more than four at once. Also, climbing higher requires energy and, if the tree is shaking, orangutans must wait for the vibrations. By swaying instead of leaping from branch to branch, orangutans use less energy, and less energy and time if they climbed down and back up trees. Also, adult females swing conservatively while males and youngsters are risk takers.

Chimpanzees, by comparison, pull their bodies close to the tree branch while moving because they are relatively small and don't worry about the vibrations their body weight would create.

Brain is a Copycat

A study shows that reading about an activity activates the same brain regions involved in performing that activity. For example, if you read a story about running, you would activate brains areas that are involved while you actually run. This finding confirms studies that found when people read about scoring a goal, they reacted quicker when asked to make a kicking motion than when told to pat their heads.

Swearing Alleviates Pain

College students put their hands in a tub of cold water and repeated the swear word of their choice. Students tolerance was much higher if they swore. These students also had increased heart rates, indicating that swearing activates a classic “fight or flight” response. However, the more we swear, the less emotionally potent the words become. Without emotion, only the swearword remains.

Researchers say swear word are different than most language, activating emotional centers in the brain's right side instead of the brain's left side - used for regular communication.

Motion Affects Mood

A study shows that in speed-dating, those in stationary positions are more picky than those who move around the room. When men moved around the room they were more open and women, as expected, were more picky. But when men sat and women moved, women became more open and men were more picky. Scientists have yet to explain why.

Judgmental Fish

Research shows that nine-spined stickleback fish learned by watching other fish find food.

Of 275 fish, researchers gave some access to a feeder with worms and others a feeder with nothing. Next, the fish watched other fish eat, but the feeders were switched. The sticklebacks learned through experience that feeder A gave more worms, but through observation they saw feeder B was better. When going back for seconds, they relied on social cues, not their own experiences, and chose feeder B.

While we know animals learn from one another, this finding demonstrates humans are not the only living creatures capable of making judgment calls. To selectively follow such cues demonstrates sophisticated social learning.

Shoe Thrower Helps Neuroscience

When President Bush ducked shoes thrown at him, Prime Minister Maliki, standing right beside, barely flinched. This confirmed a theory that we have a dual vision system - human brains "see" things far before the eyes.

President Bush ducked because his brain’s action pathway labeled the trajectory of the shoe as a threat well before his perception pathway began to track its flight. Maliki's brain, however, realized the shoe wasn’t headed his way - so he didn't duck.

The findings have implications for sports, among other things.