1. Tiny Fossil Illuminates Penguin’s Surprisingly Useful Wings and How They Evolved
Sometimes, certain aspects of an animal’s biology can seem completely redundant, such as the tiny arms of a T. rex, or wings on a flightless bird.
But thanks to a recent study of fossilized penguin wings, researchers were able to pinpoint when these birds had turned their seemingly pointless wings into powerful diving aides.
A joint research team of New Zealand and Japanese scientists analyzed three bones found by a late paleontologist in the Hakataramea Valley on New Zealand’s south island.
Named Pakudyptes hakataramea, the fossils belonged to a diminutive penguin about the same size as the modern little blue penguin, the smallest in the world. Living 24 million years ago, Pakudyptes already had adaptions in its bone structure meant for diving.
Researchers from the University of Otago in New Zealand, the Okayama and Osaka universities in Japan, along with the Ashoro Museum of Paleontology, examined three bones: a humerus, femur, and ulna.
Pakudyptes fills a morphological gap between modern and fossil penguins, says the lead author on the study, Dr. Tatsuro Ando at the Ashoro Museum. The humerus and ulna in particular highlight how penguins’ wings have evolved.
2. There Was No Treatment for His Son’s Rare Disease, so Dad Moves Mountains to Make One for Children Worldwide
From Fox News Digital comes the incredible story of a Canadian family that stopped at nothing to find a cure for their newborn son’s rare disease.
Putting their life savings on a wing and a prayer, the determination to see their boy grow up turned to compassion after they decided that the medicine they helped create should save more lives than just their son.
Terry and Georgia Pirovolakis live in Toronto, and it was back in 2017 that they welcomed their third son, Michael, into the world. He was declared a healthy baby boy, and the couple went home to introduce him to his older brother and sister. But as the parents began counting the missed developmental milestones, they were worried something was seriously wrong—and they were right.
After what Terry described as an “18-month diagnostic odyssey,” Michael Pirovolakis was diagnosed by a neurologist with spastic paraplegia 50 (SPG50). This neurological disorder affects fewer than 100 known people in the world.
The doctors told the parents to take Michael home and love him with all their strength because he’d probably be in a wheelchair at 10, a quadriplegic at 20, and dead shortly after that.
3. Town Is Missing its Clothing as 4-Pawed Cat Burglar Pilfers Items from Neighbors and Brings Them Home
There are cat burglars, then there are cat-burglars.
Taboo, a 12-year-old black and white resident of West Yorkshire in England, has stolen gloves, socks, underpants, and shoes from properties across the area.
Her owner, Sandra Danskin has now been forced to share regular pictures of the loot on social media so residents can reclaim their stolen items. But Danskin, who works night shifts, said sneaky Taboo is rarely caught and has become a master of her criminal trade.
“Whenever I come home from my shift there are all sorts of things waiting for me, either dragged in through the cat flap or left on the drive,” Danskin told the British news media service SWNS. “This morning I had four pairs of socks and a pair of underpants. She loves bringing back items of clothing like that, but also we’ve had a mop head and kitchen rolls.”
“We even had half a dozen eggs once, still in their box, but all broken. We think she must have taken them off someone’s doorstep when the milkman dropped them off.”
Neighbors have joked that they changed the locks of their houses, and that Danskin should figure out how to train her little thief to discern worthless goods from high-end goods like Rolexes.
