What's New

SCIENCE When black holes turn pink MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - Astronomers in Australia have found that some black holes actually appear bright pink. They normally look black because their intense gravity fields suck in light. But scientists say remains of space matter, stars, and gas clouds that swirl into some black holes emit an intense pink light. These "pink" holes live in the center of galaxies and devour anything that comes near them, says Dr. Paul Francis, Australian National University. The research will be shown at the Fresh Science Conference in Melbourne.

The bats and the bees

It's easy to fathom how a pollinating insect or bird is attracted to a flower by its looks. But hundreds of plant species are pollinated by bats, which can't see. So how does a bat, with only a sonar-like ability to navigate, find its favorite flower? One answer, say two German scientists in the current issue of Nature magazine, is that bats get help from the flowers. They describe a tropical vine whose flowers include a concave petal that acts like an acoustical mirror, reflecting back a bat signal. So a passing bat sending out signals will receive a series of strong return signals from the same point, helping it find the flower.

Tiptoeing through the tulips

Fossilized dinosaur footprints provide insight on the animals' posture, gait, and speed, but most are shallow and say little about hind-limb movement. However, a startling exception, reported by Nature, is a Late Triassic (200 million years old) trackway record from eastern Greenland. The tracks preserve clear records of feet and lower hind-limb movement similar to ground-dwelling birds today.