When a living thing gives off a glow, it’s called bioluminescence. Fireflies are a well- known example of bioluminescence. Many mushrooms are also bio-luminescent. Fireflies and other bio-luminescent creatures light up thanks to chemicals inside their bodies. These chemicals are known as luciferins, which cause a chemical reaction that gives off light.

Plants don’t naturally have luciferins, so there are no naturally bio-luminescent plants. In the past, scientists created glowing plants by adding DNA from glowing bacteria. But the glowing effect was weak. They also created glowing plants by adding luciferins to plants. In 2017, a team at MIT was able to cause watercress plants to glow for about four hours. Now, researchers at a Russian company called Planta, working with scientists from the United Kingdom and Austria, have come up with a new method of creating glowing plants which last as long as they are alive. The scientists focused on an acid that is found in both plants and mushrooms. By adding certain parts of the DNA from glowing mushrooms to ordinary tobacco plants, the scientists are able to create plants that can make their own luciferins using this acid. The scientists report that the greenish light is about 10 times brighter than in earlier ones, which is strong enough to be easily recorded with an ordinary camera, but doesn’t affect the health of the plants.

Glowing plants reflect the way plants work. The scientists point out that the glowing isn’t constant ,but seems to change, depending upon what is happening inside the plants. Younger parts of the plants glow more strongly than older parts. The flowers glow especially brightly. They’ve noticed moving patterns of light in the plants, which they think may show activity in plants that normally can’t be seen. The glowing also helps uncover how plants may be affected by things around them. For example, the plants glow much more strongly when a ripe banana skin is nearby.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary puts it simply: “birdbrain: a stupid person”. Well, some birds are having the last laugh with that one.

For animals, the ability to solve problems with multiple tools is a rare talent, which was reported only in chimpanzees (大猩猩). But now, a study conducted by Osuna-Mascaró’s team adds Goffin’s cockatoos (small white parrots)to the “Dean’s List”, too.

Inspired by the chimpanzees which fish for white ants via tools, the team tasked the cockatoos with fishing for a kind of nu t in three experiments. Firstly, the researchers made a box containing a nut which was covered by a transparent membrane (薄膜). Once a cockatoo broke it through with a sharp stick, the bird would need to use a straw (麦秆) to reach the nut. The birds were supplied with the two tools.

Seven of the 10 cockatoos figured it out, with two completing the task within 35seconds on their first attempt! Since the cockatoos don’t have similar foraging (觅食的) requirements in the wild, there is no chance that they can adapt their tool-using strategies to the task naturally.

Next, the team mixed up the boxes and randomly presented each bird with a box with the membrane or a box without. The birds were given the same two tools. As a result, all the cockatoos mastered the test quickly and were able to recognize when a single tool was sufficient and when two tools were required.

However, the birds showed an interesting behavior beyond the researchers’ expectations. “When they chose between which tool to use, they were picking one up, releasing it, then picking up the other one, and so on,” says Osuna-Mascaró. “It is worthwhile to figure this out in future.”

Subsequently, the researchers evaluated the birds’ transportation ability while carrying tools in different situations. Most cockatoos carried the two tools together when they were presented with a box having the membrane. “I’ve seen birds combining objects playfully, but they rarely transport more than one object together in their normal behavior,” says one biologist. “We feel that, in terms of technical cognition and tool use, birds have been underestimated. Maybe it’s time for dictionary editors to justify birds.”

From 1990 to 2000, fishermen seeking swordfish off the coast of California accidentally caught and killed over 100 sea turtles, and injured many more. In 2001, the federal government established the Pacific Leatherback Conservation Area (PLCA), a region off the coast of California where fishing boats aren’t allowed to enter from August through November. Since then, the number of turtles killed by mistake has fallen rapidly, but a handful of animals still die from being caught in fishing nets each year. And meanwhile, the once $15 million swordfish industry has become a $2 million industry.

Scientists are hoping to find a way to both protect sea turtles and other endangered creatures and help fishermen make a living. For this, many are looking at dynamic (动态的) ocean management to help fishing boats meet fish where they are and avoid catching other fish by mistake.

The first paper to suggest that the fish that live in the open ocean should be guarded with fluid, ever-changing zones of protection, came out in 2000. Larry Crowder, a professor at Hopkins Marine Station, remembers reading it and thinking,“ Cool idea, but it will never work.” In 2000, scientists didn’t have the computer power to cheaply test statistical models or deal with satellite data quickly. They didn’t have enough data dealing with fish or satellite data on ocean conditions, either.

Now scientists can download oceans of satellite data in minutes, and attach satellite archival tags (档案标签) to marine (海洋的) animals to track their movements. They first collect data by marking the creatures, collecting reports from fishing boats, or other tracking methods. Then they compare that data with weather conditions, the time of year, and any other data that can be sensed. Finally, they can forecast where fish are likely to be.

Crowder and his colleagues used the data to develop a tool called EcoCast, which shows fishermen a daily map where there are more fish they desire. According to statistical modeling, if fishers had used EcoCast during the 2012 and 2015 fishing seasons, they could have fished in at least 125,000 more square miles than were open to them, without significant risk of hurting turtles.