Interactive Virtual Anatomical Model

Check out this very neat video that demonstrates new technology developed at Gifu University (Japan)... The "interactive virtual anatomical model" allows researchers to study anatomy in 3D. This technology is especially useful for understanding complex physiological structures, such as cranial and facial nerves. 

[Link to Gifu University website]

[via DigInfo TV]

Happy Autumnal Equinox!

The Sun's Path over Girona, Spain between March 2003-March 2004, by Juan Carlos Casado

This post is to wish everyone a Happy Autumnal Equinox on this 22nd day of September. Did you know:

• Equinoxes fall approximately between the solstices, and as such they got pegged as the start of Fall and Spring
• The autumnal and vernal equinoxes are the only two times during the year when the sun rises due east and sets due west
• They are also the only two days of the year when a person standing on the Equator can see the sun passing directly overhead
• On the day of the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, a person at the North Pole would see the sun skimming across the horizon, signalling the start of six months of darkness
• On the same day at the South Pole, a person would also see the sun skimming across the horizon... but this signals the start of six months of daylight

Check out the following links for more info, and some really cool time-lapse photography:

[Link to Autumnal Equinox article on the National Geographic website]

["Sun Pictures: A Full Year in a Single Frame" on the National Geographic website]

Rare Hook-Legged Spider Discovered in Oregon Cave

Trogloraptor marchingtoni, a.k.a. Hook-Legged Spider

Scientists recently discovered a rare "hook-legged" spider in the caves of southern Oregon. This species is apparently so rare that it even has a taxonomic genus and family to itself: Trogloraptor marchingtoni. According to the Neatorama website where I first came across this not-so-little cutie (their leg span measures up to 3" in diameter), the spider is named after Neil Marchington (a member of the Western Cave Conservancy who first discovered it)... and Trogloraptor means "cave robber".

Close-up of Trogloraptor marchingtoni's "Hook-Leg" 

According to Neatorama, researchers believe that the spiders have evolved to have hooks - or claws (as can be seen in the above photo) - on their legs, in order to catch flying insects for supper. 

All hail evolution in its infinite, bumbling wisdom. :-D

[Link to Neatorama article]

[Link to in-depth article on ourAmazingplanet website]