Is animal art any good? This is the question that is asked at the end of the article called Creativity: The weird and wonderful art of animals. I think that any art that is created is good because it involves creativity and skill. Even if it is made by an animal and does not portray a certain object or picture, I still think that the art is good. One example of art made by an animal that was very impressive is, the first picture in the article. The picture is of a flower and the colors: red, yellow and green are used. An elephant painted this picture. You can tell the painting is a flower and all the right colors are used. I think this example of art shows that animal art can be good because an elephant could paint something that looks human made. Although some animals show no benefits from creating art, researchers found that painting didn’t reduce stress-related behavior or decrease abnormal behaviors in elephants in a research study, some animals such as the create art for a purpose. Vogelkop bowerbird males create structures with flowers, plants, sticks and stones to woo females. It is very impressive that these animals create these structures with great precision. If an object in the structure is moved, they move it back to where it originally was placed. This shows that everything they do to create this structure is intentional and is created how they want it, not just placed anywhere. All in all, I think that animal art can be good because some animals can create art that looks human made and some animals have created art intentionally without being given the tools, for their own purposes.
Article 1: My first reaction to reading the title of the article was that scientists had mistaken the virus for another similar one so they didn’t realize that this type of virus actually existed. But reading through the article, I realized that my first reaction had been proven to be wrong. The first reason why this common virus had only been discovered easily is the fact that it’s hard to study the viruses in our guts. That makes sense since if you can’t grow the bacteria in a lab, then you wouldn’t have any way to study them. I can’t wait to see more of the common viruses that have been undiscovered for a long time.
Article 2: I was shocked, to say the least, at the size of the largest aquatic insect in the world. It was huge compared to the chicken’s egg that it was placed besides. My curiosity caused me to measure my hand to see if the insect was bigger than my hand and I was shocked to see that it was, especially since I don’t have the smallest hands. The fact about Chan’s megastick that stated that a female’s legs are 56.7 centimeters long completely blew my mind. That’s only a couple of centimeters away from 2 feet! I definitely wouldn’t want that thing crawling on me.
Article 3: The title of this article was the most appealing to me, mainly since I have always loved both animals along with art and I have seen animals painting and drawing on many occasions during animal shows at the zoo or at a safari. The most impressive thing that caught my attention in this article was the paintings that were done by Congo, the chimpanzee, sold for £14,400 while paintings by Andy Warhol and a Renoir sculpture weren’t sold. Even though scientists found that painting didn’t reduce stress-related behaviors in the elephants, it would still take time and give them something to do instead of being held in captivity and doing nothing all day. It still has the benefit of raising money that they could use to buy the food needed for the animals.
Article I – Viral Discovery: This article is a true testament to how even though we have such advanced technology today, the simplest and plentiful of things that could be inside us, are still difficult to locate. To think that there would be organisms inside the very beings that wish to study them, but the beings would not be able to find the interest literally inside of them is astounding to say the least. Additionally, the fact that scientists are still innovating and working on new ways to locate and discover proves that the world is unlimited in discovery and knowledge. However, I do believe that a better and faster way to accomplish the same goal could be used. With the puzzle analogy, what if there would be a machine or program that could be used to organize the pieces determined by likeliness and sort them accordingly. Furthermore, this process could be sped up by advancements in technology that could scan automatically and quickly at a microscopic level. However, if this technique were already being used, then that just brings up the question further, why did it take so long to find such a common organism? Perhaps it is an idea for the future, or perhaps it possibly will be the future. Article II – Large Insect in Asia This article is a fairly simple one, just talking about a large insect that was discovered in Chinese Mountains. However, the Holorusia brobdignagius seems like a fairly strange insect with it being an insect that flies with incredibly long legs. I could see it with Chan’s Megastick being for camouflage reasons but for an insect that flies, it would only slow it down or make it a bigger target for other flying organisms. I believe that this article brings up more of the question of what qualifies as “large” more than the interest of a giant insect that was recently found. -David Liu
First thoughts on the giant insect in China: Thank god I don't live there, otherwise I would've left the country. This whole thing is quite puzzling however. It's amazing how scientists and entomologists have missed such a giant bug, which sparks up many questions. For example, how long have the species been on Earth? Are they extremely rare everywhere or are all that is left slowly dying out? Perhaps it has been around for millions of years but has gone on the brink of extinction. It's wingspan is quite impressive, certainly larger than anything seen in the area that we reside in.
Animals making art? Sounds a bit odd but at the same time is incredible. I believe that it shows a different kind of intelligence withheld in the animal. The persistence demonstrated by Congo i think shows that for some, not all, art may bring happiness and joy to them. The study with the four elephants was not broad enough to end with a conclusion and maybe only some animals, such as the chimpanzee, enjoy it, or some more than others. Regardless, it is impressive that other species are capable of doing these things.
Art of Animals: As soon as I saw the word art, I immediately clicked on this article because visual art is a subject that interests me. However, after seeing the title, “The weird and wonderful art of animals,” I was a bit hesitant because these types of articles where people praise animals for having these small talents are too overused. I foreshadowed myself reading about random animals being tested of their painting abilities, while the ‘exceptional’ ones would be praised and promoted. Though my conception was in a way correct, it was lacking. They weren’t these ‘exceptional’ animals who got special genes but rather received these creative skills from their everyday lifestyle. Taking the male bowerbirds for example, they earn their artistic abilities by building bowers, or structures to attract females. As it states in the article, they have to face a lot of trial and errors which eventually will help their creative process and thinking. I became a little bit disappointed when I learned that art didn’t benefit elephants mentally or socially. Instead, researchers have concluded that these paintings made by elephants were only beneficial when the money made by the paintings were funded towards the conservation of species. I expected art, a mind calming activity, to have an impact on how animals behaved and allow them to analyze their environment and actions more carefully. Overall, I think animal art is pretty fascinating and does have a special creativity and rhythm to it. Hopefully in the future, we can dig deeper into these animals’ minds and find out if art really can change them.
Randomly finding a 21 cm giant bug is odd. The article about the Giant bug in china made me wonder. It made me wonder what else is out there? What other insects or species could be hiding and could be to humans advantage. If we could miss such a large bug like this one I wonder what else we could miss. The next article about animals creating art amazed me. For example, when viewing the photos and seeing how animals did these types of art also amazed me. Seeing that some animals create things to impress the opposite sex and find a spouse also interested and amazed me(Birds creating Bowers). Also some elephants and Chimpanzees were able to create types of art. This article made it clear that humans were not the only species capable of creating art. These two articles were unique and caught my attention to continue to read and understand.
Ashana P The first article I found was very surprising because even with the technology and information that we have today we were not able to discover a virus that was common among humans. The virus that was recently discovered was called crAssphage and it was a virus found in our gut. I understand the reason why crAssphage was so difficult to discover even though it was a common virus. Gut viruses tend to be difficult to study because, according to Matha Clokie from University of Leicester, “To study a virus, normally you have to make heaps of it, which isn’t possible if you can’t grow the host,” This article started to interest me even more when it stated that I may have this virus in me right now. It made me what wonder how this virus plays a part in the way my body functions and if this virus has anything to do with future diseases that I may have. The second article discussed the largest aquatic insect that was recently discovered. It was found in mountains of Chengdu in China’s Sichuan province. After hearing about this large insect it made me wonder if there are any other insects that could have evolved from this newly discovered one, and if so are they larger or the same size? I also learned about he Little Barrier Island giant weta that weighed 71 grams. I also learned about Chan’s megastick, which has a body length of 35.7 cm, and the legs are 56.7 cm long, but that only applies for females. I learned about so many different types of insects but the question that they mention in the article has me wondering, how do you determine the largest insect? Is it by weight or length? The third article I found was extremely interesting. The article talked about animals creating art. The bowerbird creates bowers, which are structures that are decorated, and the interesting thing is that they can be decorated differently and I feel that is a way that the bowerbirds may express themselves. The article talked about Congo a chimpanzee at the London Zoo in 1957. I found it interesting that when his paintings or brushes were taken away before they were finished he whined, and when he finished his work he refused to paint longer. I was shocked to find out that three paintings made by Congo were sold at an auction for £14,400. What interested me was the way that the Orangutans painted. It showed in the video that paint was put on the brush for them and then they had to press down on the paper. They did not have as much control over the things that they created then the other animals, but they still did manage to create art. I think that the paintings that the animals create are considered art.
The first article brought up the idea that there are common viruses out there that have been overlooked. I thought it was interesting that gut bacteria is so complex to analyze and grow in a lab. I think that eventually scientists will find a way to grow the bacteria in a lab setting. The metagenomics method seems like it would be extremely time consuming and also have a higher chance of error since the samples are coming from different organisms and many viruses found are unknown to the databases. I would also like to know what the distinctive features are in the crAssphage that made scientists believe it belongs to a phage. Like Dutihl, I also believe that there needs to be more information about the crAssphage to determine its role. However, if crAsspage does kill off abundant bacteria in the gut like most phages, then I think there could be a chance that phages act as part of our immune systems. So I am curious to see what conclusions and new findings scientists will have in the next few years on these common, but hard to analyze viruses. The second article was also fascinating. I found it interesting to read the different measurements of the insects and look at the pictures. Although the insects described in the article are very large I'm sure that there is an even larger aquatic insect out there somewhere in the world. The third article was all about animals and their distinct abilities in art. I have previously heard about a story where a chimpanzee was able to draw/write something with a pencil. So it was interesting to read about other animals that also had artistic abilities. The male bowerbirds ability to create such elaborate structures is very unique. I was impressed that bowerbirds learn how to build the bowers through watching others at an early age, yet they develop their own creative taste when it comes time to build their own. As for the experiment with the elephants I think it would be worthwhile to see if other animals would improve if they were given the chance to paint/draw. I feel that some animals can use art as a way to relieve stress and that painting can actually show some behavioral changes. Overall, this was my favorite article because it was surprising and fascinating to see the works of art that animals have created. -Richa
After watching the video and reading the third article Creativity: The weird and wonderful art of animals, I stated to wonder about what defines art, or what makes art good. Before looking up the definition of art I thought about it. I believe art is an expression of sometimes creativity but mostly emotions. The Merriam Webster definition is : something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings. In this case I would say that these animals are definitely creating art; they seem focused and I can feel the emotion in paintings 2 and 3 done by an orangutan and a chimpanzee. Painting 5, done by an elephant interested me because you could see different geometric shapes. What makes a painting good? I think a paintings worth is decided by how it makes people feel, and how much value they give it. Following this train of thought the animal created art is definitely good; 3 chimpanzee paintings sold for £14,400, when at the same auction pieces by famous artists, such as Andy Warhol and Renoir were not sold. The value of animal art is something we perceive, but it is always interesting because it makes us wonder at the creative forces of ourselves and what it means to be human.
Article 1: The new viral discovery was probably found so late because how complicated it was to retrieve it. One problem was that there was a cross-assembly method used to build a metagenome of the crAssphage. Another reason why, as it stated in the article, to grow a virus, you need to grow its host. Since its host, which are gut cells, are hard to grow in a lab, it took a while to discover.
Article 2; This article about the largest aquatic bug inspired me to do more research on the oxymoron, enormous insects. Although the article says that it is tough to identify the largest bug, in my opinion, it is the Little Barrier Island giant weta (Deinacrida heteracantha). It weighs as much as three mice and almost 7 inches long. That would be either fascinating or terrifying to encounter, depending on your viewpoint, but why can't they be larger than that? Compared to other animals, insects are rather small but they weren't always like that. During the age of dinosaurs, bugs could be as large as birds of prey.
According to LiveScience, there is not one confirmed theory, but there are many hypotheses to why modern insects aren't as large when they were prehistoric. Some believe that it is due to open circulatory systems. It would take a lot more energy to transport blood around on a large body without any blood vessels. However, there is a plethora of data supporting the hypothesis that larger insects require more oxygen. During the prehistoric times, the oxygen level in the air was 35% and today it is 21%. Insects breathe through their trachea and they stop growing when the trachea cannot support enough oxygen for the whole body.
After reading the first article I was not surprised to discover that scientists had found a new virus. This is because there are a plethora of bacteria and viruses that scientists do not know about. The fact that the virus is common really does not change anything. However I do find it interesting how in the article it was mentioned that crAssphage infects the bacteroides in our systems. Bacteroides are important for our stomach as it breaks down food,and it also controls the development of our immune systems. I find this particularly interesting because it seems to me that, crAssphage could cause trouble to the immune systems of developing people. CrAssphage could actually also explain why some people are more susceptible to sickness early in their lives than later. If the virus crAssphage infected enough bacteroides, I would have to assume the immune system would weaken as a result. Although I am sure there are other bacteria that play a more prominent role in the development of our immune system. However, it would silly to discount that the virus could cause immune system deficiencies early on in life. It would certainly explain why I was repeatedly infected with strep throat earlier in my life, while all of my friends were healthy. Hence, although I don't think the discovery of the virus is all too important, it could explain early childhood susceptibilities but that is only a theory.
I have always found it interesting that there are good viruses and bad viruses. Typically,people are irked by bacteria and viruses. After all, there is no need to hide it: We all run away for our lives whenever that one constantly sneezing classmate prepares for another snotty eruption. On the other hand, there are people out there, like my dad, who makes comments like, " Oh, Selina, you just touched the door knob? It's lunch time! Great! No need to take out the hand sanitizer because your stomach NEEDS that awesome bacteria!" It is odd to come to the realization that some viruses in our guts actually help our bodies break down food, assist our immune systems, AND they even protect us from harmful bacteria. Even though we dread thinking about the numerous times that we were bedridden, feeble, and terribly sick because of a flu or cold, I guess SOME viruses deserve our love...well at least the viruses in our guts. I also find it fascinating that scientists RECENTLY discovered crAssphage, an extremely common virus that resides in all of our stomachs for this whole time! IN addition, prior to reading this article, I did not know that there are lab scientists out there right now who are basically poking around samples of human dung, collecting pieces of DNA sequences, and making one, big genome. I have come to the realization that creativity and thinking outside the box are extremely essential for a scientist. Without these crucial tools, a scientist will never make any progress: there will be zero discoveries. Nil.
Since I have always been interested in the visual aspect of science, the third article caught my attention and from the moment I laid eyes on the art created by animals, I was instantly amazed. I was especially surprised by the painting made by the elephant because of how accurate it was. Even the colors that were used perfectly depicted what a real flower in nature might look like. I was disappointed though to find out that elephants did not gain any benefit from making these paintings, mentally or behaviorally. Art seems to be a way for humans to express their emotions but the question of why it may not serve the same purpose for animals still remains. The only use for the elephant painting was selling them to earn money that would help protect and conserve their own species. Another animal that had his paintings sold was a chimpanzee known as Congo. Even though his paintings were incomprehensible to humans, Congo seemed to have a certain goal or understanding in each of his paintings. He would not stop until he was done, whining if his tools were taken away before that point. If he was already done, he would not continue even when prompted. This intriguing observation shows how humans and animals are more alike than we expect. Another animal that creates art is the Vogelkop Gardener bowerbird. The male birds of these species construct elaborate structures made of different objects found in their surrounding habitat. They use their own judgment to decide which objects to use, what colors they should be, and how to arrange them. This requires a lot of creativity so I was impressed by how specific bowerbirds were about their personal, intricate designs. I found this example very interesting because these birds use art in their every day life for a certain purpose, to impress the female birds. It also proves to us that we are not the only creative species with individual opinions because of the unique arrangements that each bird builds. Reading this article lead me to wonder how humans decide what qualifies as art. Abstract expressionism appears to be very similar to the work of animals so this makes me question why the paintings of humans are appreciated more and are interpreted to contain so much more “meaning.” In the future, animal art may create either respect for the work of animals or contempt for abstract art due to how similar both are. Either way, I would be interested to see more studies in the future examining the possibility of art affecting the behavior or mentality of different animals.
Art is a topic that comes with tremendous ambiguity and subjectivity. Understanding the meaning and purpose of art is a challenge as old as creativity itself. However, a new question arises: are non-humans capable of creating art? If so, what does this mean?
I was interested by bowerbirds’ construction of their bowers, as they seemed to be both practical and ornate. Are these structures created as a result of necessity, through observation of other birds, or as a form of self-expression? Perhaps all three. Necessity- The reason why male bowerbirds construct these bowers is in order to attract a mate. Aware of the competition all other males pose, the bowerbird makes sure to embellish his bower with such great precision and detail. (He knows that if his structure is not impressive enough, he will not be able to find a mate and ultimately reproduce.) Observation- Bower building is described as “not innate, at least not entirely.” Younger birds are not born with an instinct to build and decorate bowers, but rather, they must learn through trial and error and/or observing older and more experienced birds. Self-Expression- The styles and aesthetics of structures vary depending on their builders’ individual tastes and preferences. Some birds prefer certain colors and arrangements over others, painstakingly piecing their bowers together, almost as if their creations give them self-satisfaction, resembling an artist and his work.
As described by the article, the elephant shown grasping a brush in its trunk and painting a picture is being “controlled by its keeper holding its ear.” What exactly does this mean? Is the elephant really, naturally, painting on its own, or simply being guided by its master? I grew curious and tried to learn about process of training elephants to paint. I came across several websites stating that elephants in Thai zoos are forced to endure months and even years of abuse in order to learn how to hold a paint brush, draw straight lines, and eventually paint full pictures. I read that for years they paint and repaint the same painting repetitively, every single day, and are beaten if they paint incorrectly. Is this really true? If so, does it apply to all ‘painting elephants’, or only the ones living in certain zoos in Thailand? As for the four Asian elephants at the Melbourne Zoo, were they treated this way, were they directly guided, or were they allowed to control the brush as they pleased? I am all for exploring these intelligent creatures’ abilities and talents, as long as trainers do not rely on abusive training methods, or force elephants into doing something they don’t want to do.
On a less serious note, at a 2005 auction, Congo the chimp's "lyrical abstract impressionism" even seemed to surpass the standards of Warhol and Renoir, as people were more eager to buy Congo’s works than those of established artists. Would these paintings have sold at such a high price if the bidders did not know the artist was a chimpanzee? (No.) However, Congo’s demonstrated sense of symmetry, composition, and completeness in his work, in addition to the other examples explored in this article, lead us to believe that maybe primates and other animals are capable of producing their own “art."
This week, I found that the first article was the most interesting one and it discusses the discovery of a virus in the gut that seems to be very common. In some samples it could make up a majority of a patient's stool sample. In some samples, microbiologists cannot identify up to 99 percent of the sequences found in the stool sample. With so much modern technology, I was not the only one surprised that it was just until recently that this virus was discovered. Yet, I think this article shows that even though we has a species have come a long way in terms of science, art, and literature, there is still plenty to learn and discover, especially in the sciences. The discovery took so long because even though we have all this technology it's hard to locate the virus in the first place. Honestly, I don't think of viruses at all, and I always just assumed that they're bad. But, this article taught me that viruses have a lot of benefits to offer the body, just like bacterium. With this discovery, I think it can open the doors to many other discoveries which can help biologists and doctors alike better understand how the body works.
My interest for animals and curiosity led me to read about the “Really Big Insect Found in China”. This gargantuan aquatic insect has been linked to the order, Megaloptera. Members of this order are able to habituate in lucid, placid rivers and streams as well as in unsanitary, mucky bodies of water, which make these creatures difficult to distinguish. This insect was found in the Chengdu Mountains located in the Sichuan Providence in China. I was astonished to learn that this aquatic insect has a wingspan of 21 cm. The illustration of this fascinating insect next to a chicken egg helped me visualize the actual size of the insect. Towards the end of the article, new speculations and controversy regarding how to define what is “big” occurs. For instance, is the length of the insect or the weight considered the “biggest insect”? In my opinion, the longest insect should be considered the World’s Biggest Insect. This is because the definition of “big” is a “considerable size ”(Large) and an insect can be heavy but at the same time bijou. Therefore, the length should be considered big not weight. All in all, this article is packed with a variety of information and magnificent illustrations. However, the question,” is there an another aquatic insect larger than the one found” rose to my head afterwards? There is only one way to find out,” The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes”. Perhaps we may find a bigger aquatic insect using a new perspective.
My definition of "big insect" changed immediately after reading the article regarding the discovery of a new species of Megaloptera insect found in the mountains of Chengdu in China's Sichuan province. I have always been an entomophobe since I was young, I was ready to leave the article when I saw the gigantic insect; surprisingly I felt a surge of questions materialize in my mind. For example: How did scientist not discover such a large insect earlier? How come the insect is only found in China? Surely an insect of that size should have an advantage in the food chain in comparison to smaller insects and should be able to thrive and adapt in different regions.
I was fascinated to learn about animals creating "art". I certainly believe animals can create art although their styles are different from that of humans. However I find it completely natural that animal styles are different from human styles because they do not think or have the same influences as us. The styles may be different, but the purpose of the art is the same. Art is created to convey a thought or emotion; the Vogelkp Gardener bowerbird demonstrates this by creating unique bowers to woo the females. Overall I thought this article was important because it demonstrated how humans aren't so different from animals. Humans and Animals can create art for a purpose whether it is for happiness, impressing someone, or just for satisfaction.
After reading the article about the large aquatic insect that was found, it was mind-blowing realizing the actual size of this insect. Additionally, I found it interesting how the scientists managed to discover this insect all the way in the mountains of china. Very little is known about the Megalpotera species which makes it fascinating how scientists are able to label the insect they found. These insects spend most of their lives in the water until they get older and eventually leave when they are adults as they look to mate. This insect weighs anywhere from 51 grams to 71 grams which is very large for an insect. It has a 21 cm wingspan which is easily the longest known to man at the moment. This was a valuable discovery for scientists and there may be even large insects out that have yet to be found.
As an enthusiast of art myself, my eye was immediately drawn to the article on animal art. The article first told us about the Vogelkop Gardener bowerbird and the bowers that they build. Bowers are decorated structures that the male bowerbirds build to woo the females. At first, there seemed to be nothing unusual about this, as males in every species do something to try and woo the females, whether it’s the bowers of these birds or the cheesy pick up lines of the human race. However, these bowers are built with meticulous care, and the bowerbirds will move any moved object from them back into their original position, showing that how these bowers look matters to them. Each bowerbird had different tastes and preferences of what to put into their bowers, making unique works similar to artwork in humans. I found it fascinating how these birds could have the mental capacity to process what flowers or leaves or sticks they liked the most to put into their bowers.
Through reading the rest of the article, I learned about Congo, a painting chimpanzee. Congo was born in 1954 at London Zoo, and from the early age of only 2 years old, he was already using pencils to make lines, and eventually graduating to paintbrushes. Although he didn’t paint anything that was recognizable (still life, landscape etc.), he showed purpose in his paintings, and when he was done with them he knew it. It wasn’t as if he was just making lines on a page, proven by the fact that when he had completed his work, he wouldn’t continue to paint even at Desmond Morris’s prompting. Congo seemed to have an appreciation for abstract artwork that sat up there with other well-known abstract artists. For example, a set of three of his paintings sold for £14,400, equivalent to about 24,231 US dollars, while an Andy Warhol painting and Renoir sculpture went unsold. Many people appreciated Congo’s art and for good reason. This chimpanzee was not just that, he was an animal artist who knew what he was doing.
Nearing the end of the article, a study of the mental benefits in painting as an animal was explained. The researchers focused on 4 Asian elephants at Melbourne Zoo. They discovered that painting “didn’t reduce stress-related behaviors in the elephants, nor did it decrease repetitive or abnormal behaviors either before or after their painting sessions.” In other words, painting didn’t improve the welfare of elephants. However, despite this disappointing conclusion on animals creating art, I do find it interesting how animals have an eye for beauty like humans do. And even if it doesn’t make the animal artists any happier or less stressed as it may to humans, they do get the sense of satisfaction and pleasure that painting or drawing or just making something from your mind brings, which I think is quite the discovery.
Really big insect found in china: Evolution is responsible for the oldest insect fossils which are estimated to be 396-400 million years old. Over the years, these fossils have shown drastic changes in features and size evolving from insects that were once present during the Jurassic era to the modern versions. It was fascinating to read how insects today vary from their ancestors, differing in size and developing new features. The discovery of these new massive bugs makes me wonder if there is a real reason as to why these insects are so large. Are these newly discovered insects related to each other in some way? And could their habitat have affected their size? Evolution is the result of habitat and environmental change, so in my opinion, it makes logical sense that the physical characteristics of these insects are probably a result of adaptation and evolution. For example, the largest aquatic insect in the world found in the mountains of Chengdu in China’s Sichuan province belongs to the order Megaloptera. This order includes about 300 described species of winged alderflies, dobsonflies and fish flies. It probably makes sense to assume that this aquatic insect evolved to develop a wingspan of 21 cm due to its different habitat, while its cousins in other parts of the world have a much smaller wingspan. Almost 80% of the Earth’s species belong to class Anthropoda, so insects are the most common species found on the planet. Scientists figure that there are still millions of undiscovered species, so the insects described in this article do not surprise me. They are probably just an indicator of the other evolutionary mysteries that are out there.
I read the article about the discovery of the COMMON VIRUS FOUND in almost 3/4 of people from USA, Europe, and South Korea. To summarize this article quickly, it is about a virus genome called crAssphage that is extremely small, common, and found in gut cells. Since they could not see it, scientists had to put a 'mish-mash of DNA' together called a metagenome. Somewhere in this metagenome is the genome for crAssphage. The way they found this virus is by cross assembling. This is when they took common sequences from each sample in the metagenome and basically put them together to get the genome for crAssphage. What is so astonishing about crAssphage is that it changed everyone's understanding of viruses. While there are different types of main viruses, there are many individual strains of the same virus. Each person is a little different and viruses are extremely adaptable to its host, hence viruses are usually very individual-specific. However, the crAssphage genome is in many, many people, which leads to the new possibility that not all viruses are individual-specific. I can understand how this crAssphage virus would be so hard to find since to find it in the metagenome would be like trying to put together one puzzle with a bag full of mixed puzzle piece sets without knowing you what you have to solve for. I think that since crAssphage affected a part of us that isn't really individual specific, it is common in many people. Overall, this article expanded my horizons and made me think that mostly everything has a common denominator.
I found that the article about the large insect found in China was the most interesting because how often do we hear about a really big aquatic insect? Not very often. After discovering so many new species of large insects over the course of many years, one would think that we are good with how many we have now but so many new critters like this one continue popping up. When I first read that it was 21 cm, I did not think that it was abnormal, but then I actually measured it and let's just say that I would not want to be anywhere near this insect. Also, not only is this insect large but not very pleasant to look at either. I could not even get myself to look at the bug more than once. What I also found interesting was at the end of the article when it talks about other large insects, and the length of a Chan's mega stick left me in shock. My only thought I had after reading that was, "Could there be any bug longer than that? Hopefully not." Looks and size set aside, this new spices of aquatic life is really something to learn more about.
The discovery of a giant insect in China is not only puzzling, but fascinating. If the bug is so large, how could scientists have missed it for so long? That leaves us with a few questions. How long has this specimen existed? Is it only in China? As scientists study this insect more and more, they will find out all that needs to be known. Unfortunately, this insect is very rare. Hopefully the scientists will be able to find more of this insect and eventually know as much about it as they know about the common fly.
Is animal art still art? In my opinion, yes, however, some others may disagree. Humans and animals both create art to please the ones around them and themselves, and that is the true meaning of art. Although humans and animals may have different motives as to why they're creating their art in the first place, they are still creating it. For example, the bowers were creating their masterpieces in order to successfully win over a mate. If their choice of mate does not like it, they will need to make another one, or chose another partner to pursue. In the case of Congo to monkey, he was simply handed a pencil and the rest is history. After he mastered the pencil he was given a paintbrush. Soon after that, he became a celebrity. Not only was he on television, but his work was shown around the world. In the case of a human, the main motive for most to create art is their burning passion to build beautiful masterpieces. Others may just create art in exchange for money. Either way, art is art, whether it is made by a human, chimpanzee, or bird. Therefore, I believe animals are capable of creating art, the possibilities are not only there for humans to take, but they're out their for everything.
Animal Art- The intriguing title made me want to read more about animals that can paint. Instantly, this brought to mind the new Dawn of the Planet of the Apes movie, which I just saw. It is amazing how some animals can express creativity like that on canvas. Honestly, that elephant can create a better painting of a flower than me. Although most of the pictures do not resemble anything, they are still beautiful paintings because art is also about the appealing cohesion of color and strokes as well as the resemblance of real-life objects. I especially liked the painting made by the chimp because although it does not resemble anything, the mix of blue and orange is very appealing. This article is very interesting, but it raises a few questions. Have animals always been able to do this or is this a recent stage in evolution? Does this mean that animals are now developing a creative side? Humans have a right hemisphere and a left hemisphere brain, where the right hemisphere controls creativity. Can animals develop hemispherical brains? Paintings usually express feelings and emotions. What are the feelings behind the paintings that the animals feel? Can it be used to figure out how they feel about the zoo's treatment?
Learning about the new species of insects discovered in China was fascinating. Even though I am not a fan of any kind of bugs, I do love the discovery of new species that are found. I find it interesting how scientist can miss this incredible species, acknowledging that they are one of the biggest insects ever to be found. These insects are members of the Megaloptera family. These aquatic insects are 21 centimeters in wingspan and were found in the mountains of Chengdu in China. As larvae the aquatic insects spend most of their time in water but as adults they crawl out. These insects don’t live for long as adults they spend most of their time finding mates. While growing up these insects acquire tusk-like mandibles and mouthparts. They use their mandibles to attract females. These insects are quite fascinating compared to the other world largest insects.
As much as i hate to be around insects, i find them interesting. The fact that a bug can have a 21 cm wingspan is terrifying to me but fascinating to scientists. The bug with the 21 cm wingspan is now the largest aquatic insect in the world. This aquatic insect was discovered in the mountains of Chengdu in China. Although some people may question how this insect remained unknown for so long, an answer would be the size of the Earth. So many parts of the world are untouched and unobserved. The fact that the largest aquatic insect was just discovered is thought provoking. Maybe the largest fish has yet to be discovered in the depths of the abyss, or bigfoot in the forest. This insect belonged to the Megaloptera order. Megaloptera is greek that translates to big wings. This creature really fits its description and I'm glad it is only found in China. This insect has survived because it can live in muddy or polluted water. Life that can adapt to poor living conditions usually survive and this is an example. Once the insect reaches adulthood it spends most of its time searching for a mate to pass on its genes. The big mandible or mouth part on the head of the insect is used to feeding and attracting mates. This insect is an exciting discovery for the whole world and makes me wonder what else is hiding in the world.
Article 1: As I examined the words “Newest Viral Discovery may surprisingly common,” I immediately wondered what type of virus was discovered? After reading the article I felt apprehensive but at the same time jubilant. Apprehension filled by mind because I wondered if a common virus could lurk undetected for many years, then what if there are other deadly viruses that we lack knowledge and detection on. On the other hand, I felt jubilant because I was proud that we were able to successfully discover this new virus and thankful that the virus found is not lethal. This new virus is called “crAssphage” and is found with bacteria located mainly in our guts. The reason that this virus was undetected for so long is because it is difficult to study viruses that lurk in the gut. In fact, we still don’t have a picture of crAssphage because we are only able to see its genome. The reason for that is because bacteria attacked by the virus located in the gut have extreme difficulty growing in a contradicting environment (Lab). We are able to see its genome because scientists placed pieces of DNA together from 12 stool samples, which caused a Metagenome to form. In addition, I wonder why this virus only attacks bacteria in the gut? What features in bacteria and location help foster crAssphage? Perhaps later, we will have technology that will help us get a better perspective on viruses. Maybe in the future, instead of using the technique “cross assembly” we will enhance our technology in order to assemble the DNA pieces quicker. Therefore, this new virus may not have taught scientists much about itself; however, it sure has raised many questions about our technology, bacteria and other viruses.
Article 1: Why has this really common virus only just been discovered? To me, it is not surprising that researchers found another virus. There are a plethora of viruses that are probably still not found. This is because it is very difficult to decipher the human gut. So much time and effort must be invested to find information. The newly discovered virus called crAssphage is probably one of the most common viruses. Since Bas Dutilh from Radboud University Medical Centre found crAssphage in the stools of hundreds of patients, it is possible that each and every one of us humans has this virus. Finding out how to study microbes was quite interesting. Scientists usually collect a stool sample, break the entire DNA and sequence the pieces. This results in a metagenome. A metagenome is a collection of DNA from all bacteria, viruses, and other microbes from the stool sample. More research from Dutilh’s team and Rob Edwards of San Diego State University concluded finding crAssphage in three quarters of 466 metagenomes. This suggests that most people contain the crAssphage virus. Many scientists are shocked that this virus went undetected. So many different complex viruses found, but this common one. In truth, it is indeed very difficult to find and study viruses. Since it isn’t possible to grow the host to make heaps of the viruses, it is difficult to study it. In the end, the team decided that the crAssphage virus was probably found in Bacteroides. It isn’t completely proven but this is most likely the group of bacteria that it infects. Bacteroides help break down food and control the development of the immune system. They help protect us from disease-causing bacteria. If crAssphage infects these bacteria, a major change in immunity and health can occur. With the new discovery of the crAssphage virus, more time, effort, and money will be spent to find the answers to so many questions.
Out of all the articles, I found the first one the most interesting. This article was about a new virus found in most of our bodies. At first, I was not surprised because are many viruses in out body. However, I found it interesting that the virus crAssphage, is one of the more common viruses. This was interesting because of the time it took scientists to find it. The technology we have today is really advanced, and it was astonishing to find out how long it took to find this. This gets me really exited for new opportunities. If it took us this long to find a common virus, I wonder how many more await us. To cure a disease, we must first learn more about it and how it originates. Some viruses cause well known diseases. This might make it possible that the discovery of another common virus, can be the key to curing a disease. Scientists discovered this virus by putting DNA together to form a metagenome. By cross assembling they found the genome for crAssphage. Overall, I believe this method is effective but time consuming.
I also found the second article pretty interesting. It's not everyday you read about the discovery of a record breaking insect. Thai insect was discovered in China. It is said to be the largest aquatic insect in the world. It has a wingspan of about 21 cm. It is from the order Megaloptera. This contains over 300 species. Like the article about viruses, it amazes me how some things take a long time to discover. It's interesting who the giant insect was just discovered now. It makes me believe there are many other creatures left to be discovered on out planet. Some of these discoveries might solve questions we have about organisms already discovered.
I find the fact that animals can possess human traits, extremely interesting. Art work created by animals is not only a surprising feat, it is also an eye opening occurrence. Even though producing this art doesn’t help these animals with stress levels or repetitive behaviors, it does help them save their own species with all the donations and funding. In a way it is beneficial. Creativity has its own place in every animals brain. Congo the chimpanzee was found to have a liking for painting. He refused to stop painting until he felt he was finished. This means that there was some mental inclination or desire towards the art. However, in the picture, the elephant produced art through a person controlling him. This makes me wonder whether the different behavior patterns which different animals have, has any connection to the effect art has on them. One animal wanted to continue painting, while the other animal was made to do it. This was also seen with the Bower birds who have their own sense of creativity in object arrangement. This is their daily behavior which they use to mate and they find pleasure in producing. I feel that since every animal’s mind, behavior and the circumstances they’re given to live in for survival are different, and that will affect their inclination towards art. Take humans for example. Not everyone likes to draw or paint or construct. Not everyone has the talent. The same may be applied with animals. The next article was very interesting . The largest aquatic insect was found in Chengdu, China and has a wingspan of 21cm. Now many other large insects have been discovered all around the world such as the Little Barrier Island Giant Weta which was found off the coast of New Zealand. This weighed around 71 grams. Next the Southeast Asian Atlas Moth weighs about 58 grams as well. Lastly, the megastick found in china, measures to be about 35.7 cm long. Its legs measure to be 56.7 cm long. The question of how an insect should be classified to be the largest makes me wonder as well. Do we go by weight or by height? Scientists just need to wait for one which outdoes the previous insects in both categories. Since there are so many new and enlarged insects being discovered, this makes me wonder whether evolution is behind all of this. Which other insects may have originated from or into these colossal ones? The future holds many possibilities.
I am so happy that I do not live near this insect because it scares me a bit. I'm also surprised why scientists haven't discovered this insect long before because of its size. I know it's hard to spot because it can live in polluted waters and clean river streams. Finding this new insect makes me wonder what other insects is it related too? How long has this particular species been alive for? And can it mutate into even larger insect?
Animal Art
This article was very interesting because it talked about art done by something that wasn't a human. Like the Bowers who build elaborate towers to woo females. Dr.Diamond stated that Young Bowers must learn from trial and error or by watching the best bower at work. Diamond later stated that bower building was a culturally transmitted creative process where each bird had his or her own individual tastes and preferences, and where each decision was made with intention and care. This made me think how complex the little bird brains were and if one day other animals could develop their brains to process these kinds of actions. I don't think that animals will be able to be as artistic as humans at least not for a long time but they are capable of some skills like Congo and the elephants displayed. Painting and art do not affect the animals in a positive way so I believe it's not something that will be researched into too much. Although it is very cool for animals to create pieces of art.
The article on the giant insect found in China was creepy, yet interesting. To find insects that big must be a terrifying experience, but for those bugs to be that big must mean that they don't have much pressure from their ecosystem to remain small. This could possibly be because the insects predator may have suffered damage to its population, causing this insect to grow over generations to become just large enough to survive without stripping the forest of its resources. I wonder what the predators of these insects must be because they would have to be large enough to easily eat the bug and avoid being harmed by the huge mandibles. Perhaps the main organism that kills this huge aquatic insect is a smaller spider but it has the capability to create huge webs. It is not necessary for a predator to be larger than its prey, so trapping one of these would provide a feast for a spider. However, it is probably most likely that the majority of these bugs get eaten as larvae by some fish. Also, the article stated that this big bug has e short lifespan as an adult, which is probably due to its large size. As the bug gets larger, it becomes harder to find the food to sustain its size, causing it to die fairly quickly. I wonder what the giant burrowing cockroach thinks about this insect.
The two articles that grabbed my attention were the largest aquatic insect in the world found in China and Creativity: The weird and wonderful art of animal. I thought the insect article was extremely interesting; it was fascinating that there was such a huge insect that was only recently discovered. I was shocked to see that when placed next to a chicken egg, how much larger the insect was. Since I am not a fan of bugs, a 21 cm insect is even more disgusting for me to see than for a normal person yet I was intrigued to see that such an enormous insect was recently found. Even though, these bugs are only found in China, I began to wonder if there were insects like these in our area. To think that there are bugs that huge makes me wonder if there are other undiscovered insects that we have yet to discover. The other article that interested me was about animals creating masterpieces to impress their significant other. The Vogelkop Gardener bowerbirds seem like ordinary birds but they create bowers which are decorated structure that males build to impress the females. We don’t see animals as those who have human like characteristics, but they are very similar to us. The fact that bowerbirds also have certain taste and have a specific style to what they want to make is very astonishing. I would never have thought that such a creature would have so much creativity and be so precise on what they want to make for their significant other. This article in particular really stood out to me, and made me interested in the way animals perceive certain items.
Although I don't like bugs very much, I often like to observe them if they don't fly. I found this 21 cm insect to be quite fascinating and amazing. It can be mistaken for a bird from distance. I am thankful that this insect was found in China and not in America. It would be crazy to see an insect bigger than my head close to me. I still wonder how this insect hasn't been found until now. It probably has really effective camouflage with its surroundings. It lives in bodies of water except the ocean as well as muddy and polluted water. I am sure that there are bigger insects that have yet to be discovered in length and weight. Hopefully insects just as big as this one and others to be found in the future aren't in New Jersey because it would be quite scary to encounter one. This bug, which belongs to the Megaloptera order, has a short life span and uses its tusk-like mandibles to attract mates. In summary, I find this discovery really interesting and cool as well as a step in entomology.
Newest viral discovery may be surprisingly common: This article presented fascinating information about how our gut is a living ecosystem home to millions of bacteria and viruses. Despite all the progress made in the field of medicine, it is interesting how little we know about these viruses and bacteria. As it happens, the newly discovered crAssphage virus is so common that when an experiment was conducted using fragments of DNA from the stools of 12 individuals, crAssphage was found in all of them. So how could such a common virus go undiscovered for so long? According to the article, viral study is tough and complicated and gut viruses tend to be the most difficult to study. The most common viruses in our body have a unique job. The gut viruses do not make us ill, instead they infect the legions of microbes that live in our gut. By killing the most abundant bacteria in the gut, they ensure that no single species can control the space, serving as a defensive front-line, keeping bacteria from invading our gut lining and causing deadly infections. While it may be too early to identify the role of the crAssphage virus, its discovery in human bodies proves that there are thousands of other viruses and bacteria that are yet to be discovered. I think it is important for the medical community to focus on the study of viruses and how we can use them to our advantage to improve human health. With countless viruses still unknown to humans, this may just be the beginning of a period of viral discovery. We might find viruses that are used by our body to dump out toxins and destroy harmful viruses and bacteria. Perhaps down the road we might be able to answer questions about the positive and negative effects of these viruses on our bodies. Could it be possible that we are born with these viruses intact and destroy and mutate them as we age, allowing our body to become immune to some diseases? Are the unknown gut viruses designed by our body to allow us to live on this planet by eliminating attacking viruses? Who knows, we may even be able to use these viruses to boost immune systems and battle disease by giving instructions to them or read them to detect disease. Viral study may revolutionize the field of medicine in the future.
The idea of bugs in general is extremely unappealing to me, but the idea of possibly the biggest bug in the world is something that I couldn't even think of. A 21 centimeter long bug? The thought of it is terrifying which is probably why I thought that the second article was the most interesting. I think the pattern that I constantly seem to notice while reading these articles is the fact that they pinpoint concepts which I have never paid attention to before. I never researched anything about bugs unless it was for a project or essay which is why I was really surprised that a 21 centimeter bug could be interesting. The bug was found in the mountains of Chengdu in China and apparently belongs to Megaloptera. The article says that this group is very poorly known and I had to agree because I have never even heard of this before. Another thing that shocked me was the fact that the heaviest insect I'm the world is about three times the weight of a rat! Imagine that insect landing on a person! The part where the author wrote that the insect was eating a carrot during its pictures gave me an idea of how large this insect could actually be. Also, the Chan's Megastick is 35.7 centimeters long, not to mention the legs which are 56.7 centimeters long. In my opinion, more discoveries will be made about even larger insects because even though it took so long for discover one that is 21 centimeters long, living things are constantly evolving which can lead to some organisms growing in size and others shrinking but it's all based on habitat and surroundings.
Of the articles this week, I was most fascinated and disgusted by the largest aquatic insect found in China. I don't like any bugs no matter how big or small, and coming across a bug this huge in size would be a very terrifying experience for me. It amazes me though that such a large insect had never been spotted before. This specimen is 21 centimeters in length, which makes it the largest aquatic insect in the world! It’s amazing to see this bug's enormity in comparison to a chicken egg. I’m curious to know why it has taken so long to discover this colossal bug. Has this bug been around for quite some time but scientists have just never come across it? Are there other places around the world where this bug can also be found? I would hate to be living anywhere in vicinity to where this bug has the ability to thrive. Even the smallest of spiders freak me out, so I can only imagine my reaction if I ever came across this bug in person. Thank god I don't live anywhere near it!
I read the article called “Why has this virus just been discovered?” I thought that this article was really interesting , especially the part about how our research on the viruses that live in our guts is limited. In order, for a pathologist to really understand the virus they would need a large amount, as the article describes “heaps” of it, which is really isn’t possible when you are studying something that is inside a human being. Therefore they have to break the DNA from the stool samples and order them in the correct way to create a metagenome. I thought that this process so amazing. They can take something as minuscule as DNA and change it to help it with their research. I always thought that DNA was very fragile, but now scientists are able to separate and sequence it to fit their needs. Another part of the article that I found very interesting was that fact the crAssphage is in every single person. I find it really interesting how they haven’t discovered this new virus until now, especially because it is everywhere. Another part of the article that drew my attention was the part about the CRISPIR sequence used to predict what these phages can do. I was surprised to find out that the phages effect bacteriodes, which are big protagonists when it comes to our digestive systems. The correlation of the bacteriodes to certain diseases may be linked to the crAssphage. I think that the research and the discoveries that these scientists have made will be a big contribution to future generations.
I read the article titled, Creativity: The weird and wonderful art of animals, and I found it fascinating. The article spoke about how chimps, elephants, and various other animals in zoos were given the opportunity to create art with paper and paintbrushes. Some of the pieces created by these animals have gone on to sell for a lot of money. Even in nature animals create art. It is in their blood to be creative and create various works of art. For instance, the bowerbird creates "art" in order to impress possible future mates. Other animals use similar methods as well to attract mates. This shows that humans are not the only ones who have and can effectively use a creative side of their brain. Although we have different ways of expressing art, maybe the brains of humans and other animals aren't so different in the sense of creativity.
Why Has This Really Common Virus Only Just Been Discovered?:
Bacteriophages, such as the recently discovered crAssphage, are types of viruses that infect bacteria. What is interesting about crAssphage is that it is extremely common. People around the world, from the United States to South Korea, have it in their stool. The question that kept on popping through my head while reading the first half of the article was, “Why haven’t scientists discovered the bacteriophage yet?” Normally, to study a virus, you need to have a lot of it. Having an abundance of the virus is impossible to do without growing its host. The alternative to making an abundance of the virus to study it, is to use metagenomics. With metagenomics, scientists can study viruses without having to grow its host by assembling multiple gene sequences from many different specimens. The problem with using this technique is that 75% of the DNA from any stool sample won’t match any known sequences. Therefore, scientist Bas Dutilh and his team had to come up with a new method to study bacteriophages. They found the bacteriophage CrAssphage by a technique called cross-assembly to identify multiple sequences, from multiple stool samples, and compile the information into one genome. Dutilh and his team also used cross-assembly to find out what exactly CrAssphage infects. Him and his team hypothesized that if there is a lot of CrAssphage in a sample, then there must be a lot of DNA from its host. Thus, they concluded that a group of bacteria called Bacteroides must serve as its host. After researching additional information about Bacteroides on the Internet, I found that the human colon has the largest population of bacteria over all in the human body, and approximately 25% of the bacteria in the colon belong to the species Bacteroides. Just a few of the many ways Bacteroides affect our daily lives as human beings are by serving as a source of energy through carbohydrate fermentation and utilizing nutrients in the GI tract for growth. Thus, CrAssphage definitely can affect the daily function of human beings. Not only has the work of Dutilh and his team discovered an entirely new bacteriophage, but it has unveiled a new, innovative method of how to study viruses in detail.
This question grabbed my attention and when I decided to read the article about the Bowerbirds, I was completely mind blown that animals actually have a way of expressing art in their daily lives. If I was told animals are capable of creating art, I would assume that the only animal that would be able to pull of this human task is a chimpanzee, which was mentioned in this article. However, to see that a bird is capable of expressing something in an aesthetic manner really makes me wonder whether there are many other animals that are capable of performing such a unique task. Usually animals or insects create intricate things for legitimate purposes that would help them survive. For examples, spiders create webs to live on or bees create beehives to live in. However, the Bowerbird does not have an actual purpose for creating this design. It just creates to impress it a female bird. I find this really fascinating because it made me realize that animals have real hobbies just like how humans do.
The question at the end of the article asks if animal art is any good. I believe that the art created by animals such as the chimp may not be the best art, but the fact that it was created by a chimp makes people want it much more. Also, it makes me people believe that the art that they created is amazing. Therefore, I think that explains why the chimp's painting got auctioned for that high of a price. However, if one was shown art created by a chimp but was not told it was created by an animal, he or she may not find the work appealing.
The article about the large insect intrigued me the most. The Megaloptera has a wing span of 21 cm, and is reported to be the largest aquatic insect in the world. It is one scary looking insect. If I saw a Megaloptera flying around my house, I would not stay here for even one more minute. Why has this insect only been spotted recently? It's enormous. How has this insect escaped our attention for so many years? I would also like to know, how many more Megalopteras are there?
When I saw the images from China of the largest aquatic insect, I was instantly horrified and began considering the worst. If this insect landed on a person’s face then its wings may even extend past both sides. Its wingspan surpasses the width of an iPad and is about the same as that of a robin. I am curious to know why the discovery was not made sooner, as this insect must be hard to miss. On art by animals: I find that the concept of art by animals has some merit, but overall it is just exploitation by the animals’ keepers. It is true that for some species, like the Vogelkop bowerbird, art happens to be a result of the natural activity of mating. But even the researchers of the Melbourne Zoo experiment admitted that the results of prompting animals to create art were not stellar. They made the elephants paint images that lacked any shining characteristic except for the fact that they were painted by elephants. Painting did not make the elephants feel any more or less relaxed, as it would for humans. Researchers should conduct the experiments on a wider variety to derive a better conclusion.
It seems a new furry and unique insect has been added to the many that we have in our earth today. This new insect species was found in China and is told to be a new kind of Megaloptera insect. A megaloptera insect is originally an order of insects. It contains about 300 known species including alderflies, dobsonflies, and fish flies. These insects are relatively unknown insects and this new edition was quite interesting. The specimen is still under inspection, but a few facts are known. It’s wingspan is a good 21 centimeters and they live relatively short lifespans. What is most interesting about this new species is that they have a very easy way to blend in. They are hard to spot because of their capability to sustain not only dirty and polluted water, but also clean and clear water, but that’s just a few of their many talents. These insects also have huge, intimidating pincers. They closely resemble dragonflies but seem to be much more complex and interesting. This new specimen was found in a mountain in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, and it is said that China has “claimed” this new species. After reading this article, I still have a few doubts in my mind. How is it possible for two species to look so alike, but be so different? How will this species effect others and how can we further our research? After this discovery, I am ready to see what is in store for the world of science. We have a whole era of new insects, birds, plants, and animals waiting for us to stumble upon them.
The first article I read was about the bacteriophage. To study a virus, scientists require an abundance for more accurate data. A stable host is also necessary because of the way a virus functions. The alternative is using metagenomics. This is a process in which scientists can study bacteria without a host having to grow. They assemble multiple gene sequences from specimens. The issue is that much of the DNA collected won't match sequences. therefore the crAssphage was established. They use cross sequences to match multiple sequences. This is found in many people according to stool samples that were collected in Korea. The second article discussed animals and art. Animals in Zoos were given paper and paint and other material to create art. Some of the pieces have sold for money. It was discovered that certain animals were naturally creative to attract mates. This demonstrated that humans were not the only ones that can create art. Granted the animal art was different but animals are still just as creative.
Creativity: The weird and wonderful art of animals Of the three articles we had to choose from this one immediately captured my attention. It’s pretty common knowledge nowadays that animals are more than mere robots with a central nervous system. They are intelligent, sentient beings with the capability to feel a wide range of emotions. However, I’d never heard of them having artistic capabilities! I was quite surprised to see works of art created by Elephants, Chimpanzees, and Gorillas looking as though they could have been made by a human being. The article mentions how a study had been conducted before with a small group of elephants to see if by expressing themselves artistically the elephants were positively impacted emotionally. The results showed that painting didn't reduce stress-related behaviors in the elephants. but whether drawing or painting serves any useful purpose at the zoo, it is at least clear that humans are not the only animals capable of creating works of art, nor are we the only ones who appear to derive satisfaction from it.
46 comments:
Is animal art any good? This is the question that is asked at the end of the article called Creativity: The weird and wonderful art of animals. I think that any art that is created is good because it involves creativity and skill. Even if it is made by an animal and does not portray a certain object or picture, I still think that the art is good. One example of art made by an animal that was very impressive is, the first picture in the article. The picture is of a flower and the colors: red, yellow and green are used. An elephant painted this picture. You can tell the painting is a flower and all the right colors are used. I think this example of art shows that animal art can be good because an elephant could paint something that looks human made.
Although some animals show no benefits from creating art, researchers found that painting didn’t reduce stress-related behavior or decrease abnormal behaviors in elephants in a research study, some animals such as the create art for a purpose. Vogelkop bowerbird males create structures with flowers, plants, sticks and stones to woo females. It is very impressive that these animals create these structures with great precision. If an object in the structure is moved, they move it back to where it originally was placed. This shows that everything they do to create this structure is intentional and is created how they want it, not just placed anywhere. All in all, I think that animal art can be good because some animals can create art that looks human made and some animals have created art intentionally without being given the tools, for their own purposes.
Article 1: My first reaction to reading the title of the article was that scientists had mistaken the virus for another similar one so they didn’t realize that this type of virus actually existed. But reading through the article, I realized that my first reaction had been proven to be wrong. The first reason why this common virus had only been discovered easily is the fact that it’s hard to study the viruses in our guts. That makes sense since if you can’t grow the bacteria in a lab, then you wouldn’t have any way to study them. I can’t wait to see more of the common viruses that have been undiscovered for a long time.
Article 2: I was shocked, to say the least, at the size of the largest aquatic insect in the world. It was huge compared to the chicken’s egg that it was placed besides. My curiosity caused me to measure my hand to see if the insect was bigger than my hand and I was shocked to see that it was, especially since I don’t have the smallest hands. The fact about Chan’s megastick that stated that a female’s legs are 56.7 centimeters long completely blew my mind. That’s only a couple of centimeters away from 2 feet! I definitely wouldn’t want that thing crawling on me.
Article 3: The title of this article was the most appealing to me, mainly since I have always loved both animals along with art and I have seen animals painting and drawing on many occasions during animal shows at the zoo or at a safari. The most impressive thing that caught my attention in this article was the paintings that were done by Congo, the chimpanzee, sold for £14,400 while paintings by Andy Warhol and a Renoir sculpture weren’t sold. Even though scientists found that painting didn’t reduce stress-related behaviors in the elephants, it would still take time and give them something to do instead of being held in captivity and doing nothing all day. It still has the benefit of raising money that they could use to buy the food needed for the animals.
Article I – Viral Discovery:
This article is a true testament to how even though we have such advanced technology today, the simplest and plentiful of things that could be inside us, are still difficult to locate. To think that there would be organisms inside the very beings that wish to study them, but the beings would not be able to find the interest literally inside of them is astounding to say the least. Additionally, the fact that scientists are still innovating and working on new ways to locate and discover proves that the world is unlimited in discovery and knowledge. However, I do believe that a better and faster way to accomplish the same goal could be used. With the puzzle analogy, what if there would be a machine or program that could be used to organize the pieces determined by likeliness and sort them accordingly. Furthermore, this process could be sped up by advancements in technology that could scan automatically and quickly at a microscopic level. However, if this technique were already being used, then that just brings up the question further, why did it take so long to find such a common organism? Perhaps it is an idea for the future, or perhaps it possibly will be the future.
Article II – Large Insect in Asia
This article is a fairly simple one, just talking about a large insect that was discovered in Chinese Mountains. However, the Holorusia brobdignagius seems like a fairly strange insect with it being an insect that flies with incredibly long legs. I could see it with Chan’s Megastick being for camouflage reasons but for an insect that flies, it would only slow it down or make it a bigger target for other flying organisms. I believe that this article brings up more of the question of what qualifies as “large” more than the interest of a giant insect that was recently found.
-David Liu
First thoughts on the giant insect in China: Thank god I don't live there, otherwise I would've left the country.
This whole thing is quite puzzling however. It's amazing how scientists and entomologists have missed such a giant bug, which sparks up many questions. For example, how long have the species been on Earth? Are they extremely rare everywhere or are all that is left slowly dying out? Perhaps it has been around for millions of years but has gone on the brink of extinction. It's wingspan is quite impressive, certainly larger than anything seen in the area that we reside in.
Animals making art? Sounds a bit odd but at the same time is incredible. I believe that it shows a different kind of intelligence withheld in the animal. The persistence demonstrated by Congo i think shows that for some, not all, art may bring happiness and joy to them. The study with the four elephants was not broad enough to end with a conclusion and maybe only some animals, such as the chimpanzee, enjoy it, or some more than others. Regardless, it is impressive that other species are capable of doing these things.
Art of Animals:
As soon as I saw the word art, I immediately clicked on this article because visual art is a subject that interests me. However, after seeing the title, “The weird and wonderful art of animals,” I was a bit hesitant because these types of articles where people praise animals for having these small talents are too overused. I foreshadowed myself reading about random animals being tested of their painting abilities, while the ‘exceptional’ ones would be praised and promoted.
Though my conception was in a way correct, it was lacking. They weren’t these ‘exceptional’ animals who got special genes but rather received these creative skills from their everyday lifestyle. Taking the male bowerbirds for example, they earn their artistic abilities by building bowers, or structures to attract females. As it states in the article, they have to face a lot of trial and errors which eventually will help their creative process and thinking.
I became a little bit disappointed when I learned that art didn’t benefit elephants mentally or socially. Instead, researchers have concluded that these paintings made by elephants were only beneficial when the money made by the paintings were funded towards the conservation of species. I expected art, a mind calming activity, to have an impact on how animals behaved and allow them to analyze their environment and actions more carefully.
Overall, I think animal art is pretty fascinating and does have a special creativity and rhythm to it. Hopefully in the future, we can dig deeper into these animals’ minds and find out if art really can change them.
Randomly finding a 21 cm giant bug is odd. The article about the Giant bug in china made me wonder. It made me wonder what else is out there? What other insects or species could be hiding and could be to humans advantage. If we could miss such a large bug like this one I wonder what else we could miss. The next article about animals creating art amazed me. For example, when viewing the photos and seeing how animals did these types of art also amazed me. Seeing that some animals create things to impress the opposite sex and find a spouse also interested and amazed me(Birds creating Bowers). Also some elephants and Chimpanzees were able to create types of art. This article made it clear that humans were not the only species capable of creating art. These two articles were unique and caught my attention to continue to read and understand.
Ashana P
The first article I found was very surprising because even with the technology and information that we have today we were not able to discover a virus that was common among humans. The virus that was recently discovered was called crAssphage and it was a virus found in our gut. I understand the reason why crAssphage was so difficult to discover even though it was a common virus. Gut viruses tend to be difficult to study because, according to Matha Clokie from University of Leicester, “To study a virus, normally you have to make heaps of it, which isn’t possible if you can’t grow the host,” This article started to interest me even more when it stated that I may have this virus in me right now. It made me what wonder how this virus plays a part in the way my body functions and if this virus has anything to do with future diseases that I may have.
The second article discussed the largest aquatic insect that was recently discovered. It was found in mountains of Chengdu in China’s Sichuan province. After hearing about this large insect it made me wonder if there are any other insects that could have evolved from this newly discovered one, and if so are they larger or the same size? I also learned about he Little Barrier Island giant weta that weighed 71 grams. I also learned about Chan’s megastick, which has a body length of 35.7 cm, and the legs are 56.7 cm long, but that only applies for females. I learned about so many different types of insects but the question that they mention in the article has me wondering, how do you determine the largest insect? Is it by weight or length?
The third article I found was extremely interesting. The article talked about animals creating art. The bowerbird creates bowers, which are structures that are decorated, and the interesting thing is that they can be decorated differently and I feel that is a way that the bowerbirds may express themselves. The article talked about Congo a chimpanzee at the London Zoo in 1957. I found it interesting that when his paintings or brushes were taken away before they were finished he whined, and when he finished his work he refused to paint longer. I was shocked to find out that three paintings made by Congo were sold at an auction for £14,400. What interested me was the way that the Orangutans painted. It showed in the video that paint was put on the brush for them and then they had to press down on the paper. They did not have as much control over the things that they created then the other animals, but they still did manage to create art. I think that the paintings that the animals create are considered art.
The first article brought up the idea that there are common viruses out there that have been overlooked. I thought it was interesting that gut bacteria is so complex to analyze and grow in a lab. I think that eventually scientists will find a way to grow the bacteria in a lab setting. The metagenomics method seems like it would be extremely time consuming and also have a higher chance of error since the samples are coming from different organisms and many viruses found are unknown to the databases. I would also like to know what the distinctive features are in the crAssphage that made scientists believe it belongs to a phage. Like Dutihl, I also believe that there needs to be more information about the crAssphage to determine its role. However, if crAsspage does kill off abundant bacteria in the gut like most phages, then I think there could be a chance that phages act as part of our immune systems. So I am curious to see what conclusions and new findings scientists will have in the next few years on these common, but hard to analyze viruses.
The second article was also fascinating. I found it interesting to read the different measurements of the insects and look at the pictures. Although the insects described in the article are very large I'm sure that there is an even larger aquatic insect out there somewhere in the world.
The third article was all about animals and their distinct abilities in art. I have previously heard about a story where a chimpanzee was able to draw/write something with a pencil. So it was interesting to read about other animals that also had artistic abilities. The male bowerbirds ability to create such elaborate structures is very unique.
I was impressed that bowerbirds learn how to build the bowers through watching others at an early age, yet they develop their own creative taste when it comes time to build their own. As for the experiment with the elephants I think it would be worthwhile to see if other animals would improve if they were given the chance to paint/draw. I feel that some animals can use art as a way to relieve stress and that painting can actually show some behavioral changes. Overall, this was my favorite article because it was surprising and fascinating to see the works of art that animals have created.
-Richa
After watching the video and reading the third article Creativity: The weird and wonderful art of animals, I stated to wonder about what defines art, or what makes art good. Before looking up the definition of art I thought about it. I believe art is an expression of sometimes creativity but mostly emotions. The Merriam Webster definition is : something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings. In this case I would say that these animals are definitely creating art; they seem focused and I can feel the emotion in paintings 2 and 3 done by an orangutan and a chimpanzee. Painting 5, done by an elephant interested me because you could see different geometric shapes.
What makes a painting good? I think a paintings worth is decided by how it makes people feel, and how much value they give it. Following this train of thought the animal created art is definitely good; 3 chimpanzee paintings sold for £14,400, when at the same auction pieces by famous artists, such as Andy Warhol and Renoir were not sold.
The value of animal art is something we perceive, but it is always interesting because it makes us wonder at the creative forces of ourselves and what it means to be human.
Article 1: The new viral discovery was probably found so late because how complicated it was to retrieve it. One problem was that there was a cross-assembly method used to build a metagenome of the crAssphage. Another reason why, as it stated in the article, to grow a virus, you need to grow its host. Since its host, which are gut cells, are hard to grow in a lab, it took a while to discover.
Article 2; This article about the largest aquatic bug inspired me to do more research on the oxymoron, enormous insects. Although the article says that it is tough to identify the largest bug, in my opinion, it is the Little Barrier Island giant weta (Deinacrida heteracantha). It weighs as much as three mice and almost 7 inches long. That would be either fascinating or terrifying to encounter, depending on your viewpoint, but why can't they be larger than that? Compared to other animals, insects are rather small but they weren't always like that. During the age of dinosaurs, bugs could be as large as birds of prey.
According to LiveScience, there is not one confirmed theory, but there are many hypotheses to why modern insects aren't as large when they were prehistoric. Some believe that it is due to open circulatory systems. It would take a lot more energy to transport blood around on a large body without any blood vessels. However, there is a plethora of data supporting the hypothesis that larger insects require more oxygen. During the prehistoric times, the oxygen level in the air was 35% and today it is 21%. Insects breathe through their trachea and they stop growing when the trachea cannot support enough oxygen for the whole body.
After reading the first article I was not surprised to discover that scientists had found a new virus. This is because there are a plethora of bacteria and viruses that scientists do not know about. The fact that the virus is common really does not change anything. However I do find it interesting how in the article it was mentioned that crAssphage infects the bacteroides in our systems. Bacteroides are important for our stomach as it breaks down food,and it also controls the development of our immune systems. I find this particularly interesting because it seems to me that, crAssphage could cause trouble to the immune systems of developing people.
CrAssphage could actually also explain why some people are more susceptible to sickness early in their lives than later. If the virus crAssphage infected enough bacteroides, I would have to assume the immune system would weaken as a result. Although I am sure there are other bacteria that play a more prominent role in the development of our immune system. However, it would silly to discount that the virus could cause immune system deficiencies early on in life. It would certainly explain why I was repeatedly infected with strep throat earlier in my life, while all of my friends were healthy. Hence, although I don't think the discovery of the virus is all too important, it could explain early childhood susceptibilities but that is only a theory.
I have always found it interesting that there are good viruses and bad viruses. Typically,people are irked by bacteria and viruses. After all, there is no need to hide it: We all run away for our lives whenever that one constantly sneezing classmate prepares for another snotty eruption. On the other hand, there are people out there, like my dad, who makes comments like, " Oh, Selina, you just touched the door knob? It's lunch time! Great! No need to take out the hand sanitizer because your stomach NEEDS that awesome bacteria!" It is odd to come to the realization that some viruses in our guts actually help our bodies break down food, assist our immune systems, AND they even protect us from harmful bacteria. Even though we dread thinking about the numerous times that we were bedridden, feeble, and terribly sick because of a flu or cold, I guess SOME viruses deserve our love...well at least the viruses in our guts. I also find it fascinating that scientists RECENTLY discovered crAssphage, an extremely common virus that resides in all of our stomachs for this whole time! IN addition, prior to reading this article, I did not know that there are lab scientists out there right now who are basically poking around samples of human dung, collecting pieces of DNA sequences, and making one, big genome. I have come to the realization that creativity and thinking outside the box are extremely essential for a scientist. Without these crucial tools, a scientist will never make any progress: there will be zero discoveries. Nil.
Since I have always been interested in the visual aspect of science, the third article caught my attention and from the moment I laid eyes on the art created by animals, I was instantly amazed. I was especially surprised by the painting made by the elephant because of how accurate it was. Even the colors that were used perfectly depicted what a real flower in nature might look like. I was disappointed though to find out that elephants did not gain any benefit from making these paintings, mentally or behaviorally. Art seems to be a way for humans to express their emotions but the question of why it may not serve the same purpose for animals still remains. The only use for the elephant painting was selling them to earn money that would help protect and conserve their own species. Another animal that had his paintings sold was a chimpanzee known as Congo. Even though his paintings were incomprehensible to humans, Congo seemed to have a certain goal or understanding in each of his paintings. He would not stop until he was done, whining if his tools were taken away before that point. If he was already done, he would not continue even when prompted. This intriguing observation shows how humans and animals are more alike than we expect. Another animal that creates art is the Vogelkop Gardener bowerbird. The male birds of these species construct elaborate structures made of different objects found in their surrounding habitat. They use their own judgment to decide which objects to use, what colors they should be, and how to arrange them. This requires a lot of creativity so I was impressed by how specific bowerbirds were about their personal, intricate designs. I found this example very interesting because these birds use art in their every day life for a certain purpose, to impress the female birds. It also proves to us that we are not the only creative species with individual opinions because of the unique arrangements that each bird builds. Reading this article lead me to wonder how humans decide what qualifies as art. Abstract expressionism appears to be very similar to the work of animals so this makes me question why the paintings of humans are appreciated more and are interpreted to contain so much more “meaning.” In the future, animal art may create either respect for the work of animals or contempt for abstract art due to how similar both are. Either way, I would be interested to see more studies in the future examining the possibility of art affecting the behavior or mentality of different animals.
The Weird and Wonderful Art of Animals
Art is a topic that comes with tremendous ambiguity and subjectivity. Understanding the meaning and purpose of art is a challenge as old as creativity itself. However, a new question arises: are non-humans capable of creating art? If so, what does this mean?
I was interested by bowerbirds’ construction of their bowers, as they seemed to be both practical and ornate. Are these structures created as a result of necessity, through observation of other birds, or as a form of self-expression? Perhaps all three.
Necessity- The reason why male bowerbirds construct these bowers is in order to attract a mate. Aware of the competition all other males pose, the bowerbird makes sure to embellish his bower with such great precision and detail. (He knows that if his structure is not impressive enough, he will not be able to find a mate and ultimately reproduce.)
Observation- Bower building is described as “not innate, at least not entirely.” Younger birds are not born with an instinct to build and decorate bowers, but rather, they must learn through trial and error and/or observing older and more experienced birds.
Self-Expression- The styles and aesthetics of structures vary depending on their builders’ individual tastes and preferences. Some birds prefer certain colors and arrangements over others, painstakingly piecing their bowers together, almost as if their creations give them self-satisfaction, resembling an artist and his work.
As described by the article, the elephant shown grasping a brush in its trunk and painting a picture is being “controlled by its keeper holding its ear.” What exactly does this mean? Is the elephant really, naturally, painting on its own, or simply being guided by its master?
I grew curious and tried to learn about process of training elephants to paint. I came across several websites stating that elephants in Thai zoos are forced to endure months and even years of abuse in order to learn how to hold a paint brush, draw straight lines, and eventually paint full pictures. I read that for years they paint and repaint the same painting repetitively, every single day, and are beaten if they paint incorrectly.
Is this really true? If so, does it apply to all ‘painting elephants’, or only the ones living in certain zoos in Thailand? As for the four Asian elephants at the Melbourne Zoo, were they treated this way, were they directly guided, or were they allowed to control the brush as they pleased?
I am all for exploring these intelligent creatures’ abilities and talents, as long as trainers do not rely on abusive training methods, or force elephants into doing something they don’t want to do.
On a less serious note, at a 2005 auction, Congo the chimp's "lyrical abstract impressionism" even seemed to surpass the standards of Warhol and Renoir, as people were more eager to buy Congo’s works than those of established artists. Would these paintings have sold at such a high price if the bidders did not know the artist was a chimpanzee? (No.)
However, Congo’s demonstrated sense of symmetry, composition, and completeness in his work, in addition to the other examples explored in this article, lead us to believe that maybe primates and other animals are capable of producing their own “art."
This week, I found that the first article was the most interesting one and it discusses the discovery of a virus in the gut that seems to be very common. In some samples it could make up a majority of a patient's stool sample. In some samples, microbiologists cannot identify up to 99 percent of the sequences found in the stool sample. With so much modern technology, I was not the only one surprised that it was just until recently that this virus was discovered. Yet, I think this article shows that even though we has a species have come a long way in terms of science, art, and literature, there is still plenty to learn and discover, especially in the sciences. The discovery took so long because even though we have all this technology it's hard to locate the virus in the first place. Honestly, I don't think of viruses at all, and I always just assumed that they're bad. But, this article taught me that viruses have a lot of benefits to offer the body, just like bacterium. With this discovery, I think it can open the doors to many other discoveries which can help biologists and doctors alike better understand how the body works.
My interest for animals and curiosity led me to read about the “Really Big Insect Found in China”. This gargantuan aquatic insect has been linked to the order, Megaloptera. Members of this order are able to habituate in lucid, placid rivers and streams as well as in unsanitary, mucky bodies of water, which make these creatures difficult to distinguish. This insect was found in the Chengdu Mountains located in the Sichuan Providence in China. I was astonished to learn that this aquatic insect has a wingspan of 21 cm. The illustration of this fascinating insect next to a chicken egg helped me visualize the actual size of the insect. Towards the end of the article, new speculations and controversy regarding how to define what is “big” occurs. For instance, is the length of the insect or the weight considered the “biggest insect”? In my opinion, the longest insect should be considered the World’s Biggest Insect. This is because the definition of “big” is a “considerable size ”(Large) and an insect can be heavy but at the same time bijou. Therefore, the length should be considered big not weight. All in all, this article is packed with a variety of information and magnificent illustrations. However, the question,” is there an another aquatic insect larger than the one found” rose to my head afterwards? There is only one way to find out,” The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes”. Perhaps we may find a bigger aquatic insect using a new perspective.
My definition of "big insect" changed immediately after reading the article regarding the discovery of a new species of Megaloptera insect found in the mountains of Chengdu in China's Sichuan province. I have always been an entomophobe since I was young, I was ready to leave the article when I saw the gigantic insect; surprisingly I felt a surge of questions materialize in my mind. For example: How did scientist not discover such a large insect earlier? How come the insect is only found in China? Surely an insect of that size should have an advantage in the food chain in comparison to smaller insects and should be able to thrive and adapt in different regions.
I was fascinated to learn about animals creating "art". I certainly believe animals can create art although their styles are different from that of humans. However I find it completely natural that animal styles are different from human styles because they do not think or have the same influences as us. The styles may be different, but the purpose of the art is the same. Art is created to convey a thought or emotion; the Vogelkp Gardener bowerbird demonstrates this by creating unique bowers to woo the females. Overall I thought this article was important because it demonstrated how humans aren't so different from animals. Humans and Animals can create art for a purpose whether it is for happiness, impressing someone, or just for satisfaction.
After reading the article about the large aquatic insect that was found, it was mind-blowing realizing the actual size of this insect. Additionally, I found it interesting how the scientists managed to discover this insect all the way in the mountains of china. Very little is known about the Megalpotera species which makes it fascinating how scientists are able to label the insect they found. These insects spend most of their lives in the water until they get older and eventually leave when they are adults as they look to mate. This insect weighs anywhere from 51 grams to 71 grams which is very large for an insect. It has a 21 cm wingspan which is easily the longest known to man at the moment. This was a valuable discovery for scientists and there may be even large insects out that have yet to be found.
As an enthusiast of art myself, my eye was immediately drawn to the article on animal art. The article first told us about the Vogelkop Gardener bowerbird and the bowers that they build. Bowers are decorated structures that the male bowerbirds build to woo the females. At first, there seemed to be nothing unusual about this, as males in every species do something to try and woo the females, whether it’s the bowers of these birds or the cheesy pick up lines of the human race. However, these bowers are built with meticulous care, and the bowerbirds will move any moved object from them back into their original position, showing that how these bowers look matters to them. Each bowerbird had different tastes and preferences of what to put into their bowers, making unique works similar to artwork in humans. I found it fascinating how these birds could have the mental capacity to process what flowers or leaves or sticks they liked the most to put into their bowers.
Through reading the rest of the article, I learned about Congo, a painting chimpanzee. Congo was born in 1954 at London Zoo, and from the early age of only 2 years old, he was already using pencils to make lines, and eventually graduating to paintbrushes. Although he didn’t paint anything that was recognizable (still life, landscape etc.), he showed purpose in his paintings, and when he was done with them he knew it. It wasn’t as if he was just making lines on a page, proven by the fact that when he had completed his work, he wouldn’t continue to paint even at Desmond Morris’s prompting. Congo seemed to have an appreciation for abstract artwork that sat up there with other well-known abstract artists. For example, a set of three of his paintings sold for £14,400, equivalent to about 24,231 US dollars, while an Andy Warhol painting and Renoir sculpture went unsold. Many people appreciated Congo’s art and for good reason. This chimpanzee was not just that, he was an animal artist who knew what he was doing.
Nearing the end of the article, a study of the mental benefits in painting as an animal was explained. The researchers focused on 4 Asian elephants at Melbourne Zoo. They discovered that painting “didn’t reduce stress-related behaviors in the elephants, nor did it decrease repetitive or abnormal behaviors either before or after their painting sessions.” In other words, painting didn’t improve the welfare of elephants. However, despite this disappointing conclusion on animals creating art, I do find it interesting how animals have an eye for beauty like humans do. And even if it doesn’t make the animal artists any happier or less stressed as it may to humans, they do get the sense of satisfaction and pleasure that painting or drawing or just making something from your mind brings, which I think is quite the discovery.
Really big insect found in china:
Evolution is responsible for the oldest insect fossils which are estimated to be 396-400 million years old. Over the years, these fossils have shown drastic changes in features and size evolving from insects that were once present during the Jurassic era to the modern versions. It was fascinating to read how insects today vary from their ancestors, differing in size and developing new features. The discovery of these new massive bugs makes me wonder if there is a real reason as to why these insects are so large. Are these newly discovered insects related to each other in some way? And could their habitat have affected their size?
Evolution is the result of habitat and environmental change, so in my opinion, it makes logical sense that the physical characteristics of these insects are probably a result of adaptation and evolution. For example, the largest aquatic insect in the world found in the mountains of Chengdu in China’s Sichuan province belongs to the order Megaloptera. This order includes about 300 described species of winged alderflies, dobsonflies and fish flies. It probably makes sense to assume that this aquatic insect evolved to develop a wingspan of 21 cm due to its different habitat, while its cousins in other parts of the world have a much smaller wingspan.
Almost 80% of the Earth’s species belong to class Anthropoda, so insects are the most common species found on the planet. Scientists figure that there are still millions of undiscovered species, so the insects described in this article do not surprise me. They are probably just an indicator of the other evolutionary mysteries that are out there.
I read the article about the discovery of the COMMON VIRUS FOUND in almost 3/4 of people from USA, Europe, and South Korea. To summarize this article quickly, it is about a virus genome called crAssphage that is extremely small, common, and found in gut cells. Since they could not see it, scientists had to put a 'mish-mash of DNA' together called a metagenome. Somewhere in this metagenome is the genome for crAssphage. The way they found this virus is by cross assembling. This is when they took common sequences from each sample in the metagenome and basically put them together to get the genome for crAssphage. What is so astonishing about crAssphage is that it changed everyone's understanding of viruses. While there are different types of main viruses, there are many individual strains of the same virus. Each person is a little different and viruses are extremely adaptable to its host, hence viruses are usually very individual-specific. However, the crAssphage genome is in many, many people, which leads to the new possibility that not all viruses are individual-specific. I can understand how this crAssphage virus would be so hard to find since to find it in the metagenome would be like trying to put together one puzzle with a bag full of mixed puzzle piece sets without knowing you what you have to solve for. I think that since crAssphage affected a part of us that isn't really individual specific, it is common in many people. Overall, this article expanded my horizons and made me think that mostly everything has a common denominator.
I found that the article about the large insect found in China was the most interesting because how often do we hear about a really big aquatic insect? Not very often. After discovering so many new species of large insects over the course of many years, one would think that we are good with how many we have now but so many new critters like this one continue popping up. When I first read that it was 21 cm, I did not think that it was abnormal, but then I actually measured it and let's just say that I would not want to be anywhere near this insect. Also, not only is this insect large but not very pleasant to look at either. I could not even get myself to look at the bug more than once. What I also found interesting was at the end of the article when it talks about other large insects, and the length of a Chan's mega stick left me in shock. My only thought I had after reading that was, "Could there be any bug longer than that? Hopefully not." Looks and size set aside, this new spices of aquatic life is really something to learn more about.
The discovery of a giant insect in China is not only puzzling, but fascinating. If the bug is so large, how could scientists have missed it for so long? That leaves us with a few questions. How long has this specimen existed? Is it only in China? As scientists study this insect more and more, they will find out all that needs to be known. Unfortunately, this insect is very rare. Hopefully the scientists will be able to find more of this insect and eventually know as much about it as they know about the common fly.
Is animal art still art? In my opinion, yes, however, some others may disagree. Humans and animals both create art to please the ones around them and themselves, and that is the true meaning of art. Although humans and animals may have different motives as to why they're creating their art in the first place, they are still creating it. For example, the bowers were creating their masterpieces in order to successfully win over a mate. If their choice of mate does not like it, they will need to make another one, or chose another partner to pursue. In the case of Congo to monkey, he was simply handed a pencil and the rest is history. After he mastered the pencil he was given a paintbrush. Soon after that, he became a celebrity. Not only was he on television, but his work was shown around the world. In the case of a human, the main motive for most to create art is their burning passion to build beautiful masterpieces. Others may just create art in exchange for money. Either way, art is art, whether it is made by a human, chimpanzee, or bird. Therefore, I believe animals are capable of creating art, the possibilities are not only there for humans to take, but they're out their for everything.
Animal Art-
The intriguing title made me want to read more about animals that can paint. Instantly, this brought to mind the new Dawn of the Planet of the Apes movie, which I just saw. It is amazing how some animals can express creativity like that on canvas. Honestly, that elephant can create a better painting of a flower than me. Although most of the pictures do not resemble anything, they are still beautiful paintings because art is also about the appealing cohesion of color and strokes as well as the resemblance of real-life objects. I especially liked the painting made by the chimp because although it does not resemble anything, the mix of blue and orange is very appealing. This article is very interesting, but it raises a few questions. Have animals always been able to do this or is this a recent stage in evolution? Does this mean that animals are now developing a creative side? Humans have a right hemisphere and a left hemisphere brain, where the right hemisphere controls creativity. Can animals develop hemispherical brains? Paintings usually express feelings and emotions. What are the feelings behind the paintings that the animals feel? Can it be used to figure out how they feel about the zoo's treatment?
Learning about the new species of insects discovered in China was fascinating. Even though I am not a fan of any kind of bugs, I do love the discovery of new species that are found. I find it interesting how scientist can miss this incredible species, acknowledging that they are one of the biggest insects ever to be found. These insects are members of the Megaloptera family. These aquatic insects are 21 centimeters in wingspan and were found in the mountains of Chengdu in China. As larvae the aquatic insects spend most of their time in water but as adults they crawl out. These insects don’t live for long as adults they spend most of their time finding mates. While growing up these insects acquire tusk-like mandibles and mouthparts. They use their mandibles to attract females. These insects are quite fascinating compared to the other world largest insects.
As much as i hate to be around insects, i find them interesting. The fact that a bug can have a 21 cm wingspan is terrifying to me but fascinating to scientists. The bug with the 21 cm wingspan is now the largest aquatic insect in the world. This aquatic insect was discovered in the mountains of Chengdu in China. Although some people may question how this insect remained unknown for so long, an answer would be the size of the Earth. So many parts of the world are untouched and unobserved. The fact that the largest aquatic insect was just discovered is thought provoking. Maybe the largest fish has yet to be discovered in the depths of the abyss, or bigfoot in the forest. This insect belonged to the Megaloptera order. Megaloptera is greek that translates to big wings. This creature really fits its description and I'm glad it is only found in China. This insect has survived because it can live in muddy or polluted water. Life that can adapt to poor living conditions usually survive and this is an example. Once the insect reaches adulthood it spends most of its time searching for a mate to pass on its genes. The big mandible or mouth part on the head of the insect is used to feeding and attracting mates. This insect is an exciting discovery for the whole world and makes me wonder what else is hiding in the world.
Article 1: As I examined the words “Newest Viral Discovery may surprisingly common,” I immediately wondered what type of virus was discovered? After reading the article I felt apprehensive but at the same time jubilant. Apprehension filled by mind because I wondered if a common virus could lurk undetected for many years, then what if there are other deadly viruses that we lack knowledge and detection on. On the other hand, I felt jubilant because I was proud that we were able to successfully discover this new virus and thankful that the virus found is not lethal. This new virus is called “crAssphage” and is found with bacteria located mainly in our guts. The reason that this virus was undetected for so long is because it is difficult to study viruses that lurk in the gut. In fact, we still don’t have a picture of crAssphage because we are only able to see its genome. The reason for that is because bacteria attacked by the virus located in the gut have extreme difficulty growing in a contradicting environment (Lab). We are able to see its genome because scientists placed pieces of DNA together from 12 stool samples, which caused a Metagenome to form. In addition, I wonder why this virus only attacks bacteria in the gut? What features in bacteria and location help foster crAssphage? Perhaps later, we will have technology that will help us get a better perspective on viruses. Maybe in the future, instead of using the technique “cross assembly” we will enhance our technology in order to assemble the DNA pieces quicker. Therefore, this new virus may not have taught scientists much about itself; however, it sure has raised many questions about our technology, bacteria and other viruses.
Article 1: Why has this really common virus only just been discovered?
To me, it is not surprising that researchers found another virus. There are a plethora of viruses that are probably still not found. This is because it is very difficult to decipher the human gut. So much time and effort must be invested to find information. The newly discovered virus called crAssphage is probably one of the most common viruses. Since Bas Dutilh from Radboud University Medical Centre found crAssphage in the stools of hundreds of patients, it is possible that each and every one of us humans has this virus. Finding out how to study microbes was quite interesting. Scientists usually collect a stool sample, break the entire DNA and sequence the pieces. This results in a metagenome. A metagenome is a collection of DNA from all bacteria, viruses, and other microbes from the stool sample. More research from Dutilh’s team and Rob Edwards of San Diego State University concluded finding crAssphage in three quarters of 466 metagenomes. This suggests that most people contain the crAssphage virus. Many scientists are shocked that this virus went undetected. So many different complex viruses found, but this common one. In truth, it is indeed very difficult to find and study viruses. Since it isn’t possible to grow the host to make heaps of the viruses, it is difficult to study it. In the end, the team decided that the crAssphage virus was probably found in Bacteroides. It isn’t completely proven but this is most likely the group of bacteria that it infects. Bacteroides help break down food and control the development of the immune system. They help protect us from disease-causing bacteria. If crAssphage infects these bacteria, a major change in immunity and health can occur. With the new discovery of the crAssphage virus, more time, effort, and money will be spent to find the answers to so many questions.
Out of all the articles, I found the first one the most interesting. This article was about a new virus found in most of our bodies. At first, I was not surprised because are many viruses in out body. However, I found it interesting that the virus crAssphage, is one of the more common viruses. This was interesting because of the time it took scientists to find it. The technology we have today is really advanced, and it was astonishing to find out how long it took to find this. This gets me really exited for new opportunities. If it took us this long to find a common virus, I wonder how many more await us. To cure a disease, we must first learn more about it and how it originates. Some viruses cause well known diseases. This might make it possible that the discovery of another common virus, can be the key to curing a disease. Scientists discovered this virus by putting DNA together to form a metagenome. By cross assembling they found the genome for crAssphage. Overall, I believe this method is effective but time consuming.
I also found the second article pretty interesting. It's not everyday you read about the discovery of a record breaking insect. Thai insect was discovered in China. It is said to be the largest aquatic insect in the world. It has a wingspan of about 21 cm. It is from the order Megaloptera. This contains over 300 species. Like the article about viruses, it amazes me how some things take a long time to discover. It's interesting who the giant insect was just discovered now. It makes me believe there are many other creatures left to be discovered on out planet. Some of these discoveries might solve questions we have about organisms already discovered.
I find the fact that animals can possess human traits, extremely interesting. Art work created by animals is not only a surprising feat, it is also an eye opening occurrence. Even though producing this art doesn’t help these animals with stress levels or repetitive behaviors, it does help them save their own species with all the donations and funding. In a way it is beneficial. Creativity has its own place in every animals brain. Congo the chimpanzee was found to have a liking for painting. He refused to stop painting until he felt he was finished. This means that there was some mental inclination or desire towards the art. However, in the picture, the elephant produced art through a person controlling him. This makes me wonder whether the different behavior patterns which different animals have, has any connection to the effect art has on them. One animal wanted to continue painting, while the other animal was made to do it. This was also seen with the Bower birds who have their own sense of creativity in object arrangement. This is their daily behavior which they use to mate and they find pleasure in producing. I feel that since every animal’s mind, behavior and the circumstances they’re given to live in for survival are different, and that will affect their inclination towards art. Take humans for example. Not everyone likes to draw or paint or construct. Not everyone has the talent. The same may be applied with animals.
The next article was very interesting . The largest aquatic insect was found in Chengdu, China and has a wingspan of 21cm. Now many other large insects have been discovered all around the world such as the Little Barrier Island Giant Weta which was found off the coast of New Zealand. This weighed around 71 grams. Next the Southeast Asian Atlas Moth weighs about 58 grams as well. Lastly, the megastick found in china, measures to be about 35.7 cm long. Its legs measure to be 56.7 cm long. The question of how an insect should be classified to be the largest makes me wonder as well. Do we go by weight or by height? Scientists just need to wait for one which outdoes the previous insects in both categories. Since there are so many new and enlarged insects being discovered, this makes me wonder whether evolution is behind all of this. Which other insects may have originated from or into these colossal ones? The future holds many possibilities.
Largest aquatic Insect in the world
I am so happy that I do not live near this insect because it scares me a bit. I'm also surprised why scientists haven't discovered this insect long before because of its size. I know it's hard to spot because it can live in polluted waters and clean river streams. Finding this new insect makes me wonder what other insects is it related too? How long has this particular species been alive for? And can it mutate into even larger insect?
Animal Art
This article was very interesting because it talked about art done by something that wasn't a human. Like the Bowers who build elaborate towers to woo females. Dr.Diamond stated that Young Bowers must learn from trial and error or by watching the best bower at work. Diamond later stated that bower building was a culturally transmitted creative process where each bird had his or her own individual tastes and preferences, and where each decision was made with intention and care. This made me think how complex the little bird brains were and if one day other animals could develop their brains to process these kinds of actions. I don't think that animals will be able to be as artistic as humans at least not for a long time but they are capable of some skills like Congo and the elephants displayed. Painting and art do not affect the animals in a positive way so I believe it's not something that will be researched into too much. Although it is very cool for animals to create pieces of art.
The article on the giant insect found in China was creepy, yet interesting. To find insects that big must be a terrifying experience, but for those bugs to be that big must mean that they don't have much pressure from their ecosystem to remain small. This could possibly be because the insects predator may have suffered damage to its population, causing this insect to grow over generations to become just large enough to survive without stripping the forest of its resources. I wonder what the predators of these insects must be because they would have to be large enough to easily eat the bug and avoid being harmed by the huge mandibles. Perhaps the main organism that kills this huge aquatic insect is a smaller spider but it has the capability to create huge webs. It is not necessary for a predator to be larger than its prey, so trapping one of these would provide a feast for a spider. However, it is probably most likely that the majority of these bugs get eaten as larvae by some fish. Also, the article stated that this big bug has e short lifespan as an adult, which is probably due to its large size. As the bug gets larger, it becomes harder to find the food to sustain its size, causing it to die fairly quickly. I wonder what the giant burrowing cockroach thinks about this insect.
The two articles that grabbed my attention were the largest aquatic insect in the world found in China and Creativity: The weird and wonderful art of animal. I thought the insect article was extremely interesting; it was fascinating that there was such a huge insect that was only recently discovered. I was shocked to see that when placed next to a chicken egg, how much larger the insect was. Since I am not a fan of bugs, a 21 cm insect is even more disgusting for me to see than for a normal person yet I was intrigued to see that such an enormous insect was recently found. Even though, these bugs are only found in China, I began to wonder if there were insects like these in our area. To think that there are bugs that huge makes me wonder if there are other undiscovered insects that we have yet to discover. The other article that interested me was about animals creating masterpieces to impress their significant other. The Vogelkop Gardener bowerbirds seem like ordinary birds but they create bowers which are decorated structure that males build to impress the females. We don’t see animals as those who have human like characteristics, but they are very similar to us. The fact that bowerbirds also have certain taste and have a specific style to what they want to make is very astonishing. I would never have thought that such a creature would have so much creativity and be so precise on what they want to make for their significant other. This article in particular really stood out to me, and made me interested in the way animals perceive certain items.
Although I don't like bugs very much, I often like to observe them if they don't fly. I found this 21 cm insect to be quite fascinating and amazing. It can be mistaken for a bird from distance. I am thankful that this insect was found in China and not in America. It would be crazy to see an insect bigger than my head close to me. I still wonder how this insect hasn't been found until now. It probably has really effective camouflage with its surroundings. It lives in bodies of water except the ocean as well as muddy and polluted water. I am sure that there are bigger insects that have yet to be discovered in length and weight. Hopefully insects just as big as this one and others to be found in the future aren't in New Jersey because it would be quite scary to encounter one. This bug, which belongs to the Megaloptera order, has a short life span and uses its tusk-like mandibles to attract mates. In summary, I find this discovery really interesting and cool as well as a step in entomology.
Newest viral discovery may be surprisingly common:
This article presented fascinating information about how our gut is a living ecosystem home to millions of bacteria and viruses. Despite all the progress made in the field of medicine, it is interesting how little we know about these viruses and bacteria. As it happens, the newly discovered crAssphage virus is so common that when an experiment was conducted using fragments of DNA from the stools of 12 individuals, crAssphage was found in all of them. So how could such a common virus go undiscovered for so long? According to the article, viral study is tough and complicated and gut viruses tend to be the most difficult to study.
The most common viruses in our body have a unique job. The gut viruses do not make us ill, instead they infect the legions of microbes that live in our gut. By killing the most abundant bacteria in the gut, they ensure that no single species can control the space, serving as a defensive front-line, keeping bacteria from invading our gut lining and causing deadly infections.
While it may be too early to identify the role of the crAssphage virus, its discovery in human bodies proves that there are thousands of other viruses and bacteria that are yet to be discovered. I think it is important for the medical community to focus on the study of viruses and how we can use them to our advantage to improve human health. With countless viruses still unknown to humans, this may just be the beginning of a period of viral discovery. We might find viruses that are used by our body to dump out toxins and destroy harmful viruses and bacteria. Perhaps down the road we might be able to answer questions about the positive and negative effects of these viruses on our bodies. Could it be possible that we are born with these viruses intact and destroy and mutate them as we age, allowing our body to become immune to some diseases? Are the unknown gut viruses designed by our body to allow us to live on this planet by eliminating attacking viruses? Who knows, we may even be able to use these viruses to boost immune systems and battle disease by giving instructions to them or read them to detect disease. Viral study may revolutionize the field of medicine in the future.
The idea of bugs in general is extremely unappealing to me, but the idea of possibly the biggest bug in the world is something that I couldn't even think of. A 21 centimeter long bug? The thought of it is terrifying which is probably why I thought that the second article was the most interesting. I think the pattern that I constantly seem to notice while reading these articles is the fact that they pinpoint concepts which I have never paid attention to before. I never researched anything about bugs unless it was for a project or essay which is why I was really surprised that a 21 centimeter bug could be interesting. The bug was found in the mountains of Chengdu in China and apparently belongs to Megaloptera. The article says that this group is very poorly known and I had to agree because I have never even heard of this before.
Another thing that shocked me was the fact that the heaviest insect I'm the world is about three times the weight of a rat! Imagine that insect landing on a person! The part where the author wrote that the insect was eating a carrot during its pictures gave me an idea of how large this insect could actually be. Also, the Chan's Megastick is 35.7 centimeters long, not to mention the legs which are 56.7 centimeters long. In my opinion, more discoveries will be made about even larger insects because even though it took so long for discover one that is 21 centimeters long, living things are constantly evolving which can lead to some organisms growing in size and others shrinking but it's all based on habitat and surroundings.
Of the articles this week, I was most fascinated and disgusted by the largest aquatic insect found in China. I don't like any bugs no matter how big or small, and coming across a bug this huge in size would be a very terrifying experience for me. It amazes me though that such a large insect had never been spotted before. This specimen is 21 centimeters in length, which makes it the largest aquatic insect in the world! It’s amazing to see this bug's enormity in comparison to a chicken egg. I’m curious to know why it has taken so long to discover this colossal bug. Has this bug been around for quite some time but scientists have just never come across it? Are there other places around the world where this bug can also be found? I would hate to be living anywhere in vicinity to where this bug has the ability to thrive. Even the smallest of spiders freak me out, so I can only imagine my reaction if I ever came across this bug in person. Thank god I don't live anywhere near it!
I read the article called “Why has this virus just been discovered?” I thought that this article was really interesting , especially the part about how our research on the viruses that live in our guts is limited. In order, for a pathologist to really understand the virus they would need a large amount, as the article describes “heaps” of it, which is really isn’t possible when you are studying something that is inside a human being. Therefore they have to break the DNA from the stool samples and order them in the correct way to create a metagenome. I thought that this process so amazing. They can take something as minuscule as DNA and change it to help it with their research. I always thought that DNA was very fragile, but now scientists are able to separate and sequence it to fit their needs. Another part of the article that I found very interesting was that fact the crAssphage is in every single person. I find it really interesting how they haven’t discovered this new virus until now, especially because it is everywhere. Another part of the article that drew my attention was the part about the CRISPIR sequence used to predict what these phages can do. I was surprised to find out that the phages effect bacteriodes, which are big protagonists when it comes to our digestive systems. The correlation of the bacteriodes to certain diseases may be linked to the crAssphage. I think that the research and the discoveries that these scientists have made will be a big contribution to future generations.
I read the article titled, Creativity: The weird and wonderful art of animals, and I found it fascinating. The article spoke about how chimps, elephants, and various other animals in zoos were given the opportunity to create art with paper and paintbrushes. Some of the pieces created by these animals have gone on to sell for a lot of money. Even in nature animals create art. It is in their blood to be creative and create various works of art. For instance, the bowerbird creates "art" in order to impress possible future mates. Other animals use similar methods as well to attract mates. This shows that humans are not the only ones who have and can effectively use a creative side of their brain. Although we have different ways of expressing art, maybe the brains of humans and other animals aren't so different in the sense of creativity.
Why Has This Really Common Virus Only Just Been Discovered?:
Bacteriophages, such as the recently discovered crAssphage, are types of viruses that infect bacteria. What is interesting about crAssphage is that it is extremely common. People around the world, from the United States to South Korea, have it in their stool. The question that kept on popping through my head while reading the first half of the article was, “Why haven’t scientists discovered the bacteriophage yet?” Normally, to study a virus, you need to have a lot of it. Having an abundance of the virus is impossible to do without growing its host. The alternative to making an abundance of the virus to study it, is to use metagenomics. With metagenomics, scientists can study viruses without having to grow its host by assembling multiple gene sequences from many different specimens. The problem with using this technique is that 75% of the DNA from any stool sample won’t match any known sequences. Therefore, scientist Bas Dutilh and his team had to come up with a new method to study bacteriophages. They found the bacteriophage CrAssphage by a technique called cross-assembly to identify multiple sequences, from multiple stool samples, and compile the information into one genome. Dutilh and his team also used cross-assembly to find out what exactly CrAssphage infects. Him and his team hypothesized that if there is a lot of CrAssphage in a sample, then there must be a lot of DNA from its host. Thus, they concluded that a group of bacteria called Bacteroides must serve as its host. After researching additional information about Bacteroides on the Internet, I found that the human colon has the largest population of bacteria over all in the human body, and approximately 25% of the bacteria in the colon belong to the species Bacteroides. Just a few of the many ways Bacteroides affect our daily lives as human beings are by serving as a source of energy through carbohydrate fermentation and utilizing nutrients in the GI tract for growth. Thus, CrAssphage definitely can affect the daily function of human beings. Not only has the work of Dutilh and his team discovered an entirely new bacteriophage, but it has unveiled a new, innovative method of how to study viruses in detail.
Do non-human animals create art?
This question grabbed my attention and when I decided to read the article about the Bowerbirds, I was completely mind blown that animals actually have a way of expressing art in their daily lives. If I was told animals are capable of creating art, I would assume that the only animal that would be able to pull of this human task is a chimpanzee, which was mentioned in this article. However, to see that a bird is capable of expressing something in an aesthetic manner really makes me wonder whether there are many other animals that are capable of performing such a unique task. Usually animals or insects create intricate things for legitimate purposes that would help them survive. For examples, spiders create webs to live on or bees create beehives to live in. However, the Bowerbird does not have an actual purpose for creating this design. It just creates to impress it a female bird. I find this really fascinating because it made me realize that animals have real hobbies just like how humans do.
The question at the end of the article asks if animal art is any good. I believe that the art created by animals such as the chimp may not be the best art, but the fact that it was created by a chimp makes people want it much more. Also, it makes me people believe that the art that they created is amazing. Therefore, I think that explains why the chimp's painting got auctioned for that high of a price. However, if one was shown art created by a chimp but was not told it was created by an animal, he or she may not find the work appealing.
The article about the large insect intrigued me the most. The Megaloptera has a wing span of 21 cm, and is reported to be the largest aquatic insect in the world. It is one scary looking insect. If I saw a Megaloptera flying around my house, I would not stay here for even one more minute. Why has this insect only been spotted recently? It's enormous. How has this insect escaped our attention for so many years? I would also like to know, how many more Megalopteras are there?
When I saw the images from China of the largest aquatic insect, I was instantly horrified and began considering the worst. If this insect landed on a person’s face then its wings may even extend past both sides. Its wingspan surpasses the width of an iPad and is about the same as that of a robin. I am curious to know why the discovery was not made sooner, as this insect must be hard to miss.
On art by animals: I find that the concept of art by animals has some merit, but overall it is just exploitation by the animals’ keepers. It is true that for some species, like the Vogelkop bowerbird, art happens to be a result of the natural activity of mating. But even the researchers of the Melbourne Zoo experiment admitted that the results of prompting animals to create art were not stellar. They made the elephants paint images that lacked any shining characteristic except for the fact that they were painted by elephants. Painting did not make the elephants feel any more or less relaxed, as it would for humans. Researchers should conduct the experiments on a wider variety to derive a better conclusion.
It seems a new furry and unique insect has been added to the many that we have in our earth today. This new insect species was found in China and is told to be a new kind of Megaloptera insect. A megaloptera insect is originally an order of insects. It contains about 300 known species including alderflies, dobsonflies, and fish flies. These insects are relatively unknown insects and this new edition was quite interesting. The specimen is still under inspection, but a few facts are known. It’s wingspan is a good 21 centimeters and they live relatively short lifespans. What is most interesting about this new species is that they have a very easy way to blend in. They are hard to spot because of their capability to sustain not only dirty and polluted water, but also clean and clear water, but that’s just a few of their many talents. These insects also have huge, intimidating pincers. They closely resemble dragonflies but seem to be much more complex and interesting. This new specimen was found in a mountain in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, and it is said that China has “claimed” this new species. After reading this article, I still have a few doubts in my mind. How is it possible for two species to look so alike, but be so different? How will this species effect others and how can we further our research? After this discovery, I am ready to see what is in store for the world of science. We have a whole era of new insects, birds, plants, and animals waiting for us to stumble upon them.
The first article I read was about the bacteriophage. To study a virus, scientists require an abundance for more accurate data. A stable host is also necessary because of the way a virus functions. The alternative is using metagenomics. This is a process in which scientists can study bacteria without a host having to grow. They assemble multiple gene sequences from specimens. The issue is that much of the DNA collected won't match sequences. therefore the crAssphage was established. They use cross sequences to match multiple sequences. This is found in many people according to stool samples that were collected in Korea.
The second article discussed animals and art. Animals in Zoos were given paper and paint and other material to create art. Some of the pieces have sold for money. It was discovered that certain animals were naturally creative to attract mates. This demonstrated that humans were not the only ones that can create art. Granted the animal art was different but animals are still just as creative.
Creativity: The weird and wonderful art of animals Of the three articles we had to choose from this one immediately captured my attention. It’s pretty common knowledge nowadays that animals are more than mere robots with a central nervous system. They are intelligent, sentient beings with the capability to feel a wide range of emotions. However, I’d never heard of them having artistic capabilities! I was quite surprised to see works of art created by Elephants, Chimpanzees, and Gorillas looking as though they could have been made by a human being. The article mentions how a study had been conducted before with a small group of elephants to see if by expressing themselves artistically the elephants were positively impacted emotionally. The results showed that painting didn't reduce stress-related behaviors in the elephants. but whether drawing or painting serves any useful purpose at the zoo, it is at least clear that humans are not the only animals capable of creating works of art, nor are we the only ones who appear to derive satisfaction from it.
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