Invasive grass carp have reached three of the Great Lakes and pose a significant environmental risk there, but time remains to prevent them from getting out of hand, according to a scientific analysis. The voracious grass carp is among four Asian carp species threatening to reach the world's largest surface freshwater system. Bighead and silver carp, the most feared, would compete with native fish that eat microscopic plants and animals, while grass carp feast on aquatic vegetation that provides crucial habitat and spawning grounds. Grass carp have been found in Lakes Erie, Michigan and Ontario, although it's uncertain how many there are or how widely they have spread, U.S. and Canadian researchers said.
Netherlands tests 'Tinder for apes'
How does a primate find a date when they're confined to an urban jungle? Orangutans in a Dutch zoo may get a high-tech helping hand thanks to a research project that is being likened to a Tinder dating app for apes. The research is investigating the emotional responses of orangutans and bonobos to images of the same species they are shown on a touch screen. Biologist Thomas Bionda said the screen could help determine an ape's preference between prospective mates as part of a breeding program. "We want to help our animals and maybe other zoos' animals to make a choice," Bionda said. Bionda hopes that having apes check out images on a computer screen could help determine the compatibility of a prospective pair.
Robotic barista now open for business
With the opening of Cafe X last week, a robot is now serving coffee to San Franciscans. Customers can enter an order at the kiosk or through an app. The glassed-in kiosk looks at first glance like a Nespresso machine operated by a robotic arm. But the tall grinders are full of fresh beans from local coffee roasters, and no pods or powdered milk are used. After ordering, customers are given an estimated wait time, usually a few minutes. The coffee is ground and tamped to order inside the machine. When the drink is ready, the robot places the cup on a small elevator that lowers it to an individual window for that customer.
Bits of rock help solve asteroid mystery
You would think that meteorites landing on Earth might closely resemble asteroids orbiting in the solar system. But they seem to made of different materials. Why? To find out, researchers dissolved almost 600 pounds of ancient limestone to extract 46 minuscule crystals containing the mineral chromite. Forty-one of the crystals came from space, and more than a third were a type of meteorite known as primitive achondrites. That's unusual, because today achondrites account for less than half of 1 percent of meteorites. The finding supports the idea that many meteorites landing on Earth are debris from a vast collision in the asteroid belt some 466 million years ago.
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