In "Romeo and Juliet," the lovelorn hero proclaims that "Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs."
The line may have actually been inspired by the fumes of cannabis, according to a recently published paper on William Shakespeare and his smoking habits.
The report, which cites a 2001 analysis of early 17th-century pipes from Stratford-upon-Avon and the Bard's own residence, argues that Shakespeare could have smoked the substance and was probably well aware of its hallucinatory effects. In some cases, the pipes contained evidence of cocaine, though it remains unclear if Shakespeare ingested the substance.
Francis Thackeray, who teaches in the Evolutionary Studies Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, said, "Shakespeare may have been aware of the deleterious effects of cocaine as a strange compound," though it's possible that the Bard "preferred cannabis as a stimulant."
The study cited Shakespearean writing that contains references to what could be interpreted as drugs. For instance, the Bard's Sonnet No. 76 features references to "compounds strange" and "a noted weed."
Mistaken ID for golden jackals
For 150 years, biologists took it for granted that golden jackals in Africa were, in fact, golden jackals — closely related to other golden jackals originating from Eurasia.
It made sense. The animals were about the same size and looked a lot alike. But it turns out to have been a case of mistaken identity: A new DNA analysis shows that the African "jackals" are in fact more closely related to a sort of wolf than they are to the Eurasian golden jackals.
The discovery, conducted by an international team of researchers and published in the journal Current Biology, shows that DNA can provide definitive answers when the eyes deceive, said evolutionary biologist Robert Wayne of the University of California at Los Angeles and one of the study co-authors. "That's what DNA lets us do," he said. "It lets you uncover the past."
Parasite new amphibian threat
Scientists have identified a new problem for amphibians, which are already shrinking in numbers: A parasite is infesting tadpoles worldwide.
The family of parasites, related to a bug that attacks oysters, has been found in the livers of frogs and tadpoles on three continents and in both temperate and tropical climates. Researchers linked it to a mass die-off of tadpoles in a Georgia lake.
Study lead author Thomas Richards of the University of Exeter in England said amphibian numbers are already falling because of habitat loss, climate change, fungus and other diseases. He said this new parasite is "just one more threat."
He added that for amphibians "it seems to be death by a thousand cuts."
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