SCIENCE BOND

The wild boar (Sus scrofa), also known as the wild swineor Eurasian wild pig is a suid native to much of Eurasia, North Africa and the Greater Sunda Islands. Human intervention has spread its range further, thus making the species one of the widest ranging mammals in the world, as well as the most widely spread suiform. Its wide range, high numbers and adaptability mean that it is classed as least concern by the IUCN. The animal probably originated in South-East Asia during the Early Pleistocene, and outcompeted other suid species as it spread throughout the Old World. As of 2005, up to 16 subspecies are recognised, which are divided into four regional groupings based on skull height and lacrimal bone length.The species lives in matriarchal societies consisting of young males, intrarelated females and their young. Fully grown males are usually solitary outside of the breeding season. The grey wolf is the wild boar's main predator throughout most of its range except in the Fa...

The 400-kilometre (250-mile) wide area is buried deep in the earth's crust and consists of two separate impact scars.The team behind the discovery, from the Australian National University (ANU), said the asteroid broke into two before it hit, with each fragment more than 10km across. The impact is thought to have occurred at least 300 million years  ago.The surface crater has long since disappeared from central Australia's Warburton Basin but geophysical modelling below the surface found evidence of two massive impacts, said Dr Andrew Glikson, who led the ANU team."It would have been curtains for many life species on the planet at the time," said Dr Glikson. But the team, which published its findings in the geology journal  Tectonophysics, has not been able to connect the impact to any known extinction."It's a mystery - we can't find an extinction event that matches these collisions," said Dr Glikson. "I have a suspicion the im...

Engineers at Saarland University have taken a leaf out of nature's book by equipping an artificial hand with muscles made from shape-memory wire. The new technology enables the fabrication of flexible and lightweight robot hands for industrial applications and novel prosthetic devices. The muscle fibres are composed of bundles of ultrafine nickel-titanium alloy wires that are able to tense and flex. The material itself has sensory properties allowing the artificial hand to perform extremely precise movements. The research group led by Professor Stefan Seelecke will be showcasing their prototype artificial hand and how it makes use of shape-memory 'metal muscles' at HANNOVER MESSE -- the world's largest industrial fair -- from April 13th to April 17th. The hand is the perfect tool. Developed over millions of years, its 'design' can certainly be said to be mature. The hand is extraordinarily mobile and adaptable, and the consummate interaction...

The woodpeckers , piculets , wrynecks , and sapsuckers are a family, Picidae , of near-passerine birds. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. Most species live in forests or woodland habitats, although a few species are known to live in treeless areas, such as rocky hillsides and deserts. The Picidae are just one of eight living families in the order Piciformes. Other members of Piciformes, such as the jacamars, puffbirds, barbets, toucans, and honeyguides, have traditionally been thought to be closely related to the woodpeckers, piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. More recently, DNA sequence analyses have confirmed this view. There are about 200 species and about 30 genera in this family. Many species are threatened or endangered due to loss of habitat or habitat fragmentation. Two species of woodpeckers, the ivory-billed woodpecker and the imperial woodpecker, have been consid...