Gizmorama - September 19th, 2012

Good Morning,

Today's issue has it all! From tiny dinosaur fossils to the enemy of a venomous spider, oh, and a 'narco' sub. See what I mean?

Learn about these interesting stories, and others, from the scientific community.

Until Next Time,
Erin

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*-- Tiniest fossil dinosaur footprints found --*
AMHERST, Nova Scotia - Paleontologists say a set of fossil footprints discovered in Canada are the world's smallest known fossil vertebrate footprints. The footprints were found at the Joggins Fossil Cliffs in Nova Scotia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its abundance of fossil specimens, by a local amateur paleontologist. "This was one of the most exciting finds I have ever made and I am very pleased that, along with my colleagues, we are able to share it with the world," said Gloria Melanson, whose father Don Reid is the Keeper of the Joggins Cliff. "Every big fossil find is by chance; it's all about being lucky and recognizing what you're looking at," Melanson said. "When I saw the very small tail and toes I knew we had something special. I never thought it would be the world's smallest." The footprints belonged to a small amphibian, something like a salamander, which would have roamed Earth 315 million years ago, scientists said. The footprints measure less than a tenth of an inch in length. The discovery was reported in the international scientific journal Ichnos.


*-- U.S. builds its own 'narco' sub --*
WASHINGTON - The Homeland Security Department says it built its own practice "narco" sub like some being used to bring drugs and other illicit cargo into the United States. Dubbed "PLUTO," after the planet that is so difficult to spot, the semi-submersible craft serves as a realistic practice target for the detection systems of the department and its national security community partners, a DHS release reported Monday. In a typical operation, PLUTO will operate at cruising speeds of 4 to 8 knots while remote sensor platforms from sea to space attempt to detect and track it at various distances and observation angles, the release said. In 2006, following years of rumors that drug cartels were using such watercraft, a Colombian semi-submersible was captured by the U.S. Coast Guard in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Drug cartels are still building and using vessels with low profiles and low radar reflectivity that cut through water at wave height and are nearly impossible to detect, officials said. "Small surface vessels, self-propelled semi-submersibles, and now the most recent innovation of fully submerged vessels (FSVs), pose significant challenges to maritime security," Tom Tomaiko of the department's Science & Technology Directorate said. "While some small boats sitting low in the water have legitimate purposes, there are many that are used for illicit purposes." If the "narco" subs escape detection and the drugs are successfully delivered, the vessels are typically scuttled and not reused. "Drug-running is lucrative. It is cheaper to simply build another vessel than to run the risk of trying to get a vessel and its crew home," Tomaiko said.


*-- Tiny enemy of venomous spider identified --*
ADELAIDE, Australia - A small wasp ignored by scientists for more than 200 years has been found to be a predator of Australia's most common dangerous spider, researchers say. The wasp, Agenioideus nigricornis, was first described by entomologists in 1775 but has had little scientific attention in the intervening centuries. "Since then, scientists have largely forgotten about the wasp," biologist Andy Austin at the University of Adelaide said. "It is widespread across Australia and can be found in a number of collections, but until now we haven't known the importance of this particular species." The importance is that the tiny wasp has been shown to be an effective predator of the Australian redback spider, a relative of North America's black widow spider. "The redback spider is notorious in Australia, and it has spread to some other countries, notably Japan and New Zealand," Austin said. "Redbacks are one of the most dangerous species in Australia and they're mostly associated with human dwellings, which has been a problem for many years," The wasp is now being dubbed the "redback spider-hunting wasp" after one was observed dragging a spider it had paralyzed with a sting several yards to its nest. "We're very excited by this discovery, which has prompted us to study this species of wasp more closely," Austin said. "It's the first record of a wasp preying on redback spiders and it contributes greatly to our understanding of how these wasps behave in Australia."


*-- China satellites: Science or spying? --*
NOTTINGHAM, England - China's proposal to send eight satellites into space to monitor ocean waters surrounding the country could be more about spying, a British scientist says. With China already having three maritime satellites in orbit, John Walker of the Nottingham Trent University said adding eight more was "a very significant investment just to monitor water." "I would expect the real value of these satellites to be more military and intelligence gathering," he said. Walker has previously worked in scientific research within Britain's Ministry of Defense, the BBC reported. China's State Oceanic Administration said the present marine monitoring satellites oversee around 115,000 square miles of ocean around the country. Four of the new satellites will observe the color of ocean waters while two will study currents and two will be equipped with radar, National Satellite Ocean Application Service Director Jiang Xingwei told the China Daily newspaper.

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