Robots that walk like human beings are common in science fiction but not so easy to make in real life. The most famous current example, the Honda Asimo, moves smoothly but on large, flat feet. And compared with a person, it consumes much more energy.
Without enough estrogen-like hormone in their systems, female plainfin midshipman fish turn a deaf ear to the alluring love songs of the males. And, according to Cornell biologists, a similar steroid-sensitive response could underlie changes in the hearing sensitivity of humans.
Japanese shore crabs, a square-shaped crustacean that poses a direct threat to soft-shell (steamer) clams, mussels and lobsters, were discovered July 13 by Cornell University marine biologists in Owl's Head, Maine, on the shores of Penobscot Bay. The detection of this crab, which has the potential to hurt Maine's seafood industry.
The tiny Belding's ground squirrels appear to be "kissing". Instead, they are sniffing to analyze secretions from facial scent glands, hoping to learn from the complex odor bouquet who is family and who's not.
Cornell will host Horses 2002, a two-day conference April 6 and 7, featuring demonstrations, clinics, educational seminars related to equine issues, and speakers, including horse-and-rider relationship expert GaWaNi Pony Boy.
The Zoo and Wildlife Society at Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine will present its sixth Special Species Symposium April 20 to 22 for veterinary students, technicians, and veterinarians.
Taking precautions to ensure that the cloven-hoofed animals at Cornell remain safe from foot-and-mouth disease, the Department of Animal Science has implemented a ban on guest visits to two animal research facilities.
Researchers are using nanotechnology to build microscopic silicon devices with features comparable in size to DNA, proteins and other biological molecules – to count molecules, analyze them, separate them, perhaps even work with them one at a time.
