Every Friday at Nothing in Biology Makes Sense! our contributors pass around links to new scientific results, or science-y news, or videos of adorable wildlife, that they’re most likely to bring up while waiting in line for a latte.

In our evolutionary past, small groups of hunter-gatherers needed enforcers, individuals who took it upon themselves to punish slackers and transgressors to maintain group cohesion. We evolved this way. As a result, some people are born to be punishers. They are hard-wired for it.

The giant moray eel can grow to three metres in length and bites its prey with two sets of jaws—the obvious ones and a second set in its throat that can be launched forward like Hollywood’s Alien. It’s not a creature to be trifled with. But the coral grouper not only seeks out giant morays, but actively rouses them by vigorously shaking its body. The move is a call to arms that tells the moray to join the grouper in a hunt.

Smelling like a zombie works out well for the plant known as skunk cabbage. The species is featured on the third full episode of the “Plants are Cool, Too!” video series. Hosted by Dr. Chris Martine (Bucknell University) with special guest Dr. Rachel Schultz (SUNY Plattsburgh), the episode was filmed in the Adirondack Mountain region.

The cancer-targeting microorganism, Listeria monocytogenes, is a rod-shaped bacterium that penetrates the cells of the people and animals that it infects…Because of the bacterium’s ability to burrow inside key immune cells called macrophages, some researchers use weakened Listeria with bits of tumor DNA attached to teach the body’s immune system to recognize and destroy cancerous cells that might otherwise slip by unnoticed.

Although a number of guides exist online, many researchers still feel overwhelmed and hesitant toward the virtual world, lacking sufficient information and guidance through formal scientific channels such as peer-reviewed journals. To better familiarize researchers with existing internet resources, here we discuss prospective benefits that can stem from online science conversations, explain how scientists can efficiently and effectively harness online resources, and provide an overview of popular online tools.

Every Friday at Nothing in Biology Makes Sense! our contributors pass around links to new scientific results, or science-y news, or videos of adorable wildlife, that they’re most likely to bring up while waiting in line for a latte.

Like many a dissertator, Frodo’s terrible and treacherous mission has a dual nature. He cannot, and does not, accomplish the goal without the help of others, but ultimately, he must bear the great load alone.

Also from CJ – Get the BBC’s CliffsNotes on the coelacanth genome.

The coelacanth can reach up to 2m-long and is found lurking in caves deep beneath the waves. It was thought to have been extinct for millions of years, until it turned up in a trawlerman’s net off the coast of Africa in 1938. Its ancient appearance has earned it the title “living fossil” – but it is so elusive, that it has been hard to study. To find out more, an international team of researchers sequenced the coelacanth’s genome, which contained nearly three billion DNA bases.

From Jeremy – Prioritizing manuscripts and having data go unpublished for lack of time…

His first point is “never let data go unpublished for lack of impact.” That seems reasonable. But it made me wonder how much I and others let data go unpublished for lack of time. And, if that is happening, is it a sign that I (or we) should change how we approach things?

Also from Jeremy – Does Science have an image problem? Or something else?

It used to be that more than half of biology doctorates got tenure track jobs in universities. Now that figure is closer to 15%. …Meanwhile, law schools are freaking out “just” 56% of law school graduates have “stable jobs in law.” Can you imagine the howls if only 15% of students who went into medical school became practising physicians?

From Jonathan – Gene patents and the future of medicine.

“What we’re arguing about is really the future of medicine and either accelerating it or slowing it down,” says Dietrich Stephan, the CEO of SV Bio and founder of Navigenics. “[Gene patenting] turned into this quagmire that was holding the field back…We need to be able to instantaneously deliver that information to [patients] and their doctors and not go through all these crazy hoops of paying the license holder.”

From Amy – Bitter taste may fight an asthma attack.

When an asthma attack hits, the airway shrinks and makes breathing difficult. To keep air flowing, the sufferer must take medication to relax the passage’s muscles and open it back up. But a couple years ago, researchers discovered airways contain bitter taste receptors like the ones on the tongue. After exposure to bitter substances, the receptors can expand the airway more quickly and more effectively than the most commonly used treatment.

Also from Amy – Which over the counter medicine has been found to reduce anxiety over ‘existential uncertainty and death’?

“Nobody has shown this before, and we are surprised that the effect emerged so robustly,” said lead researcher Daniel Randles, “that a drug meant primarily to alleviate headaches also prevents people from being bothered all that much by thinking about death. It was certainly surprising.”

From Sarah – Spring time is the perfect time for videos of cute baby animals.

Also from Sarah – Dog bacteria is Man’s best friend.

Humans who share their homes with canines also share the similar bacterial houseguests on their skin, ecologists reported Tuesday in the journal eLIFE. In fact, two dog owners who don’t even know each other have about as many of the skin bacteria in common as a married couple living together.

Nala: Sarah’s “best friend” and microbial partner-in-crime

Every Friday at Nothing in Biology Makes Sense! our contributors pass around links to new scientific results, or science-y news, or videos of adorable wildlife, that they’re most likely to bring up while waiting in line for a latte.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service confirms white-nose syndrome (WNS) is present at Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge in Alabama. This cave provides winter hibernation space for several bat species, including the largest documented wintering colony of endangered gray bats. More than a million individuals of this federally listed and IUCN listed species nest at Fern Cave.

As a scientist, my view is that supporting basic and applied research is essential to keep the United States ahead in the global economy. The government cannot affordnot to make that investment. In fact, I argue that research spending should increase dramatically for the United States to continue to lead the world in scientific discovery.

It is Genghis Khan bathed in sherbet ice cream. The mantis shrimp is the harbinger of blood-soaked rainbows.