Toe-tally mysterious

Hairs on the toes of Mexican free-tailed bats gentle up beneath ultraviolet gentle, however the motive is unknown, Jason Bittel reported in “Mexican free-tailed bats’ toes glow at nighttime” (SN: 8/28/24).

Reader Eleanor Peterson asked if the delicate toes might perchance perchance presumably appeal to prey.

It’s unlikely, nevertheless it’s a logical thought, says biologist Fernando Gual-Suárez of the National Self sustaining College of Mexico in Mexico City. Many organisms, comparable to some anglerfish and cave bugs, advise photoluminescence to entice prey. Nonetheless unlike these life-kinds, that are take a seat-and-wait predators, bats “are active aerial hunters,” Gual-Suárez says. What’s extra, the photoluminescent toe hairs would be hard for doable prey to ogle. If these marks had been helpful for making an try, they would be situated attain the mouth (factor in an anglerfish’s entice, shall we bid), and the bats would “advise a obvious making an try approach,” he says.

More experiences are wished to know the marks’ aim, Gual-Suárez says. The photoluminescence might perchance perchance presumably wait on no aim and simply be a byproduct of the hardened structure of the hairs, that are mature for grooming or sensing. Or it must be mature to talk with other bats during flights or roosting, he says.

Diving deep on decay

Scientists observed the uncommon “golden channel” decay of subatomic particles called kaons. Extra experiences might perchance perchance presumably spoil or bolster the well-liked model of particle physics, Emily Conover reported in “Rare particle decay confirmed” (SN: 9/24/24).

Reader Derek Lenehan asked how the decay might perchance perchance presumably stray from the well-liked model.

If the decay strays from usual model predictions, it could most likely most likely perchance presumably level to unusual physics that is basically unknown. In this decay, a kaon produces a pion, a neutrino and an antineutrino. Nonetheless other particles called W and Z bosons mediate the decay, says particle physicist Cristina Lazzeroni of the College of Birmingham in England. In unusual physics scenarios, some physicists maintain proposed unusual particles that would act as intermediaries, comparable to a Z’ (pronounced “Z high”) boson. One other is a leptoquark, a particle with properties similar to electrons and their lepton relations and to quarks — the particles that own up protons, neutrons and other composite particles.

Correction

The graph in “Earth’s temperature highs and lows” reversed the labels for curves exhibiting world temperature and atmospheric CO₂ info (SN: 9/19/24). Each curves also showed fifth-percentile values quite than the typical (fiftieth-percentile) values. The ethical version is confirmed here.