Tag: Europe
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Six vegetables surprisingly linked by a single plant
Vegetables are integral to human diets, offering diverse flavors, textures, and nutrients. Yet, looking closely, it becomes apparent that many of these seemingly distinct vegetables share a common ancestor. Wild mustard, Brassica oleracea, has been selectively bred for thousands of years to create a variety of vegetables. This process of artificial selection has turned a…
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Mystery of Dead Man’s Fingers: Where Do They Grow?
Suppose you’re hiking through a wooded area in upstate New York or the famous Appalachian Trail and stumble upon clusters of dark, lifeless human digits protruding from decaying logs. What are those creepy things? For one, they could be Dead Man’s Fingers. Scientifically known as Xylaria polymorpha, this unique fungus is guaranteed to get a…
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The bone-crushing bearded vulture
The bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) is the only known animal that lives on an 80-90% diet of bones. That’s right — this intimidating-looking bird specializes in feeding on bone marrow. The Bearded Vulture is a bone eater and bone crusher This bird of prey is so desperate for bone that it’ll fly a dead carcass as high…