A couple of interesting tidbits today...
in the news, marine researchers have discovered a new genus (containing two new species) of deep-sea worm that live off the bones of dead whales. They're small, only about 1 to 2 1/2 inches long, and they have frondy red tops (their "gills") and green "roots" laced with bacteria that help them digest the fats in the bone. Otherwise, they have no eyes, no mouths, no stomachs, even. They're most closely related (genetically, anyway) to the giant tube worms that live close to thermal vents in the ocean floor. At first, the researchers were puzzled at only seeing what appeared to be females. Study showed that the males live *inside* the female. The new genus is called Osedax ("bone-eating" in Latin), and the findings will be reported in the 7/30/2004 issue of Science.
And in a completely unrelated sort of discovery... did you know that scientist and mathematician Sir Isaac Newton once worked for the British Royal Mint? (I didn't.) He was, in fact, first Warden and then Master of the Royal Mint. He helped introduce machines to mill the edges of coins and so reduce the ability to counterfeit or clip the coins without detection.