• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
Take your pick: Aye-aye joins ranks of snot-eaters

Take your pick: Aye-aye joins ranks of snot-eaters

October 29, 2022
Oracle Analytics Cloud Backup: Keep Your Data Safe and Secure

Oracle Analytics Cloud Backup: Keep Your Data Safe and Secure

January 7, 2023
Veeam Backup Cloud Server - The Best for Enterprises

Veeam Backup Cloud Server – The Best for Enterprises

December 31, 2022
Domo marketing analytics

The Domo Marketing Analytics Review: The Most Comprehensive and Powerful Tool Available for Email Marketing

December 30, 2022
What is iCloud Backup? and How to Backup iCloud Fast and Simple

What is iCloud Backup? and How to Backup iCloud Fast and Simple

December 13, 2022
advantages of marketing analytics

The Fantastic Advantages Of Marketing Analytics

December 9, 2022
About Cloud Server and How to Backup Cloud Server 

About Cloud Server and How to Backup Cloud Server 

December 6, 2022
Big Data or Cloud Computing

Big Data or Cloud Computing: Which is Better?

December 6, 2022
Astronomers find cosmic rays driving galaxy’s winds

Astronomers find cosmic rays driving galaxy’s winds

December 5, 2022
Superaerophobic polyethyleneimine hydrogels improve electrochemical hydrogen production by promoting bubble detachment

Superaerophobic polyethyleneimine hydrogels improve electrochemical hydrogen production by promoting bubble detachment

December 4, 2022
Synthetic energy metabolism enables twin engine for cell

Synthetic energy metabolism enables twin engine for cell

December 4, 2022
Target names chief digital, product officer

Target names chief digital, product officer

December 3, 2022
Kohl’s joins early holiday promos trend with October deals

Kohl’s joins early holiday promos trend with October deals

December 3, 2022
Sunday, February 5, 2023
  • Login
Infodoc.info
  • Home
  • Astronomy & Space
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • DTC
  • Marketing
  • Technology
  • Stories
    • Guides
    • How Tos
    • Apple
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Astronomy & Space
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • DTC
  • Marketing
  • Technology
  • Stories
    • Guides
    • How Tos
    • Apple
No Result
View All Result
Infodoc.info
No Result
View All Result

Take your pick: Aye-aye joins ranks of snot-eaters

by Megusta
October 29, 2022
in Biology
0
Take your pick: Aye-aye joins ranks of snot-eaters

The aye-aye has been filmed picking its nose with its extra-long middle finger
The aye-aye has been filmed picking its nose with its extra-long middle finger.

When scientists caught the aye-aye on video using its strangely thin, eight-centimeter-long middle finger to deeply pick its nose, it pointed towards a larger mystery: why exactly do some animals eat their own snot?

The footage resulted in research which names the aye-aye, a peculiar nocturnal lemur with big ears found only in Madagascar, as the 12th primate who picks their nose.

It joins an illustrious group that includes gorillas, chimpanzees, macaques—and of course humans.

Anne-Claire Fabre, an assistant professor at Switzerland’s University of Bern and lead author of a study published in the journal Zoology this week, told AFP that the researchers stumbled on the discovery “by chance”.

She said they were “surprised” by the behavior of a female aye-aye named Kali, who was being filmed at the Duke Lemur Center in North Carolina in 2015.

In the video, “the aye-aye inserts the entire length of its extra-long, skinny and highly mobile middle finger into the nasal passages and then licks the nasal mucus collected”, the peer-reviewed study said.

“This video brings the number of species known to pick their nose to twelve,” it said, adding that they all have “fine manipulative skills”.

The middle fingers of aye-ayes are not only long and thin, but also have a unique ball and socket joint they use to knock on wood to locate grubs.

The aye-aye's middle finger has a unique joint it knocks on wood to locate grubs
The aye-aye’s middle finger has a unique joint it knocks on wood to locate grubs.

After seeing the video, “the first thing I was wondered is where this finger is going”, said Fabre, who is also an associate scientist at London’s Natural History Museum.

So the researchers used a CT scan of an aye-aye’s skull to reconstruct the finger’s journey, finding it probably went down the throat.

See also  Synthetic energy metabolism enables twin engine for cell
Powered by Inline Related Posts

“There is no other possibility. Otherwise it would have gone into the brain and then they die,” Fabre said.

The researchers compared the finger’s probing to a very deep COVID test.

‘Gross’

But finding out exactly why aye-ayes—or other primates—pick their noses proved a more difficult task.

The scientists reviewed the existing literature and found that “most of it was jokes”, Fabre said.

They did find one study which suggested that nose-picking could spread bacteria in a harmful manner.

Another said that eating snot could stop bacteria from sticking to teeth, so it might be good for oral health.

The aye-aye, the world's largest nocturnal primate, is highly endangered
The aye-aye, the world’s largest nocturnal primate, is highly endangered.

So why is there so little research on nose picking?

“I think it’s just something that people didn’t think about because it’s considered to be gross,” Fabre said. However she added that lots of research has been done about coprophagia—animals eating their own excrement—which could also be considered gross.

The aye-aye, the world’s largest nocturnal primate, is highly endangered—in part because it is seen as a bad omen in its native Madagascar, she said.

© 2022 AFP

Megusta

Megusta

No Result
View All Result

Categories

  • Apple
  • Astronomy & Space
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • DTC
  • Guides
  • How Tos
  • Marketing
  • Technology
  • Uncategorized
Infodoc.info

Copyright © 2022 Infodoc.info. All right reserved.

Navigate Site

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Disclaimers
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditons

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Astronomy & Space
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • DTC
  • Marketing
  • Technology
  • Stories
    • Guides
    • How Tos
    • Apple

Copyright © 2022 Infodoc.info. All right reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In