Blind mole vision
A mole species whose eyelids are permanently closed can see after all, researchers have found. Iberian moles use their light-sensitive cells to tell night from day and to avoid light (Proceedings of the Royal Society B, ).
Hubble galaxy vision
Possibly the oldest galaxies ever observed have been spied by the Hubble Space Telescope. Using the near-infrared Wide Field Camera 3, which was upgraded earlier this year, Hubble imaged galaxies further away than was previously possible, 600 million years after the big bang.
HIV pawprint
The DNA equivalent of a feline pawprint has been found in HIV. Researchers at the University of Rochester, New York, have found a sequence in the HIV genome that may have originated in ancient cats (Nature: Structural and Molecular Biology, ). Previously, it was suggested that HIV began in tigers or lions before passing to monkeys, then humans.
Advertisement
Swine flu autopsy
Autopsies on 34 American swine flu victims show damage to the lungs and windpipe matching that in people who died in the 1918 and 1957 pandemics. CT scans might be used to identify similar damage in living patients, to prioritise them for medical attention (Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, vol 134, p E1).
Biometric fakery
A Chinese woman used plastic surgery to fool a biometric fingerprint scanner, Japanese media reported this week. Lin Rong, who was arrested on separate charges after entering Japan illegally, had swapped skin patches from her thumb and index finger to the opposite hand, according to police.