Readers ask about glowing bat toes and a rare particle decay

Toe-tally mysterious

Hairs on the toes of Mexican free-tailed bats remove darkness from under ultraviolet light, then again the reason being unknown, Jason Bittel reported in “Mexican free-tailed bats’ toes glow within the dark” (SN: Eight/28/24).

Reader Eleanor Peterson asked if the glowing toes would maybe attract prey.

Or not it could possibly probably well actually well be not really, then again which is an excellent way a logical thought, says biologist Fernando Gual-Suárez of the National Self reliant University of Mexico in Mexico City. Many organisms, equivalent to some anglerfish and cave insects, use photoluminescence to lure prey. But unlike those life-forms, which may all right be sit-and-wait predators, bats “are active aerial hunters,” Gual-Suárez says. What’s more, the photoluminescent toe hairs would be difficult for potential prey to see. If these marks were useful for hunting, they would be located near the mouth (imagine an anglerfish’s lure, as an instance), and the bats would “use a different hunting strategy,” he says.

More studies are needed to take hold of the marks’ function, Gual-Suárez says. The photoluminescence may maybe serve no function and easily be a byproduct of the hardened structure of the hairs, which may all right be used for grooming or sensing. Or it could possibly probably well actually all right be used to speak with other bats at some point of flights or roosting, he says.

Diving deep on decay

Scientists spotted the rare “golden channel” decay of subatomic particles often often often called kaons. Further studies may maybe break or bolster the usual model of particle physics, Emily Conover reported in “Rare particle decay confirmed” (SN: 9/24/24).

Reader Derek Lenehan asked how the decay would maybe stray from the usual model.

If the decay strays from usual model predictions, it could possibly probably well actually maybe point to new physics or not it could possibly probably well actually well be largely unknown. At some point of this decay, a kaon produces a pion, a neutrino and an antineutrino. But other particles often often often called W and Z bosons mediate the decay, says particle physicist Cristina Lazzeroni of the University of Birmingham in England. In new physics scenarios, some physicists have proposed new particles that will act as intermediaries, equivalent to a Z’ (pronounced “Z prime”) boson. Every other is a leptoquark, a particle with properties the image of electrons and their lepton relatives and to quarks — the particles that make up protons, neutrons and other composite particles.

Correction

The graph in “Earth’s temperature highs and lows” reversed the labels for curves showing global temperature and atmospheric CO₂ data (SN: 9/19/24). Both curves also showed fifth-percentile values in place of the common (fiftieth-percentile) values. The precise version is shown here.