Video: Best of the web – July 2010

10 Psychedelic toucan

Who knows why the bird’s nose glows? Thermal video footage of a toucan shows that that a colourful bill does more than just attract mates.

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9 Light mill

Windmills have been around for centuries, but blades turned by light are a more recent invention. This clever design spins one way, then the other, depending on the wavelength of light used.

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8 Water on Mars

The European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter recently scanned Martian rocks and found signs of water. Don’t get your hopes up, though: the evidence is billions of years old.

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7 Solar music

Not content to be our solar system’s ultimate energy source, the sun is also a bit of a musician. But how do you tell a star that it needs more practice?

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6 Fluorescent cancer

Cancer can’t hide from a new drug that turns malignant tissue bright pink, making it easier for surgeons to see and remove.

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5 Robotic insects

A cricket-like jumper and a glider with jaws give a glimpse of future robotic insect swarms.

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4 X Prize action

Sustainable cars that are anything but boring: take a look at these exotic vehicles getting put through their paces.

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3 Inside-out algae

Multicelled algae bare their insides for all the world to see. It turns out that being many-celled isn’t as complicated as once thought.

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2 No country for old sats

Japan’s Hayabusa satellite was the first to make contact with an asteroid. Its fiery homecoming shows it’s better to burn out than fade away.

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1 Worm attack

Roundworms that grow up with an ample supply of bacteria for food grow small mouths. Those that come up in dense populations grow big teeth… the better to eat the neighbours.

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