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The movement against trans-fats in our foods could end up helping our climate, not just our hearts and health. Bill Bolch, president of New England Biodiesel, a company that distributes home-based filling stations for the green fuel, says the ban on trans-fats will benefit his industry, since those oils actually make sub-par fuel.

Biodiesel, which reduces emissions by 80% compared with standard cars, is mainly made up of vegetable oil or animal fat, so you can get the key ingredients at a local restaurant. Blend this stuff with the right mix of lye and methanol and you’ve got a more natural way of running your car or even heating your home.

But Bolch, the 2007 winner of the Green Grand Prix Road Rally, warns that not every dining outlet should be your new fuel station. For example, you don’t want to have McDonald’s on your list. Apparently the oil that the fast-food giant uses makes for sub-par fuel. For a primer on the benefits of this versatile fuel, check here

Egg-laying mammal provides clues about evolution

An international team of scientists today published the first analysis of the genome sequence of Glennie, a female duck-billed platypus from Australia. Because the platypus occupies a unique branch on the tree of life, Glennie’s genome could provide important clues about how humans and other mammalian species evolved.

Like all mammals, the platypus nourishes its young with milk. But platypus babies hatch from eggs, a characteristic usually associated with birds and reptiles.

By comparing the platypus genome with the genomes of other animals—including the human, mouse, dog, chicken and green anole lizard—the scientists hope to pinpoint which genes are common to all mammals, and when various traits have appeared or disappeared in the mammalian lineage.

For example, unlike chickens and lizards, all mammals have a good sense of smell—thanks to a large number of genes that code for odor receptors in the nose. The scientists who analyzed the platypus genome found that it has only about half as many genes for odor receptors as other mammals whose genomes have been studied. However, it has a surplus of genes associated with a particular type of odor receptor called the vomeronasal receptor, which may be responsible for helping the platypus detect odors while foraging underwater with its duck-like bill. Studying the apparently aberrant platypus is already yielding hints about our own evolutionary origins.

The monstrous eyes of the colossal squid afford scientists a rare research opportunity

Researchers in New Zealand have had the rare opportunity to study the world’s largest eyes, those from a remarkably well-preserved specimen of a colossal squid. (Lest you think this is hyperbole in reporting: no, in fact, the colossal squid is indeed a different and larger species than the giant squid.) The eyes are the size of soccer balls—the pupils alone measure three inches across—and could very well be the largest ocular organs to have ever existed in the animal kingdom.

The animals live in the exceptionally dark and cold depths of the Southern Ocean, near the pole. This particular squid was caught in the Ross Sea, just off the coast of Antarctica and a straight shot down from New Zealand. Exceedingly little is known about the colossal squid and its habitat; only ten have ever been brought on to land. The researchers not only hope to learn about its vision, but what it eats and how large it can grow.

Via BBC