Strange Life Forms Populate the Earth

Amoeba Dr. Ralf Wagner (CC Licensed)

Large, slimy discoveries are not surprising finds in a cow field. Researchers found the largest known colony of clonal amoebas in a pasture near Houston, and the billions of single-celled organisms could help scientists better understand how these social amoebas cooperate over such a large spatial distance. (FYI, for other people with hopeful imaginations, the colony looks nothing like The Blob, or Slimer from Ghostbusters.)

Also in today's links: super-high-speed trains, the homeless can hear you now, and more.

• Trains in Japan already travel at up to 186 miles per hour, but they're planning on improving that to 310 mph by 2025. California wouldn't mind getting themselves some of that. At that speed, it'd take just an hour to get from Los Angeles to the Bay Area.
• The benefits of technology are affecting a surprising group of society: the homeless residents of Washington, D.C., an estimated 30 to 45 percent of whom have cellphones. Prepaid phones are cheap, and easy to refill. "Sometimes, they pay [for minutes] with cups of coins," said a worker at a phone store.
• Stephen Hawking and his daughter have written a children's adventure story about physics. Hopefully the book has as much charm as this interview, with its glimpses into Hawking's home life, in particular the description of him dressed up for a "Come as your favorite space object" party.
• Further proof pink is the new grey: First there was the pink dolphin. Now there's a (kind of) pink baby elephant.