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The New Species of Demon-Named Flower Feeds on Fungi Instead of SunlightIn A Nutshell Researchers in Thailand discovered a new flower species, Thismia daemona, named for its dark, horn-like, demon-inspired appearance. The plant has no chlorophyll and never needs sunlight, instead pulling nutrients from underground fungi. Fewer than 50 known individuals exist, all in a single patch of forest inside a national park popular with tourists. Scientists have preliminarily assessed the species as Critically Endangered under IUCN criteria. High in the mountain forests of western Thailand, researchers stumbled on a flower that looks like it belongs in a horror movie....

A giant fungus the size of a tyre has been found by villagers in China's Jianshui County. The large clump of mushrooms, which weighed more than 15 kilograms and measured nearly a metre in diameter, was proudly put on display by the finder. It is not known what type of fungus it is or whether the mushrooms are safe to eat.

Action is needed now to prevent nightmarish "Planet Of The Apes" science ever turning from fiction to fact, according to a group of eminent experts. Their report calls for a new rules to supervise sensitive research that involves humanising animals. One area of concern is "Category Three" experiments which may raise "very strong ethical concerns" and should be banned. An example given is the creation of primates with distinctly human characteristics, such as speech. Exactly the same scenario is portrayed in the new movie Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, in which scientists searching for an Alzheimer's cure create...