Wikipedia:Main Page history/2015 February 5

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Marcus Ward Lyon, Jr. (1875–1942) was an American mammalogist, bacteriologist, and pathologist. Born into a military family, he demonstrated an early interest in zoology by collecting local wildlife around his father's army posts. He graduated from Brown University in 1897, and continued his studies at George Washington University while working part-time at the United States National Museum. He received his Ph.D. in 1913. Lyon published many papers on mammalogy, formally describing six species, three genera, and one family. In 1919, he and his wife Martha moved to South Bend, Indiana, to join a newly opened clinic. He began to publish medical studies too, but continued his work in mammalogy, with a particular focus on the local fauna of Indiana. He published more than 160 papers during his career. Lyon acquired the rank of major in the Medical Reserve Corps during World War I, and was appointed president of the American Society of Mammalogists from 1931 to 1932. He was a member of Sigma Xi, the Society of American Bacteriologists, the Indiana Academy of Science, and the Biological Society of Washington. Lyon became a conservationist later in life. (Full article...)

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At least 32 people are killed when TransAsia Airways Flight 235 (aircraft pictured) crashes shortly after takeoff from Taipei Songshan Airport, Taiwan.
In American football, the New England Patriots defeat the Seattle Seahawks to win the Super Bowl.
The Australian Open tennis tournament concludes with Serena Williams winning the women's singles and Novak Djokovic winning the men's singles.
Sergio Mattarella is elected President of Italy.
In association football, the AFC Asian Cup concludes with host nation Australia defeating South Korea in the final.
Attacks by Islamist militants in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, kill 32 people.

Ongoing: Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – War in Ukraine
Recent deaths: Richard von Weizsäcker – Rod McKuen – Colleen McCullough

February 5: Sapporo Snow Festival in Japan begins (2015); Kashmir Solidarity Day in Pakistan

1783 – The first of five strong earthquakes hit the region of Calabria on the Italian Peninsula killing more than 32,000 people over a period of nearly two months.
1869 – Prospectors in Moliagul, Victoria, Australia, discovered the largest alluvial gold nugget ever found, known as the "Welcome Stranger" (pictured).
1958 – A Mark 15 nuclear bomb disappeared off the shores of Tybee Island, Georgia, after it was jettisoned during a practice exercise when the bomber carrying it collided in midair with a fighter plane.
1994 – The Army of Republika Srpska carried out the first of two bombardments against civilians in the marketplace in Sarajevo, which were the stated reason for NATO air strikes against Bosnian Serb forces.
2008 – Eighty-seven tornadoes occurred over the course of the Super Tuesday tornado outbreak across multiple U.S. states, causing 56 deaths and over $1 billion in damage.

More anniversaries: February 4 – February 5 – February 6

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It is now February 5, 2015 (UTC) – Reload this page

The caridoid escape reaction of an Antarctic krill allows it to escape predators by flexing its abdomen in a swimming stroke that thrusts it backwards away from danger. It is an innate mechanism in marine and freshwater crustaceans such as lobsters, krill, shrimp and crayfish.

Animation: Uwe Kils

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