
-
'I'll be back' vows Haaland after injury blow
-
Trump to unveil 'Liberation Day' tariffs as world braces
-
New coach Edwards adamant England can win women's cricket World Cup
-
Military confrontation 'almost inevitable' if Iran nuclear talks fail: French FM
-
US stocks advance ahead of looming Trump tariffs
-
Scramble for food aid in Myanmar city near quake epicentre
-
American Neilson Powless fools Visma to win Across Flanders
-
NATO chief says alliance with US 'there to stay'
-
Myanmar junta declares quake ceasefire as survivors plead for aid
-
American Neilson Powless fools Visma to win Around Flanders
-
Tesla first quarter sales sink amid anger over Musk politics
-
World's tiniest pacemaker is smaller than grain of rice
-
Judge dismisses corruption case against NY mayor
-
Nintendo to launch Switch 2 console on June 5
-
France Le Pen eyes 2027 vote, says swift appeal 'good news'
-
Postecoglou hopes Pochettino gets Spurs return wish
-
US, European stocks fall as looming Trump tariffs raise fears
-
Nintendo says Switch 2 console to be launched on June 5
-
France's Zemmour fined 10,000 euros over claim WWII leader 'saved' Jews
-
Le Pen ally denies planned rally a 'power play' against conviction
-
Letsile Tebogo says athletics saved him from life of crime
-
Man Utd 'on right track' despite 13th Premier League defeat: Dalot
-
Israel says expanding Gaza offensive to seize 'large areas'
-
Certain foreign firms must 'self-certify' with Trump diversity rules: US embassies
-
Deutsche Bank asset manager DWS fined 25 mn euros for 'greenwashing'
-
UK drawing up new action plan to tackle rising TB
-
Nigerian president sacks board of state oil company
-
Barca never had financial room to register Olmo: La Liga
-
Spain prosecutors to appeal ruling overturning Alves' rape conviction
-
Heathrow 'warned about power supply' days before shutdown
-
Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre 'stable' after car crash
-
Myanmar quake survivors plead for more help
-
Greece to spend 25 bn euros in 'drastic' defence overhaul: PM
-
Maresca non-committal over Sancho's future at Chelsea
-
WHO facing $2.5-bn gap even after slashing budget: report
-
Real Madrid coach Ancelotti tells tax trial did not seek to defraud
-
Chinese tourists pine for Taiwan's return as Beijing jets surround island
-
Singapore detains teenage boy allegedly planning to kill Muslims
-
What is the 'Qatargate' scandal roiling Israel?
-
AI coming for anime but Ghibli's Miyazaki irreplaceable, son says
-
Swedish insurer drops $160 mn Tesla stake over labour rights
-
Hunger returns to Gaza as Israeli blockade forces bakeries shut
-
Rubio heads to Europe as transatlantic tensions soar
-
Like 'living in hell': Quake-hit Mandalay monastery clears away rubble
-
'Give me a break': Trump tariffs threaten Japan auto sector
-
US approves $5.58 bn fighter jet sale to Philippines
-
Tsunoda embracing pressure of Red Bull debut at home Japanese GP
-
'Outstanding' Hay shines as New Zealand seal Pakistan ODI series
-
El Salvador's Bukele flaunts 'iron fist' alliance with Trump
-
Stock markets mixed as uncertainty rules ahead of Trump tariffs

Spinning a tune: Chinese scientist names new spider species after pop songs
A Chinese scientist has named 16 new spider species after songs by popular "Mandopop" musician Jay Chou.
Mi Xiaoqi, a professor at Tongren University in China's southwestern Guizhou province, listed the newly discovered arachnids in a paper published in the academic journal Zoological Research: Diversity and Conservation.
The paper, published in December, has gone viral since being discovered by netizens this year, with a related hashtag on microblogging platform Weibo racking up over 26 million views since Wednesday.
Weibo users have since dubbed Mi, 44, the "Ultimate Fan".
One of the arachnids -- the 3.5-millimetre long Cyclosa xingqing sp. nov. or "Starry Mood spider" -- is named after a hit love song from Chou's debut album "Jay" released in 2000.
Others are named after similarly beloved tunes, including "Rainbow spider", "Dragon Fist spider", and "Excuse spider".
Taiwan-born Chou, renowned for his dramatic romance ballads and pop beats, is one of the world's most popular Mandarin-language artists having sold over 30 million records.
The 45-year-old has been a household name on the Chinese mainland and beyond for over two decades.
Now his songs will be immortalised as the names of the eight-legged critters that Mi and his colleagues recently discovered in China's Yunnan province.
The Secret Code spider, a 2.36 millimetre yellowish brown web-weaving arachnid, is named after Chou's 2002 love song featured on his acclaimed album "The Eight Dimensions".
It's unclear how the song, in which Chou croons "Don't ever leave, you are missing the missing piece in my world," relates to the spider.
Excuse spider, a fuzzy brown and white critter, shares its name with a track from Chou's 2004 album "Common Jasmine Orange", the best-selling physical album in China this century according to Guinness World Records.
Mi, who published the paper with fellow researchers Wang Cheng and Li Shuqiang, has been a Jay Chou fan since his undergraduate days, according to state media outlet Xinhua.
"Naming spiders after Jay Chou's songs brings scientific research closer to the public. I hope more people will pay attention to scientific research and support ecological protection," he told Xinhua.
This is not the first time Chou's name has been used for scientific discoveries. In 2011, astronomers in Taiwan named an asteroid after the singer.
A.Ruiz--AT