Biologist Jason Bond of Auburn University in Alabama has found 33 new breeds of spider and honoured the Irishman by naming one after him.

WENN reports that Bond named a spider Aptostichus bonoi because it was found in Joshua Tree National Park, Canada.

He used U2's seminal 1987 album 'Joshua Tree' as the inspiration and decided to name the creepy-crawly after Bono.

As previously reported, a new species of plant was named after Lady Gaga last year.

Celebrating the singer's "diversity" and unusual nature of the plants, the singer had the Gaga germanotta and Gaga monstraparva named after her.

The legendary U2 frontman has explained that he wears his signature sunglasses because his eyes are sensitive to light.

Bono's friend Julian Lennon has revealed that the singer's eye condition is worsening over time.

In an interview with the Irish Daily Star Lennon explained: ''Bono actually has a condition with his eyes. I don't know the exact issue but the brightness of the sun hurts them and it's a deteriorating issue.''

He continued: ''It's part of his image so in some senses it was lucky but nor really of course. Maybe it's part of his process now and without the image he can't be Bono.''

Bono has previously spoken about his condition.

He said: ''I have very sensitive eyes to light. If somebody takes a photograph, I will see the flash for the rest of the day. My right eye swells up.''

As part of the 'Busking For Simon' campaign, the two singers joined other musicians such as Oscar-winner Glen Hansard for an impromptu concert. Damien Rice, Paddy Casey, Liam O'Maonlai, and Lisa Hannigan also took part.

Bono sang many U2 classics including their 1988 hit, 'Desire'. O'Connor performed her classic, 'Nothing Compares To You', the song written by Prince. They also performed traditional Christmas carols such as 'Silent Night'. 

The Christmas Eve show marked the fourth year Bono has called on his friends to help raise money for the charitable cause which aids The Simon Community and the Peter McVerry trust.

The Irish rock icon told Ireland’s The Late Late Show last night that the band, who are currently working on their 13th studio album, are enjoying one of the most productive streaks of their career:

"There won't be a U2 album unless there's something really special. You just gotta go to that place. You gotta dig a deep well and see what you can pull up. We've been through many songs and there's some great stuff. I would say we had the best three weeks in the studio that we've had since, like, 1979. Three weeks is all it should take...."

The 52-year-old, who recently dismissed reports that he’s a billionaire, went onto admit that he and the rest of the group need to raise their game following the disappointing reaction to 2009’s 'No Line On The Horizon':

"As a band there's no sense of entitlement. I think they're very aware that U2's gotta do something very special to have a reason to exist right now, so that's what we're doing. We're song writing -- you know the process. But it's -- they're amazing men. They really are extraordinary. They really, really want it."

The U2 frontman, who owns a 2.3% share in Facebook through his private equity firm, Elevation Partners, was rumoured to be now worth over $1.5 billion following the social networking site’s debut on the stock exchange yesterday.

But the 52-year-old told MSNBC that claims he has overtaken Paul McCartney as the world’s wealthiest rock star were untrue: “Contrary to reports, I'm not a billionaire or going to be richer than any Beatle - and not just in the sense of money, by the way, The Beatles are untouchable - those billionaire reports are a joke.”

The Irish star, whose band were the highest grossing touring act of 2011, went onto reveal that his decision to invest in Facebook was inspired by his love of technology:

“I got interested in technology because I'm an artist… Technology is huge, I wanted to learn about it. People might say that's odd, but I think it's odd if artists aren't interested in the world around them. I'm always chasing that.

“Facebook are an amazing team, a brilliant team, it's a technology that brings people together."

In data published by Pollstar, the Irish band grossed a staggering $156m last year from their monolithic tour across the US.

They sold a total of around 1.7m tickets over the tour, resigning Taylor Swift to second place on the list, who managed to rake in a gross total of $97.7m.

Third on the list was country star Kenny Chesney, whilst Lady Gaga landed at No.4.

Elsewhere on the list, Kanye West and Jay-Z's joint tour placed the duo at No.8, with Britney Spears landing at No.14.

The highest average ticket price in the top 200 list was for Andrea Bocelli's tour, which was calculated to be $180.22.

In an interview with Ellen Degeneres yesterday (December 1), he remarked that he thinks he "sounds like a girl".

He says that if a U2 song comes on the radio, he will turn the volume down:

"I do try to avoid it...If I hear our songs on the radio I tend to turn them down. Not because I don't like them or believe in them. Actually, my voice annoys me. I always think I could have sang it better".

He the added:

"I am sort of a macho, Irish guy and particularly in those 80s songs, I think I sound like a girl".

Check out U2's videos for 'Beautiful Day' and 'Electrical Storm':

Bono said: "The band just got too straight in the 80's. I mean, we were wrestling with some big questions but I kind of lost touch with my friends. I remember one night at home in Dublin, my father woke me up and said, 'There's someone trying to steal your car.'

"He had an iron bar in his hand. I looked out the window ... I had this tiny little Fiat Bambino. They'd wrapped the entire car in toilet roll and were smashing eggs on it. I didn't see it at the time but it was my mates saying, 'You need to lighten up.' "

Watch fan footage of U2 performing 'Hallelujah' at the New Meadowlands Stadium on July 20 2011, and U@ being interviewed by the BBC at this year's Glastonbury (2011):

The 'Elevation' superstars, who won the Greatest Act Of The Last 25 Years title at the 2011 Q Awards earlier this week, explained to Rolling Stone magazine that they have material that could be recorded, but after a busy year they are more focused on "putting some time aside to just go and get lost in the music":

"It's quite likely you might hear from us next year, but it's equally possible that you won't. We have so many [new] songs, some of our best... I'm putting some time aside to just go and get lost in the music."

"I'm not sure the future hasn't dried up," Bono added, "the band are like, 'will you shut up about being irrelevant?'"

They will release a special reissue of 'Achtung Baby' to celebrate its 20th anniversary on November 1 and you can watch The Edge talk about their momentous win at the recent 2011 Q Awards below:

Their iconic frontman, Bono, said that they need to see if they can play "small music" anymore and if they can find a reason to make a new album:

"...We can play the big music in big places. But whether we can play the small music, meaning for the small speakers of the radio or clubs, where people are living, remains to be seen. I think we have to go to that place again if we're to survive...There are so many U2 albums out there. We need a reason for another one. The whole point of being in U2 is that we're not here to be an art-house band. Our job, as we see it, is to bring the art house to the mainstream; our job is to puncture the mainstream".

The Irish star also defends the sales of their 2009 album, 'No Line On The Horizon', which reached about five million:

"...It's been an amazing success for an album which is quite a complex piece of work and doesn't have one single pop song on it...People say 'Get On Your Boots' was the wrong single, but it's great live. Unfortunately in the last few weeks of finishing the album, we didn't have the objectivity. We figured out 'Get On Your Boots' later, when we were on the road and it became a much better song. I think 'Unknown Caller' is a classic, as is 'Moment Of Surrender'."

The 20th Anniversary edition of 'Achtung Baby' is to be released on October 31.

Check out U2's live performance of 'Get On Your Boots' and 'Moment Of Surrender':

Earlier in the week, the iconic singer said that Jobs was the "hardware/software Elvis".

He enforced this point by saying that the man who worked for Apple and Pixar changed music and film:

"This dude, my friend, and I'm proud to say, my colleague – he changed music, he changed film, he changed the personal computer. It's a wonderful encouragement to people who want to think differently, that's where artists connect with him. The picture of Einstein with his tongue sticking out, that's actually the very heart of the brand, and that's the punk rock piece, the attitude, and the anarchic mind that dreamt up the 21st century".

Jobs hoped that with iTunes, artists would have greater presence, Bono explains, and that is why they appeared in an ad for the iPod:

"Steve was trying to sort out one of the fundamental questions of the age: is there any value to a musician's work? He thought that with iTunes, he could make it easier for people who wanted to respect intellectual copyright. So we had the idea to offer "Vertigo" for an iPod commercial, and we went out to see Steve at his house in Palo Alto and he was like, "What? You guys want to give me a song for a commercial? Wow, that's great, that's amazing." Then we said we wanted to be in the commercial, and he said "Maybe, yeah, I don't see why not""

With this collaboration, the first black iPod, better know as the U2 iPod, came into being:

"Then we said we don't want to be paid, but we'd like a U2 iPod, a black one. His first response was, "That doesn't work at all. iPods are white!" But it turned out lots of people wanted them – and not because of U2. Because they were red and black!"

Check out the ad that U2 did for the iPod and their live performance of 'I Will Follow' from Glastonbury 2011:

The album, commissioned by Q magazine, was unveiled by Bono, he said:

"Jack White does ‘Love Is Blindness,' Depeche Mode do ‘So Cruel,' Patti Smith did ‘Until the End of the World,' Damien Rice does ‘One.’ It just goes on. And it’s strange, because when I hear the album, when U2 do it, all I hear is what’s wrong with it. But when I heard all these artists doing it, I thought, ‘It’s really good.'"

Watch an extract from the 'From Sky At Dawn' press conference below:

Sir Salman Rushdie presented the 'Elevation' hitmakers U2 with the trophy for Band of the Year and frontman Bono said, "growing up is not something you're supposed to do as a rock'n'roll act".

Richards scooped the impressive title Writer of the Year for his autobiography, 'Life', and told the audience, "it's not bad writing a book and getting an award. I'd like to remind everyone don't forget Help for Heroes." 

UK Mercury Prize nominated rapper, Tinie Tempah, also earned himself a gong for Solo Artist of the Year and iconic band Duran Duran left with the Lifetime Achievement award.

Watch red carpet interviews from the exclusive event below:

The 'Elevation' superstar was taken into the Princess Grace Memorial Hospital in Monaco on Wednesday, August 17 and the Irish Independent told readers he was examined by a heart specialist.

However, a spokesperson for Bono has confirmed to the press that this was definitely not the case and the visit was just for a routine check up:

"Despite press stories to the contrary, Bono has not suffered a recent health scare. Reports of his being rushed to hospital for emergency treatment are untrue. Bono is in good health and enjoying a family holiday in the south of France."

Watch Bono's recent interview on the David Letterman Show here:

The singer spent a number of hours at the Princess Grace Memorial Hospital in Monaco last Wednesday (August 17) after complaining of chest pains.

The singer wasn't kept overnight but the Irish Independent newspaper reported that a leading heart specialist examined Bono and told him to get plenty of rest.

He was later spotted on Friday night (August 19) in Monaco's Saas Cafe with his wife, Ali Hewson, Julian Lennon and Irish designer John Rocha.

This is the second health scare Bono has suffered over the last year.

In 2010, he was forced to pull U2's headline performance at Glastonbury because he had to undergo emergency back surgery.

The band recently wrapped up their 360° world tour in Canada. The tour grossed a record-breaking $736,137,344 (£448 million).

Watch a video of the last concert from their 360° world tour, below: