No beast on Earth is tougher than the tiny tardigrade. It can survive being frozen at -272° Celsius, being exposed to the vacuum of outer space and even being blasted…
Category: Life
Flower shape and size impact bees’ chances of catching gut parasites
Bees that land on short, wide flowers can fly away with an upset stomach. Common eastern bumblebees (Bombus impatiens) are more likely to catch a diarrhea-inducing gut parasite from…
Flower shape and size impact bees’ chances of catching gut parasites
Bees that land on short, wide flowers can fly away with an upset stomach. Common eastern bumblebees (Bombus impatiens) are more likely to catch a diarrhea-inducing gut parasite from…
The flowery scent of a Zika or dengue infection lures mosquitoes
Some mosquito-borne viruses turn mice into alluring mosquito bait. Mice infected with dengue or Zika viruses — and people infected with dengue — emit a flowery, orange-smelling chemical that tempts…
This pitcher plant species sets its deathtraps underground
Biologist Martin Dančák didn’t set out to find a plant species new to science. But on a hike through a rainforest in Borneo, he and colleagues stumbled on a subterranean…
A newfound dinosaur had tiny arms before T. rex made them cool
Tyrannosaurus rex’s tiny arms have launched a thousand sarcastic memes: I love you this much; can you pass the salt?; row, row, row your … oh. But back off, snarky…
Ed Yong’s ‘An Immense World’ reveals how animals perceive the world
An Immense WorldEd YongRandom House, $30 Emerald jewel wasps know what cockroach brains feel like. This comes in handy when a female wasp needs to turn a cockroach into an…
Here’s how sea anemones launch their venomous stingers
A new look at the starlet sea anemone’s stinger gets right to the point. Live-animal images and 3-D computer reconstructions have revealed the complex architecture of the tiny creature’s needlelike…
Here’s how sea anemones launch their venomous stingers
A new look at the starlet sea anemone’s stinger gets right to the point. Live-animal images and 3-D computer reconstructions have revealed the complex architecture of the tiny creature’s needlelike…
How scientists are shifting their search for links between diet and dementia
The internet is rife with advice for keeping the brain sharp as we age, and much of it is focused on the foods we eat. Headlines promise that oatmeal will…
