Turns out we may be unfairly stereotyping dogs. Modern breeds are shaped around aesthetics: Chihuahuas’ batlike ears, poodles’ curly fur, dachshunds’ hot dog shape. But breeds are frequently associated with…
Category: Life
Mom’s voice holds a special place in kids’ brains. That changes for teens
Young kids’ brains are especially tuned to their mothers’ voices. Teenagers’ brains, in their typical rebellious glory, are most decidedly not. That conclusion, described April 28 in the Journal of…
Leonardo da Vinci’s rule for how trees branch was close, but wrong
Leonardo da Vinci was wrong about trees. The multitalented, Renaissance genius wrote down his “rule of trees” over 500 years ago. It described the way he thought that trees branch.…
Why you should care about ‘The Insect Crisis’
The Insect CrisisOliver MilmanW.W. Norton & Co., $27.95 Imagine a world without insects. You might breathe a sigh of relief at the thought of mosquito-free summers, or you might worry…
Why you should care about ‘The Insect Crisis’
The Insect CrisisOliver MilmanW.W. Norton & Co., $27.95 Imagine a world without insects. You might breathe a sigh of relief at the thought of mosquito-free summers, or you might worry…
These male spiders catapult away to avoid being cannibalized after sex
An act of acrobatics keeps males of one orb-weaving spider species from becoming their mates’ post-sex snack. After mating, Philoponella prominens males catapult away from females at speeds up to…
Glowing spider fossils may exist thanks to tiny algae’s goo
The secret ingredient for fossil preservation at a famous French site wouldn’t be found in a Julia Child cookbook. It was a sticky goo made by microalgae, researchers suggest. An…
These flowers lure pollinators to their deaths. There’s a new twist on how
Fake — and fatal — invitations to romance could be the newest bit of trickery uncovered among some jack-in-the-pulpit wildflowers. The fatal part isn’t the surprise. Jack-in-the-pulpits (Arisaema) are the…
These flowers lure pollinators to their deaths. There’s a new twist on how
Fake — and fatal — invitations to romance could be the newest bit of trickery uncovered among some jack-in-the-pulpit wildflowers. The fatal part isn’t the surprise. Jack-in-the-pulpits (Arisaema) are the…
Most bats don’t echolocate in broad daylight. Here’s an exception
Despite their excellent vision, one city-dwelling colony of fruit bats echolocates during broad daylight — completely contrary to what experts expected. A group of Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) in…
