News

Materials Science

Want a ‘Shrinky Dinks’ approach to nano-sized devices? Try hydrogels

Patterning hydrogels with a laser and then shrinking them down with chemicals offers a way to make nanoscopic structures out of many materials.

Microbes

Scientists have found the first known microbes that can eat only viruses

Lab experiments show that Halteria ciliates can chow down solely on viruses. Whether these “virovores” do the same in the wild is unclear.

Animals

These adorable Australian spike-balls beat the heat with snot bubbles

An echidna’s snot bubbles coat the spiny critter’s nose with moisture, which then evaporates and draws heat from the sinus, cooling the blood.