Notebook
- Animals
First fluorescent frogs might see each others’ glow
A polka dot frog, the first known fluorescent amphibian, may get a visibility boost in twilight and moonlight.
- Paleontology
New tyrannosaur had a sensitive side
Tyrannosaurs may have had sensitive snouts that detected temperature and touch.
- Astronomy
Asteroid in Jupiter’s orbit goes its own way
Asteroid shares Jupiter’s orbit around the sun but travels in the opposite direction as the planet.
- Health & Medicine
Spray-on mosquito repellents are more effective than other devices
To avoid mosquito bites, stick with spray-on repellents and skip the bracelets and citronella candles, a new study says.
- Planetary Science
It’s time to redefine what qualifies as a planet, scientists propose
Astronomers can have their definition of a planet, but some planetary scientists plan to stick to the long-held meaning of the word.
- Genetics
In 1967, LSD was briefly labeled a breaker of chromosomes
Claims that the hallucinogenic drug damaged DNA were quickly rejected. But questions remain about how LSD works.
- Animals
Detachable scales turn this gecko into an escape artist
A new species of gecko evades predators by shedding its scaly armor.
- Animals
How one enslaving wasp eats through another
A wasp that forces oaks to grow a gall gets tricked into digging an escape tunnel for its killers.
- Animals
Tropical bedbugs outclimb common species
A study of bedbug traps and feet names finds that tropical bedbugs are much better at scaling slippery walls than common bedbugs.
- Physics
A slowdown at the sun’s surface explained
Light escaping from the sun could slow the spinning of its surface layers.
- Agriculture
Fleets of drones could pollinate future crops
Chemist Eijiro Miyako turned a lab failure into a way to rethink artificial pollination.
- Life
Origin of photosynthesis may go further back than estimates from 50 years ago
Analyzing ancient rocks has helped push back the date when photosynthetic organisms first emerged by nearly a billion years.
