Uncategorized
- Animals
Parasites ruin some finches’ songs by chewing through the birds’ beaks
Parasitic fly larvae damage the beaks of Galápagos finches, changing their mating songs and possibly causing females to pick males of a different species.
- Astronomy
The cosmic ‘Cow’ may be a strange supernova
New observations suggest the strange bright burst called the ‘Cow’ was a supernova, rather than a shredded star.
- Tech
How NASA’s portable atomic clock could revolutionize space travel
An atomic clock designed to enable self-driving spaceships and GPS-like navigation on other planets is about to take a yearlong test flight.
- Science & Society
Lost wallets are more likely to be returned if they hold cash
Worldwide, return rates of lost wallets goes up as the money inside increases, contradicting the idea that people act in their own self-interest.
- Animals
U.S. honeybees had the worst winter die-off in more than a decade
Colonies suffered from parasitic, disease-spreading Varroa mites. Floods and fire didn’t help.
- Oceans
The world’s fisheries are incredibly intertwined, thanks to baby fish
A computer simulation reveals how one nation's management of its fish spawning grounds could significantly help or hurt another country's catch.
- Neuroscience
Mice and bats’ brains sync up as they interact with their own kind
The brain activity of mice and bats aligns in social settings, a coordination that may hold clues about how social context influences behavior.
- Genetics
DNA confirms a weird Greenland whale was a narwhal-beluga hybrid
DNA analysis of a skull indicates that the animal had a narwhal mother and beluga father.
- Materials Science
50 years ago, bulletproof armor was getting light enough to wear
In 1969, bulletproof armor used boron carbide fibers. Fifty years later, bulletproof armor is drastically lighter and made from myriad materials.
- Climate
Cold War–era spy satellite images show Himalayan glaciers are melting fast
Declassified spy satellite photographs reveal that glacier melt in the Himalayas has sped up dramatically in the last two decades.
- Life
This body-on-a-chip mimics how organs and cancer cells react to drugs
The multiorgan system could help test new and existing drugs for effectiveness and unwanted side effects.
- Chemistry
How seafood shells could help solve the plastic waste problem
Chitin and chitosan from crustacean shells could put a dent in the world’s plastic waste problem.
