6,697 results
- Chemistry
Cockroach brains, coming to a pharmacy near you
Insect tissue extracts show antibacterial activity in lab experiments.
- Life
Daytime bites for zombie ants
The living dead of the insect world show an unexplained sense of timing: a surge of strange activity in the a.m. followed by a final death grip at midday.
- Life
Dinosaur-era feathers sealed in amber
The richest collection yet of primordial plumage preserves pigment and fine details found modern birds.
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Letters
Ain’t got the beat Obviously, Bruce Bower hasn’t tried to teach tourists how to dance. “A man oblivious to music’s tempo” (SN: 3/26/11, p. 9), though not common, is not rare. In the last 35-plus years I’ve shown more than 10,000 visitors to New Orleans how to do the Cajun two-step or waltz, and perhaps […]
- Life
Why flies can drink and drink
Fruit flies use sophisticated pumps to suck fluids as thick as syrup.
- Life
Female infidelity may violate goose-gander parity principle
Female birds stray from their mates in part because of cheating genes from their philandering fathers, a zebra finch study suggests.
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Freon: Destroying the ozone layer?
Scientists discovered in the 1970s that chlorofluorocarbons such as Freon were hurting Earth’s ozone layer.
- Life
Tarantulas shoot silk from their feet
The unique ability may give the heavy spiders a better grip and prevent deadly falls.
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- Life
Flower sharing may be unsafe for bees
Wild pollinators are catching domesticated honeybee viruses, possibly by touching the same pollen.
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- Chemistry
How to bug bugs
New insights on how insect repellents work could eventually help scientists prevent the transmission of diseases like malaria.
