1,566 results
- Science & Society
Seeding liberal arts courses with science parables
In the July 19 Comment, Dudley Herschbach, winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in chemistry, discusses how to infuse scientific ideas into humanities education with an aim of increasing overall scientific literacy. Herschbach is Frank B. Baird, Jr. Professor of Science at Harvard University and is chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Society for Science & the Public.
-
On Top of Words: Spatial language spurs kids’ reasoning skills
Recent studies of spatial reasoning in deaf children support the notion that language helps people encode certain concepts and suggest that using spatial language with children may boost overall reasoning skills.
- Ecosystems
Ecosystem engineers
Nonnative earthworms are deliberately burying ragweed seeds, enhancing the weed’s growth, researchers report.
- Health & Medicine
Yummy Bugs
Do you enjoy chocolate? You can make it more nutritious by bugging it—with crickets, for example. Or how about ant-fortified tacos? This site introduces Westerners to the idea that many commonly encountered insects are edible. Indeed, most are lower in fat—and higher in protein—than beef, lamb, pork, or chicken. The site’s author argues that “insects […]
-
Spice It Up: Naked mole-rats feel no pain from peppers, acid
The African naked mole-rat doesn't feel pain from acid or chilies, a possible adaptation to its cramped underground habitat.
-
Biological Moon Shot
The first entries—with the basics for a mere 30,000 species—in the Web-based Encyclopedia of Life are scheduled for release in a matter of weeks.
- Chemistry
Altering ant uniforms
The chemical coat that an invasive ant species relies upon to recognize its kin may someday serve to turn family into foe.
-
- Earth
The Costs of Meat and Fish
The purchase price is often but a small part of the true cost of many animal products in the diet.
- Animals
Stilts for ants make case for pedometer
Changing the leg length of desert ants upsets their ability to judge distance, providing the first evidence in any animal of a built-in odometer based on stride.
- Math
The Mind of the Swarm
Mathematics is helping explain how animals form flocks, swarms, and schools.
- Plants
Stalking the Green Meat Eaters
Pitcher plants in a New England bog hold little ecosystems in their leaves, and also act as indicators of the bog's ecological health.
