Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Plants
Orchid bends around to insert pollen
An orchid species in China has set a new record for acrobatics in self-pollination, twisting its male organs around and inserting them into the cavity where the female organ lies.
- 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.
- Animals
Live Prey for Dummies: Meerkats coach pups on hunting
Meerkats easing their pups into the job of handling live prey are among the few animal species shown so far to be natural teachers. With audio.
- Animals
Dawn Sneaks: Old birds sing early, cuckold sleepyheads
Among European birds called blue tits, older males join the springtime dawn chorus extra early—which may signal their charms to philandering females.
- Paleontology
Sight for ‘Saur Eyes: T. rex vision was among nature’s best
A study of dinosaur eyes finds that Tyrannosaurus rex had very sophisticated vision that may have helped its predatory abilities.
- Paleontology
Sticky Subjects: Insights into ancient spider diet, kinship
Remnants of a spider web embedded in ancient amber suggest that some spiders' diets haven't changed much in millions of years.
- Ecosystems
A Chronicle of Coasts: Study charts historical changes in seas, estuaries
New research compares the long-term ecological impact of human activities in estuaries and coastal seas on three continents.
- Animals
Fishy Reputations: Undersea watchers choose helpers that do good jobs
Coral reef fish use smart-shopper techniques of looking for satisfied customers before choosing a small fish to provide cleaning services.
- Plants
Herbal therapy for beleaguered lawns
Mustard and other herbal remedies can thwart turf attacks by root-feeding roundworms.
- Animals
Naked and Not
The Damaraland mole rat may be less famous than its naked cousin, but both have some of the oddest social structures found in a mammal.
- Paleontology
Ancient webbed masters
Newly unearthed fossils of a 110-million-year-old bolster the notion that all modern birds evolved from aquatic ancestors.
- Animals
Mixed Butterflies: Tropical species joins ranks of rare hybrids
A South American butterfly is one of the few animal species that seems to have arisen via the supposedly rare path of crossing two older species.
