Uncategorized
- Animals
The bad-breath defense
The nicotine in tobacco that poisons some creatures can also act as a chemical defense — at least for some caterpillars. The bad breath it gives these insects repels natural predators, such as spiders.
- Computing
Wheelies: Computers help electric cars turn
Electric-car designers think they’ve found a way to replace the differential. Computer-controlled wheels and a bevy of electronic sensors now help take the place of old-school gears.
- Brain
Erasing memories
Electroconvulsive therapy is used to treat severe depression, but the electrical jolt it sends into the brain also may erase bad memories.
- Agriculture
How to limit the need for pesticides
The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests taking steps to limit children’s exposure to pesticides.
- Animals
Why are bees vanishing?
Scientists find evidence that pesticides, disease and other threats are devastating bees. And that could hurt farmers big time.
- Chemistry
Salt bends the rules of chemistry
When squished between two diamonds and zapped by a laser, salt’s atoms can link up in unexpected ways.
- Health & Medicine
Doggy dust could be a good thing
The outdoor dust that dogs drag in contains a mix of microbes that helped mice fend off allergic reactions and viral infections.
- Genetics
Ancient DNA sparks new mystery
DNA from a 400,000-year-old leg bone found in Spain is by far the oldest recovered from pre-human ancestors. It also shows an unexpected link to later, Asian ‘kin.’
- Space
The sun’s giant heat elevators
Scientists have long known that plumes of hot plasma rise from the sun’s interior to its outer layers. New observations have now identified especially big plumes that can be 15 times as wide as Earth’s diameter and last for months.
- Computing
Cool Jobs: Paid to dream
Some visionaries use science and engineering to see what our world could — and should — become
- Animals
How seahorses use their heads
A dwarf seahorse’s head may look funny, but its shape allows the creature to sneak up on fast-moving prey.
- Planets
Jupiter’s long-lasting storm
Most studies of Jupiter’s centuries-old Great Red Spot suggest this giant storm should have petered out after a few decades. A new study traces the storm’s staying power to the vertical movement of its gases.
