Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
- Animals
Leapin’ eels! Video shows they attack with zaps
When a predator threatens an electric eel from above, the animals leap up to deliver a shocking defense.
- Animals
How a moth went to the dark side
Peppered moths and some butterflies are icons of evolution. Now scientists have found a gene responsible for making them so.
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Ink leads way to terminating termites
Inspired by a classroom experiment, a teen has built a way to lure troublesome termites to their death — using the power of ink.
- Animals
Teens use science to worm through plastic waste
Some beetle larvae can eat plastic, which might be good for our pollution problem. But which types eat the most can vary a lot, these young scientists find.
- Physics
Gravity waves are seen again
Four months after scientists announced the first detection of gravity waves, another set of ripples in spacetime have emerged. The new ones come from the clash of mid-size black holes in the distant universe.
- Animals
Catching ‘Dory’ fish can poison entire coral reef ecosystems
More than half of saltwater-aquarium fish sold in the United States may have been caught in the wild using cyanide, new data show.
- Earth
Fighting big farm pollution with a tiny plant
Fertilizer runoff can fuel the growth of toxic algae nearby lakes. A teen decided to harness a tiny plant to sop up that fertilizer.
- Archaeology
Neandertals: Ancient Stone Age builders had tech skills
Neandertals built stalagmite circles in a French cave 176,500 years ago. These structures show that these ancient human cousins had social and technical skills.
- Animals
Why some frogs can survive killer fungal disease
A disease is wiping out amphibian species around the globe. New research shows how some frogs develop immunity.
- Animals
Uh oh! Baby fish prefer plastic to real food
Given a choice, baby fish will eat plastic microbeads instead of real food. That plastic stunts their growth and makes them easier prey for predators.
- Animals
The shocking electric eel!
Electric eels are fascinating animals. Their powerful zaps can act like a radar system, trick fish into revealing their location and then freeze their prey’s movements.
- Animals
Eating toxic algae makes plankton speedy swimmers
After slurping up harmful algae, copepods swim fast and straight — making them easy prey for hungry predators.
