Life
- Animals
Bed bugs have favorite colors
Bed bugs change their color preferences as they get older. Adults like red and black, which may help the dark bugs avoid predators.
- Brain
Small region of brain recognizes facial expressions
Scientists identify the brain region responsible for recognizing facial expressions in others. It helps us know whether others are happy or sad.
- Animals
Polar bears swim for days as sea ice retreats
Melting sea ice is forcing polar bears to swim long distances — up to nine days in one case. Such long treks may be more than the bears can handle.
- Animals
Male peacocks twerk it to bring in the hens
Scientists recorded peacocks with high-speed video cameras to learn the basic mechanics behind the shows they put on for peahens.
- Earth
Common water pollutants hurt freshwater organisms
The germ killers we use and the drugs we take don’t just disappear. They can end up in the environment. There they can harm aquatic organisms, three teens showed.
- Animals
Snakes go dark to soak in the sun
Snakes are paler in the South and darker in the North. The darker species absorb heat more quickly, a teen showed.
- Animals
Dragons sleep like mammals and birds
Lizards seem to alternate between two sleep states, just as mammals and birds do. This finding could change our understanding of how sleep evolved.
- Animals
Scientists Say: Copepod
Copepods are tiny crustaceans. They eat phytoplankton and float in the water column, although some live in freshwater and on the sea floor.
- Brain
A ‘cocktail’ in the brain can trigger sleep
A new study finds that a ‘cocktail’ of chemicals in the brain can directly cause mice to fall asleep or waken.
- Brain
Eyes offer new window into Alzheimer’s disease
The eye’s retina is distinctly different in people with Alzheimer’s disease compared to those with no signs of the malady, two teens now report finding. It could lead to earlier diagnosis of the brain disease.
- Brain
Left brain stands guard during sleepovers
Part of the left half of the brain remains on alert while the rest of the brain and body snooze.
- Animals
What medicine can learn from squid teeth
Scientists have identified what makes a squid's sucker teeth so strong. The findings may one day prove useful in medicine.
