Life
- 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.
- Chemistry
Identifying ancient trees from their amber
A Swedish teen’s analyses of a sample of amber may have uncovered a previously unknown type of ancient tree.
- Plants
New species of terrifying tomato appears to bleed
A new species of Australian bush tomato bleeds when injured and turns bony in old age.
- 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.
- Life
Scientists Say: Endocytosis
Small molecules can go into a cell through receptors or even just dissolve into it. But something big? That requires endocytosis.
- Brain
Mapping word meanings in the brain
A detailed new map shows that people comprehend words by using regions across the brain, not just in one dedicated language center.
- Animals
Common plant could help fight Zika virus
A teen discovered that extracts from leaves of the San Francisco plant (Codiaeum variegatum) kill larvae of the mosquito that helps spread the Zika and dengue fever viruses.
- Earth
How ancient African fish feed today’s Amazon
Many of the world’s lushest tropical forests would starve if winds didn’t bring them nutrient-rich dust from across an ocean.
- Animals
Snot may be key to dolphins’ tracking of prey
Dolphins produce clicking noises that bounce off of prey, like sonar, showing where they are. Mucus in the animals’ nasal passages may make that ‘sonar’ work.
- 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.
