From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
- Health & Medicine
Cannabis may alter a teen’s developing brain
Marijuana use between ages 14 and 19 was linked to faster thinning of brain regions important in decision-making.
- Brain
Scientists Say: Haptic
Haptic is an adjective used to describe things related to our sense of touch.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Plasma
In physics, plasma refers to one of the four states of matter. In medicine, plasma describes the part of blood that ferries cells, nutrients and more throughout the body.
- Animals
Squirrels use parkour tricks to leap from branch to branch
Squirrels navigate through trees by making rapid calculations. They have to balance trade-offs between branch flexibility and the distance between tree limbs.
- Animals
Here’s how sea otters stay warm without blubber or a large body
For the smallest mammal in the ocean, staying warm is tough. Now, scientists have figured out how the animals’ cells rise to the challenge.
- Animals
Abdominal fuzz makes bee bodies super slippery
Scientists find that tiny hairs on a honeybee’s abdomen reduce wear and tear as a bee’s outer skeletal parts rub against each other all day long.
- Animals
Uncovering secrets of the glasswing butterfly’s see-through wings
The tricks of its transparency include sparse, spindly scales and a waxy coated membrane.
- Microbes
Let’s learn about microbes
There may be a billion species of microorganisms on Earth — but scientists have only discovered a small fraction of them.
- Animals
Birds could get their sense of direction from quantum physics
Songbirds could detect north and south using a protein in their eye. It works somewhat like a compass.
- Animals
A bubble of air lets some lizards breathe underwater
Anolis lizards leap into streams to escape danger. Now researchers have figured out how they can stay underwater for up to a quarter of an hour.
- Plants
These ferns may be first plants known to work together as ants do
Staghorn ferns grow in massive colonies where individual plants contribute different jobs. This may make them “eusocial,” like ants or termites.
- Animals
Engineers surprised by the power of an elephant’s trunk
An elephant's trunk can suck air through it fast — at more than 335 miles per hour (150 meters per second)!
