Life
- Animals
Toxic germs on its skin make this newt deadly
Bacteria living on the skin of some rough-skinned newts make tetrodotoxin. This paralyzing poison is also found in pufferfish.
- Life
Scientists Say: Excretion
Every living thing produces waste. Excretion is how organisms take out the trash.
- Plants
Silk-based microneedles may help treat diseased plants
Engineers have invented silk microneedles to inject medicines into plants. One day farmers might use drones to dart their sick plants with meds from the air.
- Fossils
Saber-toothed anchovy relatives were once fearsome hunters
Today’s plankton-eating anchovies sport tiny teeth. But their ancient kin were armed with spiky lower teeth and a giant upper sabertooth.
- Life
Why you’re spotting more wildlife during COVID-19
People are seeing more animals than they did before the pandemic. There are many reasons why.
- Chemistry
This tube worm’s glowing slime may help sustain its own shine
Snot oozed by a marine tube worm can glow for up to 3 full days. The secret of how this works might lead to long-lasting lights that glow on and on.
- Science & Society
#BlackBirdersWeek seeks to open the outdoors for everyone
The social media campaign #BlackBirdersWeek hopes to show the world the many black birders and nature lovers of color.
- Animals
Why elephants and armadillos might easily get drunk
Stories of drunken elephants may not be a myth. Differences in a gene for breaking down alcohol could explain how they get tipsy.
- Planets
Planets with hydrogen skies could harbor life
Microbes can live in a hydrogen atmosphere. This points to new space worlds that host alien life.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists Say: Protein
Proteins are molecules made up of building blocks called amino acids. They play many key roles in the body’s cells and are essential for life.
- Animals
When prey get scarce, these jellies become cannibals
Invasive comb jellies may feast on their larvae if massive population booms in summer deplete their prey.
- Chemistry
Ancient recipes helped scientists resurrect a long-lost blue hue
Led by medieval texts, scientists hunted down a plant and used its fruit to make a blue watercolor with mysterious origins.
