News

Animals

Maybe what Polly wants is a new toy

Changing the toys in a parrot's cage may ease the bird's tendency to fear new things.

Animals

Some female birds prefer losers

When a female Japanese quail watches two males clash, she tends to prefer the loser.

Animals

The secret appetite of cleaner wrasses

The little reef fish that nibble parasites off bigger fish that stop by for service actually prefer to nibble the customers.

Health & Medicine

Anthrax toxin curbs immune cells

A toxin produced by the anthrax bacterium suppresses cells that launch the body's immune response.

Physics

Antiglare eye black is better than tape

Black grease that athletes smear under their eyes to control the glare of the sun really helps them discern contrast; what's more, it works better than black tape, a newer antiglare aid.

Materials Science

Miniature Motor: Nanotubes central to new rotating device

Researchers have used miniature, nested cylinders, called multiwalled carbon nanotubes, to make a motor only 300 nanometers long.

Astronomy

Taking the Crab’s pulse

Simultaneous recordings of a pulsar's radio emissions and its visible beam shed new light on the seemingly chaotic variations in the intensities of those emissions.

Tech

Press ‘n’ Peel Lasers: Coaxing light beams out of cheap plastic

Researchers have devised a way to imprint lasers in plastic—an achievement that may one day lead to ultracheap lasers mass-produced like poker chips.

Astronomy

Sky Prospecting: Surveying the universe’s middle-aged galaxies

With a new sky survey, astronomers can tell the story of what happened during the universe’s middle years—about 7 billion years ago.

Earth

Long-Term Ocean Venting: Seafloor system has been active for ages

Analyses of mineral deposits in and around a unique set of hydrothermal vents beneath the Atlantic Ocean suggest that the site's tallest towers of minerals have been growing for at least 30,000 years.