The Science Life
- Plants
A hunt for fungi might bring this orchid back from the brink
Identifying the fungi that feeds the Cooper’s black orchid in the lab may allow researchers to bank seeds and possibly regrow the species in the wild.
- Animals
This marine biologist is on a mission to save endangered rays
Jessica Pate and the Florida Manta Project confirm that endangered mantas are mating and sicklefin devils are migrating along the East Coast.
- Plants
Ultrasound reveals trees’ drought-survival secrets
Scientists used ultrasound sensors and electrical probes to reveal how drought affects the tissues of living trees.
- Math
Here’s a peek into the mathematics of black holes
The universe tells us slowly rotating black holes are stable. A nearly 1,000-page proof confirms it.
- Anthropology
Two scientists’ trek showed how people of Chaco Canyon may have hauled logs
By carrying a log with the aid of head straps called tumplines, the duo demoed how people may have hauled timbers to Chaco about 1,000 years ago.
- Environment
Air pollution made an impression on Monet and other 19th century painters
The impressionist painting style can be partly explained by the reality of rising air pollution from the industrial revolution, an analysis finds.
- Chemistry
These chemists cracked the code to long-lasting Roman concrete
Roman concrete has stood the test of time, so scientists searched ruins to unlock the ancient recipe that could help architecture and climate change.
- Anthropology
How mythology could help demystify dog domestication
The path that dog myths took around the world closely parallels that of dog domestication, a new study finds.
- Animals
How death’s-head hawkmoths manage to fly straight for miles in the dark
By tailing death’s-head hawkmoths in an airplane, scientists have found that the nocturnal insects appear to navigate using an internal compass.
- Chemistry
These researchers are unlocking Renaissance beauty secrets
An art historian has teamed up with chemists to uncover the science behind cosmetics used around 500 years ago.
- Animals
Leeches expose wildlife’s whereabouts and may aid conservation efforts
DNA from the blood meals of more than 30,000 leeches shows how animals use the protected Ailaoshan Nature Reserve in China.
- Animals
How scientists found an African bat lost to science for 40 years
African researchers had been searching for the Hill’s horseshoe bat since 2013. Now, the first recording of its echolocation call may help find more.
