Molecules/Matter & Energy

A moth with chemical weapons, light-up bubbles and insidious fungi in this week’s news

Moths get tough on pollen A pollen grain may remain intact even when soaked in the toughest solvents, but it’s no match for the delicate twirler moth. Scientists from Germany and China report that Deltophora moths can chemically dissolve sporopollenin, the supertough polymer in a pollen grain’s wall, a first in the animal kingdom.