All Stories by Helen Thompson
- Animals
Why orangutans cup their mouths to sound an alarm
Orangutans might use their hands to lower the pitch of alarm calls, a study suggests.
- Animals
Parasites make cannibal shrimp hungry
Parasites make sometimes-cannibalistic shrimp more cannibalistic, a new study suggests.
- Animals
How velvet worms slime their prey
Researchers have figured out the mechanics behind velvet worms’ wobbly slime jets.
- Life
Cyborg beetles reveal secrets of insect flight
Remote controlled beetles swoop to the rescue in insect flight simulations.
- Physics
Why lattes are less prone to spills than regular coffee
Foam dampens liquids’ sloshing, keeping keeps lattes and beer from spilling so easily, researchers find.
- Animals
How pigeons bob and weave through obstacles
When navigating an obstacle course, pigeons weigh energy efficiency against the danger of collision, research finds.
- Life
Superfast evolution observed in soil bacteria
Natural selection resurrects flagella in soil bacteria in just four days.
- Health & Medicine
A little tablet time probably won’t fry a toddler’s brain
Good or bad, the effects tablet and smartphone use among toddlers demand more research.
- Health & Medicine
Stem cells from wisdom teeth could help repair corneas
A study points to a potential new treatment for corneal blindness: Stem cells extracted from pulp from pulled wisdom teeth.
- Life
Gene study digs into partnership between fungi and plants
Fungal genes for symbiotic relationship with plants evolved a few times, and relatively recently, a study suggests.
- Life
To deal with sexual conflict, female bedbugs get flexible
Female bed bugs evolved an elastic underbelly to tolerate violent mating, a new study suggests.
- Animals
Wasps may turn ladybugs into zombies with viral weapons
Parasitic wasps may use a neurological virus to make ladybugs their minions, a study posits.
