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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Ethiopian wolves are the first large carnivores found to slurp nectar
Wolves from three different packs were seen licking red hot poker flowers. That sweet tooth could make them the first known large predator pollinators.
- Neuroscience
Electronic ‘tattoos’ offer an alternative to electrodes for brain monitoring
A standard EEG test requires electrodes that come with pitfalls. A spray-on ink, capable of carrying electrical signals, avoids some of those.
- Animals
Videos capture orcas’ tricks for taking down the largest fish on Earth
Citizen science videos document for the first time how orcas coordinate an attack against whale sharks.
- Animals
Putting vampire bats on treadmills reveals an unusual metabolism
A bat gym shows that vampires are more like some insects, burning amino acids from blood proteins rather than the carbs or fats other mammals rely on.
- Animals
Science has finally cracked male riflebirds’ flirty secrets
New video upsets the old notion that these birds of paradise use wing clapping to make percussive sounds while courting.
- Climate
Climate change fueled the fury of hurricanes Helene and Milton
Two new studies find climate change amped up sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico, fueling the hurricanes' intensity.
- Microbes
Some bacteria in your mouth can divide into as many as 14 cells at once
The filamentous bacterium Corynebacterium matruchotii has a unique reproductive strategy that might allow it to claim territory quickly.
- Climate
Can solar farms and crop farms coexist?
Researchers working in the field of agrivoltaics are studying how to combine solar farming with grazing, crop production or ecological restoration.
- Planetary Science
Scientists find a long-sought electric field in Earth’s atmosphere
The Earth’s ambipolar electric field is weak but strong enough to control the shape and evolution of the upper atmosphere.
- Environment
How much is climate change to blame for extreme weather?
Scientists can estimate how much more likely or severe some past natural disasters were due to human-caused climate change. Here's how.
- Environment
Fiddler crabs are migrating north to cooler waters
The crabs are climate migrants and could be a harbinger of changes to come as more species move in.
- Climate
Summer-like heat is scorching the Southern Hemisphere — in winter
Warmer winters are fast becoming a global phenomenon and can affect everything from the food we grow to the spread of diseases.
