Category archives: Weekly Selection

Orb-web spiders craft a unique disguise An orb-web spider hides itself from predators by disguising itself as bird droppings, according to researchers. The spiders have a silver colored body that, when combined with their white disc-shaped webs, gives the illusion of bird excrement that may deter predatory wasps. LiveScience Ants are organized searchers who gain […]

Study of extinct elephant bird leads researchers to surprising conclusion DNA studies of the massive, extinct elephant bird of Madagascar show that its closest modern relative is New Zealand’s tiny kiwi, rather than the ostrich, which it more closely resembles, leading researchers to speculate about how the flightless birds migrated, according to a study published […]

Plant that consumes nickel found in the Philippines A plant that thrives in nickel-rich dirt has been discovered in the Philippines. Rinorea niccolifera can absorb large amounts of nickel through its leaves. UPI Regrown bone in monkeys using pluripotent stem cells It could be possible to grow new bone in humans using induced pluripotent stem […]

Turtles more closely related to crocodiles and birds than snakes and lizards The murky evolutionary history of the turtle has been made a little clearer by researchers using new microRNA data which link the shelled reptiles more closely with birds and crocodiles than to lizards and snakes. Yale University Universe’s evolution recreated in computer simulation […]

Wet sand may have helped ancient Egyptians move massive stones Ancient Egyptians dampened the sand to move the 2.5-ton stones used to build the pyramids to prevent berming and halve the amount of force needed to drag the sled, researchers say. The wet sand reduced the friction, making the sledge easier to move. Scientists at […]

Coral can change physiology to survive warming seas When oceans become warmer or acidic, coral reef apparently have the ability to change their physiology to survive, researchers have discovered. Studying coral off Ofu Island in American Samoa, researchers found that the coral can use their genes to turn on heat-resistant proteins. Nature News Y chromosome […]

Slow shaking under Tokyo could mean a giant earthquake Slow-motion earthquakes beneath Tokyo are becoming more common, raising concerns of another megaquake like the one in 2011. GPS sensors are being used to track the slow shifts, which are unreadable by seismographs, and scientists have found that the shifts are coming more frequently but seismologists […]

Fruit flies can make sudden turns similar to fighter jets Fruit flies are capable of sharp turns, like those of fighter pilots, according to researchers studying the ways the insects evade predators. When sensing a threat, the Drosophila hydei flies can execute banked turns at speeds five times faster than when turning normally. Los Angeles […]

Irradiated scrap metal helps researchers recreate a supernova Scientists have simulated a supernova with the help of some radioactive waste and a particle accelerator at CERN. Researchers took leftover irradiated scraps of metal containing titanium-44, which is made naturally by supernovae, to produce a beam and sent it into a chamber filled with helium to […]

Salamanders may be getting shorter due to climate change Appalachian salamanders have gotten shorter in the past 50 years, possibly adapting to warmer, drier weather conditions. Researchers compared specimens they collected with those collected by museums from the same areas since 1957. They found that each generation of salamanders in several species grew 1% smaller […]