Search results: bees

Evidence of plague found in Bronze Age skeletons DNA testing of Bronze Age skeletons has found evidence of a plague outbreak that occurred thousands of years before the Black Death that devastated Europe in the 1300s. Researchers found enough Yersinia pestis DNA in skeletons that tested positive for the bacteria to produce complete genome sequences […]

Still trying to make sense of New Horizons’ Pluto data Pluto’s frozen mountain ranges Norgay Montes and Hillary Montes are among many of the dwarf planet’s features described in the first published study of data gathered so far from the close flyby of NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft in July. The mission scientists acknowledge they still […]

Gravitational waves from binary black holes milder than thought Black holes rotating around each other on a collision course create milder gravitational waves than previously thought, a study published online in Science suggests. Scientists studying pulsars with super-sensitive equipment for 11 years looking for evidence of gravitational waves coming from binary black holes haven’t found […]

Ant nests are complex three-dimensional spaces with particular places allocated for specific functions: egg-laying, care of the brood, food storage… In the chambers and tunnels, many insects live in very confined spaces and are thus especially vulnerable for infectious diseases. Feces are hazardous materials since theoretically at least they can foster bacteria, transmit diseases, and […]

Laziness, sloth or indolence is, depending on who you ask, a sin, a psychological characteristic, or a basic human right. It is usually used as a pejorative and is considered a disinclination, a personal choice where one  the lazy person  decides not to carry out an activity despite having the ability, the time […]

The term epigenetics refers to heritable changes in gene expression (active vs. inactive genes) that does not involve changes to the underlying DNA sequence. It results in change in phenotype without a change in genotype. An easily comprehensible example are identical twins: since they develop from a single fertilized egg, they have the same genome […]

Why racism is not backed by science As we gather more information about the genomes of more people a conclusion seems more and more evident: there is not such thing as race. The Guardian Bright spots seen on Ceres Bright spots seen on the surface of dwarf planet Ceres in photos taken by the approaching […]

Alternative medicine is often promoted on the argument that it can do no harm. Even though its advocates are aware that its effectiveness has not been scientifically demonstrated, they do believe that it is harmless and therefore it should be used. “If not alone, you should at least use it in combination with evidence-based treatments” […]

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 […]

In a previous article I wrote about the high speed attacks of the mantis shrimps. However, my favourite feature of these crustaceans is their unique eyes. They have two apposition compound eyes, typical of many diurnal insects and crustaceans but unusual in how freely they can move on their stalks. The eye forms an image […]