House cat skulls have gotten significantly smaller over the last 10,000 years, and so have their brains. Thousands of years of human dependence has shrunk your cat’s brain, new research suggests. In a study published Jan. 26 in the journal Royal Society Open Science, researchers compared the cranial measurements (anContinue Reading
Hammerhead flatworms are often described outside their native range. Scientists have discovered an alien hammerhead flatworm species that looks a bit like a miniature king cobra, or perhaps an itty-bitty snake with a moustache. The researchers found the tiny creatures hunting snails in France and Italy, and they’ve named theContinue Reading
The search for life on Mars is not an easy one. Not only is the red planet difficult to get to, it’s deeply inhospitable to life as we know it. However, there are places on Earth that could show us how life may have been able to survive on MarsContinue Reading
Parasitic gall wasps don’t get out much. For the vast majority of their year-long lives, from eggs to larvae, pupae to adults, these tiny insects are entombed in cocoon-like crypts on the leaves, flowers, and stems of oak trees. When spring rolls around, there’s no time to waste, not evenContinue Reading
Thanks to a combination of sensing the Earth’s magnetic field through vision and an in-built compass that allows them to orient themselves according to magnetic intensity, migratory birds don’t have much trouble finding their way. Those biological gadgets, known as magnetoreception, allow birds to not only know which direction toContinue Reading
Some bears are more aggressive than others, researchers say. A “highly predatory” brown bear woke up from hibernation and killed 38 reindeer calves in a single month, then 18 young moose the next month, according to a new study. The unnamed 13-year-old female was one of 15 brown bears researchersContinue Reading
However, some experts question whether the mummy was even pregnant at all. Researchers studying the remains of what they believe to be a fetus found inside a pregnant mummy from ancient Egypt say the developing infant was slowly “pickled like an egg” over centuries as the mom’s uterus became increasinglyContinue Reading
Ingenuity and serendipity brought products that made life easier, with some unintended consequences 1920s science headline, “Ice cream from crude oil,” may best capture the era’s unbridled enthusiasm for chemistry. “Edible fats, the same as those in vegetable and animal foods … and equally nutritious … can be obtained byContinue Reading
VOCs are toxic chemicals that come from loads of home products and natural sources. Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs are chemicals that are lighter than air at room temperature and are responsible for the characteristic smells of things like paint thinner and perfumes. VOCs are characterized by having a highContinue Reading
The trek is the longest ever recorded among hares and their relatives Arctic hares can go the distance. A member of Lepus arcticus in northern Canada has traveled farther than anyone knew possible. BBYY, as the adult female was known, made a wild dash of more than 388 kilometers inContinue Reading