How much can a blue whale eat in a single mouthful and how much energy do they burn while foraging? These are the questions that Bob Shadwick from the University of British Columbia, Canada, and his colleagues have asked ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 9, 2010
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Geckos have amazingly sticky feet. Their stickability comes from billions of dry microscopic hairs that coat the soles of their feet. However, when humidity increases, gecko feet stick even tighter to smooth surfaces, so ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 15, 2010
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How well do flying fish fly? This is the question that puzzled Haecheon Choi from Seoul National University, Korea. Measuring aerodynamic forces on dried darkedged-wing flying fish in a wind tunnel, Choi and Hyungmin Park ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 10, 2010
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When a hungry harbour seal sets off in pursuit of a fish diner, the animal has a secret weapon in its tracking arsenal: its whiskers. Detecting hydrodynamic trails in water with their sensitive whiskers, seals easily track ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 11, 2010
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Crystal meth (methamphetamine) is a highly addictive drug that seduces victims by increasing self-esteem and sexual pleasure, and inducing euphoria. But once hooked, addicts find the habit hard to break. Barbara Sorg from ...
Plants & Animals
May 28, 2010
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Most venomous snakes are legendary for their lethal bites, but not all. Some spit defensively. Bruce Young, from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, explains that some cobras defend themselves by spraying debilitating ...
Plants & Animals
May 14, 2010
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Going about their day-to-day business, bees have no need to be able to recognise human faces. Yet in 2005, when Adrian Dyer from Monash University trained the fascinating insects to associate pictures of human faces with ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 29, 2010
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Prized for their impressive antlers, red deer have been caught in the hunters' sights for generations. But a deer's antlers are much more than decorative. They are lethal weapons that stags crash together when duelling. John ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 27, 2009
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Coral reefs support some of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet, yet they thrive in a marine desert. So how do reefs sustain their thriving populations?
Plants & Animals
Nov 13, 2009
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What is it about elite sprinters that gives them the edge over non-sprinters in the 100m dash? Stephen Piazza from the Pennsylvania State University publishes his discovery, in The Journal of Experimental Biology, that the ...
Other
Oct 30, 2009
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