The mosquito, sworn enemy of exposed ankles and elbows, locates each bloody meal using a finely tuned sense of smell. Yet, not all insects can sniff out vulnerable flesh. Butterflies, for example, feed not on necks but on ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 15, 2018
0
92
A new study reveals that all insects use specialized odorant receptors that enable them to detect and pursue mates, identify enemies, find food and—unfortunately for humans—spread disease. This puts to rest a recent hypothesis ...
Evolution
Aug 2, 2018
0
89
A so-called corpse flower known for the rotten stench it releases appeared close to blooming Monday at the Huntington Library in Southern California.
Plants & Animals
Jul 30, 2018
0
5
At Tal Chhapar, a wildlife sanctuary in the heart of the Thar desert, a strange drama is staged twice every year. In the blistering heat of summer from March to April and the post-monsoon months of September and October, ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 2, 2018
0
3
Bloodhounds are famous for their ability to track scents over great distances. Now researchers have developed a modern-day bloodhound—a robot that can rapidly detect odors from sources on the ground, such as footprints. ...
Analytical Chemistry
Jun 20, 2018
0
8
Previous research has shown the hunter-gatherer Jahai are much better at naming odors than Westerners. They even have a more elaborate lexicon for it. New research by language scientist Asifa Majid of Radboud University shows ...
Other
Jun 18, 2018
0
65
Male cockroaches can sense the spatial distribution of female pheromones to locate a mate, according to researchers from Hokkaido University and the University of Konstanz. Cockroaches are nocturnal and heavily rely on olfaction ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 9, 2018
0
119
Biologists at the University of California, Riverside have discovered surprisingly that the complex odor-detecting machinery of the fruit fly Drosophila is heavily influenced by one specific odor receptor. This same receptor ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 8, 2018
0
17
Your grandmother's insistence that you receive more bug bites because you're 'sweeter' may not be that far-fetched after all, according to pioneering research from Virginia Tech scientists.
Plants & Animals
Jan 25, 2018
0
341
When it comes to naming colors, most people do so with ease. But, for odors, it's much harder to find the words. One notable exception to this rule is found among the Jahai people, a group of hunter-gatherers living in the ...
Other
Jan 18, 2018
0
19
