Keep your garden tidy with a backpack leaf blower
Autumn arrives with cooler temperatures as trees shed their leaves for the winter. Unless you plan on leaving them there, you'll want a quick and easy way to get them gathered up. A backpack leaf blower lets you get this chore handled quickly and wit.....»»
Unearthing the leaf miners of ancient times: 312-million-year-old fossil sheds light on insect behavior and evolution
Insects are fragile, soft-bodied animals whose remains are difficult to preserve. Wings are often fossilized, but insect bodies, if present, are usually bits and pieces of the original prehistoric animal, making it difficult for scientists to study t.....»»
"Invasion" of tropical birds known as limpkins reported in Illinois—invasive snails may be attractive food source
While on a recent visit to the Chicago Botanic Garden, Ann Harness spotted a creature she'd never seen before. The tall brown bird with a long bill looked like a cross between a rail and a heron......»»
As rising temperatures threaten urban wildlife, experts recommend protecting green spaces
When a family of red foxes popped up in Lurie Garden in May, frolicking through Millennium Park and grooming each other on a concrete slab, Seth Magle said it was an exciting development for a species that is becoming increasingly rare in the Chicago.....»»
Hubble snaps an autumnal nebula glowing orange from young, hot stars
A new image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows a nebula in the gorgeous colors of autumn, just in time for leaf-changing season......»»
Using Einstein"s tea leaf paradox to study nanofluids
Stirring can allow the dispersion of substances evenly in liquid. Einstein's tea leaf paradox is a concept that shows how tea leaves can concentrate in a doughnut shape through a secondary flow effect during stirring. In a new study published in Scie.....»»
Q&A: How extreme weather impacts fall foliage
After a summer of extreme weather—historic rainfall, devastating floods, wildfire smoke—leaf peeping season has finally arrived in Vermont and New England......»»
Experimental garden study uses AI to show how plants respond to environmental changes
Artificial intelligence (AI) can help plant scientists collect and analyze unprecedented volumes of data, which would not be possible using conventional methods. Researchers at the University of Zurich (UZH) have now used big data, machine learning a.....»»
Researchers issue urgent call to save the world"s largest flower, Rafflesia, from extinction
An international group of scientists, including botanists at the University of Oxford's Botanic Garden, has issued an urgent call for coordinated action to save the iconic genus Rafflesia, which contains the world's largest flowers. This follows a ne.....»»
The secret world of rhododendrons: A plant more ancient than the Himalayas
If you have a rhododendron in your garden or pass one by on an afternoon walk perhaps you think of it as just a colorful and pretty shrub. You may have heard that they come from the Himalayas, and that they are invasive plants that destroy ecosystems.....»»
A rooftop garden in Chicago has thousands of native plants—and a mission
Three stories above a busy stretch of North Halsted Street, on a rooftop with views of downtown skyscrapers, crickets chirp and prairie flowers dance in the breeze......»»
Just what we needed: another Apple dongle, this time for USB-C to Lightning
Think the iPhone 15's transition to USB-C would simplify the contents of your cable drawer, or neaten up the bottom of your backpack? Think again.Just in case there was any doubt, Apple's using the occasion of the release of the iPhone 15 to sell fol.....»»
Urban oases combine roof gardens and solar panels
Combining solar panels and a roof garden is a tricky and costly engineering task......»»
Review: Seeed SenseCAP T1000 LoRaWAN Tracker
Manufacturer: Seeed Kickstarter Campaign Price: $29 Seeed SenseCAP T1000 LoRaWAN Tracker Many years ago, I set my backpack up with…its own server. Just a little Raspberry Pi Zero Wireless, but it could provide access to files, along with various o.....»»
Contours that kill: Geometry influences prey capture in carnivorous pitcher plants
Researchers at the University of Oxford's Botanic Garden and the Mathematical Institute have shown that the shape, size, and geometry of carnivorous pitcher plants determines the type of prey they trap. The results have been published today in the Pr.....»»
Will it slip or will it grip: Scientists ask, "What is snail mucus?"
What is snail mucus? That was the question posed by researchers in a new study that examines the molecular composition of snail mucus. When analyzing the mucus of a common garden snail, they found it contained a complex collection of proteins, some i.....»»
Saturday Citations: Ancient corvids, tetraquarks, and researchers who aren"t bored hearing about your dreams
This week, researchers reported on two-dimensional gold sheets, a tidy little meson made of four quarks (and its buddy!) and a big and almost unimaginably dense exoplanet with an exciting backstory......»»
Study provides evidence for hidden diversity within Hydnoraceae
Researchers from the Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have conducted a phylogenetic analysis of Hydnora plants in the family Hydnoraceae through plastid genome sequencing, assembly and annotation after extensive data qu.....»»
How Norway is helping to restore humanity inside US prisons
As part of an innovative prison reform program, the Oregon State Penitentiary created a healing garden on its grounds to provide some respite from the concrete and resemble the outside world. One incarcerated man who had spent most of the past two de.....»»
Curious and cryptic: New leaf insects discovered
An international research team including the University of Göttingen has described seven previously unknown species of leaf insects, also known as walking leaves. The insects belong to the stick and leaf insect order, which are known for their unusu.....»»
Secrets of an octopus"s garden: Moms nest at thermal springs to give their young the best chance for survival
Two miles below the ocean surface off Monterey, California, warm water percolates from the seafloor at the base of an underwater mountain. It's a magical place, especially if you're an octopus......»»