Tiny orchid flowers pollinated by tiny flies
Researchers Yuta Sunakawa, Ko Mochizuki, and Atsushi Kawakita of the University of Tokyo have discovered the first orchid species pollinated by gall midges, a tiny fly species. This is the first documented case of an orchid species found to be pollin.....»»
Composite plastic degrades easily with bacteria, offers environmental benefits
Billions of tons of plastic waste clutter our world. Most of it has accumulated on the ground and in the oceans or disintegrated into tiny particles known as microplastics that pollute the air and the water, penetrating vegetation and the bloodstream.....»»
Miniature treadmills accelerate studies of insects walking
Fruit flies walking on miniature treadmills are helping scientists learn how the nervous system enables animals to move in an unpredictable and complex world......»»
Metasurfaces: Tiny tech with big potential
Imagine manipulating light with ultra-thin, flat sheets instead of bulky lenses and mirrors. That's the promise of metasurfaces, a nanostructure technology that can twist and bend light in ways never before possible......»»
Plankton mark seasons in the sea, just like leaves and flowers on land
Britain's seas are rich in wildlife, but many of its species can only be seen with a microscope. These are the plankton—tiny algae and animals found throughout the ocean that are the foundation of the entire marine food web......»»
Providing blooms all season long may be key to attracting pollinators, no matter what landscape is near your garden
A diverse and abundant flower planting that provides flowers in bloom all season may be more important to bees and other pollinators than whatever is surrounding the flower garden, according to a study published September 4, 2024 in PLoS ONE by Devon.....»»
RNA editing plays critical role in fruit flies" sense of smell and social interactions
Imagine your DNA as a set of instructions or a recipe book that tells your body how to make everything it needs to function, from proteins to cells. Every time the body needs to build something, it reads these instructions. But sometimes, the body ca.....»»
Bioengineers develop protein assembly road map for nature-derived nanobubbles
As far as water gear goes, floaties are not exactly high tech. But the tiny air-filled bubbles some microorganisms use as flotation devices when they compete for light on the water surface are a different story......»»
Drosophila study discovers mechanism that could control longevity, cancer cell production
Researchers at UC Merced have used fruit flies to uncover a cellular process common to many organisms that could dramatically impact the understanding of cancer and aging......»»
The world"s fastest single-shot 2D imaging technique films ultrafast dynamics in flames
Candle flames and airplane engines produce tiny soot particles from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as their precursors, both of which are harmful to humans and the environment. These carbon-based particles are also common in space, making up.....»»
New knowledge about a fungus that turns 60–80% of the flies in your home into zombies
What can we learn from a fungus that eats most of the flies in your home from the inside, turns them into zombies and then lures other flies to necrophilic intercourse? Possibly quite a lot, according to researchers at the University of Copenhagen......»»
How fruit flies use internal representations of head direction to support goal-directed navigation
Animal behavior is known to rely on transforming sensory information into motor commands, often influenced by an animal's internal needs. While in mammals and other large animals this process is supported by complex brain processes, simpler versions.....»»
Rocket Report: Blue Origin flies six to space; when will Starship launch again?
It seems like we'll have to wait a bit for ABL to put another rocket on the launch pad. Welcome to Edition 7.09 of the Rocket Report! When will SpaceX launch the next test flight of Starship? It certainly doesn't look to be imminent,.....»»
Nanoplastics put stress on trees and impair photosynthesis
It is well known that more and more plastic waste is ending up in soil and bodies of water. Researchers are particularly concerned about tiny micro- and nano-sized particles. It remains unclear how and to what extent they are able to enter living org.....»»
They come from above: Here"s why magpies, magpie-larks and lapwings swoop in spring
If you live in Australia or New Zealand, the coming of spring is a mixed blessing. The days get warmer. Flowers bloom. Birds nest......»»
This tiny backyard bug does the fastest backflips on Earth
Move over, Sonic. There's a new spin-jumping champion in town—the globular springtail (Dicyrtomina minuta). This diminutive hexapod backflips into the air, spinning to over 60 times its body height in the blink of an eye, and a new study features t.....»»
Love is blind for male fruit flies, who will choose sex over safety
Male fruit flies will become oblivious to physical danger as they become more engaged in courtship and sex, new research shows......»»
Heaviest antimatter observation yet will fine-tune numbers for dark matter search
In experiments at the Brookhaven National Lab in the US, an international team of physicists has detected the heaviest "anti-nuclei" ever seen. The tiny, short-lived objects are composed of exotic antimatter particles......»»
A rare orchid survives on a few tracts of prairie. Researchers want to learn its secrets
On a remote tallgrass prairie in North Dakota, a secretive orchid pokes up from the ground. You'll only find it if you know where to look......»»
Breaking boundaries: The unexpected routes of minerals in crop growth
Imagine plants not just sipping nutrients dissolved in water, but actually munching on tiny mineral particles straight from the soil. A study sheds light on how wheat and lettuce aren't just passive feeders—they actively grab, transport, and utiliz.....»»
Climate change a mixed blessing for sun-starved Irish vintners
At a tiny outpost in the wine world, Ireland's handful of winemakers are cautiously eyeing long-term growth potential as climate change warms up its cool climate......»»