Science Fact Centipedes can take down prey 15 TIMES their size. How do they do it? A toxin scientists are calling “spooky” toxin. I think they also employ a large dose of AUGH GET IT OFF GET IT OFF TOO MANY LEGS. How to counteract this horrible painful bite? An anti-epilepsy drug may be the answer. […]
Science Fact Rumpelstiltskin could spin straw into gold. These bacteria do him one better. They basically poop it out. The bacterium C. metallidurans lives in soils with lots of toxic heavy metals. They make it in the tough environment by taking in the metals, processing them, and pooping out tiny gold nuggets. This Valentine’s Day, […]
Science Fact You may not speak whale. But this whale speaks human. Sort of. A killer whale named Wikie has been trained to copy sounds, including “hello” and blowing a raspberry. It’s not language, there’s no proof she knows what she’s saying. But it’s decent mimicry. These sounds are especially challenging for a killer whale because […]
Monday morning at the office. I grab my third cup of coffee for the day. Open my email (which I’ve honestly already opened twice but been too un-awake to comprehend), and see a few replies from scientists I’ve contacted in the days before. Good! Time to schedule interviews! Then I just happen to notice the […]
Enter your email address powered by TinyLetter Science Fact Mars is the next Brooklyn. Why? When a group of students tried growing veggies in Martian conditions, they successfully grew kale, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, dandelions and hops. They grew the plants in a greenhouse with soil meant to simulate the soil of Mars, heavy […]
Enter your email address powered by TinyLetter Science Fact There is now a tiny electronic pill that can track gas in your gut. It could help diagnose diseases, of course, but I’m thinking it’ll be a new hot topic in personal tracking. Track sleep, food, steps and farts! Why have a Fitbit when you can […]
Enter your email address powered by TinyLetter Science Fact I thought that blowflies couldn’t get any grosser. I was wrong. It turns out that blowflies don’t sweat to keep cool (which isn’t suprising, insects generally don’t). Instead, they drip out…and then slurp back in, a drop of drool. The drop releases some heat to the […]
Enter your email address powered by TinyLetter Sound of the Week New Year, New You? Lots of people make New Year’s resolutions, but what’s the difference between those who keep them and those who don’t? I am on Science for the People this week talking to a science writer who wrote a book called “The […]
Why made a list of the top X science findings when you can make a song!? Get this and much more when you subscribe to my newsletter which is free and has nice comics and is full of science and light and entertainment! Enter your email address powered by TinyLetter Behold, below, the 12 days […]
Enter your email address powered by TinyLetter Science Fact People often think of species having two biological sexes, male and female. But that’s not a concept that always applies. There’s a fungus, for example, with 23,000 sexes. Yes. 23,000. That might seem like it makes life difficult, but in fact, due to different mating systems, these […]