Sound of the Week The handsome devils pictured are the taxidermied carcasses of the famous Lions of Tsavo. These boys (yes, they’re both boys, male lions in hot, dry environments do not have manes as lions in colder, wetter environments do) attacked railroad crews in 1898 as they attempted to building a railroad line over the Tsavo […]

JoAnna is back, and this week you get HER version of the comic. I think we all feel better already. Science Fact Centipedes can take down prey 15 TIMES their size. How do they do it? Their venomous bites contain a toxin. A toxin scientists are calling “spooky” toxin. Spooky is right. It can even kill […]

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 […]

  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 […]