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io9Evidence that Killer Whales Are Trying to Communicate with Dolphins
Humans are not the only creatures who try to imitate the sounds of other animals. It turns out that killer whales try to imitate dolphin clicks. But why? Photo by Monika Wieland via Shutterstock Over at Seriously, Science?, we learn that a new scientific study has identified a series of calls that killer whales make … Continued
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io9Why Your Farts Smell Okay And Everybody Else’s Farts Stink
Finally, AsapScience gets to the scientific questions I want to know! Namely, why people find the odor of their own farts more tolerable than other people’s. As it turns out, we should be focusing on why we find other people’s farts so noxious, not why ours smell okay. Man, the AsapScience artist really when to … Continued
By Rob Bricken -
io9
Science Needs More Women (And Not For The Reason You Think)
You’re probably thinking it has to do with the lack of women conducting research. And yes, you’re right, that is a problem. But the issue we’re talking about, while connected to the absence of women in scientific research, is actually the relative shortage of women having research performed on them. Above: In 1927, the Fifth … Continued
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io9
10 Fad Diets, Debunked
What should you cut out of your diet to be more healthy? Everything. According to the most popular diet books on the market, there’s barely a food on Earth that’s safe to eat. But what is the actual benefit of these diets? Here’s what science has to say. 10. Cut Out Wheat to Slim Down … Continued
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io9If You’ve Never Seen An Insect Breathe, You Are Seriously Missing Out
Honestly, I’m not sure what to say except that YouTuber Precarious333’s video of a Giant Texas Katydid (Neobarrettia spinosa) chirping, breathing, and grooming is way more captivating than I expected it to be. Full screen it, and crank it to the highest resolution your Internet connection can muster. You won’t regret it. Pretty incredible, right? … Continued
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io9
These Are The Pages Being Ripped From A Biology Text Book In Arizona
The Gilbert Public Schools Governing Board in Arizona recently voted to “redact” a page from a ninth-grade biology text book because it includes a brief section on an abortion pill. School officials have responded by literally tearing the page from the texts. Thankfully, the Internet has come to the rescue. The offending section from Campbell … Continued
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io9
Scientists Resurrect The Dodo With 3D Laser Scanning
More than three centuries after the last of its species walked on the isle of Mauritius, the skeleton of the dodo bird has been recreated using 3D scanning technology. The virtual model is enabling scientists to reconstruct how it walked, moved and lived to a level of detail that has never been possible before. Arguably … Continued
By Mark Strauss -
io9
Why It’s Harmful to Describe Cancer as a “War”
When people talk about cancer, they often resort to the language of war – e.g. Mary lost her brave fight with cancer. Manycompelling objections have been made against the use of such “battle metaphors,” and a growing body of evidence suggests that, for some people, they can actually be harmful. Above: American Civil War, Union … Continued
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io9
The Secret That Botanists Are Keeping From The Public
With its small bright green leaves and dangling, pearl-white flowers, Raven’s Manzanita is instantly recognizable—except that nobody sees it anymore. Botanists won’t disclose the location of the last known wild specimen in California. They’ve concluded that secrecy is the best way to protect rare species. And it’s not just in California. “This is happening all … Continued
By Mark Strauss -
Tech News
How the Bugs In Our Buildings Could Actually Make Us Healthier
University of Oregon researchers Jessica Green and G Z ‘Charlie’ Brown call it the Pickle Box. This former walk-in storage unit for pickles, remodelled into an enclosed climate chamber, is helping scientists understand how people shed their own ‘microbial cloud’ in a built environment. The bacteria, fungi and other microbes that we leave behind in … Continued
Bryn Nelson - Moasic -
io9
New Analysis Suggests GMOs Can Be A Very Good Thing
Results of a meta-analysis published in the latest issue of PLOS paint a favorable picture of genetically modified crops — which make a positive impact on farmers, crop yields and profits. Photo Credit: Stuart Williams via flickr | CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. The last two decades have seen several investigations into the effect of GM crops … Continued
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Tech News
Can You Really Bust a Gut from Eating Too Much at Once?
Although extremely rare, some people actually have ruptured their stomachs after eating too much, and, perhaps not surprisingly, many did not survive. When a stomach ruptures, the billions of bacteria that normally live inside the gut flow out into the abdominal cavity where they thrive. The infection that ensues causes acute abdominal pain, a tensing … Continued
Melissa - Today I Found Out' -
io9
This Adorable Robotic Penguin Is Changing The Way We Study Animals
Observing animals in the wild while not disturbing them is a classic challenge for behavioral ecologists. But as a new study shows, the use of remotely operated robots to observe penguins and seals in their natural habitats can result in significantly lower and shorter stress responses. For the new study, Yvon Le Maho of the … Continued
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io9
These Animals Skin Themselves Alive To Escape Death
Did you know that some animals are pretty much designed to be able to re-enact the plot of Gerald’s Game? You can’t un-know it now. Learn how “fragile skin” allows animals to flay themselves alive. For some animals, life is a perpetual torture porn movie. The only way they can stay alive is to do … Continued
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io9
Could you outrun a T-Rex? A Velociraptor? Find out at the Guardian’s Datablog, where an online simulation allows you to enter your running speed and participate in a 100-meter race between you, world-record breaker Usain Bolt, various animals (both living and extinct) and an F1 Racing Car.
By Mark Strauss -
io9
Researcher Who Found ‘Puppy Sized Spider’ Received Death Threats
Last month, Harvard entomologist Piotr Naskrecki’s wrote a blog post about finding a “puppy-sized” spider in South America. The post went viral. A few days later, Naskrecki was receiving death threats. Why? For collecting one of the specimens he described in his post, and placing it in a museum. Naskrecki appeared on NPR yesterday to … Continued
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io9
The “Ideal” Microbiome Is a Myth
Embracing the complexity of the microbiome means doing away with pat conceptions of its function. Your body is a habitat to trillions of microscopic organisms known, collectively, as your microbiome. Today, the microbiome is one of the hottest areas of biological research, and for good reason. This body-wide ecosystem not only adapts to our diets, … Continued
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ScienceHealth
Can Brown Bears, House Cats, and Gorillas Teach Us About Human Health?
The fact that humans and animals suffer from many of the same diseases is no longer controversial. But do they have similar causes? How do factors like air quality, social stress, and the built environment contribute to health and illness in people and animals? We live-tweeted the Zoobiquity conference today, which was devoted to discussing … Continued
