In rural Ghana, stingless bees are well known as useful animals. Farmers raid natural hives to collect honey, which they use to treat ailments from eye infections to asthma. Many say the bees improve crop yields, and people refer to different species by their indigenous monikers. (The tifuie, for instance, is named after . . . → Read More: The Other Honey]]> from American Scientist
March-April 2012

In rural Ghana, stingless bees are well known as useful animals. Farmers raid natural hives to collect honey, which they use to treat ailments from eye infections to asthma. Many say the bees improve crop yields, and people refer to different species by their indigenous monikers. (The tifuie, for instance, is named after its tendency to get caught in people’s hair.) Despite farmers’ familiarity with these small bees, however, “they had no idea that they could bring them home and culture them and keep them,” says entomologist Peter Kwapong.

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Population growth and devastating droughts have left thousands of Ethiopian pastoralists in poverty and hunger. But community groups that help people learn literacy, business skills and microfinance–rather than new technologies–made participants more resilient and hopeful even after a severe drought. Also in this issue’s news roundup: how humming birds flap, and a gas . . . → Read More: In the News: Teaching, Not Technology]]> from American Scientist
March-April 2012

Population growth and devastating droughts have left thousands of Ethiopian pastoralists in poverty and hunger. But community groups that help people learn literacy, business skills and microfinance–rather than new technologies–made participants more resilient and hopeful even after a severe drought. Also in this issue’s news roundup: how humming birds flap, and a gas cloud headed for the Milky Way’s own black hole.

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With their keen vision and deadly-accurate pounce, jumping spiders are the cats of the invertebrate world. For decades, scientists have puzzled over how the spiders’ miniature nervous systems manage such sophisticated perception and hunting behavior. A new study of Adanson’s jumping spider (Hasarius adansoni) fills in one key ingredient: an unusual . . . → Read More: 3-D Vision for Tiny Eyes]]> from ScienceNOW Daily News
January 27, 2012

With their keen vision and deadly-accurate pounce, jumping spiders are the cats of the invertebrate world. For decades, scientists have puzzled over how the spiders’ miniature nervous systems manage such sophisticated perception and hunting behavior. A new study of Adanson’s jumping spider (Hasarius adansoni) fills in one key ingredient: an unusual form of depth perception.

Read on to find out why the spiders miss their target in red light.
Cross-posted on Wired Science
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The temperature of a nest can affect a hatchling lizard’s size, speed, and sex. Now, the reptiles can add smarts to the list. Researchers have found that lizards incubated in warmer environments may learn faster than others. The results are preliminary, but they suggest that a hotter climate could give some . . . → Read More: Could Climate Change Alter Lizard Learning?]]> from ScienceNOW Daily News
January 10, 2012

The temperature of a nest can affect a hatchling lizard’s size, speed, and sex. Now, the reptiles can add smarts to the list. Researchers have found that lizards incubated in warmer environments may learn faster than others. The results are preliminary, but they suggest that a hotter climate could give some lizards a cognitive edge, potentially helping them escape predators.

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Ancient Greek trade ships shuttled millions of amphoras—ceramic, vase-shaped storage jars—around the Mediterranean and Black seas. The containers are generally thought to have carried wine, but a new DNA analysis of nine jars, aged 2,200 to 2,400 years, suggests the freight was more diverse. Also in this issue’s news roundup: the colors of . . . → Read More: In the News: Olives, Herbs and Juniper]]> from American Scientist
January-February 2012

Ancient Greek trade ships shuttled millions of amphoras—ceramic, vase-shaped storage jars—around the Mediterranean and Black seas. The containers are generally thought to have carried wine, but a new DNA analysis of nine jars, aged 2,200 to 2,400 years, suggests the freight was more diverse. Also in this issue’s news roundup: the colors of fossil beetles, brain scans of dreamers, and antisocial rodents.

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Talk about a ride gone wrong. A tiny mite climbed onto a spider’s back at least 44 million years ago, but the spider stumbled into a glob of sticky tree sap. That makes the duo the oldest known fossil evidence of hitch-hiking behavior, or phoresy, in a large group of mites . . . → Read More: A 44-Million-Year-Old Hitchhiker]]> from ScienceNOW Daily News
November 8, 2011

Talk about a ride gone wrong. A tiny mite climbed onto a spider’s back at least 44 million years ago, but the spider stumbled into a glob of sticky tree sap. That makes the duo the oldest known fossil evidence of hitch-hiking behavior, or phoresy, in a large group of mites called the Astigmata.

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Movie critics might do their readers a favor by slipping more plot spoilers into their reviews. Far from wrecking a story, revealing a surprise ending makes fiction more enjoyable. Also in this issue’s news roundup: Missing oxygen, Carboniferous harvestmen and leaves with special . . . → Read More: In the News: Spoiler Alert]]> from American Scientist
November-December 2011

Movie critics might do their readers a favor by slipping more plot spoilers into their reviews. Far from wrecking a story, revealing a surprise ending makes fiction more enjoyable. Also in this issue’s news roundup: Missing oxygen, Carboniferous harvestmen and leaves with special echoes.
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There’s nothing subtle about dryer lint: Clean the fluffy, gray mat off the filter or risk a fire. Washer lint, however, is sneaky. Nearly 2000 polyester fibers can float away, unseen, from a single fleece sweater in one wash cycle, a new study reports. That synthetic lint likely makes its way . . . → Read More: Laundry Lint Pollutes the World’s Oceans]]> from ScienceNOW Daily News
October 21, 2011

There’s nothing subtle about dryer lint: Clean the fluffy, gray mat off the filter or risk a fire. Washer lint, however, is sneaky. Nearly 2000 polyester fibers can float away, unseen, from a single fleece sweater in one wash cycle, a new study reports. That synthetic lint likely makes its way through sewage treatment systems and into oceans around the world. The consequences of this widespread pollution are still hazy, but environmental scientists say the microscopic plastic fibers have the potential to harm marine life.

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