Sometimes the mundane events of life hide extraordinary phenomena. This award-winning photograph by Sarang Naik shows yellow-brown spores streaming off a mushroom during monsoon season. The plume is abstract and Keep reading
Tag: biology
Unusual Insects Taking Off
What do you do when you’re an insect researcher with a high-speed camera? Why, film all sorts of unusual insects from your backyard as they take off and fly! Here Keep reading
How Frogs Block Unwanted Noise
In a crowded room, it can be hard to pick out the one conversation you want to hear. This so-called “cocktail party problem” is one animals have to contend with, Keep reading
When Squids Fly
Some species of squid fly at speeds comparable to a motorboat for distances of 50 meters. The cephalopods get into the air the same way they swim underwater: by expelling Keep reading
Flamingo Filter-Feeding
Flamingoes are strange and ungainly creatures, but their hooked bills make much more sense when you see them eating underwater. The birds are filter feeders, and they suck water, mud, Keep reading
“Columbia”
“Columbia” is a music video illustrated with fluid dynamics, chemistry, and biology by the Beauty of Science team. It’s got everything from precipitation to crystallization, from infrared imagery of wakes Keep reading
Loopy Networks and Bird Lungs
When mammals breathe, air flows back and forth inside our lungs. But in birds that inhale and exhale get transformed into one-directional flow inside their lungs. To figure out how, Keep reading
The Unsinkable Pygmy Gecko
The Brazilian pygmy gecko is a tiny inhabitant of the Amazon rainforest, growing to no longer than 24 mm. But these tiny lizards have some incredible superpowers when it comes Keep reading
The Fluidity of Worm Blobs
The aquatic blackworm forms blobs composed of thousands of individual worms for protection against evaporation, light, and heat. The worms braid themselves together (Image 1). Once a blob forms, it Keep reading
How Wombats Make Stackable Feces
Wombats are unique among the animal kingdom for their ability to produce cubic feces approximately the size and shape of dice. Researchers found that wombats accomplish this geometric feat thanks Keep reading