Blooms of the algae Karenia brevis — known as a red tide — bring havoc to Gulf Coast shores. The algae can kill fish and other marine life, and it Keep reading
Tag: biology
Hunting By Whisker
Seals and sea lions often hunt fish in waters too dark or turbid to rely on eyesight. Instead, they follow their whiskers, using the turbulence generated by a fish’s wake. Keep reading
A Toad’s Sticky Saliva
Frogs and toads shoot out their tongues to capture and envelop their prey in a fraction of a second. They owe their success in this area to two features: the Keep reading
Anchoring Mussels
Mussels live in rough conditions, constantly pummeled by waves and turbulent currents. They hold themselves fast in the flow using dozens of byssel threads (commonly called a mussel’s beard) that Keep reading
Honeybee Feeding
Busy bees feed on millions of flowers for each kilogram of honey they produce. To gather nectar, bees use their hairy tongues, which project out of a sheath-like cover. Protraction Keep reading
Water-Jumping Springtails
Springtails are small, jumping insects. Semiaquatic varieties use their tails to jump off water in order to move around and escape predation. Among these water jumpers, results vary; some, like Keep reading
Pee-Flinging Sharpshooters
The tiny glassy-winged sharpshooter feeds exclusively on nutrient-poor sap from plant xylem. Since the sap is 95% water, the insects have to consume massive amounts, necessitating lots of urination — Keep reading
Curved Cracks
When mixtures of particles and fluids dry, they typically leave a pattern of straight cracks. Here researchers explore what happens when the drying film contains bacteria from the family E. Keep reading
Placental Fluid Dynamics
The placenta, critical as it is to human life and development, is likely the least-studied organ in the body. Reasons for that abound, from the ethics of studying pregnant people Keep reading
Breaking Clots With Sound
Clots that block blood flow away from the brain are one of the most common causes of strokes for younger people. If caught early, anticoagulants can sometimes resolve the issue, Keep reading