Science

Superworms, the larvae of Zophobas morio, are often used as animal feed Scientists tested pet-store ‘superworms’ on animal specimens and found the beetle larvae can clean skeletons for museums without harsh chemicals or bone damage.A common insect larva found in local pet shops is offering museums a safe, cheap, and gentle way to clean animal … Read more

The animals worked together to hold and ram giant sharp-tail sunfish. (Picture: Live Science) Orcas have been filmed using a hunting technique that scientists say has not been recorded before. Researchers observed the marine predators working together to hold and ram a giant sunfish so forcefully that its body broke into thousands of small pieces.The … Read more

Beavers may weigh only around 20 kilograms, but their engineering skills can reshape entire landscapes. Using little more than their powerful teeth, branches, stones and mud, these rodents build dams that slow rivers, create wetlands and transform dry valleys into thriving ecosystems. While these structures are best known for forming ponds, scientists have discovered they … Read more

Giant sequoias (Image Credit: Canva) California’s giant sequoias have stood tall for thousands of years, surviving droughts, storms and countless natural fires. Yet, in just two wildfire seasons, these ancient giants suffered unprecedented losses. Between 2020 and 2021, record-breaking wildfires are estimated to have killed nearly 17% of the world’s mature giant sequoias, roughly one … Read more

Image Credit: Josh Koch/USGS In the heart of Alaska’s wilderness, a transformation is happening because of which the scientists and local communities are deeply concerned. The once-fresh, crystal-clear rivers of the Brooks Range in northern Alaska are rapidly turning into a vivid, rusty orange colour. According to the U.S National Park Service, this transformation, visible … Read more

Cockroaches have a reputation problem. Most people picture them scurrying across a kitchen floor, but that image only applies to a tiny fraction of the group. Earth is home to thousands of cockroach species, and the overwhelming majority live far away from human homes, spread across forests and other natural habitats where they quietly go … Read more

Nikola Tesla (Image: Wikipedia) Being copied usually provokes anger. A line widely credited to Nikola Tesla suggests a different reaction entirely. “I don’t care that they stole my idea,” it goes. “I care that they don’t have any of their own.” Rather than focusing on the theft itself, the line shifts attention toward something Tesla … Read more

The Amazon rainforest is never truly quiet, and its endless chorus of chirps, whistles and calls may carry far more information than humans realise. Scientists studying wildlife in the Peruvian Amazon have uncovered a remarkable network in which birds and primates pick up information from one another’s alarm calls when predators appear. Small canopy birds … Read more

Zoe Kissane says the birds often ate at seed spills around agricultural operations (Supplied: Murdoch Univeristy) Scientists tracking endangered Carnaby’s black cockatoos across Western Australia’s Wheatbelt over three breeding seasons found worrying levels of chemical contamination in the birds’ food. Four out of five seed samples tested positive for pesticides, with some containing chemical levels … Read more

A mosquito lands on a blackbird’s wing. It pierces the skin, draws blood, and moves on. Somewhere in that moment, a parasite called Plasmodium slips into the bird’s bloodstream. Researchers have long known this happens across the UK, but they weren’t sure which mosquitoes do the transmitting. They finally have answers to that puzzle. A … Read more