Every summer, millions of people spray themselves with DEET to keep mosquitoes away. But new research suggests mosquitoes may be able to learn to associate the repellent with food—and even become attracted to it.
Their fur might feel the same, but a mink in the Everglades is not the same as a mink from northern Florida, researchers from the University of Connecticut and Central Connecticut State University report in the April 20 issue of Nature Heredity, which also ran a podcast discussing the research. The scientists' findings could justify greater protections for the Everglades mink.
Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a platform that engineers heat-loving microbes for industrial-scale manufacturing in a matter of weeks compared with previous approaches that can take months to years. This biotechnology tool strengthens American manufacturing capacity, supporting long-term energy security and global competitiveness.
More than 1,000 years ago, Panama elites were buried together with translucent green stones long suspected to be emeralds. However, scientific analysis confirming the suspicion has never been conducted. Now, scientists have confirmed for the first time that these green gems were emeralds that traveled more than 700 km through complex trade networks linking Central and South American societies.
On the moon, the lack of atmosphere and accompanying features such as biological activity, oxygen-rich air, flowing water and rain, wind, and most erosion allows the lunar regolith to preserve a long-term record of surface processes in the space environment.
When researchers survey wildlife in a lake, forest, or other habitat, they rarely capture every species present—some are simply too rare or elusive to detect. A new study published in the May issue of Ecological Informatics addresses this longstanding challenge by offering a more powerful statistical method to estimate not just the species scientists can see, but also the ones they're likely missing.
Researchers in Spain have discovered that in collectives of moving fire ants, rippling "waves" of density and activity are likely triggered by local regions where ants collectively travel in the same direction as their neighbors.
Tire rubber contains antioxidant chemicals, most notably 6PPD and DPPD, that are released into the air as tiny particles during normal driving. A single compound formed from 6PPD, known as 6PPD-quinone was previously shown to be implicated in the death of coho salmon in urban waterways, but the broader atmospheric chemistry and potential human health impacts of these compounds have remained largely unexplored until now.
Get set for a rare blue micromoon this weekend—a blue moon that's also the most distant and smallest-looking full moon of the year.
Researchers have found surprising links that show that Neanderthal ancestry influences our immune system today in ways more nuanced than previously recognized. Their work is published in the journal Genome Biology and Evolution.
