Zebra Stripes Repel Bloodsucking Flies
In an amazing discovery, researchers report that have discovered that Zebra’s stripes repel bloodsucking horseflies, otherwise known as tabanids.
Latest Science Stories
Scientists Search For Causes Of 2010 'Snowmaggedon'
In the quiet after the storms, streets and cars had all but disappeared under piles of snow. The U.S. Postal Service suspended service for the first time in 30 years. Snow plows struggled to push the evidence off of major roads. Hundreds of thousands of Washington metropolitan residents grappled with the loss of electricity and heat for almost a week.
Shark's 'Denticles' Help It Achieve Higher Speeds
Researchers have found that razor sharp tooth-like scales known as denticles found in a shark's skin actually help the fish swim faster.
Researchers Taking Stock Of Earth's Melting Ice
In a new study led by researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder, scientists using NASA data have found that Earth’s glaciers and ice caps outside of the regions of Greenland and Antarctica are losing nearly 150 billion tons of ice annually.
Next Supercontinent Could Be Formed Near North Pole
All of Earth's continents, believed to have once been joined together as a supercontinent known as Pangaea, will be reunited as a single landmass near the North Pole within the next 50 million to 200 million years.
Russian Team Becomes First To Reach Subglacial Lake
After two decades of on-again, off-again work, a team of Russian scientists claim to have successfully drilled through the frozen crust of Antarctica and into a gigantic, subglacial body of water that had been buried beneath the ice for millions of years.
You Be The Judge: Iceland's Loch Ness Monster Caught On Video
A mythical Icelandic monster known as Lagarfljót's Worm has reportedly been caught on video. Belief in the creature dates back to 1345 and sighting it is considered a bad omen.
Transformational Fruit Fly Genome Catalog Completed
Scientists searching for the genomics version of the holy grail – more insight into predicting how an animal's genes affect physical or behavioral traits – now have a reference manual that should speed gene discoveries in everything from pest control to personalized medicine.
Pacific Carbon Pump Speeds Up In Summer
An international team of scientists led by University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa oceanographer David Karl has documented a regular, significant and unexpected increase in the amount of particulate matter exported to the deep sea in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre.
Carbonized Coffee Grounds Remove Foul Smells
For coffee lovers, the first cup of the morning is one of life’s best aromas. But did you know that the leftover grounds could eliminate one of the worst smells around – sewer gas?
Younger Birds Get No Respect
When mature male white-crowned sparrows duel to win a mate or a nesting territory, a young bird just doesn't get much respect.
Researchers Study Genetic History Of Sheep
Mapping the ancestry of sheep over the past 11,000 years has revealed that our woolly friends are stars among domestic animals, boasting vast genetic diversity and substantial prospects for continued breeding to further boost wool and food production for a rising world population.
Whales Briefly Benefited From Decrease In Shipping Traffic After 9/11
According to a new study, baleen whales suffered less stress from ship noise after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
Philippine Tarsier Has Bat-Like Pitch
One of the world’s smallest primates, the Philippine Tarsier (Tarsius syrichta), has the world’s highest pitched vocalization of any primate ever documented, according to a study published Wednesday.
Genetic Mixing, Not Extinction, Led To Neanderthals' Demise
Rather than being physically wiped out, a new study suggests that Neanderthals were likely integrated into the gene pool of early humans after the two groups crossed paths and began interbreeding.
2011 Shark Attacks Remain Steady, Deaths Highest Since 1993
Shark attacks in the U.S. declined in 2011, but worldwide fatalities reached a two-decade high, according to the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File report released Tuesday.
Explaining Dune Field Patterns
In a study of the harsh but beautiful White Sands National Monument in New Mexico, University of Pennsylvania researchers have uncovered a unifying mechanism to explain dune patterns.
Utah Botanist Finds Smaller Amorphophallus Species
The famed "corpse flower" plant – known for its giant size, rotten-meat odor and phallic shape – has a new, smaller relative: A University of Utah botanist discovered a new species of Amorphophallus that is one-fourth as tall but just as stinky.
Redder Ladybirds Are More Deadly
A ladybird's color indicates how well-fed and how toxic it is, according to an international team of scientists. Research led by the Universities of Exeter and Liverpool directly shows that differences between animals' warning signals reveal how poisonous individuals are to predators.
Studying Nature's Rhythms: Soundscape Ecologists Spawn New Field
Geophony. Biophony. Anthrophony. Unfamiliar words. But they shouldn't be. We're surrounded by them morning, noon and night, say ecologist Bryan Pijanowski of Purdue University and colleagues.
Experts Say Advances In Neuroscience May Affect Future Of Warfare
As is the fate of nearly all scientific and technological advances, military experts are already prowling for ways to convert recent advances in neuroscience into advantages on the battlefield.
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Word of the Day
Quote of the Day
Ecology is rather like sex—every new generation likes to think they were the first to discover it. 
- Michael Allaby (b. 1933), British author, ecologist.