A few hours in high temps reduced the ability of antennae to detect flower scents by 80 percent. That could impact the bees’ ability to find food. ... Read full Story
By Science News | Jason Bittel | 9/3/2024 12:15 AM
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By Science News | Jason Bittel | 8/28/2024 11:00 AM
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By Science News | Jake Buehler | 8/28/2024 9:00 AM
A recent expedition to the intersection of two undersea mountain chains has revealed a new seamount and a rich world of deep-sea biodiversity. ... Read full Story
By Science News | Abby Wallace | 8/23/2024 9:00 AM
National Geographic’s documentary series ‘OceanXplorers,’ produced by James Cameron, invites you aboard one of the most advanced research vessels in the world. ... Read full Story
By Science News | Jake Buehler | 8/20/2024 9:00 AM
Caves made by extinct giant ground sloths make the perfect home for a newly discovered type of long-spinneret ground spider from Brazil. ... Read full Story
Male fireflies trapped in the spider’s web flash femalelike lights, possibly luring in other flying males and allowing the arachnid to stock up on food. ... Read full Story
The fossil, plus 17 others from more than 500 million years ago, reveal that early mollusks were slug-like creatures with prickly armor. ... Read full Story
After tasting nausea-inducing toad butts, crocodiles in Australia learned to avoid the poisonous live version. Crocodile deaths dropped by 95 percent. ... Read full Story
Birds that are willing to eat seed spiked with chicken poop have higher expression levels of a gut immunity gene, a new study finds. ... Read full Story
Evolving immunity to the Bd fungus and a reintroduction project saved a California frog. The key to rescuing other species might be in the frog’s genes. ... Read full Story
Tracking data show that Desertas petrels often veer toward cyclones and follow in their wake, perhaps to catch prey drawn to the surface. ... Read full Story
Electrostatically charged lepidopterans could draw pollen out of flowers without touching the blooms, computer simulations suggest. ... Read full Story
Researchers want to harness the parasite that causes toxoplasmosis to ferry drugs, but some question if the risks can be eliminated. ... Read full Story
Although H5N1 and its relatives can cause mild disease in some animals, these viruses are more likely to infect brain tissue than other types of flu. ... Read full Story
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 12, 2024 is:
fraternize \FRAT-er-nyze\ verb
To fraternize with someone is to be friendly with them or to spend time with them in a friendly way. Fraternize is often, though not always, used in situations where such friendly behavior is considered wrong or improper, as in “fraternizing with the enemy.”
// The boss warned that fraternizing with the junior employees could be a risky career move for a manager.
“Ten years after the successful opening of the Tyler Colleges, my grandfather, who was 17 at the time, began to study and take advantage of the rich social and economic legacy of barbering. He opened the first barbershop to be owned and operated by an African American in Gordon Heights, Long Island. From its humble beginnings to the next 68 years thereafter, his business became a place in the Black community that men gathered to connect, fraternize and—of course—get groomed; a place where Black men found hopes, dreams and pride.” — Stacey Morris, Variety, 23 Feb. 2022
Did you know?
O brother where art thou? In many an English word descended from the Latin noun frater, meaning “brother,” that’s where. Both fraternize and fraternal (meaning “of, relating to, or involving brothers”), for example, come to us by way of Medieval Latin from frater. Other fraterprogeny in English include friar and fraternity. Even brother itself shares a relationship with frater (albeit it a more distant one). These days, although fraternize can still apply to a brotherly association or simple friendliness, it is often used in phrases, such as “fraternizing with the enemy,” implying friendliness toward someone who would be better avoided.