Magpie News Collector

animal

This spider’s barf is worse than its bite

By Science News | Susan Milius | 6/12/2025 8:00 PM

Most spider species subdue dinner by injecting venom from their fangs. Feather-legged lace weavers swathe prey in silk, then upchuck a killing brew. ... Read full Story

animal

Preemptively cutting rhinos’ horns cuts poaching

By Science News | Jake Buehler | 6/5/2025 2:00 PM

Comparing various tactics for protecting rhinos suggests that dehorning them drastically reduces poaching. ... Read full Story

animal

Probiotics helped great star corals fend off a deadly disease

By Science News | Martin J. Kernan | 6/5/2025 2:00 AM

A probiotic paste prevented the spread of stony coral tissue loss disease, but the treatment is still a proof-of-concept, not a cure. ... Read full Story

animal

Flamingos create precise water vortices in a shrimp-hunting frenzy

By Science News | Elie Dolgin | 6/4/2025 11:00 AM

Nashville Zoo flamingos reveal the oddball birds generate many types of vortices to eat. The swirls could be an inspiration to human engineers. ... Read full Story

animal

Aussie cockatoos use their beaks and claws to turn on water fountains

By Science News | Jake Buehler | 6/3/2025 7:01 PM

Parrots living in Sydney have learned how to turn on water fountains for a drink. It's the first such drinking strategy seen in the birds. ... Read full Story

animal

How luna moths grow extravagant wings

By Science News | Susan Milius | 5/30/2025 12:00 PM

Warm temperatures, not just predator pressure, may favor luna moths’ long bat-fooling streamers, a geographic analysis of iNaturalist pics shows. ... Read full Story

animal

Genetics might save the rare, elusive saola — if it’s not already extinct

By Science News | Tom Metcalfe | 5/29/2025 9:00 AM

A new genetic study could help saolas survive by enabling better searches through environmental DNA. But some experts fear they may be extinct already. ... Read full Story

animal

Bedbugs may have been one of the first urban pests

By Science News | Jake Buehler | 5/27/2025 7:01 PM

Common bedbugs experienced a dramatic jump in population size about 13,000 years ago, around the time humans congregated in the first cities. ... Read full Story

animal

The first cicada concert was 47 million years ago

By Science News | Larissa G. Capella | 5/27/2025 9:00 AM

A 47-million-year-old cicada fossil from Germany’s Messel Pit could teach us about the evolution of insect communication. ... Read full Story

animal

Penguin poop gives Antarctic cloud formation a boost

By Science News | Carolyn Gramling | 5/22/2025 11:10 AM

Penguin poop provides ammonia for cloud formation in coastal Antarctica, potentially helping to mitigate the impacts of climate change in the region. ... Read full Story

animal

Juvenile capuchins are kidnapping infants of another monkey species

By Science News | Freda Kreier | 5/19/2025 11:00 AM

Over 15 months on Jicarón Island, researchers saw five capuchin juveniles abduct 11 endangered howler monkey infants — all for no clear purpose. ... Read full Story

animal

A ‘talking’ ape’s death signals the end of an era

By Science News | Erin Wayman | 5/19/2025 9:00 AM

Kanzi showed apes have the capacity for language, but in recent years scientists have questioned the ethics of ape experiments. ... Read full Story

animal

Some science seems silly, but it’s still worthwhile

By Science News | Karen Kwon | 5/16/2025 1:30 PM

The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog contends that curiosity-driven research helps us understand the world and could lead to unexpected benefits. ... Read full Story

animal

What gene makes orange cats orange? Scientists figured it out

By Science News | McKenzie Prillaman | 5/15/2025 11:00 AM

Researchers found the gene and genetic variation behind orange fur in most domestic cats, solving a decades-long mystery. ... Read full Story

animal

This exquisite Archaeopteryx fossil reveals how flight took off in birds

By Science News | Carolyn Gramling | 5/14/2025 11:05 AM

Analyses unveiled never-before-seen feathers and bones from the first known bird, strengthening the case that Archaeopteryx could fly. ... Read full Story

animal

Wild chimpanzees give first aid to each other

By Science News | Martin J. Kernan | 5/14/2025 12:00 AM

A study in Uganda shows how often chimps use medicinal plants and other forms of health care — and what that says about the roots of human medicine. ... Read full Story

animal

This tool-wielding assassin turns its prey’s defenses into a trap

By Science News | Siddhant Pusdekar | 5/12/2025 3:00 PM

This assassin bug's ability to use a tool — bees’ resin — could shed light on how the ability evolved in other animals. ... Read full Story

animal

Chimp chatter is a lot more like human language than previously thought

By Science News | Jake Buehler | 5/9/2025 2:00 PM

Chimpanzees combine hoots, calls and grunts to convey far more concepts than with single sounds alone. It may be a first among nonhuman animals. ... Read full Story

animal

Ancient poems document the decline of the Yangtze finless porpoise

By Science News | McKenzie Prillaman | 5/5/2025 11:00 AM

The porpoise is critically endangered. Ancient Chinese poems reveal the animal’s range has dropped about 65 percent over the past 1,400 years. ... Read full Story

animal

Frog ribbits erupt via an extravagant variety of vocal sacs

By Science News | Susan Milius | 5/5/2025 9:00 AM

Shape matters as well as size in the great range of male frog show-off equipment for competitive seductive serenades. ... Read full Story

auto

2025 Ford F-150 Lobo Is the Street Truck We've Been Waiting For

by Car and Drive | Jun 12 2025

connecticut

We must confront the injustice of our immigration system

by CT Mirror | Jun 13 2025

fashion

Miranda Kerr’s 3 skin care rules to live by — and her clever trick for reapplying sunscreen

by NY Post | Jun 11 2025

finance

Oil prices surge 10%, U.S. stock futures fall as Israel strikes Iran

by MarketWatch.com | Jun 12 2025

food

Taylor Swift Elevates Her Chocolate Chip Cookies With This Fall-Inspired Twist

by The Daily Meal | Jun 12 2025

health

Your Dementia Risk May Be Higher Depending on Where You Live

by Healthline.com | Jun 12 2025

how_to

Your Vacuum Routine Is Probably Useless—Unless You're Doing This

by CNET | Jun 12 2025

knowledge

Here’s Why Skyscrapers Don’t Have 13th Floors

by Reader's Digest | Jun 12 2025

mental

Special Olympics Advocates: Don’t Leave This Community Out of Mental Health Discussions

by thehealthy.com | May 28 2025

metro

NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams claims Trump is exciting ‘white supremacy’ across nation, slams Adams at protest

by New York Post | Jun 13 2025

music

Mike Love Honors Brian Wilson During His Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction: ‘I Do Feel His Presence’

by Billboard | Jun 12 2025

nation

Trump administration advises 500,000 migrants to self-deport

by upi.com | Jun 12 2025

nutrition

12 Healthiest Non-Perishable Foods to Stock Up On, According to Registered Dietitians

by thehealthy.com | Jun 04 2025

opinion

The Trump vs. Musk battle was inevitable — but once again the president comes out on top

by New York Post | Jun 13 2025

people

Larsa Pippen explodes on Real Housewives of Miami after breakup with Marcus Jordan and fight with Lisa Hochstein

by marca.com | Jun 13 2025

Word of the Day

rambunctious

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 13, 2025 is:

rambunctious • \ram-BUNK-shuss\ • adjective

Rambunctious describes someone or something showing uncontrolled exuberance.

// On my first day of student teaching, I was tasked with managing a class of rambunctious youngsters.

See the entry >

Examples:

"To juvenile loggerhead sea turtles, a tasty squid might as well be a disco ball. When they sense food—or even think some might be nearby—these reptiles break into an excited dance. ... Researchers recently used this distinctive behavior to test whether loggerheads could identify the specific magnetic field signatures of places where they had eaten in the past. The results, published in Nature, reveal that these rambunctious reptiles dance when they encounter magnetic conditions they associate with food." — Jack Tamisiea, Scientific American, 12 Feb. 2025

Did you know?

Rambunctious first appeared in print in the early half of the 19th century, at a time when the fast-growing United States was forging its identity and indulging in a fashion for colorful new coinages suggestive of the young nation's optimism and exuberance. Rip-roaring, scalawag, scrumptious, hornswoggle, and skedaddle are other examples of the lively language of that era. Did Americans alter the largely British rumbustious because it sounded, well, British? That could be. Rumbustious, which first appeared in Britain in the late 1700s just after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was probably based on robustious, a much older adjective meaning both "robust" and "boisterous."

This spider’s barf is worse than its bite

Preemptively cutting rhinos’ horns cuts poaching

Probiotics helped great star corals fend off a deadly disease

Flamingos create precise water vortices in a shrimp-hunting frenzy

Aussie cockatoos use their beaks and claws to turn on water fountains

How luna moths grow extravagant wings

Genetics might save the rare, elusive saola — if it’s not already extinct

Bedbugs may have been one of the first urban pests

The first cicada concert was 47 million years ago

Penguin poop gives Antarctic cloud formation a boost

Juvenile capuchins are kidnapping infants of another monkey species

A ‘talking’ ape’s death signals the end of an era

Some science seems silly, but it’s still worthwhile

What gene makes orange cats orange? Scientists figured it out

This exquisite Archaeopteryx fossil reveals how flight took off in birds

Wild chimpanzees give first aid to each other

This tool-wielding assassin turns its prey’s defenses into a trap

Chimp chatter is a lot more like human language than previously thought

Ancient poems document the decline of the Yangtze finless porpoise

Frog ribbits erupt via an extravagant variety of vocal sacs

2025 Ford F-150 Lobo Is the Street Truck We've Been Waiting For

We must confront the injustice of our immigration system

Miranda Kerr’s 3 skin care rules to live by — and her clever trick for reapplying sunscreen

Oil prices surge 10%, U.S. stock futures fall as Israel strikes Iran

Taylor Swift Elevates Her Chocolate Chip Cookies With This Fall-Inspired Twist

Your Dementia Risk May Be Higher Depending on Where You Live

Your Vacuum Routine Is Probably Useless—Unless You're Doing This

Here’s Why Skyscrapers Don’t Have 13th Floors

Special Olympics Advocates: Don’t Leave This Community Out of Mental Health Discussions

NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams claims Trump is exciting ‘white supremacy’ across nation, slams Adams at protest

Mike Love Honors Brian Wilson During His Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction: ‘I Do Feel His Presence’

Trump administration advises 500,000 migrants to self-deport

12 Healthiest Non-Perishable Foods to Stock Up On, According to Registered Dietitians

The Trump vs. Musk battle was inevitable — but once again the president comes out on top

Larsa Pippen explodes on Real Housewives of Miami after breakup with Marcus Jordan and fight with Lisa Hochstein

Word of the Day

10 Odd & Fun

1.Chinese bank barred from offering customers free Labubu dolls

2.Look: Escaped tortoise found wandering S.C. neighborhood

3.Watch: Oregon middle schoolers design prosthetics for paralyzed dog

4.Watch: Escaped water buffalo herd wanders through British Columbia city

5.Watch: New York man plays golf for 36 consecutive hours

6.Canadian man wins his fourth major lottery prize

7.Watch: Bear trapped using doughnuts after a soak in hot tub

8.Winner of D.C. Lego contest shows pandas taking over the capital

9.Watch: Library returns 1953 wedding photo found in book to couple's family

10.Look: Officials round up 60 cows set loose in California city