By Science News | Susan Milius | 10/30/2024 8:00 AM
Vespa orientalis fed an 80-percent-ethanol brew still did hornet tasks and had normal life spans. This trick may be an adaptation to gut-dwelling yeast. ... Read full Story
African giant pouched rats can detect landmines and diseases. Now some have been trained to sense elephant ivory, pangolin scales and more. ... Read full Story
By Science News | Sujata Gupta | 10/25/2024 9:00 AM
A mid-1850s act let the United States seize islands rich in bird guano. Those strategic outposts fueled the U.S. rise to power, a researcher says. ... Read full Story
Rediscovery of giant salmon carp in Cambodia sparks hope for the rare fish’s survival and efforts to conserve one of the greatest diversity hot spots. ... Read full Story
By Science News | Jake Buehler | 10/23/2024 2:00 PM
Polar bears have been exposed to more viruses, bacteria and parasites in recent decades, a new study shows, possibly acquiring the germs in their diet. ... Read full Story
By Science News | Jake Buehler | 10/11/2024 11:00 AM
Genetic analysis of cavity crud from two famed man-eating lions suggests the method could re-create diets of predators that lived thousands of years ago. ... Read full Story
By Science News | Susan Milius | 10/8/2024 7:01 PM
Elephant trunks, more sci-fi face-tentacle than ho-hum mammal nose, are getting new scrutiny as researchers explore how the wrinkles grow. ... Read full Story
By Science News | Andrea Tamayo | 10/4/2024 10:30 AM
Eiffinger’s tree frog babies store their solid waste in an intestinal pouch, releasing less ammonia into their watery cribs than other frog species. ... Read full Story
By Science News | Gennaro Tomma | 10/2/2024 11:00 AM
Experts urge caution in calling bottlenosed dolphins’ gesture a humanlike “smile,” but agree it seems to be important for how the animals communicate. ... Read full Story
By Science News | Susan Milius | 10/1/2024 7:01 PM
The ability to make heart-melting stares may not be the fruit of dog domestication if their still-wild cousins have the power to do it too. ... Read full Story
Two species of birds in Costa Rica build nests in trees defended by ants. Ants that encounter the horsehair fungus in the nests develop odd behaviors. ... Read full Story
In the book ‘Night Magic,’ Leigh Ann Henion writes of encounters with salamanders, bats, glowworms and other life-forms nurtured by darkness. ... Read full Story
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 30, 2024 is:
syncretism \SING-kruh-tiz-um\ noun
Syncretism refers to the combining of different forms of belief or practice.
// As a scholar of religion, Laila is especially interested in the syncretism of Manichaeism, which was influenced by Christianity, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism.
"Explore the archaeological wonders of Chavín de Huantar, where history comes alive. This village, steeped in cultural richness, provides a journey into Peru's ancient past. 'The village of Chavín de Huántar is an example of how tourism can foster syncretism between religious traditions and ancestral cultural elements, generating experiences with a positive impact for the population and improving the quality of life of its residents,' said the UNWTO [United Nations World Tourism Organization]." — Laura Begley Bloom, Forbes, 26 Nov. 2023
Did you know?
The ancient Greeks used the term synkrētismos to refer to Cretan cities allied in opposition to a common enemy. In the early 17th century, English speakers adopted the term in the anglicized form syncretism to refer to the union of different religious beliefs. Three centuries later, lexicographers of the 1909 edition of Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language added a new definition of syncretism ("the union or fusion into one or two or more originally different inflectional forms, as of two cases"), but this specialized sense is rarely encountered outside of the field of linguistics. Some related terms that you are more likely to encounter are syncretize ("to attempt to unite and harmonize"), syncretist ("one who advocates syncretism"), and syncretic and syncretistic ("characterized or brought about by syncretism").