By Science News | Susan Milius | 6/26/2025 11:30 AM
An egg-shape trend found among birds shows up in miniature with very protective bug parents. Elongated eggs fit more compactly under mom. ... Read full Story
The whales use quick body movements to tear pieces of bull kelp for use as tools, perhaps the first known toolmaking by a marine mammal. ... Read full Story
As Jaws celebrates its 50th anniversary, Science News explores the vast range of shark sizes, from megaladon to the dwarf lanternshark. ... Read full Story
Bogong moths migrate up to 1,000 kilometers from Australian plains to mountain caves to escape the summer heat. The stars may help them get there. ... Read full Story
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 9, 2025 is:
simulacrum \sim-yuh-LAK-rum\ noun
A simulacrum is a superficial likeness of something, usually as an imitation, copy, or representation. The plural of simulacrum is either simulacrums or simulacra.
// The surprise still succeeded, thanks to the simulacrum of confusion expressed by two guests when they were spotted before the big moment.
"Under the lid, there are no strings to move the air, but rather speakers that create an uncanny simulacrum of a grand piano." — Robert Ross, Robb Report, 17 July 2024
Did you know?
There is more than a crumb of similarity between simulacrum and simulate: both words come from simulāre, a Latin verb meaning "to pretend, produce a fraudulent imitation of, imitate." At the root of simulāre is the Latin adjective similis, which means "having characteristics in common." Many "similar" words trace back to similis, hence the resemblance between simulacrum and familiar terms like simultaneous, simile, and of course similarity.