Looking to nature for technological inspiration is nothing new and now a team of scientists are hoping that new insights into spider fangs and the composition and structure of their materials may provide inspiration for the optimization of similar technical materials and devices. Although their armor consists of the same material as their predator’s fangs, [...]

Researchers from Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly) developed a bio-inspired robotic fish to mimic the tail propulsion of a swimming fish and conducted experiments at varying tail beat frequencies and flow speeds. They found that when the robot fish was placed with a school of golden shiners and simulated the familiar tail movement [...]

A new, controversial proposal would try to regulate sugar as a toxic substance, since it’s calorie-rich and naturally enables obesity. Researchers consider it close to alcohol and tobacco, with unique properties that set off a hormonal response, resulting in higher risks of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. A growing body of research is [...]

Smithsonian ecologists are publishing new research that shows how an orchid’s survival depends on fungi and the age of the forest that it is growing in. Orchids are the largest plant family on Earth and depend on microscopic fungi as a food source for the nutrients that ensure that their seeds will germinate. Due to [...]

MIT researchers state that all flying objects must observe a theoretical speed limit in order to avoid a crash. Flying faster than this speed will result in a crash regardless how much information the flying object has on the environment. These researchers are observing how birds fly through cluttered environments to gain a better understanding [...]

In the past, astronomers had no evidence that there were planets orbiting other stars. Now, they estimate that the Milky Way might contain huge numbers of planets, with rocky, Earth-sized worlds outnumbering the rest. Astronomers have been using gravitational microlensing, a technique based upon Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, which implies that massive objects bend the [...]

Soon, whenever we buy silk products they will be much stronger. US researchers have created genetically modified silkworms that can spin silk far stronger and with more elasticity than the normal silk produced by the worms. This breakthrough comes from the University of Wyoming. Their goal is to produce silk from worms that has the [...]

As Sumatran rhino’s numbers continue to decrease and head towards extinction, the race is on to find a breeding pair to start their long-term preservation. They have been trying, but no luck so far. Three years ago on the island of Borneo they found a suitable male rhino, but had a hard time finding a [...]

It looks like dingoes are smarter than we realized. A captive dingo has been caught on camera, displaying some interesting problem solving skills. It moved a table to use it as a stepping stool in order to reach some food. The Australian Dingo Foundation observing dingoes at the Dingo Discovery and Research Centre in Toolern [...]

National Geographic knows a thing or two about quality photographs. The photo above was taken by Stefano Pesarelli in the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya and received an Honorable Mention in this year’s National Geographic photo contest. It’s easy to see why. It is a striking photo that illustrates the amazing speed of the [...]

According to Smithsonian researchers, the brains of tiny spiders are so large that they fill their body cavities and even overflow into their legs. They are essentially walking brains. Researchers measured the central nervous systems of nine species of spiders, everything from giant rainforest dwellers to spiders smaller than the head of a pin. What [...]

It might be a small world after all, but there’s still plenty to learn about this little blue marble we call Earth, and there’s no greater indication of that than the 208 new species that were discovered in the Greater Mekong region in 2010. I never could understand why people started looking towards the stars [...]