Tiny hairs cover the bodies of honeybees — including this one dusted in pollen — that allow them to detect molecular “fingerprints” similar to how home security sensors work.
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Bees and home security cameras use the same complex techniques to monitor their environments.
People reject science such as that about climate change and vaccines, but readily believe scientists about solar eclipses, like this one reflected on the sunglasses of a man dangerously watching in Nicosia, Cyprus, in a 2015 file photo.
(AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
People universally believe scientists’ solar eclipse calendars, but vaccine warnings or climate predictions are forms of science that strangely do not enjoy equivalent acceptance.
Nobel laureate David Baltimore of CalTech speaks to reporters at a 2015 summit on the safety and ethics of human gene-editing.
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Ability expectations are what people rely upon as they seek out productive and satisfying lives. They need to be a key part of the debate over gene-editing and other major scientific breakthroughs.
The manuscript of ‘Memoirs of Sir Isaac Newton’ shows the words ‘does this apple fall?’ Newton’s curiosity about the falling piece of fruit helped him develop the theory of gravity.
(AP Photo/Lucy Young)
Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein would have bridled under today’s research funding bureaucracy. It’s time to allow scientists to indulge their curiosity again.
Male scientists dominate labs, often with little to no female representation in the work or research subjects.
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Even if alien life is never discovered, all is not lost.
Nearly one-third of tropical animal species face extinction if humans do not curb our growing appetites for beef, pork and other land-intensive meats. The Panamanian golden frog bred by the Vancouver Aquarium in this 2014 file photo may be extinct in its natural habitat.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)
As much as one-third of animal species in the tropics could be eradicated if their habitats continue to be converted for monoculture farming. We can all do something to make a difference.
There have been successive large scale droughts in East Africa.
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It’s very easy to assume climate change causes droughts, but they are complex extreme events that result from a combination of drivers.
Tabatha Bundesen’s pet Tardar Sauce became an Internet sensation known as “Grumpy Cat” for a resting facial appearance that resembles a look of dissatisfaction. Now, scientists are starting to be able to read animal emotions from their expressions.
(AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Systematic reviews are rarely applied to basic research. A new study shows how they could separate good data from bad, saving millions in research dollars and speeding life-saving treatments.
Future food will shift to alternative proteins such as insects, like this 3D-printed biscuit made of insect flour by designer Penelope Kupfer.
(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Working with an embedded artist for a year helped one physicist realise that art and science share a lot of common ground
Canada in 2167 could see genetically engineered humans living alongside sentient machines in cities radically altered by ecological change.
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By 2167, genetically designed, digitally enhanced humans with Internet-connected brains will live with intelligent machines in a transformed environment and maybe even among the stars.
Matt Damon as astronaut and exobotanist Mark Watney in the film The Martian grows crops on Mars.
(20th Century Fox/Handout)
We will one day grow food in conditions as extreme as Mars. Developing the controlled environments required will help not only space explorers but also support our own survival here on Earth.
Using passive eDNA detection, we won’t have to wait until we see massive algae blooms to know lakes are struggling.
A seed contains nearly everything a tree needs to get growing. Just add a dash of water, a bit of warmth and the right location, and you’ll be seeing green in no time.
The beautiful Chinese cave gecko, or Goniurosaurus luii, is highly prized by poachers.
Carola Jucknies
Biologists have a centuries-old tradition of publishing on rare and endangered species. But poachers are using open-access information to target valuable and fragile new species.
Professor of Management & Organizations; Professor of Environment & Sustainability; Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at the Ross School of Business and School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan