Bees can’t fly over mirrors

Honeybees like to keep an eye on their surroundings as they fly around. While this generally helps them to navigate, it also means they get really confused by mirrors. In 1963, a pair of European scientists trained bees to fly across a lake. They noticed that if the lake’s surface was flat and smooth, the … Continue reading Bees can’t fly over mirrors →

Worms scare off prey with warning bites

Choosing what to eat can be tricky, but it’s a decision that even the simplest of animals have to deal with. Scientists recently experimented on a species of worm and saw it make complex food-based decisions. This is despite only having around 300 neurons in its brain, compared to humans’ 86 billion. Pristionchus pacificus and … Continue reading Worms scare off prey with warning bites →

The secrets of old, old age

It’s the 28th century BC. Stonehenge is being built, Ancient Egypt is still new, and in California, a bristlecone pine tree has just started to grow. Fast-forward almost five thousand years, and that tree, nicknamed ‘Methuselah’, is still alive today. It might be the world’s most ancient living organism – but whether it is or … Continue reading The secrets of old, old age →

The Nobel Prize round-up 2021

The 2021 Nobel Prizes were announced in early October, with the ceremony held as usual on the 10th of December – the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death. It’s almost been another two months since then, but in case you missed it, here’s who won and why. Physics – Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann & Giorgio Parisi … Continue reading The Nobel Prize round-up 2021 →

People don’t stutter when no-one is listening

While most people dislike public speaking, some have it worse than others. Roughly one percent of people are stutterers – their speech is constantly disrupted by pauses and repetitions. However, this only happens when others are around to hear it. Many stutterers have claimed that they speak perfectly clearly when alone. However, this has never … Continue reading People don’t stutter when no-one is listening →

The Ig Nobel Prize round-up 2021

The Ig Nobel Prizes are my favourite event in the scientific calendar, so once again here's my summary of this year’s ten achievements “that make people laugh, then think”. Biology – Susanne Schötz, Robert Eklund & Joost van de Weijer Wouldn’t it be great if we could understand what our pets are saying? That’s the … Continue reading The Ig Nobel Prize round-up 2021 →

From space to schools – What’ll Happen to the Wattle??!

All across Australia, thousands of school students are growing space wattles. They’re doing the What’ll Happen to The Wattle??! program, run by the One Giant Leap Australia Foundation. One Giant Leap director Jackie Carpenter organised for hundreds of wattle seeds to travel to the International Space Station for six months. Now they’re back on Earth, … Continue reading From space to schools – What’ll Happen to the Wattle??! →

Hummingbirds dress up to avoid being noticed

Did you know that you can often tell whether a bird is male or female by how colourful it is? For many species, males have bright, eye-catching feathers while females are plainer. Sometimes, however, these bright colours are actually a disguise. Scientists were studying the white-necked jacobin (a type of hummingbird) when they noticed that … Continue reading Hummingbirds dress up to avoid being noticed →