A Moment of Science

Moths are evolving to avoid city lights

Hinzugefügt: 3. Januar 2024

Moths are a lot less attracted to artificial light than they used to be. Learn more about what that means with today's A Moment of Science!

Recognizing different relatives

Hinzugefügt: 2. Januar 2024

Other animals besides humans learn to recognize their relatives

Jellyfish thrive in cold water, too

Hinzugefügt: 1. Januar 2024

Jellyfish, delicate and soft as they may be, thrive even in places you might not go swimming—including the Arctic.

Mona Lisa's smile: now you see it, now you don't

Hinzugefügt: 29. Dezember 2023

Any list of the world's top ten most famous paintings will surely include da Vinci's "Mona Lisa." Part of the painting's appeal is its mystery.

Rethinking dopamine

Hinzugefügt: 28. Dezember 2023

Scientists are now considering the role that dopamine plays in our bodies’ response to other stimuli, such as surprising, new, or negative events.

The sensitivity of dog noses

Hinzugefügt: 27. Dezember 2023

Did you know that dog’s noses can be tens of thousands of times more sensitive than ours?

The curious case of microbial invasion

Hinzugefügt: 26. Dezember 2023

‘Biological invasion’ is a phenomenon that occurs when a foreign organism establishes within a community of organisms that it otherwise wouldn’t be associated with.

What's the difference between hair and fur?

Hinzugefügt: 25. Dezember 2023

Hair and fur are practically identical. How can that be?

Bees have figured out some sweet, sweet math

Hinzugefügt: 22. Dezember 2023

When you think of beehive, your first thought may be of honey oozing out of the iconic hexagonal cells. Remarkable as the honey may be, though, the cells themselves are just as interesting.

Making a new mouth for every meal

Hinzugefügt: 21. Dezember 2023

Microscopic hydras will trap and paralyze their prey. The next step usually is to stuff their mouths, only hydras usually don't have mouths.

DNA and RNA in a genetic museum

Hinzugefügt: 20. Dezember 2023

When it comes to researching extinct animals the focus has almost entirely been on DNA because it tends to stand the test of time better, but RNA is the real secret to understanding how animal’s...

How cockroaches get away

Hinzugefügt: 19. Dezember 2023

The all-too-familiar American cockroach almost seems to know where you're going to strike. What's the tip-off that sends the cockroach running?

Seeing color out of the corner of your eye

Hinzugefügt: 18. Dezember 2023

If you look at a green door at the edge of your field of vision, it's still green. Simple right? Not quite.

Tardigrades are even stranger than they appear

Hinzugefügt: 15. Dezember 2023

Tardigrades look strange, but they're made up of even stranger stuff.

The mermaid, the witch, and climate change?

Hinzugefügt: 14. Dezember 2023

Some academics have turned to creative sources to translate what existing research tells us about climate problems and policy responses: fairy tale characters.

MRI, CT, and PET scans, oh my!

Hinzugefügt: 13. Dezember 2023

What sets MRI, CT, and PET scans apart?

You are what you eat, even for extinct Caribbean rodents

Hinzugefügt: 12. Dezember 2023

In 2018, scientists from Johns Hopkins and the University of Cincinnati attempted the first study of extinct Hispaniolan rodents using isotopes. What can isotopes tell us about extinct animals?

Firefly flashes are mating signals

Hinzugefügt: 11. Dezember 2023

Male fireflies cruise the evening air, flashing their lanterns in a pattern characteristic of their species, looking for females of their own kind.

The ocean is changing color

Hinzugefügt: 8. Dezember 2023

About 56% of the ocean’s surface has changed in color. An expanse larger than Earth’s entire land surface has become slightly greener.

What makes fluorescent colors so bright?

Hinzugefügt: 7. Dezember 2023

Have you ever wondered why fluorescent colors -- like you see in highlighters or clothing dyes, for instance - seem so much brighter than other colors?