By James Urquhart Formosan-termit “Coptotermes formosanus” invasive termite, nicknamed the super-termite because of its destructive habits; Shutterstock ID 1078415000; purchase_order: PHOTO; job: 22 June 2021 Online; client: NS; other:Shutterstock / Dan Olsen Termites are renowned for devouring wood. Now, bacteria in one termite species’ guts have been shown to break down toxic creosote, which is…
By Krista Charles When looking at a scene (left), each quick eye movement creates motion streaks (right) on the retina that we don’t consciously perceiveMartin Rolfs It has sometimes been assumed that we experience brief periods without vision every time we shift our focus from one point to another – but it turns out this…
By Michael Le Page , Clare Wilson , Jessica Hamzelou , Sam Wong , Graham Lawton , Adam Vaughan , Conrad Quilty-Harper and Layal Liverpool A member of the public receives the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images Latest coronavirus news as of 5.30pm on 23 July Longer interval between first and second Pfizer/BioNTech…
Environment 23 July 2021 By Michael Le Page When gathering DNA from zoos, researchers detected nearby native species like the European hedgehogOksana Schmidt/Getty Images Vacuuming DNA out of the air can reveal which animals are present in an area, two teams have independently shown. The approach could make it much easier to monitor wildlife in…
Technology 23 July 2021 By Matthew Sparkes Stopwatches may not be as accurate as you thinkEyeEm / Alamy Digital stopwatches can make rounding errors of up to 0.11 seconds, which could be enough to change the winner of close races. Although the devices record time extremely accurately internally, they often make errors when converting that…
By Claire Ainsworth A Galapagos giant tortoiseShutterstock/FOTOGRIN Galapagos giant tortoises are long-lived in part because their cells are surprisingly sensitive to certain forms of stress. As well as informing research into human medicine, the finding reveals how animals have evolved different ways to resist cancer and ageing. “There’s lots of different ways to get to…
By Clare Wilson Cherry tomato plants have a kind of nervous systemShutterstock / Digihelion Tomatoes that are being eaten by insects use electrical signals to send an alert to the rest of the plant, similar to the way our nervous systems warn of damage. The messages seem to help the plant muster defences such as…
Life 19 July 2021 By Clare Wilson There are many ways that our great ape relatives can remind us of ourselves: through their anatomy, cleverness and social relationships, for instance. But never has the resemblance been so striking for me as today, when I watch gorillas carrying out a very human past-time: solving puzzles. The…
By Michael Le Page , Clare Wilson , Jessica Hamzelou , Sam Wong , Graham Lawton , Adam Vaughan , Conrad Quilty-Harper and Layal Liverpool A mobile phone shows an NHS Covid app order to self-isolate due to possible coronavirus exposure.Anna Watson/Alamy Latest coronavirus news as of 4.30pm on 20 July Poll finds one in…
By Adam Vaughan A female monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) laying eggs on a milkweed plantCorry Anne / Alamy Climate change has been the biggest cause of the precipitous decline of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) in North America in recent years, say researchers who fear parts of its breeding range will become inhospitable under future…
By Michael Le Page , Clare Wilson , Jessica Hamzelou , Sam Wong , Graham Lawton , Adam Vaughan , Conrad Quilty-Harper and Layal Liverpool vittaya25/Getty Images Latest coronavirus news as of 5pm on 16 July Plan to lift majority of restrictions in England is a threat to the world, say scientists and health leaders…
By David Hambling An Airobotics drone and its base stationAirobotics Dubai police will be able to respond to an incident anywhere in the United Arab Emirates city within a minute, thanks to a network of pre-positioned drone bases. The quadcopters, supplied by Israeli company Airobotics, will operate from base stations during the Expo 2020 event…