Researchers have identified a specific immune receptor in common bean plants that detects caterpillar saliva, triggering a distress signal to attract predatory wasps. Plants lacking this receptor showed significantly reduced defenses against caterpillars and failed to summon wasps.
May's science roundup features a potential prehistoric copper smelting site in the Pyrenees, a new species of tiny blue octopus from the Galapagos, insights into why cats prefer silver vine over catnip, and a study suggesting political polarization behaves like a phase transition.
Rising temperatures due to climate change are causing cognitive impairments in animals, leading to increased aggression, reduced learning abilities, and decreased vigilance. This affects species from birds and dogs to fish and insects, potentially disrupting ecosystems and risking species survival.
Gravitational lensing reveals Abell 2744−QSO1, a supermassive black hole with minimal surrounding galaxy, observed 700 million years after the Big Bang, challenging theories on early black hole formation.
Urban Australian male bowerbirds incorporate significantly more human-made items into their courtship displays than rural counterparts, with urban bowers having more decorations overall. Researchers from the University of Exeter observed differences in preferred materials, suggesting urbanization impacts bowerbird behavior and potentially sexual selection.
Archaeologists experimented with rhino teeth to see if Neanderthals used them as tools. The study found markings on ancient rhino teeth at archaeological sites similar to those made by using them as hammers for stone tool production, suggesting Neanderthals incorporated them into their toolkits.
Manhattanhenge, a twice-yearly phenomenon where the setting sun aligns with Manhattan's street grid, occurred on Thursday, with a fuller view expected on Friday, and repeats on July 11 and 12, attracting photographers and crowds.
Scientists used the James Webb Space Telescope to study WASP-94A b, a tidally locked gas giant. They discovered morning skies are cloudy while evening skies are clear, challenging previous assumptions about exoplanet atmospheric composition.
Despite a stable inflation-adjusted science budget, NASA is launching fewer telescopes and planetary science missions than 25 years ago. Administrator Isaacman pushes for more, smaller missions, while challenges remain in developing cost-effective spacecraft for deep space exploration.
Colossal Biosciences has successfully hatched chicken chicks in 3D-printed artificial eggs, a proof of concept for their ambitious de-extinction projects, including the dodo and woolly mammoth. The technology aims to support embryos of extinct species, though critics raise ethical and ecological concerns.
A 59,000-year-old Neanderthal tooth found in Siberia shows evidence of intentional drilling to relieve a tooth infection, indicating sophisticated medical intervention.
A new study suggests beluga whales Natasha and Maris may exhibit self-awareness, passing a mirror self-recognition test. The behavior, previously documented in apes, dolphins, and elephants, involves recognizing oneself in a reflection. The test's validity and interpretation remain debated among scientists.
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers discovered LAP1-B, an ultra-faint galaxy from 13 billion light-years away, magnified by gravitational lensing. Its primitive chemical composition and low heavy element levels suggest it may be the closest observed galaxy to the Universe’s first, pristine galaxies, with indications of Population III star supernovae and a massive dark matter halo.
Astronauts Tom Akers and Joe Tanner were inducted into the US Astronaut Hall of Fame on May 16. The two veteran space shuttle crew members, who flew multiple missions and conducted spacewalks, were honored together at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
NASA's Psyche spacecraft successfully used a Mars flyby to test its instruments and gain a speed boost, preparing for its 2029 arrival at the metal-rich asteroid Psyche. The mission aims to study the asteroid's composition.
Biotech startup Colossal has developed an artificial eggshell allowing avian embryos to develop outside a natural shell. This technology aids their de-extinction goals for species like the dodo and moa, and may also benefit biological research.
Researchers identify Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis, a 90ft long, 30-ton sauropod from Thailand's late Early Cretaceous period, shedding light on evolutionary trends towards larger sauropods.
Researchers have developed a brain-controlled hearing aid that decodes brain waves to amplify a desired speaker's voice in noisy environments, showing 90% accuracy in initial tests on individuals with typical hearing.
New research suggests polyploidy, or having multiple sets of chromosomes, helps plants survive extreme environmental stress. Genome duplications, found to cluster during periods of climate change and extinction events, act as an "insurance policy" for plant lineages.
