Science News

Bees produce stop signal to protect hive-mates from danger

Bees can issue a stop signal to warn their nest mates away from no-go and other areas where they might face danger!

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Why are tranquilisers addictive?

Researchers have discovered why tranquiliser agents are addictive. They deactivate a class of neurones whose job it is to trun off dopamine, the brain's pleasure chemical. The same population of nerves are also deactivated by opioids, explaining why drugs like diazepam (valium) can get users hooked.

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What do mosquitoes smell?

Scientists have discovered the specific odour receptors used by the malaria-spreading mosquito species Anopheles gambiae to hunt down humans. A pap...

Computer Controls Blood Sugar

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have put together an artificial pancreas system which works overnight and considerably reduces the risk of low blood sugar occurring in d...

The markings of a dinosaur mapped out

By comparing tiny pigment particles between modern-day birds and fossils, researchers have rediscovered the colours of a dinosaur that existed 150 million years ago. And they weren...

How sperm get turned on

Scientists have discovered the mechanism that starts sperm swimming once they exit the male. Most people regard sperm as tiny swimming cells that vigorous...

The echoing links between bats and dolphins

Bats and dolphins may appear to be very different types of mammals – after all one of them flies and the other swims – but it turns out they have both, independently evolved exactl...

The Fish with wonky mouths

Among the enormous diversity of cichlid fish living in Lake Tanganyika in eastern Africa, one group in particular has evolved a most unusual feeding habit: they sneak up behind oth...

Scanning for Cancer’s Biochemical Signature

Researchers in the states may have found a way to detect potential prostate tumours using Magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and this should lead to fewer false negatives, better pre...

The Benefits of Running Barefoot

People who run barefoot learn to minimise impact shock, adopting a different style of running from those in shoes, according to research published in Nature this week.  This c...