News
Scientists have discovered that brain cells have an in-built electrical trip system to prevent themselves from becoming overloaded. Nerve cells respond to chemical signals called neurotransmitters, which lock onto specialised docking sites, called receptors, that are dotted across the cell surface. ...
Halloween is approaching, and what better story to get us in the spooky mood that the discovery of the world’s largest web-spinning spider.
The record breaker, named Nephila komaci, is a type of golden orb weaver spider from Africa and Madagascar. The female have bodies up to around 4cm long (1.5 in...
We've probably all had cause to use the phrase "painful to listen to", but now scientists in the US have discovered why. Writing in Nature, Johns Hopkins researcher Paul Fuchs and his colleagues show that a small group of nerve cells in the ear respond to sounds that would best be describe...
The most sophisticated eyes in the animal kingdom belong to mantis shrimps a group of extraordinary species that live on coral reefs around the world. In a brand new paper just out, a team of scientists examine just what lies behind these complex eyes and they’ve uncovered some tricks of nature that...
