~cosmos-magazine | Bookmarks (523)

A team of mathematicians and scientists needed x-ray tomography to confirm that wings of the fruit-sucking moth are, in fact, flat despite appearing 3D. The novel visual illusion is produced by specialised nanostructures found in select parts of the wing.  Masquerading as an inedible object is a type of camouflage with stunning examples including butterflies […]

Cosmos Magazine has partnered with Double Helix to publish a free eBook that takes kids aged 8 to 12 on a dive into the science of our oceans. The eBook includes stories about turtles, wonky holes and undersea cables, as well as experiments to do at home. The ebook is free to view or download as […]

Palaeontologists working in the Egyptian desert have uncovered a nearly complete skull of a leopard-sized predator that would have been at the top of the food chain 30 million years ago. The skull represents a new discovery from the fossil-rich Fayum Depression, which has been excavated by different palaeontologists for over 120 years. “Just as […]

In this Ultramarine podcast, we dive into the crucial issue of ocean pollution and explore real-world solutions. Let’s Science It Out hosts David Boldeman and Steven Boldeman are joined by Tom Batrouney and Ashley Hayes, two passionate advocates for marine conservation. In this episode, we uncover:🔹 The impact of plastic waste and microplastics on Sydney […]

Inspired by photographs in old reports and on social media, an expedition of botanists trekked into the remote Meliau Range in Sabah in Borneo and confirmed a new and amazing species of pitcher plant. Then, they immediately realised it’s already endangered. The newly described Nepenthes pongoides has a remarkably large pitcher, the jug-like leaf that […]

After decades, Lithium Nickel Oxide (LiNiO2) battery problems may have been solved. Degradation on repeated recharging has meant that these batteries, which offer higher energy density, and could replace expensive and hard-to-source cobalt, have never made it to commercialisation. Researchers at the University of Texas may have a solution. Much of your life is powered […]

Researchers have for the first time introduced genetic material into plants via their roots, the trials opening a potential pathway for rapid crop improvement. Professor Bernard Carroll from University of Queensland’s (UQ) School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences said nanoparticle technology could help fine-tune plant genes to increase crop yield and improve food quality. “Traditional plant breeding and […]

Nature is ripe with interactions, everywhere you look. Think of the fungal-algal partnership, we call lichen, or clownfish and sea anemones (where’s Nemo?) swapping shelter and nutrients, or coral polyps and algae forming the Great Barrier Reef. Interactions contribute to healthy ecosystems in so many ways. Corals are highly sensitive to rising temperatures, but the […]

New theoretical research shows that time can flow forwards or backwards in quantum systems, challenging our everyday perception of how time progresses. Over the centuries, scientists have tried to understand the arrow of time – the idea that time flows inevitably in one direction. How can we make sense of the seemingly unrelenting march of […]

For the first time, scientists have observed a non-primate animal using flavourings to enhance the experience of eating food. The behaviour was spotted in Goffin’s cockatoos which dunked potatoes or noodles into a bowl of blueberry-flavoured soy yoghurt. It appears the motivation for the behaviour was flavour. The observations, presented in a paper published in […]

New research has identified the extent to which human colonisation and hunting contributed to the extinction of New Zealand’s giant flightless birds, the moa. The research paper titled: “Was extinction of New Zealand’s avian megafauna an unavoidable consequence of human arrival?” was published in Science of the Total Environment. The team used fossils and detailed computer […]

Almost 6 decades ago 5 University of Texas students took the world’s laziest summer jobs. After being subjected to a battery of medical tests, they went to bed…and stayed there practicing inactivity for 20 days, not even walking to the toilet. The only concession was a single, brief shower, halfway through. The results, now known […]

For the first time, archaeologists have conducted a systematic study of the smells emanating from ancient Egyptian mummies using instruments and human sniffers. The “pleasant smellscapes” reveal new details about mummification practices. Mummification in ancient Egypt likely began as a natural process driven by a hot, dry desert environment. However, evidence for artificial embalming keeps […]

An archaeological site at the Maszycka Cave in southern Poland reveals ancient burial rituals of late Ice Age humans, including dissection and cannibalism. The researchers suggest that this could be linked to violence between groups of ancient humans at the end of the last Ice Age. Upper Palaeolithic (50,000–12,000 years ago) human remains were first discovered […]

People find love in many ways and through diverse mediums. Online platforms have become popular meeting places for people looking to find intimate partners, making them a prime target for cybercriminals. Online romance fraud has become a global phenomenon. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the US, romance scams accounted for losses to […]

Swedish researchers have invented a fully-recyclable perovskite solar cell that may provide a solution to the growing problem of solar panel waste.  All renewable technologies have a life span — with solar panels it’s 25 to 30 years — which means our solar waste pile is rapidly becoming mountainous. Just 17 % of solar panel […]

In an important advance in palaeontology, researchers have uncovered a 149-million-year-old fossil in southeast China which could be the earliest “true bird”. It is well understood that dinosaurs evolved into birds. Today, birds are the most diverse group of terrestrial vertebrates with at least 11,000 species. Macroevolutionary studies suggest that birds began to diversify after […]

The inhospitable Antarctic Peninsula hosts only one native insect, and scientists from Japan have just identified an unprecedented combination of adaptations that allow it to thrive in the extreme cold. The Antarctic midge is a tiny, flightless insect that lives most of its two-year life as a larva, the grub-like stage that follows the egg […]

A University of Adelaide biomedical engineer has received an international award for her invention of 3D-printed hair-thin endoscopes that can see inside the human body. Associate Professor Jiawen Li received the Judges’ Commendation at the Sony Women in Technology Award with Nature, at the award ceremony in Tokyo last week. She is the only Australian […]

Severe Tropical Cyclone Zelia is approaching Port Hedland, Western Australia, having jumped from a Category 3 to nearly a Category 5 storm in 24 hours and is expected to make landfall sometime Friday. “That’s a pretty impressive intensification event” says Hamish Ramsay, cyclone expert and Senior Research Scientist at CSIRO, Oceans and Atmosphere. Cyclone intensity […]

Bee-reaking news: Belgian scientists have developed a simple method to cryopreserve the semen of drones, the male equivalent of honey bees (Apis mellifera). As part of the FreezeBEE project at the University of Liège, the researchers then thawed the semen and successfully artificially inseminated queens. It resulted in a female brood with an equivalent viability to […]

I can’t imagine what it would be like to sense a magnetic field. But a new study has presented the first evidence that loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) use magnetic fields as a compass to determine direction and also use it to determine their geographical location. There’s a little dance involved, too. Sea turtles are extraordinary […]

Recent research on lightweight particles called neutrinos might have passed you by – much like the more than 10 trillion neutrinos passing through your body each second. Now, our new paper – with 21 countries, more than 60 institutes and around 360 scientists contributing – reports the observation of the most energetic neutrino yet. Despite […]

Crocodiles in northern Australia are altering their behaviour to try to keep cool as they experience increasingly stressful temperature extremes driven by climate change. New research has revealed that saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) are spending more time at or close to their critical thermal limit of 32-33°C, diving less and cooling themselves off more. “As […]