How many times have you heard the expression, “if only I could be a fly on that wall?” But how do flies walk up walls and across ceilings? At the Marine Science Laboratory in North Wales scientists...
Cutting-edge science can be used to fashion mirages. We are led to believe there is value in the product, a drink to quench our thirst for knowledge. But when we have spent our money, we are stuck...
Believe it or not, lobsters, as well as other crustaceans such as crabs and crayfish, have teeth in their stomach! The teeth are part of a system called the “gastric mill.” Through rhythmic...
The Beirut explosion may be the worst ammonium nitrate disaster in history, but it is not the first such calamity. Let’s go back to the early morning of April 16, 1947 when spectators flooded to...
It is quite amazing how very small changes in an odourant’s chemical structure can radically change our perception of its scent. For example, octanol, a synthetic compound used in perfumes and...
I want you to close your eyes and imagine a protein. Anyone with aphantasia gets a free pass on this exercise, but I suspect that most people still won’t be able to do it. The word “protein” is...
The common word in French for dental fillings is “plombage”, which may sound a little surprising since it roughly translates to “to fill with lead”. That is because if you had a cavity in France in...
In this COVID era, nighttime entertainment often comes down to watching one of the plethora of programs offered by streaming services. Let me make a recommendation. Summer is a time for ants to...
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