All Stories by Rohini Subrahmanyam
- Earth
Human-caused earthquakes are real. Here’s why even stable regions can snap
Human activity can cause “healed” faults to release their stored strength, triggering unexpected quakes in tectonically stable regions.
- Plants
This flower smells like injured ants — and flies can’t resist it
A type of Japanese dogsbane releases a scent identical to wounded ants’ distress signal, drawing in scavenging flies that unwittingly pollinate it.
- Animals
This desert beetle runs to cool off
After a sprint, the temperature of the beetle Onymacris plana drops. Efficient running, a body built for cooling and a little bit of lift all help.
- Animals
A tardigrade protein helped reduce radiation damage in mice
Mouse cells tweaked to produce the tardigrade protein incurred less DNA damage than unaltered cells — hinting at a new tool for cancer patient care.
- Health & Medicine
Lizard spit can help detect a rare pancreatic tumor
A protein found in Gila monster saliva flags tiny pancreatic tumors in PET scans.
