Too many stinkbugs spoil the wine
How many stressed-out stinkbugs does it take to spoil a batch of wine? More than three per grape cluster, new research says. Stinkbugs are a pest among vintners because of…
If you think the Amazon jungle is completely wild, think again
Welcome to the somewhat civilized jungle. Plant cultivation by native groups has shaped the landscape of at least part of South America’s Amazon forests for more than 8,000 years, researchers…
Quantum counterfeiters might succeed
Scientists have created an ultrasecure form of money using quantum mechanics — and immediately demonstrated a potential security loophole. Under ideal conditions, quantum currency is impossible to counterfeit. But thanks…
Most Americans like science — and are willing to pay for it
Americans don’t hate science. Quite the contrary. In fact, 79 percent of Americans think science has made their lives easier, a 2014 Pew Research Center survey found. More than 60…
Volcanic eruptions nearly snuffed out Gentoo penguin colony
Penguins have been pooping on Ardley Island off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula for a long, long time. The population there is one of the biggest and oldest Gentoo…
Cassini’s ring dive offers first close-up of Saturn’s cloud tops
Cassini has beamed back stunning images from the spacecraft’s daring dive between Saturn and its rings. The first closeup pictures of the planet’s atmosphere reveal peculiar threadlike clouds and puffy…
Trackers may tip a warbler’s odds of returning to its nest
Strapping tiny trackers called geolocators to the backs of birds can reveal a lot about where the birds go when they migrate, how they get there and what happens along…
Readers puzzled by proton’s properties
Proton puzzlerUncertainty over the proton’s size, spin and life span could have physicists rethinking standard notions about matter and the universe, Emily Conover reported in “The proton puzzle” (SN: 4/29/17,…
Top 10 discoveries about waves
Physics fans are a lot like surfers. Both think waves are really fun. For surfers, it’s all about having a good time. For physicists, it’s about understanding some of nature’s…
Flight demands may have steered the evolution of bird egg shape
The mystery of why birds’ eggs come in so many shapes has long been up in the air. Now new research suggests adaptations for flight may have helped shape the…