Animals

A promo image depicting a bee at a coffee flower.

If Caffeine Can Boost The Memory Of Bees, Can It Help Us, Too?

6:13pm March 07, 2013

by Allison Aubrey

Feeding on flowers with caffeinated nectars gives bees a memory boost, new research shows. Turns out, other studies have found humans can get a similar boost in short-term memory with caffeine — if they're exhausted.

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Arthritic Rabbit Benefits From Hydrotherapy

7:14am March 07, 2013

Heidi is a 15 pound continental giant rabbit in Britain that suffers from arthritis. Twice a week, she's strapped into a little orange life vest and paddles in a heated pool.

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Runaway Bald Eagle Captured After 3 Days

7:39am February 27, 2013

When Sequoia, a bald eagle at the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo, got caught in a strong wind while spreading her wings at a local park, she took off. The San Jose Mercury News reports it took three days for the bald eagle's handlers to track her down.

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Incoming! (A 1955 file photo; we assume this little guy was not harmed in the making of the image.)

Dead Mice Are Going To Be Dropped On Guam From Helicopters (Really)

3:38pm February 22, 2013

by Mark Memmott

The idea is that brown tree snakes will eat these snacks from the sky. Then, it's hoped, the snakes will die because the mice will be laced with painkillers. The active ingredient in those drugs should be toxic to the snakes.

The SciFri Book Club Visits "Gorillas in the Mist"

1:03pm February 22, 2013

The book club regulars visit Gorillas in the Mist, Dian Fossey's memoir of her years studying mountain gorillas in a remote African rainforest. Gorilla expert Annette Lanjouw joins the club to give an update on how this endangered subspecies of gorilla is faring.

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Science

Surprise: Cockroaches are Fastidious Groomers!

1:03pm February 22, 2013

Despite inhabiting sewers and cesspools, cockroaches are quite clean — or at least their exteriors are, according to entomologist Coby Schal of North Carolina State University. That's because cockroaches are constantly grooming themselves, particularly their antennae. Publishing in PNAS, Schal and colleagues investigate why they groom.

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Visible spectrum. Certain bright colors and petal shapes attract certain pollinators.

Science

Honey, It's Electric: Bees Sense Charge On Flowers

7:47am February 22, 2013

by Adam Cole

Bees and flowers communicate in colors, scents and shapes. Now scientists have discovered that bumblebees can also sense flowers' electric fields. This sixth sense helps them remember and recognize nectar-rich blooms while foraging.

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Science

Research Looks At Starchy Diet's Role In Dogs' Evolution

9:37am February 15, 2013

by Veronique LaCapra

Some dogs need to be on specialized diets for health reasons, but most eat just about anything. That wasn't always the case, however. The domestic dog's ancestor, the wolf, ate only meat. Research suggests for dogs to live with humans, they had to adapt to a starchy diet.

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Pets Feel The Love On Valentine's Day

3:05am February 15, 2013

The National Retail Federation says Americans will spend more than $800 million on gifts for their pets from heart-shaped treats to heart-healthy vitamins.

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Perch exposed to the anxiety drug oxazepam were more daring and ate more quickly than fish that lived in drug-free water.

Traces Of Anxiety Drugs May Make Fish Act Funny

5:40pm February 14, 2013

by Richard Harris

Small amounts of the drugs that people take end up in wastewater and then in streams and rivers. It's usually not enough to harm the health of humans who swim in or drink the water. But there is growing evidence that pharmaceuticals in wastewater may affect wildlife.

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