Blogs - Page 17 of 56 - This Week in Science

AI

What Your Tongue Knows That You Don’t

Stick out your tongue. No, seriously—take a quick look in the mirror. That oddly shaped, wiggly muscle does more than help you taste pizza or say tricky words like “phenomenon.” It’s actually an undercover health detective. For centuries, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has used tongue diagnosis to detect diseases before symptoms even appear. Now, artificial […]

Read more →

Uncategorized

Wait, What?! Elephants Should Be Riddled with Cancer—But They’re Not

Let’s play a game of logic: If cancer is caused by cells making mistakes when they divide, then bigger animals—who have more cells—should get more cancer, right? A whale has millions of times more cells than a mouse, so shouldn’t it be a walking tumor factory? For decades, scientists thought they had this figured out. […]

Read more →

Biology

A Mosquito’s Sweet Tooth Might Just Save Lives

Did you know mosquitoes have a sweet side? Sure, they’re infamous for their blood-sucking antics, but most of their meals actually come from plants. In fact, male mosquitoes feed exclusively on nectar, while females mix it up with a bit of blood to help with egg-laying. But here’s the kicker: Scientists have figured out how […]

Read more →

Environment

Wait, What?! More People Had Access to Clean Water in 2000 Than in 2020?

If you thought the world was making steady progress toward universal access to clean water and sanitation, think again! While the raw numbers might tell a tale of improvement, a deeper dive into the data reveals a plot twist: When you adjust for socioeconomic, political, and hydrological factors, global access rates to safe drinking water […]

Read more →

Geology

When Rocks Rewrite History: The Altyn Orogen Mystery

Hold on to your hiking boots—scientists just found evidence that could rewrite the geological history of the Tibetan Plateau! The Altyn Orogen, a mountain range stretching over 400 kilometers, was thought to be built on ancient, stable Precambrian rocks. But recent discoveries are shaking things up—turns out, the South Margin of Central Altyn (SMCA) might […]

Read more →

Announcements

Next week in Science, February 28, 2025

If I had my druthers, I would have written a nice piece on the science of leap day. That would have been fun. As it turns out, most of our energy is over at https://thisweekinpublichealth.com/, trying to keep up with the job cuts and whiplash policy. There was a great article in the Atlantic about […]

Read more →

Biology

Bird Brains? Think Again! Emus and Rheas Just Flexed Their Intelligence

What if I told you that emus and rheas—those big, often goofy-looking birds—just outsmarted a science experiment designed to test their problem-solving skills? It sounds wild, but it’s true. While crows and parrots usually get all the praise for being the Einsteins of the avian world, it turns out that emus and rheas have been […]

Read more →

📝

Biology

The Shocking Truth About Cannibal Lizards

Did you know that some lizards in South America are not just hunters but also, well… lizard munchers? Yes, you read that right. These little reptiles have taken the phrase “you are what you eat” to a whole new level, sometimes turning on their own species—or even their own kind! Welcome to the bizarre world […]

Read more →

Biology

The Fish That Forgot Where Home Was

Picture this: You return to your childhood neighborhood, only to find that your old playground is now a parking lot. The trees you climbed? Gone. The pond where you skipped rocks? Paved over. Now, imagine this on an oceanic scale—except instead of people, it’s fish. That’s exactly what’s happened to New Zealand’s snapper. For centuries, […]

Read more →