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Secret signals

By Roberta Kwok / January 15, 2013

Chemicals called pheromones act as messengers between individuals. Many plants and animals — including squid — respond to such secret chemical signals. Credit: Roger T. Hanlon

Animals respond to chemical messages they may not even realize they’re swapping

Posted in Chemistry | Tagged Adaptation, aphids, bombykol, Butenandt, cephalopod, chemical attractant, chemical communication, chemical messenger, Dendrobium sinense, elephant, emperor moth, fear, feature, honeybee, hormones, Jean-Henri Fabre, Jennifer Brodmann, Lamprey, longfin inshore squid, lure, luteinizing hormone, Manfred Ayasse, Marine Biological Laboratory, Monell Chemical Senses Center, nectar, octopus, orchid, pheromones, pollen, Roger Hanlon, sex attractant, silk moth, squid, topstories, Tristram Wyatt, University of Oxford, University of Ulm, Woods Hole, Wysocki

Science for all

By Nancy McGuire / January 9, 2013

John Holdren shares his insights into science with President Barack Obama as his science advisor. Credit: Pete Souza

STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — makes careers blossom

Posted in STEM Careers, Young Scientists | Tagged Academy Awards, Adam Duran, Big Bang Theory, Braille, camouflage paint, Chemical Pioneer Award, chemistry, computer modeling, computer models, computer science, education, engineer, feature, fluids, Harry Potter, high performance computing, John Holdren, materials science, molecules, movies, Office of Science & Technology Policy, Oscar, OSTP, Pat Teller, physics, Pirates of the Caribbean, polymers, President Obama, Robert Lochhead, Ron Fedkiw, science advisor, science technology engineering and mathematics, silicones, simulation, Stanford University, Star Wars, STEM, stereotypes, tablet, topstories, University of Michigan, University of Southern Mississippi, University of Texas at El Paso, White House

Cool Jobs: Math as entertainment

By Dana Mackenzie / December 19, 2012

When a band of zoo buddies tears through a Monte Carlo casino, the marble columns don’t have a chance. Nafees Bin Zafar used mathematics to power the visual effects behind this madcap scene in Madagascar 3. Credit: “Madagascar 3” © 2012 DreamWorks Animation LLC, used with permission of DreamWorks Animation LLC

Magic, movies and metal: How mathematics adds dazzle to the visual world

Posted in Mathematics, STEM Careers | Tagged 2012, 3D printing, abstract sculpture, animation, Arthur Benjamin, Bathsheba Grossman, CAD-CAM, collaborative, collision detection, computer graphics, computer-assisted design, cool jobs, DreamWorks, Erwin Hauer, Ethan Brown, feature, gyroid, Harvey Mudd College, imagination, interdisciplinary, James Randi, Madagascar 3, magic, magic square, mathemagic, mental mathematics, minimal surface, movies, Nafees Bin Zafar, octahedron, sculpture, symmetry, topstories, trigonometry, Tron: Legacy

When the nose no longer knows

By Roberta Kwok / December 13, 2012

Clown fish raised in acidified waters don’t respond properly to smells. For example, they swim toward the scent of a predator instead of away from it. Credit: Simon Foale, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies

Pollution can endanger aquatic animals by damaging their sense of smell

Posted in Animals | Tagged animal behavior, behavior, carbon dioxide, clown fish, CO2, copper, Danielle Dixson, dottyback, feature, fish, GABA, Göran Nilsson, James Cook University, Jen McIntyre, Kate de la Haye, Keith Tierney, neurons, nose, Ocean acidification, olfaction, Philip Munday, Plymouth University, Puyallup Research and Extension Center, rockcod, salmon, Schreckstoff, Senses, smell, topstories, University of Alberta, University of Oslo, Washington State University

Twister science

By Andrew Bridges / December 9, 2012

Meteorologists are learning what makes a tornado

Posted in Weather & Climate | Tagged Center for Severe Weather Research, Don Burgess, downdraft, feature, Harold Brooks, Jeff Trapp, Joshua Wurman, Karen Kosiba, mesocyclone, meteorologist, National Severe Storms Laboratory, National Weather Service, Paul Markowski, storm chaser, supercells, thunderstorms, Tim Samaras, topstories, Tornado, Tornado Alley, twister, updraft, VORTEX

Cool Jobs: Crime scene investigators

By Sid Perkins / December 5, 2012

The dead do tell tales — if experts care to listen. Forensic anthropologist William Bass arranges a display of how a person’s bones change year by year as we age. This information can help identify a crime victim when little else is known. Credit: University of Tennessee, Knoxville

These researchers don’t miss a clue

Posted in Chemistry, STEM Careers | Tagged blood, blowflies, bones, cadaver, cool jobs, crime scene, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, DNA, evidence, FBI, feature, fingerprints, Forensic Anthropology Center, forensics, genes, Kendall Stoner, maggots, polymerase chain reaction, Reanna Day, the Body Farm, William Bass

The high life

By Douglas Fox / November 28, 2012

Clouds are full of living microscopic organisms, not just bits of dust and soot. Some scientists believe that germs living inside clouds might sometimes trigger rain or snow. Credit: Douglas Fox

The sky is full of microscopic life, some of which might even trigger rain or snow

Posted in Weather & Climate | Tagged air, aliens from space, atmosphere, bacteria, biological ice nucleators, Brent Christner, cloud condensation nuclei, cloud seeding, clouds, crystallization, David Barber, dust clouds, Erwinia, feature, fungi, Gary Franc, Gobi Desert, ice crystals, Kimberly Prather, Louisiana State University, Norman Lockyer Observatory, ocean bubbles, photographic plates, pollen, potato blight, rain, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, sea salt, snow, solar wind, soot, topstories, transatlantic dust, University of Wyoming, Venus, water droplets, wave tanks, winds

Pathways to research: Pursuing a passion

By Alison Pearce Stevens / November 19, 2012

Laurie Rumker prepares the solutions she will use to grow her bacteria. Credit: Laurie Rumker

Young scientists get creative with their after-school work

Posted in Teaching Science, Young Scientists | Tagged Alan Schorn, Bill Lamb, breast cancer, Burkitt’s lymphoma, Carol Wood, cell phone, Dave Marker, disconnect anxiety, Donna Leonardi, estrogen, EunBe (Grace) Kim, feature, Hap Pritchard, Intel Science Talent Search, Laurie Rumker, Michelle Hackman, microplate reader, organoclay, pollutants, soil bacteria, Superfund, tamoxifen, topstories

Cool Jobs: Explosive pursuits

By Sharon Oosthoek / November 14, 2012

Mining engineer Bibhu Mohanty sets off controlled explosions as part of his job designing blasts that break apart rock. Credit: Bibhu Mohanty

These researchers study things that go boom — or poof!

Posted in STEM Careers, Technology & Engineering | Tagged airport security, Bibhu Mohanty, blast, bomb, bomb sniffer, bunchberry dogwood, carbon, catapult, chemical reaction, cool jobs, explosions, explosive, feature, geology, gold, Guinness Book of World Records, high speed photography, iron, Joan Edwards, land mine, minerals, mining, molecular sieve, nickel, oxidizer, pollen, reaction, rocks, TNT, topstories, University of Delaware, University of Toronto, Williams College, Yushan Yan, zeolite

Watching our seas rise

By Douglas Fox / November 8, 2012

Satellites, coral reefs, ancient Roman fishponds and sinking cities help us understand how humans are changing sea level

Posted in Weather & Climate | Tagged Antarctica, Bruce Douglas, carbon dioxide, climate, climate change, corals, El Niño, ENSO, feature, Fernando Siringan, Florida State University, Fossil fuels, glaciers, global change, global warming, greenhouse gases, Greenland, Harold Wanless, Helsinki University of Technology, hurricane, Hurricane Katrina, Jason 2, Jason-3, Jeremy Weiss, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Jonathan Overpeck, Josh Willis, JPL, KAMANAVA, Martin Vermeer, meltwater, Meltwater Pulse 1A, NASA, New Orleans, NOAA, ocean height, Paul Hearty, reefs, Robert Deyle, Roman fish ponds, satellites, sea level rise, subsidence, tide gauge, topstories, University of Arizona, University of Miami, University of North Carolina, University of the Philippines

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