Earlier this week, scientists announced that they'd found evidence suggesting malaria-carrying mosquitoes are more attracted to the smell of human flesh than healthy mosquitoes. This research — which, I'm sure you'll agree, has some important implications — grew out of research that could be deemed very silly. In fact, this new finding was built on IgNobel-winning research published back in 1996, which found that malaria mosquitoes are attracted to the smell of stinky cheese.
Why science needs silly-sounding research
NASA's Osiris-Rex spacecraft touches asteroid Bennu, sends rubble flying, high hopes it grabbed sample
The NASA Osiris-Rex spacecraft "crushed rocks and sent rubble flying as it briefly touched an asteroid, a strong indication that samples were collected for return to Earth, officials said Wednesday," reports AP. More at the OSIRIS-REX Sample Return Mission site: "OSIRIS-REx TAGS Asteroid Bennu." Excerpt: Captured on Oct. 20, 2020 during the OSIRIS-REx mission's Touch-And-Go… READ THE REST
Scientific paper about being bitten by a weird snake
Meet the leaf-nosed snake, a peculiar Madagascan species with a gift for crypsis. Reading about it I found my way to Envenomation by the Malagasy colubrid snake Langaha madagascariensis, which turns out to be "This God Damned Snake Bit Me!" written up as a formal scientific paper. To avoid harming the snake and to prevent… READ THE REST
Sasha Sagan interviews a series of inspiring female scientists
In Violet magazine, writer Sasha Sagan, author of the must-read For Small Creatures Such As We, is interviewing a series of inspiring and diverse female scientists. First up is evolutionary biologist Dr. Michelle Trautwein, "curator of flies" at the California Academy of Sciences. followed by South African chemist/nanotechnologist Dr. Tebello Nyokong of Rhodes University, and… READ THE REST
Fully customizable meditation app
Stress is par for the course these days. If you've found meditation helps to quiet those interior voices of doubt, fear and confusion, then you have every reason to continue that practice. But as soothing as meditation can be, it can also serve another purpose: to focus your attention, sharpen your performance and forge you… READ THE REST
Save over 25% on these 100% organic and biodegradable hair ties
When the history of Earth is ultimately told by aliens or time travelers or whoever stumbles across what's left of our planet a millennia from now, these beings will need to understand what a hair tie is and why it was created…because it's guaranteed they find them everywhere during their study. Today, hair ties are… READ THE REST
This portable Apple Watch wireless charger makes sure you have power on the go
Ask most Apple Watch users about their biggest beef with the most popular wearable in tech today and many will likely answer with the same beef had by many users of wirelessly charged devices. It just isn't so simple making sure your wireless charger is lined up properly with your device to get a steady,… READ THE REST
