Blue tits use medicinal plants to disinfect their nests, scientists have discovered.

The birds line their nests with aromatic plants such as mint or lavender, which kill bacteria. picked by AutumnLotus 3 months ago

Researchers found that women were less likely to buy a product if they believed that the female staff member was more attractive than them as they were considered a direct "social threat". picked by AutumnLotus 3 months ago

There has always been an air of mystery surrounding Margaret Thatcher's famous boast that she only needed four hours sleep a night.

But now scientists have discovered a gene that determines the amount of sleep we need - and which allows some people to survive on fewer hours. picked by AutumnLotus 3 months ago

This fantastic Martian impact crater was captured by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter at a slightly oblique angle that reveals new detail in the geological strata exposed in the crater wall. picked by AutumnLotus 3 months ago

People with an angrier temperament are more likely to think of themselves as moving through time, than to think of time as moving towards them. picked by Bornbad 3 months ago

Creative individuals are remarkable for their ability to adapt to almost any situation and to make do with whatever is at hand to reach their goals. picked by Bornbad 3 months ago

Does red wine make you live longer? Do bras cause cancer? Is sugar as addictive as cocaine and heroin? picked by Bornbad 3 months ago

A bald penguin has been fitted with a specially-designed wetsuit to protect it from the risk of sunburn.

Ralph, a nine-year-old Humboldt penguin at Marwell Wildlife, lost all of his feathers in one day, exposing his pale pink skin to the summer sun. picked by DAVEthefish 3 months ago

How did the ancient Egyptians move two million 2.5-ton blocks to build the ancient wonder? French architect Jean-Pierre Houdin believes he has enough to prove his view of an inside-out method. picked by 2manyusernames 3 months ago

Scientists from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and elsewhere are treating microscopic artwork from as far back as ancient Egypt with silver nanoparticles to reveal the brilliant dyes used to color now-drab pieces of art. picked by AutumnLotus 3 months ago

A LARGE satellite galaxy may be lurking, hidden from view, next door to our own.

Sukanya Chakrabarti and Leo Blitz of the University of California, Berkeley, suspected that the gravity of a nearby galaxy was causing perturbations that have been observed in gas on the fringes of the Milky Way. picked by AutumnLotus 3 months ago

ON THE night of 30 June 2005, the sky high above La Palma in Spain's Canary Islands crackled with streaks of blue light too faint for humans to see. Atop the Roque de los Muchachos, the highest point of the island, though, a powerful magic eye was waiting and watching. picked by Bornbad 3 months ago

Scientists thought they’d never know what colors the dinosaurs were. It's been discovered that melanin granules survived in their original shapes and patterns, which can be compared with existing feathers to determine their original color.

This may allow us to predict the colors of many dinosaurs. picked by Bingo 3 months ago

A heart transplant recipient who lived a record 31 years with a single donated organ has died at age 51 of cancer, his heart still going strong, his widow said. picked by suebe 3 months ago

Yesterday at work, a large brown spider startled me when I reached for my purse. Today, I found this website while trying to ID her. (pic is same species)

Great info. Great pics. picked by maven 3 months ago

Scientists in Cambridge, UK, have developed a reactor that can make oxygen from Moon rock — a vital technology if plans to create a lunar base are to take off. picked by AutumnLotus 3 months ago

The managers of Maryland's largest private nature preserve burned 240 acres this spring in the hopes of triggering the growth of long-dormant native plants. picked by suebe 3 months ago

Men with symmetrical faces are less likely to lose their memory and intelligence in later life, according to researchers. picked by AutumnLotus 3 months ago

When it comes to lifting things, how heavy is heavy? Something twice your weight? Three times? Four? Most would agree that taking the strain of such loads constitutes a pretty impressive show of strength. Yet while these feats are regularly realised by weightlifters, what if we were able to carry objects twenty or fifty times our own weight – figures often bandied about when sizing up the st... read full post picked by Bornbad 4 months ago

There is a great deal of junk out there, zooming along at speeds of up to 25,000mph. At such a velocity, a mere flake of paint can do considerable damage to a satellite. Nasa frequently has to mend windows on its spacecraft because of penetration by minuscule flying objects. picked by kakana 4 months ago

A new experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) completely reverses the devastating autoimmune disorder in mice, and might work exactly the same way in humans. picked by kakana 4 months ago

Of course no one will claim that scientists are never wrong about things. Some of the past theories that proved incorrect are familiar, some not. Some mistakes, though, actually led to significant scientific advances. Here's a list of 10 significant mistakes scientists have made in history picked by sidran32 4 months ago

The most dangerous shoes are just waiting for a chance to infect you with deadly germs. Read if you dare. picked by suebe 4 months ago

The seas off the Bahamas can seem like a swimming pool, but strip away the ocean, and the edges of the islands' shallow Great Bahama Bank--where the light blue begins to turn dark in satellite images of the Caribbean--are revealed to be steep cliffs rising some 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) above a vast plain. picked by AutumnLotus 4 months ago

Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have shown that they can engineer mouse and human cells to produce brown fat, a natural energy-burning type of fat that counteracts obesity. If such a strategy can be developed for use in people, the scientists say, it could open a novel approach to treating obesity and diabetes. picked by AutumnLotus 4 months ago