If you’re afraid of spiders, you should stop reading now. Scientists have long known that spiders can travel by air. In a technique called ballooning, they simply raise their abdomens, extrude some silk, and float away. They have been found a thousand miles out at sea. Neat! But the mystery is spiders only seem to
The world’s population is continuing to grow; we could have as many as 11.2 billion people by 2100 ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Projections_of_population_growth ). If that projection comes true, how will we feed everyone? One solution may be to eat insects. That’s not as far-fetched as it sounds. This is what early mammals ate, and this ability has been
I know how tough it is to predict the future; I’ve watched Disneyland go through multiple incarnations of Tomorrowland. Yet we keep trying. Like in the AARP Bulletin of June 2018 with its cover article “What’s Next: How Your Life Will Get Better in the Coming Years.” Five areas of our lives are examined, and
You learn something new every day — I’ve flown on a lot of airplanes, but except for screaming kids, I’ve never thought about crying. And yet, I’ve just found an article entitled “This Is Why You’re More Likely to Cry on an Airplane, According to a Psychologist” by Mahita Gajanan (http://time.com/5274209/airplane-cry- emotion/?, the photo is
Dreams are flaky enough, and nightmares are worse. But even if you have nightmares, are they bad for you? They could be. In an article “Nightmares Are Scary. But Are They Bad For Your Health?” by Markham Heid (http://time.com/5287932/are-nightmares-bad-for-you/?), Michael Nadorff, an assistant professor of psychology at Mississippi State University and director of the school’s
If you are a bird lover, you may have marveled at how great flocks of starlings move in unison. There are several excellent examples on YouTube, like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eakKfY5aHmY . So how do they do it? Science has been wondering the same thing. It’s only been recently that we’ve had the tools to observe
What if I told you that spiders, those universally reviled members of the bug world, are really valuable and should be protected? Matt Bertone, Extension Associate in Entomology at North Carolina University, makes that point in “A Case Against Killing Spiders” ( http://earthsky.org/earth/case-against-killing-spiders? ). He says spiders are important to both indoor and outdoor ecosystems. What’s more,
Recently, I’ve been working with two women who are expecting babies this summer, and naturally part of the conversation always involves baby names. Which is why a recent article caught my eye — New Zealand has forbidden 21 baby names. Is this a good idea? New Zealand is one of many countries that have some
Something else you might have wondered about in your spare time — how do large flocks of birds seem to move in perfect synchronization? Are they following a leader? No, the reaction time would simply be too short. The best explanation is what scientists call a “maneuver wave.” Wayne Potts, a zoologist who published in
Something I heard on the radio today — the world’s oldest spider’s death has been announced. The exact date is unknown, but it was sometime in 2016. Known to science as Number 16, this female trapdoor tarantula somehow lived an incredible 43 years. Its home was in Western Australia’s Central Wheatbelt region and it should’ve
