Nature

The greatest threat to honey bees isn’t much larger than a pinhead. But left unchecked, the varroa mite—a blind, eight-legged parasite—can kill enough bees to doom an entire colony. Now, researchers report that a strain of honey bee bred to fight back survives much better than standard commercial colonies, even under the stressful conditions of […]

The latest drugs for Alzheimer’s disease may add years of independence to the lives of patients, but possibly only for some. A new analysis of clinical data suggests female brains may not respond to some of these novel medications as well as male brains.In an 18-month-long phase 3 clinical trial, the intravenous drug lecanemab slowed cognitive decline by as much as 27 percent compared

On March 29, the Moon is going to enter perigee – the point in its elliptical orbit that brings it closest to Earth. This is known as a supermoon, famous for appearing in the sky as a larger-than-usual luminous orb, and presenting some excellent astrophotography opportunities.Here’s the kicker, though: The March 29 supermoon is during the Moon’s new

A previously unknown species of wasp with an abdomen reminiscent of a Venus flytrap has been discovered in 99-million-year-old Kachin amber, and entomologists have never seen anything like it.While the insect’s front half would pass for that of a modern wasp, its unique rear end would raise a hymenopteran eyebrow. “Nothing similar is known from any other

Scientists are trying to tackle Alzheimer’s from all angles, and a new study adds to the growing evidence that semaglutide, a widely used diabetes and weight loss drug, could also be beneficial in easing some of the disease’s symptoms. Researchers in China used mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease to investigate the effects of the drug, sold under brand names such as Ozempic

A giant meteorite that fell in Somalia in 2020 contains at least two minerals that have never before been seen on our planet. The minerals have been identified by researchers at the University of Alberta, according to a press release. Tons of space material enters the Earth’s atmosphere every day but very few actually survive the

If you look at a map of lightning near the Port of Singapore, you’ll notice an odd streak of intense lightning activity right over the busiest shipping lane in the world. As it turns out, the lightning really is responding to the ships, or rather the tiny particles they emit.Using data from a global lightning detection network, my colleagues

For now, life is flourishing on our oxygen-rich planet, but Earth wasn’t always that way – and scientists have predicted that, in the future, the atmosphere will revert back to one that’s rich in methane and low in oxygen. This probably won’t happen for another billion years or so. But when the change comes, it’s