life
The cell nucleus of the humble potato is home to an exceptional tangle of genes and DNA. A recent study published in the leading scientific journal Nature has begun to unlock the tuber's secrets. The potatoes we eat are tetraploid,…
life
A harmless vampire The bat, called common vampire bat, sucks blood, but rather than Dracula, the protagonist of many terrifying legends, it should be compared to a large mosquito. In fact, it is only 8 cm long and its wingspan…
life
Legend or fact? In ancient Rome, bats were nailed to the door of the house as a protection from witches and diseases. In fact it was believed at that time, that their silent presence announced the arrival of an accident…
life
Let's learn to transform waste into resources How often have we opened the refrigerator to find a couple of eggs and a yoghurt expired a few days ago, a bit of wilted salad, half a bottle of a fizzy drink…
life
There is a small shark just under a metre long among the coral reefs of Papua New Guinea that does something quite incredible: it walks on land. It is called Hemiscyllium ocellatum (common name epaulette shark) and has very little…
life
There are spiders that weave a classic web, that one we all know, to catch prey. There are others who use the web to line a hole in the ground, building themselves a comfortable, padded den. Still others use silk…
life
The Main Asteroid Belt is between Mars and Jupiter, an enormous ring consisting of millions of large and small rocks that altogether has a tiny mass: only 4% of that of our Moon. Yet the asteroid that changed life on…
life
The worst drought to hit the western United States in the last 1,200 years has dried up rivers and lakes, uncovering all kinds of materials hidden in the muddy riverbed: all sorts of rubbish, wrecks and debris, but also important…
life
Tigers are the largest living felines and are synonymous with power and agility. They catch and kill their prey with a single blow and are at the top of the food chain. This means that they are not threatened by…