People around the world have reported hearing strange sounds from the skies over the past month. Sometimes they describe it as a hum or low rumble; other times it’s a whine, thump, or even a melody. Often the sounds have been recorded and posted online, fueling rumors and conspiracy theories. One blogger wrote, “either the [...]

  Polymers that light up in the presence of bacteria could offer a new way to quickly detect infected wounds. When contained in a gel and applied to a wound, the infection’s severity can be detected by the level of fluorescence, helping clinicians decide whether or not to use antibiotics, and the most appropriate type of [...]

In Michael Crichton’s Jurasic Park, dinosaur DNA was extracted from a mosquito trapped in amber. Paleontologist Jack Horner talks about how attempts to extract dinosaur DNA in real life have not been successful. Since birds are modern dinosaurs (“You can’t argue with it because we are the classifiers, and we classify that way.”), he has [...]

This video shows a female mosquito sucking quite a lot of blood into her abdomen. Only the female bites, and she will continue to draw blood until she is full, scared away or slapped. Source: YouTube

To most people, helium is probably not thought of a “serious” gas. It’s not a very exciting gas. It has no odor. You can’t taste it. It’s not toxic. You can’t see it. It’s biggest attraction is that it’s lighter than air making it perfect for balloons. But it’s also used in medical devices, According [...]