A carnivorous caterpillar dubbed the “bone collector” decorates itself with the body parts of its prey. Attaching an ant head here or beetle abdomen there seems to minimize the caterpillar’s own scent, allowing it to lurk in spiderwebs, where it can scavenge dead or dying insects.

McKenzie Prillaman reports at @ScienceNews
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/caterpillar-wears-body-part-insect-prey

It’s time to toss out the idea that dedicated professionals must always be on the clock or that retail shops will founder if they standardize employee hours, legal scholar Joan Williams says in a Q&A. The data tell a different tale.

https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/society/2018/what-will-it-take-fix-work-life-balance

#KnowableMagazine
#ScienceMastodon

These spiny or slimy ocean creatures display an astonishing diversity of appearances, behaviors and lifestyles. Many are increasingly threatened.

Katarina Zimmer

https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/living-world/2025/weird-wondrous-sea-cucumbers

#KnowableMagazine
#ScienceMastodon

In a major shift, psychologists now view an out-of-control compulsion to work as an addiction with its own set of risk factors and consequences.

#WorldDayforSafetyandHealthatWork

https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/society/2024/are-you-a-workaholic-how-to-spot-the-signs

#KnowableMagazine
#ScienceMastodon

#handsoff2025 Protest today!!!!! Join up with others to say #HandsOff our democracy and fight for your freedom!!!! Find Your LOCAL PROTEST HERE; https://www.mobilize.us/handsoff/

Interested in pursuing #SciComm as a profession? Then this new Master's program in Germany might be for you: tuition-free (also for international students), entirely taught in English, covering everything from #ScienceCommunication to #ScienceJournalism, #SciArt, public engagement and more.

https://www.hs-ansbach.de/en/master/science-communication/

Application period starts on May 1st.

Carshares, bikeshares and the like are a positive for the environment, though access to them isn’t equal. What can be done to give everyone more transportation options?

Kaja Šeruga

https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/society/2024/increasing-access-to-shared-transportation

#KnowableMagazine
#ScienceMastodon

Growing evidence suggests a link between the debilitating neurological illness and the microbes that live in our intestines. The vagus nerve may be a pathway. #WorldParkinsonsDay

https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/health-disease/2024/gut-brain-axis-parkinsons-disease-microbiome

#KnowableMagazine
#ScienceMastodon

Of the roughly 1 million named insect species on Earth, about 400,000 are beetles.

And that’s just the beetles described so far. Scientists typically describe thousands of new species each year.

So — why so many beetle species?

Entomologist Caroline Chaboo: “We don’t know the precise answer.”

But clues are emerging.

"Why are there so many beetle species?" https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/living-world/2024/why-are-there-so-many-types-of-beetles

I'll be honest, I don't intend to submit academic papers to US-based journals and conferences anymore.

1. Self-censorship of science at US universities and scientific organizations is in full swing and I see virtually no institutional resistance (although some individual scholars are protesting). I don't expect to get a fair hearing with human rights-oriented empirical legal research in peer review any longer.

2. The way this is going I would expect even currently neutral journals to fold within the usual timeframe of a paper review process. I don't feel like burning a paper in the hopes of getting it published before the door closes.

3. I prefer to submit my research to journals backed by institutions that support human dignity, diversity and the freedom of scientific research.

We've all seen where this went in Europe during the 1930s. I hope the US will learn from our history, but I am not optimistic right now.

Amyloid plaque can build up in body organs other than the brain. The resulting diseases — AL amyloidosis, ATTR amyloidosis and more — cause much suffering. #RareDiseaseDay

https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/health-disease/2023/seeking-treatments-for-amyloidosis

#KnowableMagazine
#ScienceMastodon

Utterances like um, wow and mm-hmm aren’t garbage — they keep conversations flowing.

Bob Holmes

https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/mind/2025/interjections-important-for-conversation-flow

#KnowableMagazine
#ScienceMastodon

Scientists at U.S. weather forecasting agency ordered to get clearance before talking to Canadian counterparts

Travelling for international meetings or even joining a call with Canadian counterparts has become impossible for some #USGovernmentScientists, under new directives since U.S. President #DonaldTrump took office.

Canadian ecologist Aaron Fisk says he recently tried to set up a virtual call to discuss plans with American colleagues, including a government scientist, around sampling fish.

"We tried to have a quick meeting with one of our collaborators … and they were denied access," Fisk said.

#ScienceMastodon #WeatherForecasting #UnitedStatesWeatherForecastingAgency #Canada #AmericanFascism #Environment #Weather

https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/trump-american-scientists-international-engagements-1.7461238

Rotting logs turn out to be vital to forest biodiversity and recycling organic matter.

By: Katarina Zimmer

https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/living-world/2025/rotting-logs-mini-ecosystems-habitat-and-food?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=originals

#KnowableMagazine
#ScienceMastodon

North America’s largest bird disappeared from the wild in the late 1980s. Reintroduction work in the United States and Mexico has brought this huge vulture back to the skies. This is the story of its comeback.

By: Iván Carrillo

https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/food-environment/2025/california-condor-reintroduction

#KnowableMagazine
#ScienceMastodon