Spiders are known for being hunters and meat-eaters but there is one species that prefers a vegetarian diet. Bagheera kiplingi is a jumping spider species from Central America and southern Mexico that feeds predominantly on plant food. Read more... August 17, 2019

Scientists have discovered fossils of a monster penguin species that once inhabited New Zealand during the Paleocene Epoch (between 66 and 56 million years ago). The fossils were found in Waipara, North Canterbury. The new follows the recent discovery of an extinct giant parrot in New Zealand. Read more... August 16, 2019

Researchers have determined that some grey squirrels have black fur because of interbreeding and a faulty pigment gene. Black squirrels are the same species as grey squirrels. The only difference between them is the color of their fur. Read more... August 16, 2019

Australasian paleontologists discovered the fossil of an extinct giant parrot that once inhabited New Zealand. The bird stood up to 1 meter (3.2 feet) tall. It weighed about 7 kilograms (15.4 pounds). It has been named Heracles inexpectatus. Read more... August 8, 2019

Near-perfect symmetry in a spiral galaxy is revealed in this Hubble image of NGC 2985. The galaxy is located over 70 million light years from Earth in the constellation of Ursa Major. Read more... August 2, 2019

You probably can't squash this cockroach-inspired robot because it is so flat. The robot created by University of California, Berkeley researchers can also move at nearly the speed of a darting cockroach. Read more... August 1, 2019

A new study has revealed that baby jumping spiders can see nearly as well as their much larger parents. The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Cincinnati. Read more... August 1, 2019

The above image shows a specimen of permeable concrete. Researchers from Rutgers found increased use of this type of pavement could help reduce the urban heat island effect. Read more... August 1, 2019

Rats are being tickled for science. The most recent research was a study that found rats can learn to associate an odor with being tickled. A previous study found that rats appear to enjoy being tickled by a human hand so the odor is being associated with a positive experience. Read more... July 31, 2019

The above image shows water drops on a metal nanolayer. Scientists from Northwestern University and Caltech produced electricity by flowing water over the thin layers of inexpensive metals that have oxidized. The research paper was published in PNAS. Read more... July 31, 2019

Scientists have discovered a new species of bioluminescent click beetle in Asia. It was discovered in 2017 in the subtropical evergreen broadleaf forests in southwest China. The new species represents a new click beetle subfamily. Read more... July 27, 2019

Scientists have found that taking a bath 1 to 2 hours before going to sleep can help you get a better night's sleep. They suggest using water of about 104-109 degrees Fahrenheit. The researchers say the optimal timing of bathing for cooling down of core body temperature in order to improve sleep quality is about 90 minutes before you go to bed. Read more... July 22, 2019

The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt (GASB) is the world's biggest seaweed bloom and it may become permanent. The mass reaches from West Africa to the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists led by the USF College of Marine Science using NASA satellite observations determined the GASB has a biomass of over 20 million tons, heavier than 200 fully loaded aircraft carriers. Read more... July 5, 2019

Toyota's basketball robot CUE3 is very good at shooting free throws. The robot made 2020 consecutive free throws, setting a Guinness World Record for the Most Consecutive Basketball Free Throws by a Humanoid Robot (Assisted). Read more... June 27, 2019

Huntington Park has added a new robot, dubbed HP Robocop, to help fight crime. The robot will initially help with surveillance in parks and city buildings as it patrols while recording 360 degree video footage. The front of the robot says "POLICE" in large capital letters. The HP stands for the California city and not the Hewlett Packard tech company. The robot is a K5 robot from Knightscope. Read more... June 20, 2019

A recently discovered bacterium, Thiomargarita namibiensis, is the largest in the world. The bacterium is big enough to be visible to the naked eye. They can grow up to 3/4 mm wide in size. The images above show a light-photomicrograph of three cells of Thiomargarita with polarized light on the left and the visible bacterium on the body of a body (the white spot) in the image on the right. Read more... June 14, 2019

Tiger salamanders are an amphibian found in North America. The grow up to 14 inches in length but are typically about 6 to 8 inches long as adults. They can live for up to 15 years. Read more... June 13, 2019

Ford's vision of the future has headless robots delivering packages. The bipedal robot will be driven to its destination in a Ford driverless car. Read more... May 23, 2019