The open windows of the metal-sulfide material allow cesium (Cs) ions to enter the structure. Like a Venus flytrap, the entrance of cesium ions in the cavity triggers a window-closing response to permanently encapsulate the ion.
Not every object is food to a Venus flytrap. Like the carnivorous plant, a new material developed at Northwestern University [...]

The Bat can generate and use Biosonar Signals.
Researchers at The University of Western Ontario (Western) led an international and multi-disciplinary study that sheds new light on the way that bats echolocate. With echolocation, animals emit sounds and then listen to the reflected echoes of those sounds to form images of their surroundings in their brains.

Jewel-encrusted beetle
It was an unlikely fashion accessory but the arrival of a jewel-encrusted beetle at a US border post certainly bugged customs officers.
 

Hotlix insect candy
Even the sweetest tooth might find these confections easy to resist.  From worm lollipops to chocolate-dipped scorpions these bizarre concoctions could be from the dark mind of a twisted Willy Wonka. (Pics)
 

Crowned like a king, the spike-headed katydid, Panacanthus cuspidatus, is one of projected 100,000 insect species in Yasuni.
A team of scientists has documented that Yasuní National Park, in the core of the Ecuadorian Amazon, shatters world records for a wide array of plant and animal groups, from amphibians to trees to insects.

Stingless bee
Scientists have discovered that bees use more than their stingers to defeat potential attackers. Apparently, they’re perfectly prepared to mummify enemies who can’t be stung.
 

New species of cockroach is genetically different from all American cockroaches in the databases
New Yorkers are used to fighting each other for space, but there may be a new contender in town according to a Rockefeller study that appears to have uncovered a new species of cockroach.

Honey bees have fascinated people for centuries, and people have built many types of hives to observe them.  Forcing bees to build combs inside glass jars is a common theme for observation hives. A bell jar was placed on top of a mini hive and bees from the nucleus started to create foundation of a [...]

Botanists have discovered for the first time that the plants are carnivorous predators who kill insects in order to “self-fertilise” themselves.  Garden vegetables such as tomatoes and potatoes have been found to be deadly killers on a par with Venus fly traps, according to research.
 

New research shows that physical exercise by professional athletes leads to activation of the important enzyme telomerase and stabilizes the telomere
Intensive exercise prevented shortening of telomeres, a protective effect against aging of the cardiovascular system, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

A honeybee’s brain weighs one mg and contains fewer than a million nerve cells
Insects with minuscule brains may be as intelligent as much bigger animals and may even have consciousness, it was claimed today.  Having a brain the size of a pinhead does not necessarily make you less bright, say researchers.
 

Crazy Rasberry Ant
Poor Texas. First it was killer bees, then fire ants. Now, it’s the Rasberry ants.
The invasion of this new species of ants has scientists intrigued, businesses concerned and fire ants running for the hills, said Jerry Cook, an entomologist at Sam Houston State University. (Video)
 

RoboBee
Harvard researchers recently got a $10 million grant to create a colony of flying robotic bees, or RoboBees to among other things, spur innovation in ultra-low-power computing and electronic “smart” sensors; and refine coordination algorithms to manage multiple, independent machines.
 

A new giant orb spider has been discovered in South Africa.
A new giant spider – which has huge five-inch females and tiny males – has been discovered by scientists.  The female of the new species of golden orb weaver spider has a body one and a half inches long with a leg span of [...]

As part of a project to understand how the brain learns, biologists have written memories into the cells of a fruitfly’s brain, making it think it had a terrible experience.
 

Fruit flies.
When Professor Joel Levine’s team genetically tweaked fruit flies so that they didn’t produce certain pheromones, they triggered a sexual tsunami in their University of Toronto Mississauga laboratory. In fact, they produced bugs so irresistible that normal male fruit flies attempted to mate with pheromone-free males and even females from a different species-generally a [...]

Male common fruit fly (Drosophila Melanogaster). A common household nuisance, the fruit fly, is capable of intricate social learning much like that used by humans.

A common household nuisance, the fruit fly, is capable of intricate social learning much like that used by humans, according to new research from McMaster University.

Filoha Meadows in central Colorado
A refuge for the Ute Indians and a transit corridor for the marble quarried for the Washington Monument, Filoha Meadows in central Colorado has been used as farmland, an arthritic retreat center, and a movie set. Developers eyed it to build 15,000 square-foot homes, while others envisioned the entire area under [...]

Scientists have worked out a new way to defend computers from cyber attackers – by studying ants.  Watching how they behaved when a colony was under threat, gave programmers inspiration for a new weapon against infections known as worms and viruses.
 

Cyborg beetles are plain creepy
DARPA shows off its remote-controlled cyborg beetles

Fly caught inside a Venus fly trap.
Like the man-eating plant in Little Shop of Horrors, carnivorous plants rely on animal prey for sustenance. Fortunately for humans, carnivorous plants found in nature are not dependent on a diet of human blood but rather are satisfied with the occasional fly or other insect. The existence of carnivorous [...]

Super honey to helf fight off superbugs
Honey lovers, you have a whole new reason to feel dedicated to the sweet sticky stuff. We know that honey has been used as an antibacterial for cuts and scrapes for ages. The high sugar content strips much-needed water from bacteria. But a certain type of honey may be [...]

A common European earthworm burrowing into soil.
The large group of segmented worms known as annelids, which includes earthworms, leeches and bristle worms, evolved millions of years ago and can be found in every corner of the world. Although annelids are one of the most abundant animal groups on the planet, scientists have struggled to understand [...]

Green gecko. New research shows that the tails of geckos and other lizards exhibit not only rhythmic but also complex movements, including flips, jumps and lunges, after the tails are shed.

Geckos and other lizards have long been known for their incredible ability to shed their tails as a decoy for predators, but little is known [...]

A cotton bollworm moth flies off the hand of a technician in a laboratory
Moths, caterpillars and fruit flies could soon take the place of millions of mice used every year by scientists testing drugs, researchers said Tuesday.  Biologists have discovered that certain key cells in mammals and insects react in the same way when attacked [...]