Stories by Christopher Intagliata

The ease with which certain sounds are produced in different climes plays a role in the development of spoken languages. Christopher Intagliata reports

The cone snail's venom contains not only neurotoxins, but insulin, too—which stuns the fish it preys on. Christopher Intagliata reports

Researchers were able to track the keystrokes of a nearby computer via fluctuations in its electromagnetic radiation output. Christopher Intagliata reports

The drugs disrupt mosquitoes' gut bacteria, which appears to make the insects more effective malaria vectors. Christopher Intagliata reports

High UV radiation during solar maxima may have degraded expectant mothers' stores of folate, a vitamin essential to development. Christopher Intagliata reports

Looking for movement could complement chemical searches for extraterrestrial life. Christopher Intagliata reports

Mice infected with Lyme and the Babesia parasite are more likely to pass on babesiosis than mice infected with babesiosis alone. Christopher Intagliata reports

The way fruit reflects and absorbs laser light may be a good measure of its progression toward peak ripeness. Christopher Intagliata reports

Based on trawling samples and visual observations of plastic debris, computer models calculate that some 5.25 trillion particles of plastic—about 269,000 tons—may litter the world's oceans. Christopher Intagliata reports

When the Sun's magnetic field is pointed away from Earth, lightning strikes in the U.K. go up 50 percent. Christopher Intagliata reports

A new study suggests bed bugs can transmit Chagas disease to mice—but the same thing is unlikely to happen in humans. Christopher Intagliata reports

Alcohol's supposed benefit to the heart may only be available to people with the right genes. Christopher Intagliata reports

Nonsterile lab reagents and DNA extraction kits add their own assortment of DNA to microbiome samples. Christopher Intagliata reports

Mexican free-tailed bats make calls that interfere with fellow bats’ echolocation, causing them to miss their insect targets. Christopher Intagliata reports

Mosquitoes that harbor a soil microbe called Chromobacterium Csp_P have a harder time catching dengue virus and the malarial parasite. Christopher Intagliata reports

Christo Wilson, a computer scientist at Northeastern University, says prices online are "super subjective" and vary according to your past clicks and purchases or whether you are shopping on a mobile phone. Christopher Intagliata reports.

The bacterium Clostridium scindens, a member of the gut’s microbiome, appears to ward off the hospital-acquired infection C. difficile. Christopher Intagliata reports

Researchers say chemical changes in groundwater may someday be used to predict quakes four to six months in advance. Christopher Intagliata reports

After the Chicxulub meteorite, more than half the plant species in temperate North America perished along with the dinosaurs, and the composition of post-impact vegetation changed markedly. Christopher Intagliata reports

 

Micrococcus bacteria thrive on the open-air lattice of synthetic fibers—where they sit chomping on the fatty acids in our sweat, turning them into shorter, stinkier molecules. Christopher Intagliata reports

Biologists have identified at least 11 different sounds in the turtle repertoire—but they still have no idea what they mean. Christopher Intagliata reports

When Web searches related to business and politics go up, the market tends to take a dive—although that connection may already be fading. Christopher Intagliata reports

A new estimate finds that the Milky Way, once thought to be twice as massive as Andromeda, may actually only have half our neighbor galaxy's mass. Christopher Intagliata reports 

 

Sea creatures eat plastic dumped in the ocean, but they also might be accumulating plastic by sucking up tiny particles with their siphons and gills. Christopher Intagliata reports