Nature – Kettinki

2026-10-03 @ 11.51.09 ∈ In English

Butterflies use optical illusions to dodge predators

[A new study] helps solve a long-standing puzzle; butterflies have striking patterns that make them stand out, yet remarkably few predators specialise in catching them mid-flight. [Motion illusion patterns were found to be widespread among around 400 European butterflies that the study looked at.]

2026-03-28 @ 11.13.44 ∈ In English

Scientists uncovered the nutrients bees were missing — Colonies surged 15-fold

Scientists have developed a breakthrough “superfood” for honeybees by engineering yeast to produce the essential nutrients normally found in pollen. In controlled trials, colonies fed this specially designed diet produced up to 15 times more young, showing a dramatic boost in reproduction and overall health.

2026-03-26 @ 13.18.40 ∈ In English

Massive insect body size 300 million years ago may not have been due to high atmospheric oxygen

[The study] found that the space occupied by tracheoles in the flight muscle is typically only 1% or less in most species[.] This suggests that the flight muscles of insects are not constrained by atmospheric oxygen levels as they could easily add tracheoles in the muscle, since they take up so little space.

2025-09-05 @ 19.22.03 ∈ In English

Iberian harvester ant queens are cloning different species to produce hybrid workers

This new frontier in reproduction is referred to by the authors as "xenoparous," meaning the ant queens have a need to produce individuals of another species as an inherent part of their life cycle. The exact developmental mechanism of cross-species male cloning is still unknown, but the authors have some theories.

2025-07-19 @ 9.58.27 ∈ In English

Ancient DNA solves mystery of Hungarian, Finnish language family’s origins

The study finds the ancestors of present-day Uralic speakers living about 4,500 years ago in northeastern Siberia, within an area now known as Yakutia.

2024-09-26 @ 19.58.30 ∈ In English

Octopuses recorded hunting with fish — and punching those that don’t cooperate

The research […] even suggests that the famously intelligent animals organized the hunting groups’ decisions, including what they should prey upon. [The researchers witnessed the cephalopod species] punching companion fish, apparently to keep them on task and contributing to the collective effort.

2024-09-15 @ 15.54.07 ∈ In English

‘The data on extreme human ageing is rotten from the inside out’ – Ig Nobel winner Saul Justin Newman

In general, the claims about how long people are living mostly don’t stack up. I’ve tracked down 80% of the people aged over 110 in the [world]. Of those, almost none have a birth certificate. […] [A] Japanese government review in [2010 found] that 82% of the people aged over 100 in Japan turned out to be dead.

2024-09-05 @ 12.04.56 ∈ In English

Part of brain network much bigger in people with depression, scientists find

[In] people with depression, a larger part of the brain is involved in the network that controls attention to rewards and threats than in those without depression. [The] frontostriatal salience network was expanded by 73% on average in participants with depression compared with healthy controls.

2024-08-23 @ 11.15.44 ∈ In English

Mosquitoes sense infrared from body heat to help track humans down, study shows

Infrared radiation from a source roughly the temperature of human skin doubled the insects' overall host-seeking behavior when combined with CO2 and human odor. […] It's only in the context of other cues, such as elevated CO2 and human odor that IR makes a [difference;] infrared alone has no impact.

2024-06-27 @ 11.14.53 ∈ In English

Frog ‘saunas’ help endangered frogs survive the devastating impacts of a deadly fungal disease

The research team found artificial 'hotspot' shelters built from readily available materials, such as bricks and PVC greenhouses, can allow frogs to quickly 'bake off' infections with the chytrid fungus. When frogs shifted to hotspot shelters, chytrid infections were reduced significantly.