Nala Rogers
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Articles by Nala Rogers
Los fantásticos nidos que construyen las hormigas cortadoras de hojas
Ciencia Por Nala Rogers/Knowable en español | 24 de May. 2026 | 7:01 am Por Nala Rogers/Knowable en español 24 de May. 2026 | 7:01 am This handout picture released on November 23, 2020 by the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows an Atta cephalote soldier (R), the largest worker caste within the leaf-cutter ant colonies, extending her mandibles over an Acromyrmex echinatior worker.
Los fantásticos nidos que construyen las hormigas cortadoras de hojas
La primera vez que Marcela Cosarinsky vio un nido de hormigas cortadoras de hojas Atta vollenweideri fue a finales de los años noventa, mientras se encontraba en una pradera argentina estudiando termitas. Los niños locales le mostraron un montículo de tierra tan grande que casi cabría un Jeep, coronado por tubos con forma de chimenea. Le sorprendió que unos insectos pudieran construir algo tan enorme.
The crazy nests built by leaf-cutter ants
The first time Marcela Cosarinsky saw a nest of Atta vollenweideri leaf-cutter ants, it was the late 1990s and she was in an Argentinian grassland studying termites. Local children showed her a mound of earth nearly broad enough to park a Jeep on, crowned with chimney-like tubes. She was shocked that insects could build something so huge. “It was like a mystery for me,” says Cosarinsky, a biologist retired from the University of Buenos Aires.
La cultura cambia il modo in cui vediamo il mondo
Gli indigeni himba della Namibia riescono a vedere oltre le illusioni ottiche che traggono in inganno gli statunitensi e i britannici. Anche quando non c’è un modo giusto o sbagliato d’interpretare un’immagine, spesso gli himba vedono qualcosa di molto diverso rispetto a chi vive nelle società industrializzate, suggerisce un nuovo studio in attesa di pubblicazione.
[转载]News from Science-298
Weekly Headlines (Excerpts) 1. Culture literally changes how we see the world Where city dwellers see rectangles, people who live in round huts see circles 20 Jun 2025 By Nala Rogers 2. Always ‘one atom away’: The long, rocky journey to an HIV prevention breakthrough Developing lenacapavir, the drug newly approved to protect against HIV for six months in one shot, took basic science, sophisticated chemistry, and perseverance 20 Jun 2025 By Jon Cohen 3.
Culture literally changes how we see the world
Himba people from rural Namibia can see right through optical illusions that trick people from the United States and United Kingdom. Even when there’s no “right” or “wrong” way to interpret an image, what Himba people see is often vastly different from what people see in industrialized societies, a new preprint suggests.
Some Birds Adorn Their Nests With Snakeskin to Scare Off Predators, New Study Finds
Naturalists have long been puzzled to find shed snakeskin in bird nests, often tucked right under the eggs. Now, new research has finally confirmed the purpose behind the odd décor: The scaly leavings serve as predator repellent for cavity-nesting birds, scaring their enemies away and ensuring more of the eggs survive.
Catapulting pollen helps this flower beat out its rivals
biologist: A scientist involved in the study of living things. catapult: A device for throwing or flinging something into the air. ecologist: A scientist who works in a branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings. evolutionary biologist: Someone who studies the adaptive processes that have led to the diversity of life on Earth.
Projectile pollen helps this flower edge out reproductive competition
Science News is collecting reader questions about how to navigate our planet's changing climate. What do you want to know about extreme heat and how it can lead to extreme weather events? H. macrantha flowers have both male and female reproductive organs. To avoid mating with themselves, individual flowers go through a male phase and then a female phase. They rely on hummingbirds to transfer pollen between flowers, bribing the birds with rewards of sweet nectar (SN: 3/2/15).
Las avispas que domesticaron los virus
Si pincha el ovario de una avispa llamada Microplitis demolitor, los virus brotan en grandes cantidades, brillando como pasta de dientes azul iridiscente. “Es muy bonito y asombroso que haya tantos virus ahí dentro”, afirma Gaelen Burke, entomólogo de la Universidad de Georgia. M. demolitor es un parásito que pone sus huevos en orugas, y las partículas de sus ovarios son virus “domesticados” que han sido afinados para persistir inofensivamente en las avispas y servir a sus propósitos.
How Wasps Make Use of Biological Weapons To Conquer Their Prey
If you puncture the ovary of a wasp called Microplitis demolitor, viruses squirt out in vast quantities, shimmering like iridescent blue toothpaste. “It’s very beautiful and just amazing that there’s so much virus made in there,” says Gaelen Burke, an entomologist at the University of Georgia. M. demolitor is a parasite that lays its eggs in caterpillars, and the particles in its ovaries are “domesticated” viruses that have been tuned to persist harmlessly in wasps and serve their purposes.
The wasps that turned viruses into tiny biological weapons
A Fopius arisanus wasp probes into food medium with her stinger, looking for fruit fly maggots to lay her eggs in. When F. arisanus wasps lay their eggs, they also inject domesticated virus particles containing specialized proteins. U.S. Department of Agriculture If you puncture the ovary of a wasp called Microplitis demolitor, viruses squirt out in vast quantities, shimmering like iridescent blue toothpaste.
The Wasps That Tamed Viruses
To protect and rear their young, some insects have transformed wild viruses into tiny biological weapons. Representative image. Photo: Wikimedia Commons. If you puncture the ovary of a wasp called Microplitis demolitor, viruses squirt out in vast quantities, shimmering like iridescent blue toothpaste. “It’s very beautiful, and just amazing that there’s so much virus made in there,” says Gaelen Burke, an entomologist at the University of Georgia. Advertisement M.
The wasps that tamed viruses
If you puncture the ovary of a wasp called Microplitis demolitor, viruses squirt out in vast quantities, shimmering like iridescent blue toothpaste. “It’s very beautiful, and just amazing that there’s so much virus made in there,” says Gaelen Burke, an entomologist at the University of Georgia. M. demolitor is a parasite that lays its eggs in caterpillars, and the particles in its ovaries are “domesticated” viruses that have been tuned to persist harmlessly in wasps and serve their purposes.
How parasitoid wasps use viruses as biological weapons
If you puncture the ovary of a wasp called Microplitis demolitor, viruses squirt out in vast quantities, shimmering like iridescent blue toothpaste. “It’s very beautiful, and just amazing that there’s so much virus made in there,” says Gaelen Burke, an entomologist at the University of Georgia. M. demolitor is a parasite that lays its eggs in caterpillars, and the particles in its ovaries are “domesticated” viruses that have been tuned to persist harmlessly in wasps and serve their purposes.
The wasps that tamed viruses
If you puncture the ovary of a wasp called Microplitis demolitor, viruses squirt out in vast quantities, shimmering like iridescent blue toothpaste. “It’s very beautiful, and just amazing that there’s so much virus made in there,” says Gaelen Burke, an entomologist at the University of Georgia. M. demolitor is a parasite that lays its eggs in caterpillars, and the particles in its ovaries are “domesticated” viruses that have been tuned to persist harmlessly in wasps and serve their purposes.
Mammoth Barbacoa, Anyone? Here's How We'd Cook 11 Prehistoric Creatures (And a Few Plants)
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Mammoth Barbacoa, Anyone? Here's How We'd Cook 11 Prehistoric Creatures (And a Few Plants)
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Ever wondered if you could spatchcock a pteranodon? What sauce to pair with slabs of Columbian mammoth steak? No? Just us? Thanks to advances in paleontology, we now know so much about some of these prehistoric creatures that scientists can almost predict what they might have tasted like.
In The War Against The Spotted Lanternfly, Two Tiny Wasps Could be The Secret Weapon
The insect flutters her antennae to taste the egg mass beneath her, movements stuttering like stop-motion animation. She resembles a little black ant, but the scientists gathered around her know better. She is an Anastatus orientalis wasp, our potential ally in the war against spotted lanternflies. There’s nothing in her glass jar except a piece of bark that looks like it’s been smeared with spackle. Oblong shapes create hummocks beneath the coating.
Why Skinny Skyscrapers Are So Loud
In recent years, major cities like New York have sprouted a new breed of skyscraper so tall and thin they look like they should topple in a breeze. Apparently, many of them sound like it, too. "On a windy day, there were literally these sounds almost like guns going off.
Why Skinny Skyscrapers Are So Loud (And How To Quiet Them)
Super-slender buildings can make scary noises as they sway, but acoustical consultants say they have solutions. (Inside Science) -- In recent years, major cities like New York have sprouted a new breed of skyscraper so tall and thin they look like they should topple in a breeze. Apparently, many of them sound like it, too. "On a windy day, there were literally these sounds almost like guns going off.
These Moths Can Track Sounds with One Ridiculously Simple Ear
Researchers hope the tiny moth ears could someday inspire improvements to cell phones and hearing aids. (Inside Science) -- One membrane, three neurons. That's all a lesser wax moth needs to not only hear a sound, but pinpoint where it's coming from. Now, researchers are working to figure out how they do it -- knowledge that could someday be useful in designing products such as cell phones and hearing aids.
Secrets of Long Life Can Be Found in Rockfish DNA
Genes for repairing DNA, metabolizing glucose and suppressing inflammation may help some rockfish live for hundreds of years. (Inside Science) -- Some types of rockfish have lifespans of scarcely a decade, while others can live more than 200 years. Now, the DNA of 88 rockfish species has helped researchers pinpoint what it takes to stay alive and healthy for centuries.
Leeches Reveal Biodiversity Treasure in China
Researchers used DNA from leeches' last blood meals to find out what animals live where in China's Ailaoshan Nature Reserve. (Inside Science) -- You can't argue with 30,000 leeches. In the largest study of its kind, researchers used the blood-sucking worms to reveal a marvelous variety of mammals, birds and frogs in China's Ailaoshan Nature Reserve. The findings demonstrate the value of the park and help establish leeches as a conservation surveillance tool.
Big brains may have helped birds survive dinosaur-killing asteroid Original
August 1, 2021, 11:54 AM • 4 min read This is an Inside Science story. Just a few million years before an asteroid killed nearly all dinosaurs on Earth, a creature resembling a small albatross with teeth flew through the Cretaceous skies. The creature, known as Ichthyornis, is considered an early bird -- but not part of the lucky lineage that survived the mass extinction and gave rise to modern birds.
Big Brains May Have Helped Birds Survive Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid
A fossil skull from a bird that lived in the time of dinosaurs sheds light on how the ancestors of modern birds escaped extinction. Friday, July 30, 2021 - 14:00 Nala Rogers, Staff Writer (Inside Science) -- Just a few million years before an asteroid killed nearly all dinosaurs on Earth, a creature resembling a small albatross with teeth flew through the Cretaceous skies.
Life in Lava Caves Ignores Food from the Surface, Eats Rock Instead
(Inside Science) -- Some living things in Earth's lava caves have no need for resources from the surface, suggesting similar environments could host life on Mars, according to new research. Lava caves, also known as lava tubes, are formed during volcanic eruptions when an outer crust of flowing lava hardens. The molten middle continues to drain away, leaving tunnels that can be several yards across.
Cave Paintings May Depict Ice Age Sign Language
(Inside Science) — Tens of thousands of years ago in what is now Europe, people held their hands against cave walls and blew a spray of paint, leaving bare rock where their hands had rested. Many of these stencils show all five fingers, but in some, fingers appear to be shortened or missing. Researchers have proposed grisly explanations for these absent digits: Perhaps the artists lost fingers to frostbite or disease, or perhaps they endured amputations for ritual purposes or punishment.
A Pioneering Food Physicist Embraces a New Public Identity
Inside Science chats with Megan Povey about her research and what she has learned from transitioning genders late in life. (Inside Science) -- Megan Povey has spent half a century building a reputation as a food physicist. She has shown how sound waves can be used as a tool to study food properties, to test food quality and safety, and even to control food's texture. From the 1970s until late 2017, she did that work under another gender identity: that of a man named Malcolm.
Cave Paintings May Depict Ice Age Sign Language
Ancient stencils of hands with "mutilated" fingers may actually show a type of sign language used for hunting or silent rituals. (Inside Science) -- Tens of thousands of years ago in what is now Europe, people held their hands against cave walls and blew a spray of paint, leaving bare rock where their hands had rested. Many of these stencils show all five fingers, but in some, fingers appear to be shortened or missing.
How Inflammation Can Cause Your Cells to Rush Life-and-Death Decisions
Inside Science) — A molecule that triggers inflammation may send cells into a panic-like state, prompting them to rush decisions about when to commit suicide, according to new research. This could help quell viral infection by ensuring infected cells die before new viruses are released. But it appears to come at a cost: Uninfected cells sometimes kill themselves by mistake.
How to Speak Cicada
Brood X is emerging across 15 states. Here's how to decode all that buzzing from the trees. (Inside Science) -- When you first hear it, a cicada chorus may sound like simple buzzing. But to a cicada, that cacophony is full of meaning. There are three species in Brood X, the cohort of 17-year cicadas now emerging in much of the eastern U.S. Members of each species congregate with their own kind and talk to each other with their own species-specific sounds.
Noise pollution may prevent forest growth: Study
Loud sounds may scare away animals that drop seeds. April 18, 2021, 10:58 AM • 5 min read This is an Inside Science story. The effects of noise can reach organisms without ears. Because of the way living things rely on each other, noise pollution may actually stop some forests from growing, a new study suggests. In a New Mexico woodland dominated by pinyon pine and juniper trees, researchers found far fewer tree seedlings in noisy sites than they did in quiet ones.
Noise Pollution Could Stop Forests from Growing
Researchers found fewer tree seedlings on noisy plots in a pinyon-juniper woodland, likely because the sound drove away animals that disperse seeds. Tuesday, April 13, 2021 - 19:07 Nala Rogers, Staff Writer (Inside Science) -- The effects of noise can reach organisms without ears. Because of the way living things rely on each other, noise pollution may actually stop some forests from growing, a new study suggests.
The Oldest Evidence of Life on Earth Is Being Stolen
The Oldest Evidence of Life on Earth Is Being Stolen Billions of years ago in a shallow sea in what is now western Australia, microbes grew in layered cones that climbed toward a hazy orange sky. The water they lived in was green with iron; the continent above was black, bare of any life. Read Full Article »
The Oldest Evidence of Life on Earth is Being Stolen
Researchers and Aboriginal people are working to protect 3.5-billion-year-old stromatolite fossils in western Australia. (Inside Science) -- Billions of years ago in a shallow sea in what is now western Australia, microbes grew in layered cones that climbed toward a hazy orange sky. The water they lived in was green with iron; the continent above was black, bare of any life. The cones likely grew as photosynthetic microbes pushed toward the highest points to soak up light.
How Ants Fight Fast-Evolving Enemy Microbes
Bacterial allies may help insects win the evolutionary arms race against disease-causing microorganisms. (Inside Science) -- When it comes to battling harmful microbes, leafcutter ants face daunting challenges. They must protect not only themselves, but also the fungus gardens they grow for food in chambers in their nests. The ants live in colonies with millions of close relatives and they don't practice social distancing, so it's easy for diseases to pass from ant to ant.
Artificial Intelligence Finds Hidden Roads Threatening Amazon Ecosystems
Researchers in Brazil are hunting for unofficial roads -- many of them illegal -- tied to rainforest destruction. Friday, January 8, 2021 - 17:15 Nala Rogers, Staff Writer (Inside Science) -- It took years of painstaking work for Carlos Souza and his colleagues to map out every road in the Brazilian Amazon biome. Official maps of the 4.2 million-square-kilometer region only show roads built by federal and local governments.
Flies that Feast on Dead Flesh May Help Detect Chemical Weapons
By collecting blowflies and analyzing their gut contents, researchers hope to peek at sites that are difficult or dangerous to access. (Inside Science) -- Chemical weapons are banned by international treaty, but they are still occasionally used to kill and seriously injure people around the world. Now, investigators may have found an unlikely ally: insects called blowflies that feed on feces and dead bodies.
Why You Should Probably Get a COVID-19 Vaccine Even if You've Already Had the Disease
A vaccine could confer long-term protection even if a natural infection does not. (Inside Science) -- COVID-19 vaccines could provide stronger, longer-lasting immunity than recovering from the disease itself, say experts. Most people who recover from COVID-19 probably enjoy some degree of protection against getting the disease again. Both the strength of that protection and how long it lasts remain open questions, with the answers complicated by a mixture of conflicting evidence.
Two Liver-Destroying Viruses, Two Nobel Prizes
The new Nobel Prize for hepatitis C follows Blumberg's 1976 Nobel for hepatitis B. Both discoveries helped make blood transfusions safe. blood-liver_900x530.jpg Image credits: Qasim Zafar via Flickr. From "Atlas of Human Anatomy" by Carl Ernest Bock. Rights information: Public Domain Mark 1.0 Thursday, October 8, 2020 - 16:45 Nala Rogers, Staff Writer (Inside Science) -- If you need a blood transfusion today, you can receive one without the fear of catching a life-threatening liver disease.
3 Share Physiology or Medicine Nobel for Discovering the Hepatitis C Virus
The winners' discoveries have made it possible to cure infected patients and raise the chances of eliminating the disease. nobel_2020_medicine2.jpg Monday, October 5, 2020 - 07:15 Nala Rogers, Staff Writer (Inside Science) -- The 2020 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine has been awarded to three scientists "for the discovery of the Hepatitis C virus." The prize goes jointly to Harvey J. Alter of the National Institutes of Health, Michael Houghton of the University of Alberta, and Charles M.
How Nobel-Winning Research is Helping Battle Covid-19
The unprecedented pace of scientific progress on Covid-19 builds on groundbreaking discoveries from the past. (Inside Science) -- Today's Covid-19 researchers didn't start from scratch. Their rapid progress in understanding a disease that was unknown one year ago rests on over a century's worth of discoveries about viruses and the immune system. Next week, scientists in Sweden will announce new Nobel Prize winners in physiology or medicine.
Nine Nobel Prize Predictions for 2020
These significant advancements could win the Nobel Prizes in physiology or medicine, physics and chemistry. (Inside Science) -- Making predictions for the Nobel prizes in physiology or medicine, physics and chemistry has become an annual pastime at Inside Science. We've had some success in prior years. For example, in 2018 we included the winning research about cancer immunotherapy in our physiology or medicine predictions.
Bioengineered soil microbes may help prevent desertification
Credit: CC0 Public Domain By tweaking the genes of microbes in the soil, it may be possible to make arid ecosystems more resilient to climate change and overgrazing, according to a new study. The research is in early stages, and currently consists of theoretical work using computer models. But the models suggest that even relatively small changes to key organisms could have profound effects.
Bioengineered Soil Microbes May Help Prevent Desertification
Early-stage research points to bioengineering as a promising way to buy time for arid ecosystems. Tuesday, August 25, 2020 - 19:00 Nala Rogers, Staff Writer (Inside Science) -- By tweaking the genes of microbes in the soil, it may be possible to make arid ecosystems more resilient to climate change and overgrazing, according to a new study. The research is in early stages, and currently consists of theoretical work using computer models.
Why Forest-Dwelling Lionesses Seek Many Mates
For Asiatic lionesses, sex may be a way of protecting their cubs from murderous males. (Inside Science) -- On a bright day in 2015, an Asiatic lioness hid her cubs in a thicket and went to meet two strangers. The strange males' roars echoed through the Indian forest, proclaiming their intent to drive out local males and claim new territory. Since they were new to the region, there was no way either of them could be the father of the lioness's cubs. If they found the cubs, they would kill them.
Scientists Have Been Wrong About How Human Sperm Move for Over 300 years
Traditional microscopes make it look like sperm tails undulate symmetrically -- but that's an optical illusion. Friday, July 31, 2020 - 14:00 Nala Rogers, Staff Writer (Inside Science) -- When Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, the "father of microbiology," peered through a microscope at a human sperm in the 1670s, it seemed clear what was going on. The cell's movement was powered by the symmetrical thrashing of its long tail, with waves undulating equally down both sides.
Noise Exposure May Cause Even More Hearing Loss Than Doctors Thought
Study attributes age-related hearing loss to hair cells -- the same sense organs that are damaged by loud noises. (Inside Science) -- Researchers have long debated why so many people lose their hearing as they age. Some have argued that the problem lies mainly with the stria vascularis, a sort of battery in the inner ear that powers the transformation of sound energy into nerve impulses.
Seventy-Five Years After
Seventy-Five Years After After the Manhattan Project produced the first atomic bombs, its effects rippled through science and society in sometimes unpredictable ways. By Inside Science Staff The Manhattan Project's massive effort to build the first atomic bomb led to the Trinity test on July 16, 1945. The project had consumed huge amounts of resources and, in building weapons of unprecedented potency, gave godlike power to flawed humans.
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