The world premiere of the film Ordinary Extraordinary Junco: Remarkable Biology From a Backyard Bird — a science documentary developed by biologists at Indiana University about one of North America’s most beloved songbirds — was a local success and a box office sell-out. Now the team of scientists and filmmakers says the film, along with [...]
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An infamous and ill-fated talking Barbie doll once said, “Math class is tough. Let’s go shopping.” At least until public outcry compelled Mattel to take that 1992 doll off the shelf. Yet that soundtrack still plays for flesh-and-blood girls. The message—that girls do not have the same aptitude or interest as boys in math and [...]
How species diversity is maintained is a fundamental question in biology. In a new study, a team of Indiana University biologists has shown for the first time that diversity is influenced on a spatial scale of unparalleled scope, in part, by how well tree seedlings survive under their own parents. Scientists have long considered conspecific [...]
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Altruism–selfless behavior–is widespread in nature. Organisms from microbes to mammals help others by warning about predators, caring for others’ offspring, foraging to retrieve food for nest mates, cooperating in the hunt, and communicating the location of food. But not all acts of altruism are alike, says a new study. From bees and wasps that die [...]
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It feels quieter in Dunn’s Woods than on the rest of the Indiana University Bloomington campus. Cooler in the summer. More peaceful on bustling game days or during the change of classes. People who work and study on campus can step from an academic building into the woods in the heart of campus and be [...]
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When Craig Pikaard entered college, he wasn’t considering a scientific career. He majored in horticulture and hoped to start a home and garden business with his father after graduation. His plans changed as soon as he took a few college-level science courses. “I was enthralled by biochemistry and physiology classes,” recalls Pikaard. That revelation turned [...]
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The National Institutes of Health has awarded David E. Nelson, assistant professor in the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Biology, more than $2.3 million to genetically modify variants of the human pathogen chlamydia in hopes of finding a vaccine for the most commonly reported bacterial infectious disease in the United States. [...]
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It’s cold and flu season again. People in office suites, restaurants, elevators, and theaters are coughing and hacking, and the germs are flying. When you or someone you care for is ailing, a fast-acting antibiotic seems desirable, despite the fact that we know antibiotics are clearly not always the answer. In fact, although antibiotics have [...]
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The turtle’s fortress-like shell. The soaring spiral of a narwhal’s tooth. The intricate pattern of a butterfly’s wing. At one time or another, you’ve surely wondered, Where did that come from?
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