Articles by Carrie Poppy
Venus Fly Traps Use Counting To Identify Prey
Each step an insect takes gives the plant new - and deadly - information. "Look at this!" said my dad, as he inserted the blunt end of his eyeglasses into my Venus fly trap.
Brain Injury And Genetics May Be To Blame For Chronic Boredom
Scientists are discovering significant differences between the boredom levels of people who have endured brain injuries, and people who have not.
New Brain Implants Never Have To Be Removed
To the horror of conspiracy bloggers everywhere, a team of scientists has developed smarter brain implants that dissolve within a few days of implantation.
Cocaine Makes Your Brain Cells Eat Themselves
New research points to the way cocaine destroys healthy brain cells, and suggests potential treatments.
Hundreds Of Stranded East Coast Turtles Towed To Safety
Ninety percent of the more than 1,000 turtles are members of an endangered species of sea turtle. An unusually warm winter interrupted their migration pattern.
Tonsillectomies: Not Just For Kids Any More
New study suggests that removing your tonsils may hugely decrease sore throats and doctor visits. Remember when you were eight and you begged your parents to let you get a tonsillectomy, but they refused, because they thought you were going to die of blood loss? And you told them that your sore throats were so frequent and painful that you wanted to risk it? But they were all, "No, Carrie, we are your parents, and you can make that decision when you're 18"? And then the doctor told you that if you could get past childhood with your tonsils intact, then the sore throats would go away, because tonsillitis is a disease of the young? Yeah, me too.
'Atlas' The Robot Is The New Rosie Jetson
This new robot can clean house with the impressive fluidity we expect in a human. Humans have a weird relationship to robots: We're not sure if we love or fear them.
New Gravity Measurement Technique For Distant Stars Could Help Find Extraterrestrial Life
Previous methods were only available for stars somewhat close to our own solar system. My eighth grade science teacher had a great idea for a weight loss program: just send people to the moon.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Rocket Declared Reusable
The Falcon 9 is the first known rocket to be considered reusable. Last month, private aeronautics company SpaceX landed its first rocket after a six-month hiatus since its last rocket exploded soon after liftoff.
NASA Says A Black Hole Is Burping
The supermassive black hole, which is 26 million light years away, is ejecting gas it once 'ate.'
Scientists Uncover The Sun's Secret Weapon In Preventing Solar Eruptions
The development could spell better planning for terrestrial technology, and safer missions for space travelers.
Snails Will Change Their Sex If That’s What Their Partner Is Into
A new study shows that male slipper limpets change their sex if they rub up against a smaller male of the same species.
Sweet Tooth Linked To Lack Of Liver Hormone
University of Iowa scientists have explained why we can blame our livers for not stopping us from eating all those holiday cookies.
NASA Introduces 7-Billion-Year-Old Gamma Rays From Another Galaxy
The rays were created by the force of a black hole, and are billions of times as bright as the light we see with our eyes.
45 Stars And Planets Finally Get Names As International Contest Ends
Astronomy fans in 182 countries around the world voted on names. More than half a million votes were cast.
No, That North Carolina Town Didn’t Ban Solar Panels For Sucking Up Sun
Recent news coverage has mocked a rural North Carolina town for rejecting solar panels that suck up the sun's energy and cause cancer. Those reports are inaccurate.
Electrons Are Probably Immortal (Still)
The standard model of physics is safe for now, following new research on electron decay. According to the current Standard Model of particle physics, electrons don't decay.
Adventurous Professor 3D-Scans The World’s Oldest Ham And Peanut
The replicas will help museum curators to track their aging, as well as provide a hands-on experience for visitors.
Pinterest Has Depression, And No One Is Treating It
New study says over half of 'pins' deal with depression, and very few positive voices counteract these messages.
A Brain On LSD Looks Like A Psychotic Brain, Says New Study
The drug works by reorganizing the brain, creating a sort of benign, even helpful, psychosis. According to a fascinating new study, LSD literally reorganizes your brain.
A $1 Stove Insert Could Save Thousands Of Lives
Toxic stove fumes from indoor household air pollution are the leading cause of death for children under five.
Dinosaur 'Aunts, Uncles And Cousins' Lived More Recently Than Previously Thought
The dinosauromorphs were accurately dated for the first time, by a cross-continental team. Scientists have announced that prehistoric animals thought to be distant relatives of dinosaurs were actually much closer to them on the family tree.
Far-Away Star's Light Pulses Dismissed As Potential Alien Signal
The star's pulsing light signature suggested a laser being beamed by intelligent beings. A star which was suspected to support intelligent life on an orbiting planet has been examined and dismissed.
Penn State, Princeton Academics Caught Accepting Secret Funding To Challenge Climate Change
Undercover activists posed as fossil fuel industry reps and documented professors accepting secret donations, then agreeing not to disclose funders and offering to weaken peer review.
Did A Top NASA Astronaut Just Tweet A Photo Of An Alien Space Ship?
No, he didn't. Scott Kelly, the commander of the International Space Station crew, recently tweeted a photo that made UFO theorists cry Roswell. Kelly tweets images from space every day, making his Twitter feed one of the best in the galaxy.
Science Images Of The Week: Songbirds, Stars, Storms And Sperm
This week's images go from macro to micro in a major way. From dead galaxies to mouse gametes, we've got it all.
Bats Use Massive, Powerful Wings To Land Upside Down
The flying animals tuck one wing in while spreading the other to perform a secret maneuver as they land.
Good News: Antarctica Isn’t Melting As Fast As We Thought! Bad News: It’s Still Melting Really Fast
The world is dying, but maybe a little slower than we thought based on a study of ice melting rates in Antarctica. Have a party.
Almost-Human DNA Found In A Super Old Tooth
The fossilized molar belongs to a Denisovan, a sister group to the Neanderthals. A molar fossil found in Siberia contains the DNA of Denisovans, a species of extinct hominid that were our unsuccessful cousins.
Your Coral’s So Fat, It Withstands Global Warming
New research shows the fatter the coral, the more it can withstand bleaching events. Scientists have determined fat deposits help coral survive better over the long term.
