Magpie News Collector

animal

Some probiotics could feed, rather than fend off, infections

By Science News | Tina Hesman Saey | 8/1/2025 1:00 PM

Probiotics containing Lactobacillus gasseri Lg-36 prevented C. difficile infections in mice, but L. acidophilus probiotics made infection more likely. ... Read full Story

animal

Some killer whales hunt in pairs to maximize their bounty

By Science News | Kristel Tjandra | 7/28/2025 9:00 AM

Drone footage from Norway shows killer whales using a highly coordinated and cooperative hunting technique to catch herring. ... Read full Story

animal

This desert beetle runs to cool off

By Science News | Rohini Subrahmanyam | 7/25/2025 9:00 AM

After a sprint, the temperature of the beetle Onymacris plana drops. Efficient running, a body built for cooling and a little bit of lift all help. ... Read full Story

animal

Some penguins save energy by riding ocean currents

By Science News | Sofia Caetano Avritzer | 7/17/2025 2:00 PM

When navigating home, Magellanic penguins alternate between heading straight back in calm waters and swimming with the flow in strong ocean currents. ... Read full Story

animal

A dog’s taste for TV may depend on its temperament

By Science News | Bethany Brookshire | 7/17/2025 11:00 AM

Anxious dogs might react nervously to some television sounds, a survey of dog owners reports, while hyper ones might try to play chase. ... Read full Story

animal

A newly discovered cell helps pythons poop out the bones of their prey

By Science News | Bethany Brookshire | 7/16/2025 1:00 PM

The cells helps the snakes absorb the bones of their prey — and might show up in other animals that chomp their meals whole. ... Read full Story

animal

Greenland sled dog DNA is a window into the Arctic’s archaeological past

By Science News | Jake Buehler | 7/10/2025 2:00 PM

A genomic analysis of Greenland’s Qimmeq dogs suggest they and their human partners arrived on the island centuries earlier than previously thought. ... Read full Story

animal

As bird flu evolves, keeping it out of farm flocks is getting harder

By Science News | Tina Hesman Saey | 7/9/2025 2:00 PM

New versions of the H5N1 virus are increasingly adept at spreading. Suggestions to either let it rip in poultry or vaccinate the birds could backfire. ... Read full Story

animal

This bug’s all-in helicopter parenting reshaped its eggs

By Science News | Susan Milius | 6/26/2025 11:30 AM

An egg-shape trend found among birds shows up in miniature with very protective bug parents. Elongated eggs fit more compactly under mom. ... Read full Story

animal

Killer whales may use kelp brushes to slough off rough skin

By Science News | Erin Garcia de Jesús | 6/23/2025 11:00 AM

The whales use quick body movements to tear pieces of bull kelp for use as tools, perhaps the first known toolmaking by a marine mammal. ... Read full Story

animal

50 years after ‘Jaws,’ sharks face their own terror

By Science News | Brianna Randall | 6/20/2025 9:00 AM

Humans have driven sharks and their cousins to the brink of extinction. The health of the entire ocean is at stake. ... Read full Story

animal

U.S. seal populations have rebounded — and so have their conflicts with humans

By Science News | Aaron Tremper | 6/19/2025 10:00 AM

Alix Morris’s new book, A Year with the Seals, explores humans’ complicated relationship with these controversial marine mammals. ... Read full Story

animal

Compare shark sizes on our infographic

By Science News | Melissa Hobson | 6/18/2025 2:00 PM

As Jaws celebrates its 50th anniversary, Science News explores the vast range of shark sizes, from megaladon to the dwarf lanternshark. ... Read full Story

animal

This moth species may use the Milky Way as its guiding star

By Science News | Erin Garcia de Jesús | 6/18/2025 11:00 AM

Bogong moths migrate up to 1,000 kilometers from Australian plains to mountain caves to escape the summer heat. The stars may help them get there. ... Read full Story

animal

Fewer scavengers could mean more zoonotic disease

By Science News | Bethany Brookshire | 6/16/2025 3:00 PM

Scavenger populations are decreasing, a new study shows. That could put human health at risk. ... Read full Story

animal

This spider’s barf is worse than its bite

By Science News | Susan Milius | 6/12/2025 8:00 PM

Most spider species subdue dinner by injecting venom from their fangs. Feather-legged lace weavers swathe prey in silk, then upchuck a killing brew. ... Read full Story

animal

Preemptively cutting rhinos’ horns cuts poaching

By Science News | Jake Buehler | 6/5/2025 2:00 PM

Comparing various tactics for protecting rhinos suggests that dehorning them drastically reduces poaching. ... Read full Story

animal

Probiotics helped great star corals fend off a deadly disease

By Science News | Martin J. Kernan | 6/5/2025 2:00 AM

A probiotic paste prevented the spread of stony coral tissue loss disease, but the treatment is still a proof-of-concept, not a cure. ... Read full Story

animal

Flamingos create precise water vortices in a shrimp-hunting frenzy

By Science News | Elie Dolgin | 6/4/2025 11:00 AM

Nashville Zoo flamingos reveal the oddball birds generate many types of vortices to eat. The swirls could be an inspiration to human engineers. ... Read full Story

animal

Aussie cockatoos use their beaks and claws to turn on water fountains

By Science News | Jake Buehler | 6/3/2025 7:01 PM

Parrots living in Sydney have learned how to turn on water fountains for a drink. It's the first such drinking strategy seen in the birds. ... Read full Story

animal

Some probiotics could feed, rather than fend off, infections

by Science News | Aug 01 2025

art

Canon at Sweetwater

by Contemporary Art Daily | Aug 01 2025

exercise

If You Don’t Walk Backward Every Day, a Sports Medicine Doctor’s List of the Benefits Might Convince You To Start

by thehealthy.com | Jul 11 2025

FFNEWS

For-Hire Trucking Index shows fourth month of volume declines

by FreightWaves | Aug 01 2025

golf

War Amputees Find New Purpose on the Golf Course

by NY Times | Jul 25 2025

how_to

F1: How to Watch and Stream the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix

by CNET | Aug 02 2025

knowledge

10 Scary Facts Behind the World’s Most Adorable Animals

by Reader's Digest | Jul 29 2025

mental

Special Olympics Advocates: Don’t Leave This Community Out of Mental Health Discussions

by thehealthy.com | May 28 2025

metro

Arrest made in torture, murder of 21-year-old woman after weeklong manhunt for her boyfriend

by New York Post | Aug 02 2025

music

Kelly Osbourne Honors Dad Ozzy Osbourne With NSFW Post Days After His Funeral

by Billboard | Aug 02 2025

opinion

Arab nations are getting wise to Hamas — even as others foolishly squeeze Israel

by New York Post | Aug 02 2025

retirement

Retirees face staggering 6-figure health care bill when leaving the workforce

by Fox News | Jul 30 2025

science

When your mind goes 'blank,' your brain activity resembles deep sleep, scans reveal

by LIVE SCIENCE | Aug 02 2025

sports

India responds to U.S. penalty over Russia oil

by United Press International, Inc. | Aug 02 2025

Word of the Day

palimpsest

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 2, 2025 is:

palimpsest • \PAL-imp-sest\ • noun

Palimpsest in its original use refers to writing material (such as a parchment manuscript) used one or more times after earlier writing has been erased; the underlying text is said to be “in palimpsest.” Palimpsest in extended use refers to something that has usually diverse layers or aspects apparent beneath the surface.

// Scholars believe the motive for making palimpsests was often economic—reusing parchment was cheaper than preparing a new skin.

// The ancient city is an architectural palimpsest.

See the entry >

Examples:

“My aim was to trace the course of … the Aqua Marcia, built between 144 and 140 B.C. by Julius Caesar’s ancestor Quintus Marcius Rex. … The original tuff arches carried the Marcia across a steep ravine. Subsequent retaining walls and buttresses have transformed the bridge into a palimpsest of building styles.” — David Laskin, The New York Times, 24 Apr. 2024

Did you know?

Long ago, writing surfaces were so highly valued that they were often used more than once. Palimpsest in its original use referred to an early form of recycling in which an old document was erased to make room for a new one when parchment ran short. (The word is from the Greek palimpsēstos, meaning “scraped again.”) Fortunately for modern scholars, the erasing process wasn’t completely effective, so the original could often be distinguished under the newer writing. De republica, by Roman statesman and orator Cicero, is one of many documents recovered from a palimpsest. Nowadays, the word palimpsest can refer not only to such a document but to anything that has multiple layers apparent beneath the surface.

Some probiotics could feed, rather than fend off, infections

Some killer whales hunt in pairs to maximize their bounty

This desert beetle runs to cool off

Some penguins save energy by riding ocean currents

A dog’s taste for TV may depend on its temperament

A newly discovered cell helps pythons poop out the bones of their prey

Greenland sled dog DNA is a window into the Arctic’s archaeological past

As bird flu evolves, keeping it out of farm flocks is getting harder

This bug’s all-in helicopter parenting reshaped its eggs

Killer whales may use kelp brushes to slough off rough skin

50 years after ‘Jaws,’ sharks face their own terror

U.S. seal populations have rebounded — and so have their conflicts with humans

Compare shark sizes on our infographic

This moth species may use the Milky Way as its guiding star

Fewer scavengers could mean more zoonotic disease

This spider’s barf is worse than its bite

Preemptively cutting rhinos’ horns cuts poaching

Probiotics helped great star corals fend off a deadly disease

Flamingos create precise water vortices in a shrimp-hunting frenzy

Aussie cockatoos use their beaks and claws to turn on water fountains

Some probiotics could feed, rather than fend off, infections

Canon at Sweetwater

If You Don’t Walk Backward Every Day, a Sports Medicine Doctor’s List of the Benefits Might Convince You To Start

For-Hire Trucking Index shows fourth month of volume declines

War Amputees Find New Purpose on the Golf Course

F1: How to Watch and Stream the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix

10 Scary Facts Behind the World’s Most Adorable Animals

Special Olympics Advocates: Don’t Leave This Community Out of Mental Health Discussions

Arrest made in torture, murder of 21-year-old woman after weeklong manhunt for her boyfriend

Kelly Osbourne Honors Dad Ozzy Osbourne With NSFW Post Days After His Funeral

Arab nations are getting wise to Hamas — even as others foolishly squeeze Israel

Retirees face staggering 6-figure health care bill when leaving the workforce

When your mind goes 'blank,' your brain activity resembles deep sleep, scans reveal

Pelé's life in pictures

India responds to U.S. penalty over Russia oil

Word of the Day

10 Odd & Fun

1.Wild Pennsylvania Highway Spill Leads To Commuters' Wurst Nightmare

2.Thousands of hot dogs spill across busy highway

3.'This shouldn't have happened': Bishop who interrupted church choir in dressing gown apologises

4.Watch: Newborn squirrel rescued after falling out of tree

5.Watch: Paddleboarding pooches break three world records

6.Look: Escaped monitor lizard returns to Massachusetts, evades capture

7.Look: Firefighters rescue bobcat stuck in front grill of vehicle

8.Watch: Giant baseball with 6,750 signatures breaks world record

9.South Africa Hopes Injecting Horns With Radioactive Material Curbs Rhino Poaching

10.Wayward sea lion found wandering in California road