Magpie News Collector

animal

Songs prep the brains of finches yet to hatch for a hot world

By Science News | Jake Buehler | 6/11/2026 6:00 PM

Adult finches make "heat calls" as the temperature rises. Exposure to the song prepares their unhatched young's brains for the heat. ... Read full Story

animal

Frozen squirrel poop hints at sights and smells of Ice Age ecosystems

By Science News | Bethany Brookshire | 6/9/2026 11:00 AM

DNA preserved in ancient scat reveals what Yukon ground squirrels ate and what animals shared their world. ... Read full Story

animal

These birds clack their wing bones together to woo mates at night

By Science News | Jake Buehler | 6/9/2026 9:00 AM

During courtship, male scissor-tailed nightjars crack their wings together to make a sharp snapping sound. It's the result of colliding arm bones. ... Read full Story

animal

Honeybees and shrimp are now getting vaccinated

By Science News | Lily Burton | 6/5/2026 11:00 AM

A shrimp vaccine for commercial use could protect the environment and prove vaccines aren’t just for vertebrates. ... Read full Story

animal

This tiny, blue octopus is new to science

By Science News | Gennaro Tomma | 6/5/2026 9:00 AM

The deep-sea octopus is fully mature despite fitting in a palm, a trait researchers think may help it reproduce faster than larger relatives. ... Read full Story

animal

Bumblebees can solve problems on their own

By Science News | Erin Garcia de Jesús | 6/4/2026 2:00 PM

With no training, bumblebees can work out how to use a ball like a ladder to feed on sugar from an out-of-reach flower. ... Read full Story

animal

A secret to making a queen bee may lie in the wax around it

By Science News | Anirban Mukhopadhyay | 6/3/2026 11:00 AM

Queen-cell wax helps shape honeybee queen development, challenging the idea that royal jelly alone makes a queen, a new study suggests. ... Read full Story

animal

Homing pigeons may use a surprising navigation mechanism

By Science News | Elizabeth Pennisi | 5/28/2026 2:00 PM

How animals navigate by Earth's magnetic field is hotly debated. New research in pigeons points to iron-laden liver immune cells as the compass. ... Read full Story

animal

Even careful scuba divers can damage coral reefs

By Science News | Jake Buehler | 5/26/2026 7:00 AM

Hours of diving videos and hundreds of survey responses reveal the common diver mistakes that can cause irreversible reef damage. ... Read full Story

animal

Seabirds weren’t fooled by a scarecrow-like buoy with rotating eyes

By Science News | Bethany Brookshire | 5/21/2026 9:00 AM

A tall buoy with a rotating pair of eyes was supposed to scare birds away from caught fish. Like scarecrows, it didn't work for long. ... Read full Story

animal

AI-powered whale-spotting tech may help save San Francisco Bay’s gray whales

By Science News | Carolyn Gramling | 5/19/2026 12:30 PM

An AI trained to use thermal images to detect whale body heat could help warn ships at risk of colliding with the marine mammals. ... Read full Story

animal

Meet ‘Snuffleupagus,’ a newfound fish sporting shaggy camouflage

By Science News | Jake Buehler | 5/18/2026 1:00 PM

Found near Australia, Solenostomus snuffleupagus is a shaggy swimmer that closely resembles Mr. Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street. ... Read full Story

animal

Crabs’ sideways walk may have evolved just once

By Science News | Sierra Bouchér | 5/15/2026 1:00 PM

A study of 50 crab species in Japan traces the iconic sideways walk to a single ancestor, suggesting the trait drove the group's remarkable diversity. ... Read full Story

animal

Female rats like a different kind of tickling than males

By Science News | Hannah Thomasy | 5/14/2026 9:00 AM

Female rats prefer gentler tickling, a finding that could reshape animal happiness research. ... Read full Story

animal

Hantavirus questions grow in the wake of a cruise ship outbreak

By Science News | Tina Hesman Saey | 5/13/2026 1:25 PM

Scientists still don’t know why Andes hantavirus is the only one shown to spread from person to person. ... Read full Story

animal

Territorial conflict may explain male primates’ large size

By Science News | Jake Buehler | 5/12/2026 7:01 PM

Male primates may be larger than females partly because of pressure from rival groups, not just competition with males inside their own group. ... Read full Story

animal

If wings came before flight, what were they for?

By Science News | Lily Burton | 5/8/2026 1:00 PM

Scientists use simulated dinosaurs to trigger real insect brains and test how wings originally evolved. ... Read full Story

animal

Neandertals used rhinoceros teeth as tools

By Science News | Javier Barbuzano | 5/6/2026 9:00 AM

Finds at sites in Spain and France suggest that Neandertals used the teeth of ancient rhinos for heavy-duty fabrication. ... Read full Story

animal

Singing mice puff up air sacs to make their sweet songs

By Science News | Jake Buehler | 5/5/2026 7:01 PM

To serenade with their high-pitched songs, singing mice inflate a throat sac — a use for air sacs seemingly unknown in any other animal. ... Read full Story

animal

What to know about a rare hantavirus outbreak at sea

By Science News | Tina Hesman Saey | 5/5/2026 1:12 PM

Public health officials are racing to find out how the sometimes deadly hantavirus got aboard a cruise ship and if there has been human-to-human spread. ... Read full Story

auto

This 1979 Jeep Cherokee on Bring a Trailer Strikes Like a Viper

by Car and Drive | Jun 14 2026

basketball

Ranking NBA's eight recent champions by their chances to win another title

by CBS Interactive Inc | Jun 14 2026

beauty

Miley Cyrus' Oscars 2025 Hair Would Have Been Perfect If Not For One Fatal Flaw

by The List | Mar 02 2025

book

Borderlands Mexico: Laredo summit debates driverless freight corridors, B-1 trucker alternatives

by FreightWaves | Jun 14 2026

game

GameStop’s Rewards Program May Be Losing Its Best Feature – Report

by GameSpot | Jun 12 2026

golf

Saudi Fund to Back Away From LIV Golf Under Mounting Financial Pressures

by NY Times | Apr 15 2026

knowledge

Is It Really Rude to Correct Someone Who’s Wrong?

by Reader's Digest | Jun 12 2026

opinion

How the Southern Poverty Law Center drives demonization of its conservative foes

by New York Post | Jun 14 2026

real_estate

New Renderings Revealed For 285-Unit Tower at 164-02 Jamaica Avenue in Jamaica, Queens

by New York YIMBY | Jun 14 2026

retirement

Trump signs order aiming to help expand access to retirement accounts

by Fox News | Apr 30 2026

shopping

24 New Watches You Missed from Longines, Blancpain, Citizen, Timex and More

by Gear Patrol | Jun 14 2026

soccer

MacIntyre signs new three-year Hibs deal

by Yahoo Sports | Jun 14 2026

sports

Ghost particles could reveal secret production of bomb-making material in fusion reactors

by Interesting Engineering | Jun 14 2026

Word of the Day

emblazon

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 14, 2026 is:

emblazon • \im-BLAY-zun\ • verb

To emblazon something is to decorate its surface, usually with a name, slogan, or picture.

// Her favorite souvenir from her trip to the Grand Canyon was a t-shirt emblazoned with a rosy sunset over the famous chasm.

See the entry >

Examples:

“Later that week we were boarding our flight with the painting secured in an enormous case with a toothy, bespectacled cartoon squirrel emblazoned on the back and a speech bubble that read ‘I’M JUST NUTS ABOUT PUZZLES!’” — Orlando Whitfield, All That Glitters: A Story of Friendship, Fraud and Fine Art, 2025

Did you know?

Blazon is a less commonly used synonym of the more familiar coat of arms. Both centuries-old terms refer to heraldic designs, symbols, and other imagery (think crosses, lions, stripes, etc.) that typically appear on banners, shields, armor, and elsewhere. The verb form of blazon meaning “to depict heraldic figures or designs in drawing or engraving” and emblazon, “to inscribe or adorn with or as if with heraldic figures or designs,” came into use around the same time in the late 1500s, from the French spoken in medieval England. (The word heraldry, also ultimately from Anglo-French, came into use then too.) Emblazon still refers to marking something with an emblem of heraldry, but it is now more often used for adorning or publicizing something in any conspicuous way, whether with eye-catching decoration or colorful words of praise.

Songs prep the brains of finches yet to hatch for a hot world

Frozen squirrel poop hints at sights and smells of Ice Age ecosystems

These birds clack their wing bones together to woo mates at night

Honeybees and shrimp are now getting vaccinated

This tiny, blue octopus is new to science

Bumblebees can solve problems on their own

A secret to making a queen bee may lie in the wax around it

Homing pigeons may use a surprising navigation mechanism

Even careful scuba divers can damage coral reefs

Seabirds weren’t fooled by a scarecrow-like buoy with rotating eyes

AI-powered whale-spotting tech may help save San Francisco Bay’s gray whales

Meet ‘Snuffleupagus,’ a newfound fish sporting shaggy camouflage

Crabs’ sideways walk may have evolved just once

Female rats like a different kind of tickling than males

Hantavirus questions grow in the wake of a cruise ship outbreak

Territorial conflict may explain male primates’ large size

If wings came before flight, what were they for?

Neandertals used rhinoceros teeth as tools

Singing mice puff up air sacs to make their sweet songs

What to know about a rare hantavirus outbreak at sea

This 1979 Jeep Cherokee on Bring a Trailer Strikes Like a Viper

Ranking NBA's eight recent champions by their chances to win another title

Miley Cyrus' Oscars 2025 Hair Would Have Been Perfect If Not For One Fatal Flaw

The Taste of Country Cooking

Borderlands Mexico: Laredo summit debates driverless freight corridors, B-1 trucker alternatives

GameStop’s Rewards Program May Be Losing Its Best Feature – Report

Saudi Fund to Back Away From LIV Golf Under Mounting Financial Pressures

Is It Really Rude to Correct Someone Who’s Wrong?

How the Southern Poverty Law Center drives demonization of its conservative foes

New Renderings Revealed For 285-Unit Tower at 164-02 Jamaica Avenue in Jamaica, Queens

Trump signs order aiming to help expand access to retirement accounts

24 New Watches You Missed from Longines, Blancpain, Citizen, Timex and More

MacIntyre signs new three-year Hibs deal

Pelé's life in pictures

Ghost particles could reveal secret production of bomb-making material in fusion reactors

Word of the Day

10 Odd & Fun

1.Watch: Three warthog piglets born at zoo in Spain

2.Maryland man buys three identical lottery tickets, wins $150,000

3.Watch: African spurred tortoise found wandering loose in Missouri

4.Watch: Loose African antelope's presence in Louisiana a mystery

5.Look: Skunk on the run from Wisconsin zoo

6.Watch: Idaho man juggles flaming torches for over 6 minutes

7.Watch: Marilyn Monroe impersonators break world record in California

8.Watch: Tour boat rescues dog carried out to sea in inflatable kayak

9.Watch: Man solves two Rubik's cubes while skydiving to break world record

10.Watch: Goat jumps onto roof of SUV, escapes sheriff's deputies in Ohio