Bennett Science Blog

A study looked at how European robins know where to go when migrating. Credit: Public Domain By Amber Bennett Have you ever wondered how birds know where to go when they migrate? Recent research into birds' sense of direction shed some light on their ability to sense Earth's magnetic fields. The study led credence to the idea that birds have a sort of "quantum compass" that helps them navigate. Songbirds have a protein in their retinas called cryptochrome 4 (CRY4), and the new study shows it might be why birds can sense magnetic fields. For decades, some scientists have believed that this protein works similarly to a needle on a compass. However, this study using the variety of CRY4 found in European robins was the first to measure the protein's actual response to magnetic fields. So, How Does This 'Compass' Work? CRY4 is light-dependent, so it needs light at the proper wavelength to work. In fact, an earlier study found that migratory birds have trouble f...

Venus flytrap      Photo Credit: Beatrice Murch/Wikimedia Commons By Amber Bennett When you think about plants moving, you likely think of the phrase "like watching the grass grow." Although the motion of plants growing is rather slow, some plants can move faster than we can see with the naked eye. Venus Flytrap When you think of a fast-moving plant, you likely picture the Venus flytrap . The flytrap's leaves can snap together within a tenth of a second to capture food. Bunchberry Dogwood The stamens of the bunchberry dogwood flip outward at a force of 2,400 g's to spread pollen in the wind. That's an acceleration of 2,400 times the earth's gravity! For comparison's sake, a fighter pilot can take only about 9 g's before passing out. Science News/YouTube Bladderworts Some aquatic varieties of bladderworts have underwater sacs on their stalks to capture mosquito larva and other prey. They can capture their prey in around a thousandth...

Photo Credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture By Amber Bennett You probably think that fires are bad for forests. However, a recent study shows that the opposite can be true. Hydrologists with the National Park Service at Yosemite National Park have been studying evapotranspiration. This is the process of plants releasing extra water into the air as vapor through tiny holes in their leaves. Over the course of 18 years, the scientists measured the water-vapor release using sensors in two river basins in California. Then, they compared the amount of vapor released from burned areas of the forest to that of unburned areas.  The Yosemite study looked at areas where forest fires that reduced the amount of young trees and underbrush by 40-50 percent. In these areas, roughly 17 billion gallons (77 billion liters) of water was saved from being lost to the air as vapor. That's a huge water savings! So, How Do Fires Help Forests? Without human intervention, a wildfire will ...

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons By Amber Bennett An enormous ring-shaped lab west of Chicago is helping scientists study illnesses; combat pollution; and design even better aircraft, batteries, and bridges. The outer diameter of the Advanced Photon Source's experiment hall is the length of more than 3½ football fields! Plus, the building sports a pipe ring that measures more than 1,100 meters around. So, What Is a Particle Accelerator?  Simply, it's to send beams of tiny particles at targets and record what happens. (These subatomic particles are, as the name implies, smaller than atoms.) The collisions can give scientists detailed info about the structure of incredibly tiny things. What Do They Study at the APS? Unlike at other particle accelerators, the scientists at the APS don't want to directly use the beam of electrons. Instead, they're trying to harness the photons (particles of light) created by the beam of electrons. The incredible energy and sma...

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons By Amber Bennett You likely know that your brain "talks" to your belly via electrical and chemical signals to control bodily tasks, such as digestion. But did you know that your belly talks back? How the Brain Talks to the Belly The brain sends electrical signals to the belly through the vagus nerve. It also sends chemical signals (hormones) through the bloodstream. These signals are what make us feel full or hungry. Plus, they determine how quickly we digest food. How the Belly Talks Back Did you know that your digestive process is helped along by microbes in your stomach and intestines? These microorganisms take in food and release waste molecules, which act as chemical signals that "talk" to organs throughout the body.  For example, microbial signals sent to the immune system can help prevent infections. Signals are also sent along the vagus nerve and in the bloodstream. Some of these messages are sent to the bra...

Photo Credit: YouTube Screenshot By Andrew Bennett The Cavendish gravity experiment requires us to be able to measure how much a hanging bar rotates when we place heavy weights nearby. In order to determine a reliable value for G, the gravitational constant, we must first measure the shift angle very precisely. In this video, I build a protractor with a 3-meter radius that can measure angular shifts of as little as one one-thousandth of a radian. That's less than 0.06   degrees or about 3.5 minutes of arc! How I Built My Protractor The design is pretty straightforward but is extremely labor-intensive to construct one this size. I start by making a circular wall to use as the surface of the protractor made of thin, white, flexible pressed wood. I glued some pieces of 2x4 to my garage floor and used a router to cut a groove that the wall will fit into. To make the groove along a circle, I first traced out the circle on the wood by attaching a marker to a long wire, which the...

Photo Credit: Pixabay By Amber Bennett When you browse the web, do you take advantage of the "private" or "incognito" browsing option? It turns out, you're not getting as much privacy as you might expect, according to a new study . How Incognito Mode Works Many popular web browsers, such as Apple Safari and Google Chrome, include a private or incognito option . It allows you to surf the web without the browser noting in your history where you went online. Plus, your browser's suggestions on forms and search engines won't be affected by where you go while in private mode. Many people choose to use incognito mode because they have to share a computer with family members or co-workers and don't want others to see what sorts of things they look at online. Misconceptions About Private Browsing However, people often incorrectly believe that using private mode offers more protections than it really does. This is true even if they have read a ful...