A new temperature-modulating robotic system reveals previously unknown collective honeybee behaviour, opening the door to new possibilities for helping bees survive in a changing climate. The EU-funded HIVEOPOLIS project has developed a robotic system that can interact with a honeybee colony. Built into the frame of a standard hive, the unobtrusive system measures and influences […]
Why is ice slippery?
In freezing weather, ice causes many a traveller to come unstuck. But as experimental physicist Robin Ras explains, getting to grips with what makes ice so slippery isn’t easy. Whether you’re gliding serenely across an ice rink, or awkwardly down a footpath, the frictionless surface offered by ice can often be surprising. What makes it […]
CO2 the culprit in southern hemisphere temperature drop millions of years ago
Research into ancient climates suggests that a drop in atmospheric CO2 caused cooling temperatures in south-east Australia 41 to 33 million years ago. Our planet is warming and its atmosphere is changing, but what impact will these changes have on its different ecosystems? To find answers, some scientists have been investigating climates from millions of […]