Science In Action

The ‘origami’ superpowers of a single-celled pond hunter, it hunts by launching a neck-like proboscis that can extend more than 30 times its body length. Manu Prakash of Stanford University reveals the amazing mathematical mechanisms of the protist, Lacrymaria olor.It’s a microbe-eat-microbe world out there, with bacteria waging constant war against each other. It’s by dipping into their ever-evolving chemical arsenal that we keep our pharmacies supplied with the antibiotics we use to fight infectious bacteria - and computer biologist Luis Coelho of Queensland University of Technology has turned to genetics and AI to speed up the search for novel compounds.Research from Elana Hobkirk at Durham University has found that the process of domestication and selective breeding has limited the ability of domestic dogs to use facial expressions to convey emotions as effectively as their wolf ancestors. Whilst we may be easily manipulated by the ‘puppy eyes’ of our pet dogs, they are no longer able to display the same