WEIRD NATURE 
							
						
			            																									
							
							
									
				
					
	
					
	
		The Chinaberry produces a natural bee-friendly pesticide known as azadirone.  John Innes Centre – By Ben Coxworth 2023 Jan 26 – It’s a sad fact that even though bees are essential to pollinating crops, they’re also harmed by the pesticides used on those very …	
	        
        				
						
			            																									
							
							
									
				
					
	
					
	
		Green lines with dots show a pure culture of Medakamo hakoo streaked onto an agar medium.  Sachihiro Matsunaga – By Ben Coxworth 2023 Jan 27 – Microalgae are widely used in products such as biofuels, nutritional supplements and cosmetics. A newly-described type has been …	
	        
        				
						
			            			
																												
							
							
									
				
					
	
					
	
		The slice you see cut out of the Earth reveals its core, depicted here in bright yellow. fhm/E+ via Getty Images – By Shichun Huang, Associate Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee Published: 2023 Jan 23 – Curious Kids is …	
	        
        				
						
			            																									
							
							
									
				
					
	
					
	
		BioMonde supplies greenbottle larvae for treatment of non-squeamish patients across Europe. Micah Flores and Daniel Morris with some members of their latest larvae crop.  Photograph: Adrian Sherratt/The Guardian   By Julia Kollewe Last modified on 2023 Jan 22 – Tens of thousands of …	
	        
        				
						
			            									
																						
							
							
									
				
					
	
					
	
		Thérèse is located in a rural forested area of Sergy, in eastern France, and is part of a local artistic residency.  Dylan Perrenoud  View gallery – 6 images – By Adam Williams 2023 Jan 20 – Back in 2014, Bureau (formerly Bureau A) constructed …	
	        
        				
						
			            																									
							
							
									
				
					
	
					
	
		Lizards that do or do not share space with invasive fire ants will react differently to this scenario. Tracy Langkilde and Travis Robbins, CC BY-ND – By Catherine Tylan Postdoctoral Researcher in Biology, Penn State And by Tracy Langkilde Professor of Biology and …	
	        
        				
						
			            															
																
							
							
									
				
					
	
					
	
		Cryo-electron tomography shows what molecules look like in high-resolution – in this case, the virus that causes COVID-19. Nanographics, CC BY-SA – By Jeremy Berg, Professor of Computational and Systems Biology, Associate Senior Vice Chancellor for Science Strategy and Planning, University of Pittsburgh Published: …	
	        
        				
						
			            																									
							
							
									
				
					
	
					
	
		3rd Place – Fungi. Slime Mould (Didymium squamulosum) growing along the edge of a holly leaf in a Hertfordshire woodland.  Andy Sands/cupoty.com  View gallery – 21 images – By Rich Haridy 2023 Jan 05 – The winner of the latest Close-Up Photographer of the …	
	        
        				
						
			            																					
										
							
							
									
				
					
	
					
	
		Colonialism was born from the greed for spices and led to today’s globalised world. I know because it’s my family’s story. ‘The desire for spices such as pepper drove European expeditions eastwards.’ Photograph: fcafotodigital/Getty Images – By Anna Sulan Masing Last modified on …	
	        
        				
						
			            																									
							
							
									
				
					
	
					
	
		Crushing cedar chips created a less efficient biofuel than crushing planks, due to the internal structures of the materials.  Depositphotos – By Michael Franco 2023 Jan 04 – Before plant material can be turned into biofuel to power things like giant jets and speedy …