science news 8.5.2019

Today's selection of science news. Links are normally to press releases on EurekAlert (at the bottom end I may also add a couple of newspaper stories). I include quotes from the summary (using quotation marks) in cases where the title alone doesn't reveal what the story is about. My own thoughts appear without quotation marks, if I have any.


climate change

Arctic rivers provide fingerprint of carbon release from thawing permafrost


ecology

Lions vs. porcupines
"Lions can bring down wildebeests and giraffes, but when they try to hunt porcupines, the spiky rodents often come out on top. When lions attack porcupines (it's usually young male lions that make that mistake), the porcupine's spines can seriously injure the lion. These injuries can make it impossible for the lions to hunt normally, leading them to hunt livestock or even humans. This study is a deep dive into lion-porcupine interactions over the centuries."!


This is an African porcupine.
Credit: © Eric Kilby


behaviour

Paper wasps capable of behavior that resembles logical reasoning


medical

Groundbreaking study could lead to fast, simple test for Ebola virus


beerology

Mystery of texture of Guinness beer: inclination angle of a pint glass is key to solution


humans

Fewer than half of British men and women have sex at least once a week
The mysterious decline happened 2001-2012 apparently, so we can't even blame it on Brexit ...