Topic description and stories

Heliamphora nutans

Ants aquaplaning on a pitcher plant

19 Dec 2012

A Venezuelan pitcher plant uses wettable hairs to make insects slip into its deadly traps...

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Pygmy mole cricket

Forget walking… tiny insect jumps on water

03 Dec 2012

Footage shows how a little creature propels itself off water.

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N. Gracilis

Pitcher plant uses rain drops to capture prey

14 Jun 2012

Researchers discover novel trapping mechanism for Nepenthes gracilis pitchers.

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Ant upside down

Cambridge Ideas - Sticky Feet

31 Mar 2011

Ants have incredibly sticky feet. With them they can hang onto ceilings, while carrying 100 times their body weight...

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Flea jumping

Mystery of how fleas jump resolved

21 Mar 2011

New research from the University of Cambridge sheds light on how fleas jump, reaching speeds as fast as 1.9 meters per second.

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insect

Insects hold atomic clues about the type of habitats in which they live

14 Mar 2011

Researchers discover an ‘atmospheric imprint’ in insects, revealing where they are most likely to survive should climate change alter their ecosystem...

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Baby birds and moor

Cambridge scientists reveal cracks in egg theory

03 Jun 2010

Scientists in Cambridge have found cracks in the long-standing theory that the number of eggs animals have - and the size of those eggs - is related...

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Desert locust

Ladder-walking locusts show big brains aren’t always best

22 Dec 2009

Scientists have shown for the first time that insects, like mammals, use vision rather than touch to find footholds. They made the discovery thanks...

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