Bees are more likely to remember a flower if its nectar contains caffeine

Distinct plant species evolved to produce caffeine as a pesticide

Although it provides a defense against insects trying to eat caffeine-bearing plants, the molecule is an example of exaptation, where its original function was repurposed over time. Studies show that some plants now produce caffeine-laced nectar to help pollinators move more quickly and pollinate more efficiently.

Bees are crucial for pollination and food security

When animals and insects pick up the pollen of flowers and spread it, they allow plants, including many food crops, to reproduce. The most common pollinator is the bee, but bees are at risk from pollution and pesticides.

Explore guides on pollinator-friendly plants native to where you live

Pollinators have co-evolved alongside specific plants from their natural habitat and see their populations increase in environments with these native flora. This collection offers recommendations for regional plants that can provide nectar and pollen, serve as host plants for caterpillars, and offer nest sites for specialist bees.

Pollinators help develop seeds by transferring pollen between flowering plants

As bees approach a bright, colorful flower for nectar, they bump into its stamen—the flower's male reproductive organ—and pollen gets stuck to the pollinator's body. This pollen can then be deposited on another flower's sticky pistil—the flower's female reproductive organ—which brings the pollen down to the ovule for fertilization.

In Amsterdam, planting organic flowers has increased native bee diversity by 45%

The citywide effort is an example of rethinking conventional agricultural methods, which rely on monocropping and heavy chemical use. Cover crops—plants grown to suppress weeds, prevent erosion, and attract pollinators rather than to be harvested—have also shown environmental benefits, despite not being sold for profit.

Coffee is, indeed, addictive

Caffeine enters the brain through the bloodstream, where it blocks receptors that cause us to feel tired and enables stimulants like dopamine to increase alertness and focus. Over time, the brain begins to expect this level of stimulation, and caffeine addiction can develop. Caffeine withdrawal causes headaches, irritability, and fatigue.

Bees evolved from meat-eating wasps that became vegetarian

After flowering plants first appeared approximately 140 million years ago, some wasp diets would have changed as they consumed pollen-coated insects that would visit these plants. Bees that branched from these wasp species also developed long tongues to slurp nectar and ultraviolet vision to identify flower patterns unseen by humans.

Your DNA may determine whether you like coffee or tea

Whether people prefer coffee or tea may boil down to a matter of taste genetics. People with a version of a gene that increases sensitivity to the bitter flavor of caffeine tend to be coffee drinkers, according to a report. Read on for more.

Flowers have been around for 123 million years

Fossilized pollen grains reveal that flowering plants have existed on Earth for 123 million years, and their emergence considerably enriched the planet's biological diversity. They may also have been more widespread than initially thought—prior assumptions were that the eudicots, the first flowering plants, appeared 121 million years ago.

US honeybee colony loss remains a concern, despite rebounding from the mid-2000s CCD

In the winter of 2006-07, worker honeybees began mysteriously disappearing from hives—a phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder—triggering the loss of as many as 90% of hives. The lack of dead bees found near hives and the declining prevalence of CCD since then have made finding a single cause challenging.

As of 2025, scientists at B2 study the heat tolerance of cacao and coffee trees

The research at Biosphere 2 has led to the development of low-cost plant monitors, which can be provided to farmers worldwide to enable more precise monitoring of crops. Geodesic domes built within the ocean biome are used to investigate the best architectural structures for repopulating degraded reefs.

How bitter taste receptors help guard against infection

Receptors for "bitter" tastes evolved to detect potentially harmful plant chemicals, such as nicotine. The receptors also trigger bacteria-fighting responses, including waving hairlike projections to bat away bacteria, ordering the release of bacteria-killing nitric oxide, and calling for antimicrobial protein reinforcements.

What's so special about Mayan bees and their honey?

Melipona honey was utilized by the ancient Maya and produced by stingless bees located in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. With a history dating over three millennia, this honey was traditionally used for medicinal purposes due to its high fructose content and antioxidant properties. Unlike regular honey, Melipona honey is less prone to crystallization and has a distinctive watery texture. Learn more about the honey here.

What is it like to be a bee?

Scientists have long known the intimate features of bee anatomy: six limbs, five eyes, lots of hair, a long, tasteless tube -like tongue, and wings that stroke close to 12,000 times a minute. But getting inside the mind or consciousness of a...

Coffee is made by brewing the seeds from the coffeea plant

The cherries from the coffeea plant are milled into coffee beans. After processing, the beans are dried and roasted.

Increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide lead plants to produce more pollen

Pollen issues are emerging earlier in the year and lasting longer as rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere boost plants’ pollen production and also simultaneously extend warmer, pollen-producing seasons.

Synthetic pheromones may protect coral reefs by attracting their predators

Researchers in Australia and Japan have developed these nontoxic chemicals to attract crown-of-thorns starfish, which consume corals that make up the Great Barrier Reef. As of 2026, synthetic pheromones have been shown to be effective in lab trials, and future field trials will attempt to lure starfish into areas for mass removal.

Can butterflies remember being caterpillars?

All holomatabolous insects like butterflies, bees, and moths undergo complete metamorphosis via a pupal stage. Inside the pupa, the insect breaks down into a goop of the basic elements of life like amino acids and proteins, out of which the adult stage of the insect grows. Despite this radical transformation, scientists theorize some of these insects retain what they call memories of their pre-pupa stage. Watch this video to learn more.

The fish can climb walls

Scientists in Brazil captured rare footage of bumblebee catfish climbing waterfalls. How they do it is clear, but why remains a mystery.

Mosquitoes even have olfactory receptors on their sperm

Male mosquitoes, which don't bite humans, have fewer olfactory receptors than females on their antennae—they don't need them to locate blood meals. But they do have this same type of receptor located in the tail of their sperm, thought to help bring egg and sperm together.

Scientists testing how climate change affects plants found, in a years-long simulation study, that poison ivy grew 70% faster with the resulting extra carbon dioxide.

Sleep deprivation leads to buildup of danger molecules in the gut

Fruit flies genetically engineered to be awake for as long as they live tend to live half as long as their well-rested brethren. Analysis shows these modified flies suffer from a buildup of DNA-destroying reactive oxygen species in their guts. When enabled to sleep, the flies live as long as their counterparts.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

Smell is a robust memory cue for individuals with Alzheimer's disease

Odor is more effective than both visual and verbal cues for triggering autobiographical recall in Alzheimer's disease, according to 2021 research.

The secret life of urban crows

The science of spring fever

Researchers have confirmed what people have sensed for ages: Our emotions during the springtime can go a little wild. This piece breaks down the impact of the seasonal transition on our bodies and prescribes a few ways to mitigate the effects.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

Crows are believed to have intelligence on par with a seven-year-old child and demonstrate complex behaviors, from problem-solving with tools to recognizing human faces.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

Larger animals like giraffes, elephants, and blue whales have developed a unique defense against cancer, a phenomenon known as Peto's Paradox

Georgia O'Keeffe's flower paintings are often assumed to be sexual, though the artist claimed she was simply interested in highlighting the beauty of flowers that most people neglect

When you complete a CAPTCHA on a website to prove you are human, you may be unknowingly training algorithms for self-driving cars, whose systems require training data to help identify crosswalks, bicycles, and other outdoor objects.

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

Scientists have struggled to pin down Ebola's natural reservoir species for decades, but the available evidence suggests that it's very likely fruit and insect-eating bats found in Africa.

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.

Some renewable energy sources may weaken the resiliency of electric grids by removing outage buffers provided by coal- and natural gas-fired plants, which provide the system with more time to find a new power source if a plant goes down.

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

Coral polyps reproduce via broadcast spawning, where entire reefs simultaneously release reproductive cells for about one hour, once a year.

Tattoos remain visible on your skin thanks to immune cells called macrophages

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

Power lines are dotted with large, brightly colored balls to improve the visibility of these thin wires to helicopters and small planes and help prevent potential crashes.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'