Dozens of fascinating science videos have been released alongside research in 2024, and these are some of our favorites. Feel free to pull it out when the conversation around the table dies down these holidays.
Scientists have created their own version of Spider-Man’s web fluid
A liquid stream of silk hardens into the fibers, sticks to the glass laboratory beaker and lifts it up. Credit: Marco Lo Presti, Tufts University
The researchers created it using fibroin proteins from silkworms (Bombyx mori) cocoons and other additives, such as dopamine.
The mixture is released from a device while surrounded by a layer of acetone, which then evaporates. This allows the proteins to harden into strong, elastic silk fibers that can stick to and lift objects.
Read more about how they did it.
Simone Biles of the insect world
spherical springtail (Desyrtomina min) is a small but powerful insect that can jump faster than any other animal on the planet.
They grow to only a few millimeters in size and cannot sting, bite, or fly away from danger. Instead, it avoids predators by flipping so hard that it appears to disappear completely!
Read more about the greatest gymnasts on Earth.
Even snakes play tug of war
Two coral snakes competing for amphibious prey. Photography: Henrik Bringsø and Niels-Poul Dreyer.
Scientists caught two red-tailed coral snakes (Microrus Mipartitus) They fight in a tug-of-war contest over a limbless amphibian known as a caecilian.
This is an example of parasitism (food theft), which is well documented in many animal species but rarely in land snakes.
Read more about how it all went down.
The mystery of cicada’s jet urine has been solved by scientists
Unlike most insects and other small mammals, which tend to excrete sparse droplets of urine, cicadas emit high-velocity jets like larger animals.
Scientists found gold during fieldwork in Peru, where they came across a tree filled with urinating cicadas. They believe that cicadas urinate on airplanes because they consume a lot of sap, and it’s simply the most energy efficient way to do so.
Their feedback may also help create better microbots.
The first video showing that leeches can jump
This video taken in 2023 in Madagascar shows two Chtonobdella leeches searching the same leaf and briefly interacting with each other. One of the leeches then assumes a bouncing body position before jumping from the leaf to the ground. Source: © Mai Fahmy
Two species of terrestrial leech were caught on camera jumping, settling a scientific debate that has persisted through anecdotal evidence since the late 19th century.
Read more about how to manage it.
