Science

Coolest science photos of the week

by JoAnna Wendel

A transmission electron micrograph image showing particles of SARS-CoV-2, the virus at the center of the Covid-19 pandemic. As of May 2020, More than 4 million people around the world have contracted the virus and more than 200,000 people have died.

Alekos Simoni/Imperial College London

Undergrad entomologist Joseph Schubert tweeted this picture of an unfortunate insect getting chomped by a ground-dwelling spider.

Entomologist Nancy Miorelli snapped a photo of this fungus-infested bullet ant in the Cuyebano Reserve in Ecuador. “The fungus controls the ant's nervous system, making it climb to the top of a tall stem, then bursts from the back of the head capsule to spread its spores,” she says.

Did you know that honey bees could eat microalgae? Scientists are studying these teeny greens as a supplement to managed honey bee diets, to boost nutrition.

Vincent Ricigliano, ARS-USDA

Illustrator Joschua Knüppe created this painting of a Mononsmilus, a newly discovered large-bodied anchovy from the Eocene.

Scientists are studying skates to understand how they repair injured cartilage. This image shows a little skate hatchling on the left, and a preserved little skate hatchling with stained cartilage on the right.