Museum of Science and Industry

For Pi Day, why not talk about sweets? Or, more specifically, taste! Scientists at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia found that some carnivores have evolved to disable their sweet detector gene. Hyenas, for example, would not be able to fully enjoy a cherry pie this Pi Day. Other...

Have you ever wanted to trick a fish? Of course you have. And now, through the miracle of robotics, we can make that dream a reality. Researchers at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University have invented a robotic fish that moves realistically enough to cause real fish to follow it in a school. In the process, they have learned (at least partly) what makes a leader among fish: beating its tail rapidly. This creates a wake in which other fish can follow with less tail movement, which...