University of Bristol

Does insomnia directly increase a person’s blood sugar? A new study suggests it does, and proposes treating insomnia in diabetic patients could lead to significant improvements in their disease symptoms.

When experiencing anxiety, many people may feel the need to hug a squishy object such as a cushion. According to a new study, the act of doing so could actually help reduce feelings of anxiety – especially if the cushion "breathes."

No matter how good our human designs may be, there’s no shame in copying Mother Nature’s homework. A new nature-inspired flying robot can flap its wings even more efficiently than an insect, using a unique electrostatic “zipping” mechanism.

Given the fact that they live in an environment full of brown tree trunks and green leaves, giant pandas' black-and-white coloration may seem counterintuitive. According to a new study, however, it really does help them blend into their surroundings.

Because both bats and moths are nocturnal, bats use echolocation to zero in on the insects when hunting them in the dark. A new study, however, suggests that some moths have evolved special wingtips to avoid becoming a meal.

Soft-bodied robots move via pneumatic "muscles" that are selectively inflated or deflated. And while the muscles themselves may be soft and squishy, they're usually hooked up to hard, unwieldy pumps. A new pump, however, is both small and flexible.

Along with things like drought and habitat loss, the widespread use of pesticides is a huge driving force behind dwindling bee numbers, and a new study has shone further light on the effects of the most common one of all.

Paleontologists have found and described what may be the last dinosaur body part we didn’t know anything about – the butthole. Better yet, it seems like it might have evolved to look and yes, even smell, nice to suitors.

A team of researchers has made a discovery that could help our clean energy efforts along, demonstrating how algal cells can be turned into tiny hydrogen-producing factories by immersing them in sugary droplets.

By observing a barn owl in flight as it contended with strong winds, scientists have discovered how its wings can act as a suspension system to absorb the forces in mid-air, lessons they hope to apply to the development of small-scale aircraft.

Our story on NDB's self-charging nuclear diamond batteries generated a lot of heated discussion, so we reached out to the University of Bristol, where the technology was invented, to discover exactly what these diamond betabatteries can and can't do.

Be thankful you didn’t live 20 million years ago, when the seas were patrolled by the Megalodon. This monstrous prehistoric shark was more than twice the size of a great white, and now a new detailed analysis has found just how big it really was.