Daily briefing: A spectacular flowery frame for the Milky Way

You have full access to this article via your institution. Hello Nature readers, would you like to get this Briefing in your inbox free every day? Sign up here . Credit: Alvin Wu Photographer Alvin Wu used a fisheye perspective to capture this surreal snap of a field of flowers framing the Milky Way over Twizel, New Zealand. The shot was one of 25 selected images in the ninth Milky Way Photographer of the Year competition. See more of the month’s sharpest science shots , selected by Nature ’s photo team. Nature | Leisurely scroll Bumble bees ( Bombus terrestris ) can suss out how to use a tool to complete a set task without explicit training. Bees were shown a ceiling-mounted artificial flower, which contained a tasty sucrose treat, and then separately, a styrofoam ball. Then, the insects were put into an environment with both. The bees worked out that they could roll the ball under the flower for a leg-up to their reward . The insects were never explicitly shown that they could use the ball for this purpose, which suggests they have the cognitive capacity to problem-solve. Science | 5 min read Reference: Science paper Infographic of the week Source: Ref. 1 Research with both civilian and military or security applications — known as ‘dual-use’ research — is cited more than research that has strictly civilian applications , according to an analysis of bibliometric databases and US patent records. …