If I was previously aware of the USGS Bee Inventory, I forgot about it until I saw this beautiful image of an Osmia lignaria, aka the “Blue Orchard Bee.” The North American native is currently being threatened by its Asian sister species, O. taurus and O. cornifrons. Photo by USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab.

One of the first sensing prosthetic limbs debuted this week. Pretty incredible, really.

Agreed: “Climate change will make it increasingly difficult to feed the world. Biotech crops will have an essential role in ensuring that there’s enough to eat.”

We lost a great actor last weekend with the passing of Philip Seymour Hoffman. Here’s an incredible reflection on addiction from one of my favorite science writers.