Search Results for: Bats
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Animals
These bats are the only mammals known to mate more like birds
Male serotine bats have penises too large for penetration. To mate, the animals rub their genitals against each other, somewhat like birds’ cloacal kiss.
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Paleontology
Newfound bat skeletons are the oldest on record
The newly identified species Icaronycteris gunnelli lived about 52.5 million years ago in what is now Wyoming and looked a lot like modern bats.
By Sid Perkins -
Animals
Pregnancy may hamper bats’ ability to ‘see’ in the dark
Tiny Kuhl’s pipistrelle bats make fewer calls when pregnant, which may make it more difficult to hunt prey, lab tests hint.
By Freda Kreier -
Animals
Male mammals aren’t always bigger than females
In a study of over 400 mammal species, less than half have males that are, on average, heavier than females, undermining a long-standing assumption.
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Animals
Here’s how high-speed diving kingfishers may avoid concussions
Understanding the genetic adaptations that protect the birds’ brains when they dive for food might one day offer clues to protecting human brains.
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Life
The Endangered Species Act is turning 50. Has it succeeded?
After 50 years, this landmark law has kept many species alive — but few wild populations have recovered enough to come off the “endangered” list.
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Animals
The first known scorpion to live with ants carries mini hitchhikers
Small arachnids hitch a ride on the scorpion, possibly to get inside food-rich ant nests.
By Jake Buehler -
Health & Medicine
‘Blight’ warns that a future pandemic could start with a fungus
‘The Last of Us’ is fiction, but the health dangers posed by fungi are real, a new book explains.
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Animals
This bird hasn’t been seen in 38 years. Its song may help track it down
Using bioacoustics, South American scientists are eavesdropping on a forest in hopes of hearing the song of the long-missing purple-winged ground dove.
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Neuroscience
Ancient viruses helped speedy nerves evolve
A retrovirus embedded in the DNA of some vertebrates helps turn on production of a protein needed to insulate nerve cells, aiding speedy thoughts.
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Life
‘Polyester bees’ brew beer-scented baby food in plastic cribs
Ptiloglossa bees’ baby food gets its boozy fragrance from fermentation by mysteriously selected microbes.
By Susan Milius -
Health & Medicine
How raccoon dog DNA fits into the COVID-19 origins debate
Did the virus that causes COVID-19 come from animals or a lab? Evidence hints at animals. Either way, we should be prepping for the next pandemic.