It's Alive

  1. black coucal
    Animals

    Parenting chores cut into how much these bird dads fool around

    Frantic parenting demands after eggs hatch curtail male black coucals’ philandering excursions the most, a study finds.

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  2. joshua tree
    Plants

    Shutdown aside, Joshua trees live an odd life

    Growing only in the U.S. Southwest, wild Joshua trees evolved a rare, fussy pollination scheme.

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  3. Pallas's long-tongued bat hovering
    Animals

    How nectar bats fly nowhere

    Exquisitely sensitive tech makes first direct measurements of the forces of bat wingbeats.

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  4. a loggerhead skrike
    Animals

    These songbirds violently fling and then impale their prey

    A loggerhead shrike that skewers small animals on barbed wire gives mice whiplash shakeups.

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  5. a giant clam
    Animals

    How a squishy clam conquers a rock

    Old boring clam research is upended after 82 years.

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  6. Oak processionary caterpillar
    Animals

    These caterpillars march. They fluff. They scare London.

    Oak processionary moths have invaded England and threatened the pleasure of spring breezes.

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  7. goatfish
    Animals

    In a pack hunt, it’s every goatfish for itself

    Pack hunting among goatfish is really about self-interest.

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  8. cacao flowers
    Plants

    The flowers that give us chocolate are ridiculously hard to pollinate

    Cacao trees are really fussy about pollination.

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  9. Animals

    Robot fish shows how the deepest vertebrate in the sea takes the pressure

    Tests with a robot snailfish reveal why the deep-sea fish has mysterious goo in its body.

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  10. saddleback tortoise
    Animals

    Studying giant tortoise flips without tipping the animals over is a delicate business

    Giant tortoise shells go domed or saddlebacked, but which is better when navigating treacherous ground?

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  11. fan from water strider leg
    Animals

    Here’s why some water striders have fans on their legs

    A fan of tiny, elegant plumes on their legs helps certain water striders dash across flowing water without getting wet.

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  12. aardvark
    Climate

    Rising temperatures threaten heat-tolerant aardvarks

    Aardvarks may get a roundabout hit from climate change — less food.

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