Christie Wilcox

All Stories by Christie Wilcox

  1. Worker ant with calcite mineral armor
    Animals

    Mineral body armor helps some leaf-cutting ants win fights with bigger kin

    Researchers have found that at least one species of leaf-cutting ant has a tough layer of calcite on its exoskeleton.

  2. platypus glowing under ultraviolet light
    Animals

    A blue-green glow adds to platypuses’ long list of bizarre features

    The discovery of platypuses’ fluorescent fur has researchers wondering if the trait is more widespread among mammals than anyone has realized.

  3. Pit viper
    Animals

    Cheap, innovative venom treatments could save tens of thousands of snakebite victims

    Momentum is building to finally tackle a neglected health problem that strikes poor, rural communities.

  4. banana spider in web
    Animals

    Some spiders may spin poisonous webs laced with neurotoxins

    The sticky silk threads of spider webs may be hiding a toxic secret: potent neurotoxins that paralyze a spider’s prey.

  5. a ringed caecilian
    Life

    Bizarre caecilians may be the only amphibians with venomous bites

    Microscope and chemical analyses suggest that, like snakes, caecilians have glands near their teeth that secrete venom.

  6. photograph of Sochurek's saw-scaled viper
    Health & Medicine

    A pill for heavy metal poisoning may also save snakebite victims

    In mice, an oral medication delayed or even prevented death after a lethal dose of viper venom, a new study finds.