559 results
- Animals
Mirror beetles’ shiny bodies may not act as camouflage after all
Hundreds of handmade clay nubbins test the notion that a beetle’s metallic high gloss could confound predators. Birds pecked the lovely idea to death.
- Paleontology
A new saber-toothed mammal was among the first hypercarnivores
A 42-million-year-old jawbone with slicing teeth and a gap to fit saberlike teeth is pegged to a new species of the mysterious Machaeroidine group.
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The human blueprint
The Human Genome Project unveiled our genetic blueprint but also showed us how much we have to learn.
- Neuroscience
Glial cells may take on big jobs in unexpected parts of the body
Scientists are finding mysterious glia in the heart, spleen and lungs and wonder what they’re doing there.
- Animals
Huge numbers of fish-eating jaguars prowl Brazil’s wetlands
Jaguars in the northern Pantanal ecosystem primarily feed on fish and caiman, living at densities previously unknown for the species.
- Animals
Jumping spiders’ remarkable senses capture a world beyond our perception
Clever experiments and new technology are taking scientists deep into the lives of jumping spiders, and opening a portal to their experience of the world.
- Science & Society
The board game Endangered shows just how hard conservation can be
The new board game Endangered shows how working together is the only way for conservation to succeed.
- Animals
Why do sea turtles, penguins and sharks sometimes just swim in circles or spirals?
Tracking devices recorded the loops and spirals of 10 marine species. In some cases, scientists have good guesses for why; other times it’s baffling.
- Life
These are the 5 costliest invasive species, causing billions in damages
Invasive species have cost the global economy at least $1 trillion since 1970 and $162.7 billion in 2017 alone. The annual cost is increasing.
- Animals
Guttural toads shrank by a third after just 100 years on two islands
Introduced in the 1920s, toads on two islands in the Indian Ocean have shrunken limbs and bodies that may be evidence that "island dwarfism" can evolve quickly.
- Animals
Glowing frogs and salamanders may be surprisingly common
A widespread ability to glow in striking greens, yellows and oranges could make amphibians easier to track down in the wild.
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