Search Results for: Whales
- Life
A parasite makes wolves more likely to become pack leaders
In Yellowstone National Park, gray wolves infected with Toxoplasma gondii make riskier decisions, making them more likely to split off from the pack.
By Jake Buehler - Paleontology
Great white sharks may have helped drive megalodons to extinction
Analyzing zinc levels in shark teeth hints that megalodons and great whites competed with each other for food.
- Animals
‘Fathom’ seeks to unravel humpback whales’ soulful songs
The film ‘Fathom’ on Apple TV+ follows the quest of researchers on the ocean’s surface to decipher the eerie symphony of humpback whale calls below.
By Jake Buehler - Paleontology
Living fast may have helped mammals like ‘ManBearPig’ dominate
Staying in the womb for a while but being born ready to rock may have helped post-dinosaur mammals take over the planet.
- Ecosystems
The Amazon might not have a ‘tipping point.’ But it’s still in trouble
Scientists race to foretell the fate of the vast forest facing deforestation and climate change.
By Nikk Ogasa - Anthropology
Tina Lasisi wants to untangle the evolution of human hair
Tina Lasisi is pioneering studies of human variation in an ethical and scientifically sound way.
By Aina Abell - Anthropology
A surprising food may have been a staple of the real Paleo diet: rotten meat
The realization that people have long eaten putrid foods has archaeologists rethinking what Neandertals and other ancient hominids ate.
By Bruce Bower -
50 years ago, U.S. commercial whaling was coming to an end
Commercial whaling has brought many whale species to the brink of extinction. But after bans, some show signs of recovery.
- 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.
By Susan Milius - Science & Society
These are our favorite science books of 2022
Books about dinosaurs, the Milky Way and the coronavirus are among the Science News staff’s picks for must-read books of the year.
- Oceans
The past’s extreme ocean heat waves are now the new normal
Marine heat waves that were rare more than a century ago now routinely occur in more than half of global ocean, suggesting we’ve hit a “point of no return.”
- Earth
Fin whale songs can reveal hidden features of the ocean floor
Fin whale calls can penetrate into Earth’s crust, offering scientists a new way to study the properties of the ocean floor.