1,162 results
- Archaeology
Ivory from a 16th century shipwreck reveals new details about African elephants
Ivory from the sunken Portuguese trading ship Bom Jesus contains clues about elephant herds that once roamed Africa, and the people who hunted them.
- Animals
Froghoppers are the super-suckers of the animal world
To feed on plant xylem sap, a nutrient-poor liquid locked away under negative pressure, froghoppers have to suck harder than any known creature.
- Animals
Mary Roach’s new book ‘Fuzz’ explores the ‘criminal’ lives of animals
In “Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law,” author Mary Roach profiles mugging monkeys, thieving bears and other animal outlaws.
- Animals
Mammal brains may use the same circuits to control tongues and limbs
When mice drink water, they make corrective motions with their tongues that resemble similar adjustments made by primates when they grab for objects.
- Anthropology
Seven footprints may be the oldest evidence of humans on the Arabian Peninsula
In what’s now desert, people and other animals stopped to drink at a lake more than 100,000 years ago, a new study suggests.
- Microbes
Are viruses alive, not alive or something in between? And why does it matter?
The way we talk about viruses can shift scientific research and our understanding of evolution.
- Animals
Here are 7 incredible things we learned this year that animals can do
From wielding weapons to walking on the underside of water, these are the creature capabilities that most impressed us in 2021.
- Animals
Polar bears sometimes bludgeon walruses to death with stones or ice
Inuit reports of polar bears using tools to kill walruses were historically dismissed as stories, but new research suggests the behavior does occur.
- Life
Sea otters stay warm thanks to leaky mitochondria in their muscles
For the smallest mammal in the ocean, staying warm is a challenge. Now, scientists have figured out how the animals keep themselves toasty.
- Animals
Why mammals like elephants and armadillos might get drunk easily
Differences in a gene for breaking down alcohol could help explain which mammals get tipsy.
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- Paleontology
T. rex’s incredible biting force came from its stiff lower jaw
T. rex could generate incredibly strong bite forces thanks to a boomerang-shaped bone that stiffened the lower jaw, a new analysis suggests.
