Search Results for: Vertebrates
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1,552 results for: Vertebrates
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Ancient Gene Takes Grooming in Hand
A gene involved in body development also plays a critical role in regulating the grooming behavior of mice, a discovery that may advance the understanding of certain psychiatric disorders.
By Bruce Bower -
PaleontologyOld Frilly Face: Triceratops’ relative fills fossil-record gap
Fossils of a creature the size of a Texas jackrabbit cast new light on the early evolution of a group of horned dinosaurs that include the 8-meter-long Triceratops.
By Sid Perkins -
AnimalsLamprey Allure: Females rush to males’ bile acid
An unusual sex attractant has turned up in an analysis of sea lampreys, and it may inspire new ways to defend the Great Lakes against invasive species.
By Susan Milius -
Globin Family Grows: Blood-protein relative is in all tissues
Researchers discovered a relative of the blood protein hemoglobin in all the body's tissues.
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PaleontologyAncient Whodunit: Scientists indict wee suspects in ancient deaths
Evidence locked in 180,000-year-old sediments suggests that a toxic algae bloom was the cause of death for a large group of mammals that were fossilized intact on an ancient lake bottom.
By Sid Perkins -
PaleontologyInto the Gap: Fossil find stands on its own four legs
A fossil originally misidentified as an ancient fish turns out to be the nearly intact remains of a four-limbed creature that lived during an extended period noted for its lack of fossils of land animals.
By Sid Perkins -
PaleontologySkimming the Surface: Flying reptile may have scooped its meals
Fossils unearthed in Brazil strengthen the idea that some species of ancient flying reptiles snatched their meals on the fly, snapping up fish as they swooped low over the water's surface.
By Sid Perkins -
PaleontologyBone Crushers: Teeth reveal changing times in the Pleistocene
Tooth-fracture incidence among dire wolves in the fossil record can indicate how much bone the carnivores crunched and, therefore, something about the ecology of their time.
By Kristin Cobb -
AnimalsSuper Bird: Cooing doves flex extra-fast muscles
Muscles that control a dove's cooing belong to the fastest class of muscles known.
By Susan Milius -
PaleontologyBig Gulp? Neck ribs may have given aquatic beast unique feeding style
The fossilized neck bones of a 230-million-year-old sea creature have features suggesting that the animal's snakelike throat could flare open and create suction to pull in prey.
By Sid Perkins -
AnimalsBeat Goes On: Carp heart keeps pace when fish lacks oxygen
Without oxygen, a Scandinavian fish not only can survive but also maintains a normal heartbeat for days.
By Susan Milius -
PlantsGreen Red-Alert: Plant fights invaders with animal-like trick
Mustard plants' immune systems can react to traces of bacteria with a burst of nitric oxide, much as an animal's immune system does.
By Susan Milius