Search Results for: Whales

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1,359 results
  1. An illustration of the newly discovered ancient whale species.
    Paleontology

    Meet the tiny ancient whale named after King Tut

    The newly discovered Tutcetus rayanensis lived about 40 million years ago. It was just 2.5 meters long and weighed less than 200 kilograms.

    By Skyler Ware
  2. An illustration of an ancient whale under water with much smaller fish swimming around the massive creature.
    Paleontology

    A colossal ancient whale could be the heaviest animal ever known

    Perucetus colossus may have tipped the scales at up to 340 metric tons, but some scientists are skeptical it could have sustained that mass.

    By Skyler Ware
  3. An overhead photo of a black bowhead whale mother with a smaller gray bowhead whale child swimming on the surface of icy water.
    Animals

    Bowhead whales may have a cancer-defying superpower: DNA repair

    Bowhead whale cells repair damaged DNA exceptionally well, an ability that could prevent cancer and help the marine mammals live for centuries

    By Meghan Rosen
  4. An underwater photo of two researchers diving beside a female whale shark.
    Oceans

    ‘Jet packs’ and ultrasounds could reveal secrets of pregnant whale sharks

    Only one pregnant whale shark has ever been studied. New underwater techniques using ultrasound and blood tests could change that.

    By Brianna Randall
  5. Two orca whales breaching.
    Life

    Orca moms baby their adult sons. That favoritism pays off — eventually

    By sharing fish with their adult sons, orca moms may skimp on nutrition, cutting their chances of more offspring but boosting the odds for grandwhales.

    By Susan Milius
  6. An image of red blood cells and blue lymphocytes.
    Health & Medicine

    A catalog of all human cells reveals a mathematical pattern

    Smaller cells occur in larger numbers in the human body, and cells of different size classes contribute equally to our overall mass.

    By Darren Incorvaia
  7. An illustration of a megalodon about to eat a brown seal while a great white shark swims in the top left of the frame.
    Paleontology

    Megalodon sharks may have become megapredators by running hot

    O. megalodon sharks were warm-blooded megapredators. But colder-blooded great white sharks may have had an evolutionary edge when food sources dwindled.

    By Carolyn Gramling
  8. A shiver of scalloped hammerhead sharks swim near the surface, in this underwater photograph. These endotherms may thermoregulate by closing their gills as they go deeper.
    Animals

    Why some hammerhead sharks seem to ‘hold their breath’ during dives

    Scalloped hammerhead sharks in Hawaii seem to limit the use of their gills during deep dives to prevent losing heat to their surroundings.

    By Freda Kreier
  9. A fisher stands in waist-deep water with a fishing line as he looks at a dolphin breaking through the surface
    Animals

    Here are 3 people-animal collaborations besides dolphins and Brazilians

    Dolphins working with people to catch fish recently made a big splash. But humans and other animals have cooperated throughout history.

    By Darren Incorvaia

  10. The animal kingdom never ceases to amaze

    Editor in chief Nancy Shute revels in the wonder of animals, from psychedelic toads to extinct pterosaurs.

    By Nancy Shute
  11. photo of six gray sperm whales diving down from the ocean surface
    Animals

    ‘Wonderful nets’ of blood vessels protect dolphin and whale brains during dives

    Complex networks of blood vessels called retia mirabilia that are associated with cetaceans’ brains and spines have long been a mystery.

    By Claudia López Lloreda
  12. Tropical fish biologist Mark Meekan, in a dive suit, swims near the nose of a whale shark.
    Animals

    Whale sharks may be the world’s largest omnivores

    An analysis of the sharks’ skin shows that the animals eat and digest algae.

    By Freda Kreier