Animals
- Life
California’s goby is actually two different fish
One fish, two fish: California’s tidewater goby is two species.
- Animals
Dwarf lemurs don’t agree on sleep
Fat-tailed dwarf lemurs’ surprising hibernation-sleep doesn’t show up in ground-hibernating relatives.
- Animals
Bonobos adept at nut cracking
Bonobos demonstrate their overlooked nut-cracking skills in an African sanctuary.
- Animals
Bonobos rival chimps at the art of cracking oil palm nuts
Bonobos demonstrate their overlooked nut-cracking skills in an African sanctuary.
- Animals
In drought, zebra finches wring water from their own fat
A zebra finch with no water or food can keep itself hydrated by metabolizing body fat.
- Animals
Tail vibrations may have preceded evolution of rattlesnake rattle
The rattle on a rattlesnake evolved just once. A new study contends it may have come out of a common behavior — tail vibration — that snakes use to deter predators.
- Animals
For snowy owls, wintering on the prairie might be normal
Some snowy owls leave the Arctic for winter. That’s not a desperate move, new study says.
- Animals
Dog brains divide language tasks much like humans do
Dogs understand what we say separately from how we say it.
- Health & Medicine
Mosquito moms can pass Zika to offspring
In the lab, Zika virus can pass from a female mosquito to her eggs, suggesting how infections can flare up again after adult insects dwindle.
- Genetics
Genes help snub-nosed monkeys live the high life
Snub nosed monkeys have certain genetic variants that help them breathe easy in low oxygen.
- Animals
Warm-up benefit could explain morning birdsong
Even birds sing better after vocal warm-up, and an evolutionary arms race among rivals might have led to the intensity of the dawn chorus.
- Animals
Ways to beat heat have hidden costs for birds
Birds that look as if they’re coping with heat waves and climate change may actually be on a downward slide, with underappreciated disadvantages of panting and seeking shade.
