Animals
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AnimalsThat puffed-up pufferfish isn’t holding its breath
Pufferfish can breathe just fine even when they puff themselves out with water, a new study finds.
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LifeElectric eels remote-control nervous systems of prey
Electric eels’ high-voltage zaps turn a prey fish against itself, making it freeze in place or betray a hiding place.
By Susan Milius -
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AnimalsPlatypuses are full of mystery
With duck bills, webbed feet and venomous spikes, platypuses are one of the weirdest animals you’ll ever be lucky enough to see.
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NeuroscienceDogs’ brains may process speech similar to humans’
When it comes to interpreting human speech, dogs may have brain-hemisphere biases similar to people’s.
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Animals10 bites of turkey trivia for your holiday meal
Will turkeys really drown if they look up in a rainstorm? Can they fly? Where did the domestic turkey come from? Learn answers to these questions and more.
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AnimalsVulture guts are filled with noxious bacteria
Vultures’ guts are chock-full of bacteria that sicken other creatures.
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GeneticsGenes linked to feather development predate dinosaurs
The genes for feather development may have existed more than 100 million years before dinosaurs sported hints of the fluffy plumage.
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AnimalsFully formed froglets emerge from dry bamboo nurseries
In remote India, a rare frog mates and lays eggs inside bamboo stalks. The eggs hatch into froglets, forgoing the tadpole stage.
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AnimalsScientists’ tags on fish may be leading seals to lunch
In an experiment, 10 young grey seals learned to associate the sound of a pinging tag with fish. The tags may make fish vulnerable to predators, scientists say.
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AnimalsVirus implicated in sea star die-off
Sea stars on the west coast have been wasting away into puddles of slime. Now, scientists think they have pinpointed the virus that is causing the mass die-off of the dazzling marine creatures.
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LifeSprings bring gecko stickiness to human scale
Springs of a stretchy alloy let gecko-inspired adhesives work at human scales to climb glass walls or grab space junk.
By Susan Milius