Animals

  1. Genetics

    Male zebrafish sex tool stops fin regeneration

    Tiny, spiked structures on the pectoral fins of male zebrafish help them hold females steady while mating. However, the structures produce a protein that seems to hinder the fish’s ability to regenerate fins.

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  2. Animals

    Rhino beetle horns come cheap

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  3. Animals

    Some elephants get the point

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  4. Animals

    Hibernating turtles don’t slip into a coma

    Winterized red-eared sliders shut down their lungs but spring into action when they see light.

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  5. Animals

    Legless geckos slither using skin ridges

    The animal's belly has flat rows of ripples that may help them wriggle.

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  6. Animals

    Alpine swifts fly nonstop for more than six months

    During a journey of 200 days, the birds eat, rest and migrate without touching the ground.

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  7. Animals

    The bottom feeding behavior of humpback whales

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  8. Animals

    Hiding up your nose is a clever strategy for ticks

    Found hiding in the noses of Ugandan chimps, a new tick species hitchhiked its way to America in a researcher's nose.

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  9. Animals

    Roadkill prevention could save a species from more than just your car

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  10. Animals

    Tortoise-studying teen takes top Broadcom prize

    Even a tortoise enthusiast can speed through a three-day gauntlet of science, engineering and math challenges to claim victory. River Grace, 14, of West Melbourne, Fla., did just that. At an awards ceremony October 1, he picked up the top award of $25,000. The teen was one of 30 finalists from 17 states who attended the third annual Broadcom Math, Applied Science, Technology and Engineering for Rising Stars, or MASTERS, competition.

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  11. Animals

    The giraffes that sailed to medieval China

    Chinese exploration of the world is often left out of Western textbooks (at least it was left out of mine), but for a brief period, from 1405 to 1433, the Chinese under Ming emperor Yongle sent out numerous trade missions that reached as far as present-day Kenya. During the fourth expedition, which left China in 1413, part of the fleet led by commander Zheng He sailed to Bengal in India, where in 1414 they met envoys from the African coastal state of Malindi (now part of Kenya). The men from Malindi had brought with them as tribute giraffes, and they gave one of those giraffes to the Chinese, who took it home.

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  12. Animals

    Centipede venom fights pain

    Molecule from toxin makes mice less sensitive to pain, may work as well as morphine.

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