Animals
- Life
Insects flocking to artificial lights may not know which way is up
Insects may use light to figure out where the ground is. Artificial lights send them veering off course, data from high-speed infrared cameras suggests.
- Animals
What parrots can teach us about human intelligence
By studying the brains and behaviors of parrots, scientists hope to learn more about how humanlike intelligence evolves.
- Ecosystems
How an invasive ant changed a lion’s dinner menu
An invasive ant is killing off ants that defend trees from elephants. With less cover, it’s harder for lions to hunt zebras, so they hunt buffalo instead.
- Animals
A bird flu outbreak is sweeping the globe. Its long-term effects are unclear
A reporter’s recent trip to the Galápagos offered a chance to reflect on the bird flu outbreak, which has killed millions of birds and other animals.
- Life
Some honeybees in Italy regularly steal pollen off the backs of bumblebees
New observations suggest that honeybees stealing pollen from bumblebees may be a crime of opportunity, though documentation of it remains rare.
- Life
These snails give live birth, and it’s the babies that may do the labor
Protecting eggs in mom’s body may have given rough periwinkle snails an advantage over egg-laying cousins, letting them spread to far more coastline.
- Chemistry
Here’s how tardigrades go into suspended animation
A new study offers more clues about the role of oxidation in signaling transitions between alive and mostly dead in tardigrades.
- Animals
A new exhibit invites you into the ‘Secret World of Elephants’
As elephants face survival threats, the American Museum of Natural History highlights their pivotal role in shaping landscapes — and their resilience.
- Animals
Some mysteries remain about why dogs wag their tails
Wagging is a form of communication, with different wags meaning different things, but scientists know little about the behavior’s evolution in dogs.
- Climate
Numbats are built to hold heat, making climate change extra risky for the marsupials
New thermal imaging shows how fast numbats’ surface temperature rises even at relatively reasonable temperatures.
- Life
Here’s how poison dart frogs safely hoard toxins in their skin
A protein found in frog bodies may help the amphibians collect and transport toxins from their food to their skin for chemical defense.
- Animals
Ant face patterns like swirls and stubble might have practical value
Reviewing thousands of ant photos hints that facial surface patterns might offer benefits, like structural support or abrasion protection.
