Animals
- Health & Medicine
‘Outbreak’ puts the life cycle of an epidemic on display
At the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the exhibit “Outbreak” highlights how infectious diseases shape our world.
- Animals
The first land-walking vertebrates may have emerged from salty estuaries
Early tetrapods were transitional creatures — not only between land and water, but also between fresh and salty environments.
- Paleontology
Oldest known lizard fossil pushes group’s origins back 75 million years
CT scan reveals hidden identity of an unusual lizard fossil found years ago in the Italian Alps.
- Science & Society
Readers respond to pesticides, Hawking radiation and more
Readers had questions about pesticides, Hawking radiation and the intersection of science and the public.
- Life
Skeletons come in many shapes and sizes
In Skeletons, two paleobiologists recount how and why skeletons evolved, as well as the variety of forms they take and the many purposes they serve.
- Animals
Pregnant bonobos get a little delivery help from their friends
As in humans, female bonobos become helpers for mothers giving birth, data from captive apes suggest.
- Animals
A caterpillar outwits corn defenses by gorging on fattening ‘junk’ food
The crop plants defend themselves with zombie-maker wasps, but one pest has a desperate work-around.
- Earth
Keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees C helps most species hold their ground
Holding global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2100 could help protect tens of thousands of insect, plant and vertebrate species.
- Animals
50 years ago, scientists warned of a sparrow’s extinction
Only 17 dusky seaside sparrows remained in 1968. Today, there are none.
- Animals
Green blood in lizards probably evolved four times
Pigment buildups that would cause jaundice in people are normal for some New Guinea skinks.
- Animals
Readers amazed by Jupiter discoveries, giant viruses and more
Readers had questions about the latest findings of Jupiter, giant viruses being recognized as a new kingdom of life and tardigrade poop.
- Animals
How a deep-sea geology trip led researchers to a doomed octopus nursery
A healthy population of cephalopods could be hiding nearby, though, a new study contends.
