Animals
-
AnimalsA new species of tardigrade lays eggs covered with doodads and streamers
These elegant eggs hint that a tardigrade found in a Japanese parking lot is a new species.
By Susan Milius -
AnimalsThis scratchy hiss is the closest thing yet to caterpillar vocalization
A new way that caterpillars make noise may involve (tiny) teakettle‒style turbulence.
By Susan Milius -
EarthNew mapping shows just how much fishing impacts the world’s seas
Industrial fishing now occurs across 55 percent of the world’s ocean area while only 34 percent of Earth’s land area is used for agriculture or grazing.
-
GeneticsThe last wild horses aren’t truly wild
The ancestor of today’s domesticated horses remains a mystery after a new analysis of ancient horse DNA.
-
PlantsThe flowers that give us chocolate are ridiculously hard to pollinate
Cacao trees are really fussy about pollination.
By Susan Milius -
AnimalsAnts practice combat triage and nurse their injured
Termite-hunting ants have their own version of combat medicine for injured nest mates.
By Susan Milius -
AnimalsStrong winds send migrating seal pups on lengthier trips
Prevailing winds can send northern fur seal pups on an epic journey.
-
PaleontologyFossil footprints may put lizards on two feet 110 million years ago
Fossilized footprints found in South Korea could be the earliest evidence of two-legged running in lizards.
-
AnthropologyIn Borneo, hunting emerges as a key threat to endangered orangutans
Only small numbers of Bornean orangutans will survive coming decades, researchers say.
By Bruce Bower -
ClimateLook to penguins to track Antarctic changes
Scientists say carbon and nitrogen isotopes found in penguin tissues can indicate shifts in the Antarctic environment.
-
GeneticsStudy debunks fishy tale of how rabbits were first tamed
A popular tale about rabbit domestication turns out to be fiction.
-
LifeShipping noise can disturb porpoises and disrupt their mealtime
Noise from ships may disturb harbor porpoises enough to keep them from getting the food they need.
By Dan Garisto