Animals
Viruses can kill wasp larvae that grow inside infected caterpillars
Proteins found in viruses and some moths can protect caterpillars from parasitoid wasps seeking a living nursery for their eggs.
Life
More Stories in Life
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LifeNear-invincible tardigrades may see only in black and white
A genetic analysis suggests that water bears don’t have light-sensing proteins to detect ultraviolet light or color.
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AnimalsHow some lizards breathe underwater
Researchers have figured out how some anole lizards can stay underwater for as long as 18 minutes.
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Life‘Wild Souls’ explores what we owe animals in a human-dominated world
The new book Wild Souls explores the ethical dilemmas of saving Earth’s endangered animals.
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Paleontology3.42-billion-year-old fossil threads may be the oldest known archaea microbes
The structure and chemistry of these ancient cell-like fossils may hint where Earth’s early inhabitants evolved and how they got their energy.
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PaleontologyPterosaurs may have been able to fly as soon as they hatched
A fossil analysis shows the flying reptile hatchlings had a stronger bone crucial for lift-off that adults and shorter, broader wings for agility.
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AnimalsHow intricate Venus’s-flower-baskets manipulate the flow of seawater
Simulations show that a deep-sea glass sponge’s intricate skeleton creates particle-trapping vortices and reduces the stress of rushing water.
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AnimalsThis butterfly is the first U.S. insect known to go extinct because of people
A 93-year-old Xerces blue specimen’s DNA shows that the butterfly is a distinct species, making it the first U.S. insect humans drove to extinction.
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MicrobesMissing Antarctic microbes raise thorny questions about the search for aliens
Scientists couldn’t find microbial life in soils from Antarctica, hinting at a limit for habitability on Earth and other worlds.
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LifePikas survive winter using a slower metabolism and, at times, yak poop
Pikas endure bone-chilling temperatures on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau by reducing their metabolism, and when possible, eating yak poop.