Science News

Latest Issue of Science News

Life & Evolution

Topic Image Rail

IT’S ELECTRIC  Electrostatic forces feature in gecko adhesiveness, a new study finds, despite 80 years of thought to the contrary.

H. Izadi

The American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis, is one of several tick species that has a bite that can cause paralysis.

James Gathany/CDC

HERD MENTALITY Duck-billed dinosaurs lived together in multigenerational herds in the Arctic, thousands of new tracks in Alaska suggest.

KAREN CARR ILLUSTRATION

  • Animals

    
    Wild Things

    Dead-ant wall protects young spider wasps

    Bone-house wasps probably use a barrier of deceased insects to guard against predators.

    Note: To comment, Science News subscribing members must now establish a separate login relationship with Disqus. Click the Disqus icon below, enter your e-mail and click “forgot password” to reset your password. You may also log into Disqus using Facebook, Twitter or Google.

    X
    
    Science Ticker

    Mantis shrimp tune their eyes with sunscreen

    Blocking some rays in just the right way creates six ways of actually seeing ultraviolet light.

    Note: To comment, Science News subscribing members must now establish a separate login relationship with Disqus. Click the Disqus icon below, enter your e-mail and click “forgot password” to reset your password. You may also log into Disqus using Facebook, Twitter or Google.

    X

  • Plants

    
    Wild Things

    Island life prompts evolution of larger plant seeds

    In 40 species of plants, the island versions of seeds were larger than mainland counterparts, perhaps to keep the seeds from being lost at sea.

    Note: To comment, Science News subscribing members must now establish a separate login relationship with Disqus. Click the Disqus icon below, enter your e-mail and click “forgot password” to reset your password. You may also log into Disqus using Facebook, Twitter or Google.

    X
    
    Wild Things

    South American vine is a masterful mimic

    The vine Boquila trifoliolata changes the shape of its leaves to match its host and avoid getting eaten.

    Note: To comment, Science News subscribing members must now establish a separate login relationship with Disqus. Click the Disqus icon below, enter your e-mail and click “forgot password” to reset your password. You may also log into Disqus using Facebook, Twitter or Google.

    X

  • Microbes

    
    Science Ticker

    The most personal data on your phone is your microbiome

    Phones carry more than your contacts and messages. They’ve got your microbiome too.

    Note: To comment, Science News subscribing members must now establish a separate login relationship with Disqus. Click the Disqus icon below, enter your e-mail and click “forgot password” to reset your password. You may also log into Disqus using Facebook, Twitter or Google.

    X
    
    Science Ticker

    Irish potato famine microbe traced to Mexico

    The pathogen that triggered the Irish potato famine in the 1840s originated in central Mexico, not the Andes, as some studies had suggested.

    Note: To comment, Science News subscribing members must now establish a separate login relationship with Disqus. Click the Disqus icon below, enter your e-mail and click “forgot password” to reset your password. You may also log into Disqus using Facebook, Twitter or Google.

    X

  • Fungi

    Feature

    The name of the fungus

    A rebellion has broken out against the traditional way of naming species in the peculiar, shape-shifting world of fungi.

  • Conservation

    
    Wild Things

    Cheetahs, but not wild dogs, manage to live with lions

    One conservation tenet says that cheetahs can’t survive when lions are around, but it’s wild dogs that disappeared in one lion-dense area of the Serengeti.

    Note: To comment, Science News subscribing members must now establish a separate login relationship with Disqus. Click the Disqus icon below, enter your e-mail and click “forgot password” to reset your password. You may also log into Disqus using Facebook, Twitter or Google.

    X

  • Evolution

  • Ecology

    Reviews & Previews

    Do your bit for bumblebees

    The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and its partners have launched the Bumble Bee Watch website to track sightings. When you see a bee bumbling around, snap a photo.

  • Paleontology

  • Biophysics

    
    Science Ticker

    Bacteria’s tail spins make water droplets swirl

    When bacteria band together, they can turn a fairly tame drop of water into a swirling vortex.

    Note: To comment, Science News subscribing members must now establish a separate login relationship with Disqus. Click the Disqus icon below, enter your e-mail and click “forgot password” to reset your password. You may also log into Disqus using Facebook, Twitter or Google.

    X

  • Other

    
    Deleted Scenes

    The Sopranos with feathers

    Note: To comment, Science News subscribing members must now establish a separate login relationship with Disqus. Click the Disqus icon below, enter your e-mail and click “forgot password” to reset your password. You may also log into Disqus using Facebook, Twitter or Google.

    X
Subscribe to RSS - Life & Evolution