Life

Animals

50 years ago, scientists wondered how birds find their way home

In the 1970s, lab tests hinted that birds can navigate using magnetic fields. New studies suggest that beak and eye proteins are behind the ability.

Math

Scientists find a naturally occurring molecule that forms a fractal

The protein assembles itself into a repeating triangle pattern. The fractal seems to be an accident of evolution, scientists say.

Animals

In a first, these crab spiders appear to collaborate, creating camouflage

Scientists found a pair of mating crab spiders blending in with a flower. The report may be the first known case of cooperative camouflage in spiders.

Life

This marine alga is the first known eukaryote to pull nitrogen from air

An alga’s bacterial symbiote has evolved into an organelle that turns atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, making the alga unique among eukaryotes.

Ecosystems

Flowers may be big antennas for bees’ electrical signals

The finding suggests a way for plants to share information about nearby pollinators and communicate when to trigger nectar production.

Animals

Eavesdropping on fish could help us keep better tabs on underwater worlds

Scientists are on a quest to log all the sounds of fish communication. The result could lead to better monitoring of ecosystems and fish behavior.

Life

During a total solar eclipse, some colors really pop. Here’s why

As a solar eclipse approaches totality and our eyes adjust to dimming light, our color vision changes. It’s called the Purkinje effect.

Genetics

Here’s why some pigeons do backflips

Meet the scientist homing in on the genes involved in making parlor roller pigeons do backward somersaults.

Neuroscience

Chickadees use memory ‘bar codes’ to find their hidden food stashes

Unique subsets of neurons in a chickadee’s memory center light up for each distinct cache, hinting at how episodic memories are encoded in the brain.

Neuroscience

Here’s how magnetic fields shape desert ants’ brains

Exposure to a tweaked magnetic field scrambled desert ants’ efforts to learn where home is — and affected neuron connections in a key part of the brain.

Paleontology

An extinct sofa-sized turtle may have lived alongside humans

Peltocephalus maturin was one of the biggest turtles ever, but unlike similarly sized prehistoric freshwater turtles, it lived thousands of years ago.

Animals

By fluttering its wings, this bird uses body language to tell its mate ‘after you’

New observations suggest that Japanese tits gesture to communicate complex messages — a rare ability in the animal kingdom and a first seen in birds.