Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Paleontology
How did Triceratops grow its horns?
Newly discovered fossil skulls of juvenile Triceratops may help reveal how the dinosaurs grew their three trademark horns.
- Paleontology
Fossils found under tons of Kitty Litter
Excavations at North America's largest Kitter Litter mine have yielded fossils of ancient aquatic reptiles, as well as evidence of a tsunami generated by the extraterrestrial impact that killed off the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago.
- Paleontology
Lemurs reveal clues to ancient Asian roots
A diminutive lemur species inhabited what is now central Pakistan about 30 million years ago, a new fossil find suggests.
- Ecosystems
Another World Hides inside Coral Reefs
The first systematic survey of crevices inside Red Sea reefs reveals abundant filter feeders that may capture significant nutrients for the reef.
- Paleontology
Large shadows fell on Cretaceous landscape
Paleontologists have unearthed the remains of what they believe could be the largest flying creature yet discovered—a 12-meter-wingspan pterosaur.
- Animals
Wild gerbils pollinate African desert lily
Scientists in South Africa have found the first known examples of gerbils pollinating a flower.
- Animals
Poison birds copy ‘don’t touch’ feathers
A subspecies of one of New Guinea's poisonous pitohui birds may be mimicking a toxic neighbor, according to a new genetic analysis.
- Animals
Shrimps spew bubbles as hot as the sun
With the snap of a claw, a pinkie-size ocean shrimp generates a collapsing air bubble that's hot enough to emit faint light.
- Animals
Meerkat pups grow fatter with extra adults
Meerkat pups growing up in large, cooperative groups are heftier because there are more adults to entreat for food.
- Animals
Shhh! Is that scrape a caterpillar scrap?
A series of staged conflicts reveals the first known acoustic duels in caterpillars.
- Paleontology
New Fossils Resolve Whale’s Origin
The first discovery of early whale fossils with key ankle bones intact provides compelling paleontological evidence that whales are closely related to many living ungulates, a relationship already supported by molecular data.
- Animals
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme!
Hungry chicks cheeping in their nest have inspired a whole branch of scientific inquiry.
