All Stories by Gennaro Tomma
- Animals
Polar bears provide millions of kilograms of food for other Arctic species
A new study shows how much food polar bears leave behind — and how their decline threatens scavengers across the Arctic.
- Animals
You might be reading your dog’s moods wrong
A dog's physical cues often take a back seat to environmental ones, skewing humans' perceptions, a small study suggests.
- Animals
Some sea turtles are laying eggs earlier in response to climate change
A 1-degree-Celsius change in water temperature prompts sea turtles in Northern Cyprus to lay eggs nearly a week earlier on average.
- Life
The butts of these blowfly larvae mimic termite faces
The young of a mysterious blowfly species look — and smell — like the termites they hide among.
- Animals
In chimpanzees, peeing is contagious
The first study of copycat urination in an animal documents how one chimpanzee peeing prompts others to follow suit. Now researchers are exploring why.
- Animals
For adult chimps, playing may be more important than previously thought
A multiyear study of dozens of wild, adult chimps suggests that play helps reduce tension and boost cooperation among individuals.
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For deep-diving whales, plastic garbage may ‘sound’ like food
Experiments show that the acoustic signature of plastic and prey is similar. That may confuse whales that use echolocation to hunt.
- Oceans
How tiny phytoplankton trek long distances upward in the ocean
Taking in seawater while filtering out dense salts lets unicellular phytoplankton migrate tens of meters vertically toward sunnier seas.
- Animals
Dolphins’ open-mouth behaviors during play are like smiles, a study claims
Experts urge caution in calling bottlenosed dolphins’ gesture a humanlike “smile,” but agree it seems to be important for how the animals communicate.
- Animals
Bumblebees lose most of their sense of smell after heat waves
A few hours in high temps reduced the ability of antennae to detect flower scents by 80 percent. That could impact the bees’ ability to find food.
- Space
Scientists want to send endangered species’ cells to the moon
Climate change is threatening Earth’s biodiversity banks. It might be time to build a backup on the moon.
