Animals

Animals

Getting rid of snails is effective at stopping snail fever

For the tropical disease snail fever, managing host populations is more effective than drugs.

Anthropology

Humans, birds communicate to collaborate

Bird species takes hunter-gatherers to honeybees’ nests when called on.

Animals

To douse hot hives, honeybee colonies launch water squadrons

The whole superorganism of a honeybee colony has sophisticated ways of cooling down.

Animals

Some primates prefer nectar with a bigger alcohol kick

Aye-ayes and slow lorises may be able to discern the alcohol content of boozy nectar and go for more potent drinks.

Animals

Tiny ants move a ton of soil

For the first time, scientists have quantified how much soil ants move underground.

Genetics

Herbicide no match for fruit flies’ gut microbes

Friendly gut bacteria team up to break down herbicide that might otherwise harm fruit flies.

Animals

For jaguars, armored prey is no obstacle

With big heads, thick teeth and strong muscles, jaguars have evolved to take on dangerous prey, often animals covered with thick armor.

Animals

Organisms age in myriad ways — and some might not even bother

There is great variety in how animals and plants deteriorate (or don’t) over time.

Animals

Readers mesmerized by ‘Strange visions’

Animal vision, ice-making microbes, brain maps and more reader feedback.

Animals

What animals’ life spans can tell us about how people age

The animal world can offer insights into human longevity.

Animals

When bird populations shrink, females fly away

In small and shrinking populations of willow warblers, males outnumber females. That’s because girls choose to join bigger groups, a new study finds.

Animals

How snails breathe through snorkels on land

Shells with a tube counterintuitively sealed at the end have hidden ways to let Asian snails snorkel while sealed in their shells.