8,095 results
- Genetics
For penguins, it’s a matter of no taste
Penguins lack taste genes for bitter, sweet and umami.
- Oceans
Giant barrel sponges are hijacking Florida’s coral reefs
Giant barrel sponges are gradually taking over and threatening Florida’s coral reefs, a new census suggests.
- Animals
A summer challenge: Observe nature
Opportunities for observing nature are plentiful, no matter where you live.
- Environment
New desalination tech could help quench global thirst
Designed with better, more energy-efficient materials, next-generation desalination plants may offer a way to meet the world’s growing need for freshwater.
- Animals
Ecotourism could bring new dangers to animals
The presence of kindly tourists could make animals more vulnerable to predation and poaching, a new study warns.
- Life
Bolder snails grow stronger shells
Bold snails have tougher shells than shy snails. Understanding what drives snails to develop such differences is a bit of a challenge.
- Plants
Marsh grass masquerades as a native species
The abundant cordgrass found in South American marshes may actually have invaded the region more than two centuries ago, a new study concludes.
- Life
Fossil fish eye has 300 million-year-old rods and cones
A fossil fish shows the earliest evidence of rods and cones, cells essential for color vision in vertebrates.
- Animals
Stretchy nerves help some big whales open wide
Blue whales and their closest relatives have stretchy nerves near their mouths so they can open wide and swallow a lot of prey.
- Animals
A fish reared out of water walks better
The normally aquatic fish Senegal bichir raised on land suggests how ancient species might have transitioned into terrestrial ones.
- Animals
Life in the polar ocean is surprisingly active in the dark winter
The Arctic polar winter may leave marine ecosystems dark for weeks on end, but life doesn’t shut down, a new study finds.
- Life
Electric eels remote-control nervous systems of prey
Electric eels’ high-voltage zaps turn a prey fish against itself, making it freeze in place or betray a hiding place.
