Animals
- 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.
- 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.
- Animals
Beetles that battle make better moms than ones that never fight
Female burying beetles that have to fight before reproducing spend more time caring for offspring than beetles with no fighting experience, a new study finds.
- Animals
Documentary looks for meaning in Koko the gorilla’s life
'Koko — The Gorilla Who Talks' documents the nearly 45-year relationship between researcher Penny Patterson and Koko, the subject of an ape sign language project.
- Life
Hightailing it out of the water, mudskipper style
A robot and a land-walking fish show how a tail might have made a huge difference for early vertebrates conquering the slippery slopes of terrestrial life.
- Animals
To zip through water, swordfish reduce drag
A newly discovered oil-producing organ inside the swordfish’s head gives the animal slick skin to swim faster.
