Animals
- Animals
Pygmy blue whales deepen their moans
Sri Lankan pygmy blue whales are tweaking their calls — making one part deeper and keeping another part the same — but scientists can’t say why. The finding injects a new wrinkle in theories about blue whale calls.
- Genetics
Ancient DNA tells of two origins for dogs
Genetic analysis of an ancient Irish mutt reveals complicated history of dog domestication.
- Environment
Tiny plastics cause big problems for perch
Researchers have linked microplastics to feeding behavior changes and development issues in Baltic Sea perch.
- Animals
Tiny plastics cause big problems for perch, lab study finds
Researchers have linked microplastics to feeding behavior changes and development issues in Baltic Sea perch.
- Life
Jumping gene turned peppered moths the color of soot
A single gene is behind some of the most famous examples of natural selection.
- Climate
Readers share climate change concerns
Readers respond to the April 16, 2016, issue of Science News with thoughts on climate change, prairie dogs and more.
- Animals
Pandas have ultrasonic hearing
Giant pandas hear very high frequencies. Scientists still don’t know why.
- Animals
Animals get safe spots to cross the road — and car collisions drop
Over- and underpasses built for wildlife in Wyoming proved a success for both the animals and the humans traveling the roads.
- Animals
Counting cats is hard, but we know the numbers aren’t good
Recent studies highlight the difficulty of counting big cats, but even imperfect counts show that these species are in trouble.
- Life
Fruit fly’s giant sperm is quite an exaggeration
Giant sperm, about 20 times a male fruit fly’s body length, could make the insects the champs of supersized sexual ornaments.
- Animals
Antibiotics in cattle leave their mark in dung
Treating cattle with antibiotics may have side effects for dung beetles, microbes and greenhouse gases.
- Animals
Snot could be crucial to dolphin echolocation
An acoustic model reveals that echolocation relies on mucus lined tissue lumps in the animal’s nasal passage.
