Animals
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		AnimalsThe mites living on your face probably run in your family
Demodex folliculorum mites, which live on human skin, have probably evolved with their hosts over time.
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		AnimalsSmall lizard packs powerful tongue
A tiny chameleon from South Africa sets an acceleration and power record for amniotes.
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		AnimalsLittlest chameleons pack powerful tongues
A tiny chameleon from South Africa sets an acceleration and power record for amniotes.
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		PaleontologySaber-toothed salmon teeth more like tusks than fangs
Saber-toothed salmon teeth may not have been positioned like fangs at all.
By Susan Milius - 			
			
		AnimalsAnimals get struck by lightning, too
Scientists found a group of sea lions apparently dead from a lightning strike. But those animals certainly aren’t the first animals to die that way.
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		AnimalsSharks follow their noses home
Leopard sharks draw on scents to navigate back to shore, study suggests.
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		AnimalsWhen tarantulas grow blue hair
Azure coloring is surprisingly common in the spiders, though they themselves are colorblind.
By Susan Milius - 			
			
		PhysicsAircraft industry could take tips from penguins
Tiny grooves and an oily sheath prevent water droplets from freezing on the feathers of some penguins.
By Andrew Grant - 			
			
		AnimalsAnts’ size and profession controlled by chemical tags on DNA
Epigenetic marks determine whether female Florida carpenter ants are soldiers or foragers.
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		Paleontology12 amazing fossil finds of 2015
From an ancient sponge ancestor to the Carolina Butcher, scientists learned a lot about life on Earth this year.
By Meghan Rosen - 			
			
		AnimalsLemurs chat only with their best friends
Ring-tailed lemurs maintain friendships built with grooming by calling to each other, a new study finds.
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		Science & SocietyThese truisms proved false in 2015
Don’t always believe what you hear. These truisms turned out to be false in 2015.