Animals
- Life
The eyes have it: Long lashes not so lovely
Eyelashes can’t be too short or too long without ruining their aerodynamic protection.
- Animals
Where an ant goes when it’s gotta go
Scientists found black garden ants defecating in certain spots inside their nests. The researchers say these spots serve as ant toilets.
- Animals
Five surprising animals that play
No one is shocked to find playful behavior in a cat, dog or other mammal. But scientists have documented play in plenty of other species, including reptiles and insects.
- Animals
Flamboyant old bustards keep showing off
Among outrageously flirtatious birds called houbara bustards, old males may pay a penalty for years of extreme display.
- Animals
Ocean animals have bulked up since ancient eras
Marine animals today are much larger on average than they were in the Cambrian Period.
- Ecosystems
Bluebird moms inadvertently fuel wars between species
Extra hormones delivered to eggs holding sons in tough times end up driving one bluebird species to chase off another
- Animals
Cliff swallow breeding thwarted by bird version of bedbugs
A 30-year study of cliff swallows in Nebraska finds that the birds will abandon nests, rather than have a second brood, when their homes are infested with swallow bugs.
- Ecosystems
Fooled you! Whirling tails of luna moths deflect bat attacks
Luna moths can use their tails to reflect the echolocation pings of bats, tricking the predators into striking the tails instead of less expendable body parts.
- Genetics
For penguins, it’s a matter of no taste
Penguins lack taste genes for bitter, sweet and umami.
- Life
To deal with sexual conflict, female bedbugs get flexible
Female bed bugs evolved an elastic underbelly to tolerate violent mating, a new study suggests.
- Animals
Fertile hermit crabs turn shy
Male hermit crabs that aren’t carrying much sperm are bolder than their more fertile brethren, a new study finds.
- Paleontology
Earliest tree-dweller, burrower join mammal tree of life
Fossils show mammal ancestors did a lot more than cower in dinosaurs’ shadows.
