Animals
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Oceans
Whales and ships don’t mix well
A 15-year study of blue whales off California has found that major shipping lanes cut through feeding grounds.
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Neuroscience
Hippocampus may help homing pigeons explore
When researchers remove pigeons’ hippocampi, birds fly straighter on early parts of journey home.
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Animals
Parchment worms are best pinched in the dark
Meek tube-dwelling worms have strange glowing mucus and build papery tubes.
By Susan Milius -
Science & Society
An app to track firefly flashings
This summer, you can contribute to citizen science by tracking lightning bugs in your backyard.
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Plants
These trees don’t mind getting robbed
Desert teak trees in India produce more fruit after they’ve been visited by nectar robbers.
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Ecosystems
Moose drool can undermine grass defenses
Saliva from moose and reindeer sabotages plants’ chemical weaponry.
By Susan Milius -
Life
Mouse sperm parties make for straight swimmers
Mouse sperm hunt for eggs in packs, but grouping doesn’t boost speed. Instead, gangs of the reproductive cells move in straighter lines.
By Nsikan Akpan -
Animals
Elephant’s big nose wins most sensitive sniffer
A genetic survey reveals that African elephants harbor more smell sensors than any other known animal.
By Nsikan Akpan -
Animals
Termite soldiers locate battles with vibrational clues
To locate invasions, termite soldiers listen for millisecond-long delays in vibrational distress signals sent out by other soldiers.
By Susan Milius -
Microbes
Gut microbes help packrats eat poison
Antiobiotics and fecal transplants in desert woodrats shown that gut microbes can help plant-eaters metabolize toxins.
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Ecosystems
Offshore wind farms may be seal feeding grounds
Harbor seals were tracked visiting offshore wind farms, probably to find food, researchers say.
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Life
You don’t have to go to Antarctica to see wild penguins
Tourists can visit many species of wild penguins outside of Antarctica.