Animals

  1. Animals

    Passenger pigeon population had booms and busts

    DNA says the birds recovered from hard times — until people came along.

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  2. Animals

    In emergencies, fire ants get lots of grips to form rafts

    First look inside fire ant architecture shows how lots of leg grips assemble rafts, bridges and balls.

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  3. Animals

    Mosses hitch rides on the wings of birds

    Seeds may travel from far north to south hidden in the feathers of migratory birds.

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  4. Life

    Genetic mutation quenches quantum quirk in algae

    Studying algae that can and cannot use quantum coherence to harvest light could lead to better organic solar cells and quantum-based electronic devices.

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  5. Animals

    Swimming evolved several times in treetop ants

    Certain ants living in tropical forest canopies turn out to be fine swimmers.

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  6. Animals

    Feedback

    Readers discuss mammal milk, ancient human genetics and hand washing techniques.

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  7. Animals

    It’s hard being a sea otter mom

    The energy requirements of lactation may explain why some female sea otters abandon their young.

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  8. Life

    Dinos straddled line between cold- and warm-blooded

    Tyrannosaurus rex and other dinosaurs straddled line between cold- and warm-blood, a new analysis finds.

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  9. Life

    California mite becomes fastest land animal

    Despite being the size of a sesame seed, the Paratarsotomus macropalpis mite can outpace Usain Bolt and even a cheetah in terms of body lengths per second.

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  10. Neuroscience

    Crayfish get anxious, too

    After receiving a shock, crayfish act anxious, avoiding brightly lit areas.

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  11. Animals

    Look beyond pest species to find beauty in cockroaches

    A few pest species give the group a bad name, but exotic roaches include an amazing diversity of colors and lifestyles.

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  12. Animals

    See your lawn through a bird’s eyes with YardMap

    A new web tool lets you map your outdoor spaces and wildlife habitat, helping scientists understand how birds use urban and suburban spaces.

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