Animals
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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.
By Susan Milius -
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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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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Animals
Swimming evolved several times in treetop ants
Certain ants living in tropical forest canopies turn out to be fine swimmers.
By Susan Milius -
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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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.
By Meghan Rosen -
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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Neuroscience
Crayfish get anxious, too
After receiving a shock, crayfish act anxious, avoiding brightly lit areas.
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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.
By Susan Milius -
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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Animals
Ant sperm swim as a team
The desert ant has sperm that swim in bundles for extra speed, perhaps increasing their likelihood of fertilizing an egg.