Animals
- 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.
- Neuroscience
Crayfish get anxious, too
After receiving a shock, crayfish act anxious, avoiding brightly lit areas.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Animals
Winter road salting reshapes next summer’s butterflies
Winter road salt treatments boost sodium in roadside plants and alter development for monarch butterflies.
- Animals
Deadly bat disease gets easier to diagnose
White-nose syndrome in bats can be spotted with UV light, scientists have found.
- Paleontology
Preserved pterosaur eggs hint at reptile’s social life
The first 3-D pterosaur eggs, which were found in China, suggest that the flying reptiles laid eggs together.
- Animals
Bird dropping disguise proves to be effective camouflage
Several species of spiders and other animals mimic bird poop.
- Genetics
Wool pulled from sheep’s genetic code
Sheep's genetic sequence, comprised of 2.6 billion base pairs, offers clues to how the animals maintain extra woolly coats and when they evolved from other livestock.
- Life
Hatcheries’ metal can disrupt steelhead magnetic sense
Growing up in magnetic fields distorted by pipes and electronics confounds young fish’s inherited map sense.
- Animals
Why tree-hugger koalas are cool
Drooping against bark during a heat wave could save koalas from overheating.
