Animals
- Climate
Sharks could serve as ocean watchdogs
Tagged with sensors, toothy fish gather weather and climate data in remote Pacific waters.
- Animals
Secret feather flaps help a falcon control its dive
The pop-up feathers of a falcon act similar to flaps on an airplane’s wing.
- Genetics
Genes involved in dog OCD identified
Scientists say they have identified several of the genes that trigger obsessive-compulsive disorder in Doberman pinschers, bullterriers, sheepdogs and German shepherds.
- Animals
Bonobos feel the beat
Some animals, like cockatoos and bonobos, are able to move to the groove. Studying animals that keep the beat might tell us whether musical rhythm is really widespread.
- Animals
‘Packrat’ is the new term for ‘really organized’
The more eclectic hoarder species segregate pantry from lumber room from junk museum. The result is more orderly than the closets of some human packrats.
- Animals
It doesn’t always take wings to fly high
Microbes, bees, termites and geese have been clocked at high altitudes, where air density and oxygen are low.
- Animals
In crazy vs. fire, the ant with the detox dance wins
Tawny crazy ants pick fights with fire ants and win, thanks to a previously unknown way of detoxifying fire ant venom.
- Animals
Some crocodiles go out on, or up, a limb to hunt, keep warm
Observations of crocodiles from Australia, Africa and North America show that four species could waddle up and along branches above water. They do this to regulate their temperature and look for prey, scientists suggest.
- Animals
Orangutans hit the ground walking
A surprising affinity for moving across the forest floor may aid threatened apes.
- Life
Nonhuman city natives in decline but can be conserved
Cities have been a downer on biodiversity but native populations still remain in urban areas, offering a starting point for possible conservation efforts.
- Life
Charms of small males may collapse a Darwin’s finch species
Mating rules may be changing for one of the storied Galápagos birds.
- Health & Medicine
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Calculating vaccines' impact, cat-induced bird death toll revised, taming wildcat genetics, and praise for The Science Life.
