Animals
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Animals
Malaria mosquito dosed with disease-fighting bacteria
After thousands of tries, lab gets parasite-carrying insect to catch Wolbachia.
By Susan Milius -
Animals
Tongue bristles help bats lap up nectar
High-speed videos capture stretched-out tongue bumps that stretch out so nectar-feeding bats can slurp up their food.
By Meghan Rosen -
Animals
Winged robots may shed light on fly aerobatics
After years of trying, researchers create flapping machines that can hover and perform rudimentary flight maneuvers.
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Animals
Evolutionary enigmas
Comb jelly genetics suggest a radical redrawing of the tree of life.
By Amy Maxmen -
Animals
Deep-sea worms drop acid to get dinner
Bone-eating worms produce chemicals to dissolve and feed on skeletons.
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Animals
Fossil illuminates ancestry of swifts and hummingbirds
Spectacularly preserved remains suggest that the two avian groups' predecessors got small before splitting and developing their flying chops.
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Animals
A Different Kind of Smart
Animals’ cognitive shortcomings are as revealing as their genius.
By Susan Milius -
Animals
Termites, not fairies, cause plant circles in African deserts
Underground insect engineers create water traps in the soil, allowing rings of green grasses in the sand.
By Susan Milius -
Animals
Native pollinators boost crop yields worldwide
Farms with crops from coffee to mangoes don’t get the best yields if they rely solely on honeybees.
By Susan Milius -
Animals
How weaver ants get a grip
Strong sticking power and quick reaction time help the insects stay put in trees.
By Susan Milius -
Animals
Sea slug carries disposable penis, plus spares
A hermaphroditic gastropod sheds its penis after one use, then uncoils another.
By Susan Milius -
Animals
Compared with rodents, bat species carry more viruses
Viruses that can jump from animals to people may find the flying mammals a fine place to lurk.
By Susan Milius