Animals

  1. Ecosystems

    Gut first

    A crawling caterpillar’s gut moves forward before the rest of its body does.

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  2. Animals

    Fearless tadpoles give invaders the edge

    Clueless larvae don’t heed the scent of nonnative turtles, giving newcomers an edge over native species, a European study finds.

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  3. Life

    Having BFFs brings longevity to female baboons

    A seven-year study of one African troop finds that females live longer if they form close, lasting friendships.

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  4. Animals

    Climate change may favor couch-potato elk

    With drought and rising temperatures in Wyoming, migratory animals suffer while stay-at-home members of the same herd thrive

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  5. Life

    Forget mice, elephants intimidated by ants

    Swarms of little nuisances have an outsized effect on who nibbles which trees in the African savanna.

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  6. Animals

    Sex, crickets and videotape

    Security cameras focused on insects in the wild are looking at whether lab science has gotten the singing, mating and fighting right.

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  7. Animals

    Diversified portfolio yields benefit for salmon stocks

    Local diversity keeps sockeye from going bust every few years, a study finds.

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  8. Life

    Artificial butterfly mixes high, low tech

    Model shows importance of wing veins and bobbing flight to keeping swallowtails aloft.

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  9. Animals

    Cads of the savanna

    Male topi antelopes lie about predators to keep the ladies nearby.

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  10. Animals

    Argonauts use shells as flotation devices

    The octopus relatives create their own buoyancy devices by gulping and hoarding air from the surface.

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  11. Animals

    Fight or flee, it’s in the pee

    Researchers get a better understanding of how mice smell a rat, or a cat, and maybe even a snake.

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  12. Animals

    Mirror, mirror on the wall, you’re the scariest fish of all

    That thing in the mirror may be more upsetting than a real fish.

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