Animals
- Life
Climate change shrinks sheep
Milder winters help small, weak lambs survive but more competition for food slows growth.
- Animals
Bat face shapes sound
An oversized appendage in Bourret’s horseshoe bats may aid in long-distance signals.
- Life
Beetle philandering doesn’t work out for the ladies
A common idea about the benefits of multiple matings for females turns out to be wrong for seed beetles.
- Life
Mosquito fish count comrades to stay alive
New experiments indicate that mosquito fish can count small numbers of companions swimming in different groups, an ability that apparently evolved to assist these fish in avoiding predators.
- Ecosystems
From sea to squid, thanks to slime
Scientists have revealed new details about the genes — and the goo — that enable luminescent bacteria to colonize their symbiotic marine partner.
- Life
Tickling apes reveals laughter’s origins
Roots of laughter go back at least 10 to 16 million years, study of romping apes suggests.
- Life
Phony fighters discovered among fig wasps
A newly discovered species of fig wasp has a fraction of dishonest guys with big mouthparts.
- Animals
Extensive toolkits give chimps a taste of honey
Chimps living in central Africa’s dense forests make and use complex sets of tools to gather honey from beehives, further narrowing the gap between the way humans and chimps use tools.
- Animals
For some birds, chancy climates mean better singers
In the mockingbird family, the most accomplished musical species tend to live in treacherous climates.
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- Animals
Controversial polar bear rule stands
Creature’s plight remains separate from decisions on greenhouse gas emissions.
- Life
Suppress-the-mob gene found in queen termites
Gene may help keep workers from illicit, royalty-threatening reproduction.
