Animals
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AnimalsDiversified portfolio yields benefit for salmon stocks
Local diversity keeps sockeye from going bust every few years, a study finds.
By Susan Milius -
LifeArtificial butterfly mixes high, low tech
Model shows importance of wing veins and bobbing flight to keeping swallowtails aloft.
By Susan Milius -
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AnimalsArgonauts use shells as flotation devices
The octopus relatives create their own buoyancy devices by gulping and hoarding air from the surface.
By Susan Milius -
AnimalsFight 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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AnimalsMirror, mirror on the wall, you’re the scariest fish of all
That thing in the mirror may be more upsetting than a real fish.
By Susan Milius -
AnimalsAphids make their own bright colors
The insects’ ancestors adapted fungal DNA for manufacturing vital compounds.
By Susan Milius -
AnimalsChimps may be aware of others’ deaths
Reactions of chimps to dead companions and infants suggest a basic realization of what death entails.
By Bruce Bower -
AnimalsMale spiders have safe(r) sex with siblings
In a cannibalistic species, brothers minimize risk when mating with their sisters.
By Susan Milius -
EcosystemsPigeons usually let best navigator take the lead
One bird usually leads the flock, but sometimes another gets a turn at the helm.
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Health & MedicineCats attracted to ADHD drug, a feline poison
Since 2004, drugs designed for use by people have been the leading source of poisonings among companion animals, according to the national Animal Poison Control Center in Urbana, Ill. And among cats, Adderall – a combination of mixed amphetamine salts used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder – has quickly risen to become one of the most common and dangerous of these pharmaceutical threats.
By Janet Raloff -
LifeEvolutionary genetic relationships coming into focus
Researchers have filled in about 40 percent of the tree of life for mammals and birds, but other vertebrates lag behind.