Animals
- Animals
Cops with Six Legs
Insects commit crimes against their colonies, and researchers are taking a closer look at how these six-legged criminals get punished.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Vampires Run: Bats on treadmills show high-speed gait
The first test of vampire bats on a treadmill shows that they've evolved their own style of running.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Picky-eater termites choose good vibes
Good vibrations may have a lot to do with which pieces of wood a termite attacks.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Shortcut to Big Heart: Pythons build cardiac muscle in record time
A Burmese python can boost its cardiac fitness—by bulking up its heart muscle 40 percent in two days—just by eating.
By Susan Milius - Animals
The Old Crowd: Minke whales have long thrived in Antarctic seas
Genetic studies of whale meat from Tokyo grocery stores appear to strengthen the case for protecting Antarctica's minke whales against renewed hunting.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Hour of Babble: Young birds sing badly in the morning
Young zebra finches do badly at song practice for the first few hours after they wake up but then recover, and even improve, their musical skills.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Oops! Grab That Trunk: High-diving ants swing back toward their tree
Certain tree-dwelling ants can direct their descent well enough to veer toward tree trunks and climb back home.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Bad Breath: Insects zip air holes to cut oxygen risks
The need to avoid overdosing on oxygen may drive certain insects to shut down their breathing holes periodically.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Crow Tools: Hatched to putter
The New Caledonian crow is the first vertebrate to be shown definitively to have an innate tendency to make and use tools, according to researchers who doubled as bird nannies.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Sparrows learn song from pieces
Young white-crowned sparrows don't have to hear a song straight through in order to learn it; playing the song in mixed-up paired phrases will do.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Mixing Genes: Bird immigrants make unexpected differences
A pair of decades-long studies of birds moving into other birds' neighborhoods show that immigration can have a quirkier effect than predicted by the usual textbook view.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Paper wasps object to dishonest face spots
Female wasps with dishonest faces, created by researchers who altered the wasps' natural status spots, have to cope with extra aggression.
By Susan Milius