Animals

  1. Animals

    Do gophers farm roots? It’s not as clear as viral articles claim

    Pocket gophers aerate and fertilize the soil in a practice that encourages rudimentary food production, researchers claim. But not everyone agrees.

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  2. Tech

    This octopus-inspired glove helps humans grip slippery objects

    The human hand, for all its deftness, is not great at grasping slippery stuff. A new glove aims to change that.

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  3. Animals

    Tardigrades could teach us how to handle the rigors of space travel

    Tardigrades can withstand X-rays, freezing and vacuum. Now researchers are learning how they do it, with an eye toward human space travel.

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  4. Environment

    Flower shape and size impact bees’ chances of catching gut parasites

    Bumblebees have higher chances of contracting a gut parasite from short, wide flowers than from blooms with other shapes, experiments show.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    The flowery scent of a Zika or dengue infection lures mosquitoes

    Mice and humans infected with dengue emit acetophenone, attracting bloodsucking mosquitoes that could then transmit the viruses to new hosts.

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  6. Animals

    Ed Yong’s ‘An Immense World’ reveals how animals perceive the world

    The book showcases the diverse sensory abilities of other animals and how their view of the world is different from our own.

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  7. Life

    Here’s how sea anemones launch their venomous stingers

    Starlet sea anemones use speedy projectiles to sting predators and prey. New images capture a detailed look at these weapons in action.

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  8. Paleontology

    Megatooth sharks may have been higher on the food chain than any ocean animal ever

    Some megalodons and their ancestors were the ultimate apex predators, outeating all known marine animals, researchers report.

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  9. Animals

    50 years ago, eels’ navigation skills electrified scientists

    Excerpt from the June 24, 1972 issue of Science News

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  10. Animals

    These tiny marsupials survived wildfires only to face extinction from feral cats

    The Kangaroo Island dunnart was one species seen to reemerge after 2019–2020 Australian bushfires but is now closer than ever to extinction.

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  11. Ecosystems

    Some polar bears in Greenland survive on surprisingly little sea ice

    “Glacial mélange” could provide a last refuge for some bears as the Earth warms, but climate action is needed to preserve the species, researchers say.

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  12. Animals

    Here’s why pumpkin toadlets are such clumsy jumpers

    Tiny Brachycephalus frogs from southern Brazil can leap into the air but have trouble landing.

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