Animals
- 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.
- Animals
50 years ago, eels’ navigation skills electrified scientists
Excerpt from the June 24, 1972 issue of Science News
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Animals
Butterflies may lose their ‘tails’ like lizards
Fragile, tail-like projections on some butterflies' wings may be a lifesaver.
- Life
Lucy Cooke’s new book ‘Bitch’ busts myths about female animals
Female animals get their due in Lucy Cooke’s exploration of the roles of the sexes in biology and evolution.
- Animals
Mosquitoes prefer dozing over dining when they are sleep-deprived
Mosquitoes repeatedly shaken to prevent slumber lag behind well-rested ones when offered a researcher’s leg to feed on, new experiments show.
- Paleontology
How mammals took over the world
In the book The Rise and Reign of the Mammals, paleontologist Steve Brusatte tracks the evolutionary innovations that made mammals so successful.
- Health & Medicine
Trained dogs sniff out COVID-19 as well as lab tests do
Dogs can be trained to sniff out COVID-19 cases. They’re overall as reliable as PCR tests and even better at IDing asymptomatic cases, a study suggests.
- Animals
An ‘acoustic camera’ shows joining the right boy band boosts a frog’s sex appeal
Serenading with like voices may help male wood frogs woo females into their pools, analysis of individual voices in a frog choir shows.
- Life
High altitudes may be a climate refuge for some birds, but not these hummingbirds
After being moved to a spot high above their typical home, Anna’s hummingbirds seemed to struggle to hover in the thin air.
