Animals

  1. Life

    Sea otters stay warm thanks to leaky mitochondria in their muscles

    For the smallest mammal in the ocean, staying warm is a challenge. Now, scientists have figured out how the animals keep themselves toasty.

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  2. Animals

    Focusing on Asian giant hornets distorts the view of invasive species

    2021’s first “murder hornet” is yet another arrival. This is the not-so-new normal.

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  3. Animals

    These beetles walk on water, upside down, underneath the surface

    Many insects can skate atop the water’s surface thanks to water tension, but one beetle can apparently tread along the underside of this boundary.

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  4. Animals

    A proposed ‘quantum compass’ for songbirds just got more plausible

    Quantum physics could be behind birds’ magnetic sense of direction, new measurements indicate.

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  5. Animals

    How a gecko named Mr. Frosty could help shed new light on skin cancer

    The distinctive coloring and skin tumors of a type of gecko called Lemon Frost have been pegged to a gene implicated in human skin cancer.

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  6. Animals

    Chinese mountain cats swap DNA with domestic cats, but aren’t their ancestors

    DNA suggests little-studied Chinese mountain cats have been rendezvousing with pet cats on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau since the 1950s.

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  7. Animals

    ‘Fathom’ seeks to unravel humpback whales’ soulful songs

    The film ‘Fathom’ on Apple TV+ follows the quest of researchers on the ocean’s surface to decipher the eerie symphony of humpback whale calls below.

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  8. Animals

    New images clarify how glasswing butterflies make their wings transparent

    Close-up views of glasswing butterflies reveal the secrets behind the insect’s see-through wings: sparse, spindly scales and a waxy coating.

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  9. Ecosystems

    As ‘phantom rivers’ roar, birds and bats change their hunting habits

    A massive experiment in the Idaho wilderness shows it’s not just human-made noises that impact ecosystems. Natural noises can too.

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  10. Animals

    Mouse sperm thrived despite six years of exposure to space radiation

    A space station experiment suggests future deep-space explorers don’t need to worry about passing the effects of space radiation on to their children.

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  11. Animals

    The mere sight of illness may kick-start a canary’s immune system

    Healthy canaries ramp up their immune systems when exposed to visibly sick birds, without actually being infected themselves.

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  12. Animals

    Newly recognized tricks help elephants suck up huge amounts of water

    New ultrasound imaging reveals what goes on inside a pachyderm’s trunk while feeding. It can snort water at the rate of 24 shower heads.

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