Animals
- Animals
These Arctic squirrels recycle bits of their own bodies to survive winter
Arctic squirrels not only slow their metabolism while hibernating, but also harvest crucial substances from their muscles.
- Animals
Small, quiet crickets turn leaves into megaphones to blare their mating call
A carefully crafted leaf can double the volume of a male tree cricket’s song, helping it compete with larger, louder males for females.
- Animals
Plastic waste forms huge, deadly masses in camel guts
Eating plastic isn’t just a sea animal problem. Researchers found suitcase-sized masses of plastic in dromedaries’ guts in the United Arab Emirates.
- Animals
Using comb-shaped teeth, Baikal seals feed on tiny crustaceans like whales do
Seals in Lake Baikal use comb-shaped teeth to catch scores of amphipods, a study finds. The diet may be behind the seals’ relative success.
- Animals
A highly contagious face cancer may not wipe out Tasmanian devils after all
Devil facial tumor disease has killed so many Tasmanian devils that it was feared they would die out. But a new analysis finds its spread is slowing.
- Animals
Giant pandas may roll in horse poop to feel warm
By coating themselves in fresh horse manure, wild giant pandas may be seeking a chemical in the poop that inhibits a cold-sensing protein.
- Animals
Mineral body armor helps some leaf-cutting ants win fights with bigger kin
Researchers have found that at least one species of leaf-cutting ant has a tough layer of calcite on its exoskeleton.
- Animals
A face mask may turn up a male wrinkle-faced bat’s sex appeal
The first-ever scientific observations of a wrinkle-faced bat’s courtship shows that, when flirting, the males raise their white furry face coverings.
- Animals
On a cool night in Malaysia, scientists track mysterious colugos across the treetops
Our reporter tags along for nighttime observations of these elusive gliding mammals.
- Earth
50 years ago, scientists named Earth’s magnetic field as a suspect in extinctions
In 1970, researchers saw a link between magnetic pole reversals and extinctions. Fifty years later, scientists have uncovered more suggestive examples but no strong evidence of a direct link.lamb
- Life
Monarch caterpillars head-butt each other to fight for scarce food
Video experiments show that monarch caterpillars turn aggressive when there’s not enough milkweed to go around.
- Animals
Guttural toads shrank by a third after just 100 years on two islands
Introduced in the 1920s, toads on two islands in the Indian Ocean have shrunken limbs and bodies that may be evidence that "island dwarfism" can evolve quickly.
