Animals

Animals

Dogs tune into people in ways even human-raised wolves don’t

Puppies outpace wolf pups at engaging with humans, even with less exposure to people, supporting the idea that domestication has wired dogs’ brains.

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.

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.

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.

Animals

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.