Animals

Animals

Glowing octocorals have been around for at least 540 million years

Genetic and fossil analyses shine a light on how long the invertebrates have had bioluminescence — a trait thought to be volatile.

Ecosystems

A new road map shows how to prevent pandemics

Past viral spillover events underscore the importance of protecting wildlife habitats.

Animals

Hibernating bumblebee queens have a superpower: Surviving for days underwater

After some bumblebee queens were accidentally submerged in water and survived, researchers found them to be surprisingly tolerant of flooding.

Animals

This newfound longhorn beetle species is unusually fluffy

Discovered in Australia, the beetle is covered in whitish hairs and has distinctive eye lobes, antennae and leg shapes.

Animals

50 years ago, scientists wondered how birds find their way home

In the 1970s, lab tests hinted that birds can navigate using magnetic fields. New studies suggest that beak and eye proteins are behind the ability.

Animals

In a first, these crab spiders appear to collaborate, creating camouflage

Scientists found a pair of mating crab spiders blending in with a flower. The report may be the first known case of cooperative camouflage in spiders.

Ecosystems

Flowers may be big antennas for bees’ electrical signals

The finding suggests a way for plants to share information about nearby pollinators and communicate when to trigger nectar production.

Animals

Eavesdropping on fish could help us keep better tabs on underwater worlds

Scientists are on a quest to log all the sounds of fish communication. The result could lead to better monitoring of ecosystems and fish behavior.

Genetics

Here’s why some pigeons do backflips

Meet the scientist homing in on the genes involved in making parlor roller pigeons do backward somersaults.

Neuroscience

Chickadees use memory ‘bar codes’ to find their hidden food stashes

Unique subsets of neurons in a chickadee’s memory center light up for each distinct cache, hinting at how episodic memories are encoded in the brain.

Neuroscience

Here’s how magnetic fields shape desert ants’ brains

Exposure to a tweaked magnetic field scrambled desert ants’ efforts to learn where home is — and affected neuron connections in a key part of the brain.

Animals

By fluttering its wings, this bird uses body language to tell its mate ‘after you’

New observations suggest that Japanese tits gesture to communicate complex messages — a rare ability in the animal kingdom and a first seen in birds.