Animals
- Ecosystems
A king snake’s strength is in its squeeze
King snakes feast on other, larger snakes, perhaps thanks to superior constricting abilities, new research suggests.
- Animals
Detachable scales turn this gecko into an escape artist
A new species of gecko evades predators by shedding its scaly armor.
- Animals
How one enslaving wasp eats through another
A wasp that forces oaks to grow a gall gets tricked into digging an escape tunnel for its killers.
- Animals
Tropical bedbugs outclimb common bedbugs
A study of bedbug traps and feet names finds that tropical bedbugs are much better at scaling slippery walls than common bedbugs.
- Animals
Tropical bedbugs outclimb common species
A study of bedbug traps and feet names finds that tropical bedbugs are much better at scaling slippery walls than common bedbugs.
- Neuroscience
Scratching is catching in mice
Contagious itching spreads by sight mouse-to-mouse, and scientists have identified brain structures behind the phenomenon.
- Animals
De-extinction probably isn’t worth it
Diverting money to resurrecting extinct creatures could put those still on Earth at risk.
- Animals
Readers dispute starfishes’ water-swirling abilities
Volcanic eruptions, fast-freezing water, starfish physics and more in reader feedback.
- Paleontology
Identity of ‘Tully monster’ still a mystery
Paleontologists challenge whether the Tully monster actually was a vertebrate because it lacks key vertebrate structures.
- Anthropology
‘Monkeytalk’ invites readers into the complex social world of monkeys
In Monkeytalk, a primatologist evaluates what’s known about monkeys’ complex social lives in the wild.
- Animals
Wild elephants clock shortest shut-eye recorded for mammals
Among mammals, wild elephants may need the least amount of sleep, new measurements suggest.
- Environment
Most fish turned into fishmeal are species that we could be eating
Millions of tons of food-grade fish are turned into fishmeal for aquaculture and agriculture.
