Animals
- Animals
Female guppies with bigger brains pick more attractive guys
A larger-brained female guppy may pick primo males, but all that mental machinery costs her in other ways.
- Paleontology
Anatomy analysis suggests new dinosaur family tree
A new analysis rewrites the dinosaur family tree, splitting up long-recognized groups.
- Animals
Colorful pinwheel puts a new spin on mouse pregnancy
Among the winners of the 2017 Wellcome Image Awards is a rainbow of mouse placentas that shows how a mother’s immune system affects placental development.
- Animals
Tool use in sea otters doesn’t run in the family
A genetic study suggests that tool-use behavior isn’t hereditary in sea otters, and that only some animals need to use tools due to the type of food available in their ecosystem.
- Animals
Shocking stories tell tale of London Zoo’s founding
In The Zoo, Isobel Charman pens a gripping narrative of the London Zoo’s early days, when workers had a hard time keeping animals alive.
- 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.
