Animals
- 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.
- Animals
Score! Bumblebees see how to sink ball in goal, then do it better
A first lesson in six-legged soccer tests bumblebees’ ability to learn.
- Animals
Too many stinkbugs spoil the wine
Stinkbugs can ruin wine if enough are accidentally processed alive with the grapes. Three or fewer stinkbugs per grape cluster don’t have a noticeable effect on red wine.
- Life
Howler monkeys may owe their color vision to leaf hue
Better color vision gives howler monkeys an edge at finding food.
- Anthropology
Low-status chimps revealed as trendsetters
Outranked chimpanzees trigger spread of useful new behaviors among their comrades.
- Animals
Coconut crab pinches like a lion, eats like a dumpster diver
Coconut crabs use their surprisingly powerful claw for more than cracking coconuts.
