Ecosystems
- Animals
Frigate birds fly nonstop for months
The great frigate bird can fly for up to two months without landing, thanks to a boost from wind and clouds.
- Oceans
Deep-sea hydrothermal vents more abundant than thought
Ecosystem-supporting hydrothermal vents are much more abundant along the ocean floor than previously thought.
- Plants
Scary tomato appears to bleed
A new species of Australian bush tomato bleeds when injured and turns bony in old age.
- Ecosystems
Ocean plankton held hostage by pirate viruses
The most abundant photosynthesizers on Earth stop storing carbon when they catch a virus.
- Genetics
Gene drives aren’t ready for the wild, report concludes
A type of genetic engineering called gene drives need more work, a National Academies report concludes.
- Environment
Deepwater Horizon oil spill caused months-long ‘dirty blizzard’
Pollution from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill accumulated on the seafloor for months after the leak was patched.
- Life
Studying cheese reveals how microbes interact
Microbiologist Rachel Dutton uses cheese rinds to study how microbes form communities.
- Ecosystems
Heat may outpace corals’ ability to cope
Corals may soon lose their ability to withstand warming waters.
- Animals
Pied flycatchers cruise nonstop for days to cross the Sahara
Teeny, tiny passerine birds called pied flycatchers fly day and night during their annual migration south across the Sahara.
- Animals
Ant antennae provide chemical ID
Ants use their antennae to identify nest-mates and potential invaders. But antennae also produce the key compounds that ants use to tell friend from foe.
- Animals
Ants’ antennae both send and receive chemical signals
Ants use their antennae to identify nest-mates and potential invaders. But antennae also produce the key compounds that ants use to tell friend from foe.
- Animals
Lethal bat disease moves west
For the first time, the bat-killing white-nose syndrome shows up west of the Rockies.
