Life

  1. Animals

    Big Mimics: African elephants can learn to copy sounds

    Two captive African elephants—one rumbling like a truck and the other chirping like a different elephant species—show they may be the first land mammals other than primates to learn vocal imitations.

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  2. Paleontology

    Old Softy: Tyrannosaurus fossil yields flexible tissue

    Scientists analyzing fragments of a Tyrannosaurus rex's leg bone have recovered soft, pliable material, including structures that apparently are cells and blood vessels.

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  3. Animals

    Ant larvae sway to say, ‘Feed me!’

    The most detailed study yet of body language of ant larvae translates a swaying motion as begging for food and a chance at a better future.

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  4. Animals

    Cops with Six Legs

    Insects commit crimes against their colonies, and researchers are taking a closer look at how these six-legged criminals get punished.

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  5. Animals

    Vampires Run: Bats on treadmills show high-speed gait

    The first test of vampire bats on a treadmill shows that they've evolved their own style of running.

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  6. Animals

    Picky-eater termites choose good vibes

    Good vibrations may have a lot to do with which pieces of wood a termite attacks.

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  7. Animals

    Shortcut to Big Heart: Pythons build cardiac muscle in record time

    A Burmese python can boost its cardiac fitness—by bulking up its heart muscle 40 percent in two days—just by eating.

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  8. Ecosystems

    Return of the Wetlands? Restoration possible for some Iraqi marshes

    Field studies conducted in Iraq last year suggest that some of the region's ecologically devastated marshes could be returned to health.

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  9. Animals

    The Old Crowd: Minke whales have long thrived in Antarctic seas

    Genetic studies of whale meat from Tokyo grocery stores appear to strengthen the case for protecting Antarctica's minke whales against renewed hunting.

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  10. Animals

    Hour of Babble: Young birds sing badly in the morning

    Young zebra finches do badly at song practice for the first few hours after they wake up but then recover, and even improve, their musical skills.

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  11. Animals

    Oops! Grab That Trunk: High-diving ants swing back toward their tree

    Certain tree-dwelling ants can direct their descent well enough to veer toward tree trunks and climb back home.

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  12. Paleontology

    Groovy Bones: Mammalian ear structure evolved more than once

    Fossils of an ancient egg-laying mammal indicate that the characteristic configuration of the bones in all living mammals' ears arose independently at least twice during the group's evolution.

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