Life
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Animals
Elephant Voices
Elephants are highly social animals and have a well-developed method of communicating with each other. For nearly 30 years, scientists at a national park in Kenya have been studying elephants and their behavior. The researchers have found that these intelligent beasts use more than 70 kinds of vocal sounds and 160 different visual and tactile […]
By Science News -
Animals
Poison Source: Toxic birds may get chemical from beetle
When some poisonous New Guinea birds eat certain tiny beetles, they may be stocking up on the toxic substance they use to defend themselves.
By Susan Milius -
Paleontology
Irish elk survived after ice age ended
New fossil finds indicate that the so-called Irish elk, previously thought to have died out at the end of the last ice age, survived in some spots for several millennia more.
By Sid Perkins -
Animals
Hide and See
A new look at fish on coral reefs considers the possibility that all that riotous color has its inconspicuous side.
By Susan Milius -
Animals
Dangerous Times: Guppies don’t follow rules for old age
A study of wild guppies suggests that life in a dangerous place does not automatically push evolution toward rapid aging as previously thought.
By Susan Milius -
Animals
Familiar face calms stressed-out sheep
The sight of the face of a familiar sheep seems to reduce stress in troubled sheep.
By Susan Milius -
Animals
When bluebirds fight, bet on the bluest
The male bluebirds with the bluest (and most ultraviolet) plumage turned out to be the toughest competitors in a study of who won the rights to prime nest boxes.
By Susan Milius -
Paleontology
Fossil birds sport a new kind of feather
Two fossil specimens of a primitive, starling-size bird that lived about 125 million years ago have tail feathers that may hold the clues to how feathers originated.
By Sid Perkins -
Paleontology
Early Bird: Fossil features hint at go-get-’em hatchlings
A well-preserved, 121-million-year-old fossilized bird embryo has several features that suggest that the species' young could move about and feed themselves very soon after they hatched.
By Sid Perkins -
Plants
Green Red-Alert: Plant fights invaders with animal-like trick
Mustard plants' immune systems can react to traces of bacteria with a burst of nitric oxide, much as an animal's immune system does.
By Susan Milius -
Animals
Will Mr. Bowerbird Fall for a Robot?
Push a button and she turns her head. But can she turn his?
By Susan Milius -
Ecosystems
Fly may be depleting U.S. giant silk moths
A parasitic fly introduced to fight gypsy moths starting in 1906 may be an overlooked factor in the declines of giant silk moths.
By Susan Milius