Life
- Animals
Bonobos, much like humans, show commitment to completing a joint task
Experiments with bonobos suggest that humans aren’t the only ones who can feel a sense of mutual responsibility toward other members of their species.
- Animals
A mink in Utah is the first known case of the coronavirus in a wild animal
A U.S. mink is so far the only known free-ranging animal to have contracted the coronavirus and likely got infected from a nearby mink farm.
- Animals
These Arctic squirrels recycle bits of their own bodies to survive winter
Arctic squirrels not only slow their metabolism while hibernating, but also harvest crucial substances from their muscles.
- Animals
Small, quiet crickets turn leaves into megaphones to blare their mating call
A carefully crafted leaf can double the volume of a male tree cricket’s song, helping it compete with larger, louder males for females.
- Animals
Plastic waste forms huge, deadly masses in camel guts
Eating plastic isn’t just a sea animal problem. Researchers found suitcase-sized masses of plastic in dromedaries’ guts in the United Arab Emirates.
- Life
A newfound feathered dinosaur sported fuzz and weird rods on its shoulders
A Brazilian dinosaur with stiffened pairs of ribbonlike feathers emerging from the shoulders is unlike any found before.
- Animals
Using comb-shaped teeth, Baikal seals feed on tiny crustaceans like whales do
Seals in Lake Baikal use comb-shaped teeth to catch scores of amphipods, a study finds. The diet may be behind the seals’ relative success.
- Animals
A highly contagious face cancer may not wipe out Tasmanian devils after all
Devil facial tumor disease has killed so many Tasmanian devils that it was feared they would die out. But a new analysis finds its spread is slowing.
- Health & Medicine
How some ticks protect themselves from deadly bacteria on human skin
A gene that ticks acquired from bacteria 40 million years ago may help the arachnids keep potential pathogens at bay while feeding on blood.
- Animals
Giant pandas may roll in horse poop to feel warm
By coating themselves in fresh horse manure, wild giant pandas may be seeking a chemical in the poop that inhibits a cold-sensing protein.
- Life
Dog ticks may get more of a taste for human blood as the climate changes
At high temperatures, some brown dog ticks that can carry the bacteria that causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever seem to prefer humans over dogs.
- Animals
Mineral body armor helps some leaf-cutting ants win fights with bigger kin
Researchers have found that at least one species of leaf-cutting ant has a tough layer of calcite on its exoskeleton.
