Animals

  1. Animals

    One mountain in Brazil is home to a surprising number of these parasitic wasps

    Darwin wasps were thought to prefer temperate areas. But researchers scoured a mountain in the Brazilian tropics and found nearly a hundred species.

    By
  2. Life

    Some picky Australian mosquitoes may target frog nostrils for blood

    The insects seem to sip from nowhere else on frogs’ bodies. Thinner skin or denser blood vessels near the nostrils might explain why.

    By
  3. Animals

    These bats are the only mammals known to mate more like birds

    Male serotine bats have penises too large for penetration. To mate, the animals rub their genitals against each other, somewhat like birds’ cloacal kiss.

    By
  4. Animals

    The first embryos from a mammal have now been grown in space

    Mouse embryos in space can develop into clusters of cells called blastocysts. The result is a step toward understanding how human embryos will fare.

    By
  5. Life

    Crabs left the sea not once, but several times, in their evolution

    A new study is the most comprehensive analysis yet of the evolution of “true crabs.”

    By
  6. Life

    Bonobos, like humans, cooperate with unrelated members of other groups

    Cooperation between unrelated individuals in different groups without clear and immediate benefit was thought to be uniquely human. Its presence in bonobos may help explain its evolution.

    By
  7. Animals

    How hummingbirds fly through spaces too narrow for their wings

    Using high-speed cameras, a new study reveals Anna’s hummingbirds turn sideways to shimmy through gaps half as wide as their wingspan.

    By
  8. Life

    Head lice hitched a ride on humans to the Americas at least twice

    The genes of head lice record the story of their human hosts’ global voyages.

    By
  9. Animals

    The mysterious deaths of dozens of Zimbabwe’s elephants has been solved

    A bacterium never before identified in elephants or implicated in deadly internal hemorrhaging killed Zimbabwe elephants in 2020, genetic tests show.

    By
  10. Animals

    Here’s how high-speed diving kingfishers may avoid concussions

    Understanding the genetic adaptations that protect the birds’ brains when they dive for food might one day offer clues to protecting human brains.

    By
  11. Animals

    Fake fog, ‘re-skinning’ and ‘sea-weeding’ could help coral reefs survive

    Coral reefs are in global peril, but scientists around the world are working hard to find ways to help them survive the Anthropocene.

    By
  12. Animals

    At the foot of a melting glacier in Peru, llamas helped revitalize the land

    A partnership between scientists and farmers suggests how llama herding can mitigate some of the impacts of climate change.

    By