Microbes
Fuzzy microbes may fuel cows’ methane burps
Production of this potent greenhouse gas is triggered by a newfound feature of these microbes — one with a funny name: hydrogenobody.
Animals
More Stories in Animals
- Animals
Mosquitoes may learn to like DEET, a common insect repellent
In lab tests, mosquitoes exposed to DEET while feeding learned to associate the chemical with food.
- Animals
This tree is the number one choice for forest mammals going number two
The strangler fig provides food and shelter for animals in the tropics. For at least 17 mammal species, it also serves as a toilet.
- Animals
The dawn of animal evolution saw a bizarre array of sea creatures
Newfound fossils turned up a strange zoo of often-complex creatures, including some suggesting that evolution of left-right symmetry occurred earlier than once though.
- Animals
Meet Bruce, the disabled kea parrot who is the boss of his flock
With half a beak, Bruce has developed a unique fighting style that has won him top status in his flock, videos and documented interactions reveal.
- Animals
Like living mood rings, these bees change color when it turns humid
Humidity makes North American sweat bees change color. This trait could be widespread among shiny insects, some biologists now suspect.
- Oceans
Explainer: What are corals?
Though they can look like rocks or plants, corals are animals. Most are made up of colonies of individuals called polyps.
- Animals
Watch the first sperm whale birth caught on video by scientists
The footage shows other sperm whales huddled around the mother, helping lift the newborn calf to the surface until it’s ready to swim.
- Animals
Physics explains how snakes climb and stand without limbs
Tree snakes can raise their body into the air without falling over. They keep their balance by bending their bodies close to their base.
- Animals
Emperor penguins are on the march — toward extinction
Along with Antarctic fur seals, these iconic birds, the largest of all penguins, are now endangered by their continent’s warming.
