Animals

  1. Ecosystems

    Scientists Say: Predator and Prey

    Ecological relationships between predators and their prey drive the evolution of plants, animals and microbes.

    By Katie Grace Carpenter
  2. Animals

    Northern elephant seals snooze only two hours a day at sea

    These marine mammals sleep only minutes at a time on months-long trips at sea.

    By Maria Temming
  3. Animals

    Explainer: What is animal domestication?

    The difference between a dog and a wolf isn’t looks or genes or even behavior. It’s the relationship these animals have with people.

    By Bethany Brookshire
  4. Animals

    Scientists Say: Coral

    Over 4,000 species of fish make their home among the reefs created by these colony-dwelling marine animals.

    By Katie Grace Carpenter
  5. Fossils

    T. rex may have hidden its teeth behind lips

    Dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus have long been portrayed with their big teeth bared. But new research suggests this wasn’t so.

    By Jake Buehler
  6. Materials Science

    Analyze This: A new fabric mimics polar bears’ pelts for warmth

    With layers that work like polar bears’ skin and fur, a material absorbs light and keeps it from escaping.

    By Carolyn Wilke
  7. Fossils

    This ancient bird rocked a head like a T. rex

    This bird from 120 million years ago had a head like a dinosaur and a body more like today’s birds.

    By Aaron Tremper
  8. Fossils

    Ancient jellyfish? Upside down this one looks like something else

    A new look at an ancient sea animal called Essexella suggests it may have been a type of burrowing sea anemone, not a floating jelly.

    By Meghan Rosen
  9. Tech

    A device spots and counts honeybees hosting a dangerous parasite

    At Regeneron ISEF, three teens debuted an infrared system to detect honeybees carrying mites. It can show beekeepers when a colony needs to be treated.

    By McKenzie Prillaman
  10. Brain

    Scientists Say: Connectome

    A connectome is a diagram of the cellular highways that carry information in the brain.

    By McKenzie Prillaman
  11. Animals

    Rats can bop their heads to a musical beat

    Rats’ rhythmic response to human music doesn’t mean they like to dance. But it may shed light on how brains evolved to perceive rhythm.

    By Deborah Balthazar
  12. Ecosystems

    Scientists Say: Food web

    All the species in an ecosystem and the feeding relationships between them get summed up with this handy picture.

    By Katie Grace Carpenter