Animals

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.

Animals

Animals can feel joy. Here’s how scientists might study it

Research has long focused on understanding negative emotions like fear in animals. Now they’re trying to measure positive feelings like joy. It’s a challenge.

Animals

Analyze This: How many insects are in the air?

Weather data have helped estimate the density of flying insects in U.S. skies. That could help track climate change’s impact on insects.

Animals

This tool-using cow stunned scientists with her smarts

Veronika the cow scratches hard-to-reach body parts using a brush. This feat is forcing scientists to rethink which animals can use tools.

Animals

Flat-faced dogs often struggle to breathe easy

Pugs and bulldogs aren’t the only dogs with breathing problems. Pekingese, Japanese chins and other squish-faced breeds have this issue, too.

Tech

Backyard leafhoppers inspire next-generation cloaking tech

Engineers are borrowing this insect’s trick, an "invisibility cloak" of anti-reflective spheres. It could lead to new clean energy tech or military gear.

Environment

Human-built ‘beaver’ dams help save struggling streams

To help restore streams, ecologists and other scientists are taking tips from the rodents — and hoping some beavers also join in.

Animals

Let’s learn about the platypus

Every new discovery about platypuses reveals them to be even odder than we thought.

Animals

Wind won’t keep hungry yellow jackets away from your picnic

Hungry yellow jackets are really good at tracking attractive odors. Even in windy and difficult conditions, they can find your barbecue.