Animals

Animals

This frog is the world’s smallest known vertebrate

Neither fleas nor toads, Brazilian flea toads are almost flea-sized. These mini frogs are small enough to fit on a pinkie fingernail.

Animals

At last: How poison dart frogs ship defense toxins to their skin

A liver protein appears to help the amphibians collect and move toxins from their food to their skin. Those toxins can defend the frogs from predators.

Animals

Experiment: Are we there yet? Test how migratory birds navigate

In this experiment, use real data to figure out how migratory birds navigate from their breeding grounds to their wintering grounds.

Health & Medicine

Family, friends and community inspired these high school scientists

When looking for research ideas, listen to the people around you. What problems are they facing? What could you do to help?

Animals

Scientists still aren’t always sure why dogs wag their tails

Your dog is wagging its tail. That must mean it’s happy, right? Maybe not. Scientists know less about what’s behind this behavior than you might think.

Animals

Here’s why thousands of octopuses gather at the ‘Octopus Garden’

Underwater cameras and other instruments investigated why so many pearl octopuses gather here to mate and nest.

Animals

Pollen-seeking honeybees sometimes turn to theft

Observations of honeybee pollen theft from bumblebees suggest it may be a crime of convenience, based on ease of access to the prized food.

Animals

Cats play fetch — but only when they feel like it 

Most cats that play fetch pick up the behavior on their own, a study finds. And those felines tend to dictate when fetching sessions begin and end.

Animals

Which way is up? Insects may lose track near artificial lights

Flying insects may use light to figure out where the sky is. But artificial lights can send them veering off course, high-speed video suggests.

Animals

Reindeer can chew food in their sleep

Brain waves and behaviors suggest that reindeer can doze while chewing.

Animals

Spiders that fall into water use reflected light to find land

When elongate stilt spiders fall into water, they head for areas that don’t reflect light, studies show. This cue appears to signal dry land.

Ecosystems

A weird upside-down world lurks beneath Antarctica’s ice

A vast swath of ocean surrounds Antarctica, hidden under the ice. Here, strange creatures burrow into the dark underbelly of a floating glacier.