Animals

Animals

Freshwater fish are in trouble: Here’s how we can help them

Human activities threaten the survival of many freshwater fish species. Research is now pointing to how we can best overcome those threats.

Animals

Some iguanas may have rafted across the Pacific 30 million years ago

The iguanas' epic 8,000-kilometer trip — one-fifth of Earth’s circumference — may be the longest made by a flightless land vertebrate.

Fossils

Could Spinosaurus swim? That would make it a game changer

Spinosaurus fossils are challenging the longstanding claim that ancient dinosaurs were never fully aquatic. And some paleontologists still aren’t convinced.

Animals

Some fish have legs that can taste prey underfoot

Taste buds on those legs may explain why northern sea robins are so good at finding food that is buried in the sandy seafloor.

Animals

Scientists Say: Exoskeleton

This plate armor provides protection to insects, spiders and more. But that benefit comes with tradeoffs.

Animals

Can this ‘woolly mouse’ help bring back extinct mammoths?

Scientists created mice with woolly mammoth–like traits. But that doesn’t mean we’re close to bringing back woolly mammoths.

Animals

Dire wolves or not, these pups could help counter extinction

Some question if these are just gene-tweaked gray wolves. Still, the tech behind the new "dire wolves" might help some living at-risk species avoid extinction.

Materials Science

A beautiful blue butterfly wing offers a new way to study cancer

Once a morpho butterfly wing is placed atop a thin slice of tissue, shining polarized light through it can help reveal how likely breast cancer is to spread.

Animals

Analyze This: Why the fastest creatures are neither tiny or huge

The “Goldilocks zone” for fast animal speed seems to depend on a body not being too small or so big it gets in the way of its own strength.

Animals

Lab-grown mosquitoes could help protect Hawaii’s native birds

To curb the spread of avian malaria, a teen researcher found a way to make those mosquitoes grow faster and stronger.

Animals

Butts of these fly larvae mimic a termite’s face

Young blowflies found in Morocco look — and smell — like the termites they hide amongst. These tricks help the larvae survive amongst the killers.

Animals

Narwhals may use their enormous lance-like tusks to play

Video shows narwhals using their tusks to prod — even flip — fish they don’t target as prey. It’s the first reported evidence of these whales playing.