Animals
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AnimalsVenus flytraps tend not to eat their pollinators
A first-ever study of what pollinates a Venus flytrap finds little overlap between the critters that serve as pollinators and those that are prey.
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AnimalsScientists Say: Ectoparasite
Many people think of parasites as organisms that live inside their hosts. But some of them can be found on the outside instead.
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AnimalsYuck! Bedbug poop leaves lingering health risks
Chemical residues left by bedbugs can persist, even when the pests have been eradicated. This may explain lingering allergic symptoms in cleaned up homes, a new study concludes.
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AnimalsFish get pooped living in polluted water
Living in polluted water can tire fish out, a new study finds. This can make it harder for them to find food and avoid being eaten, themselves, by predators.
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AnimalsScientists Say: Zooplankton
These plankton are tiny, but don’t let that fool you. They are predators, too.
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AnimalsWoodpecker brains host protein linked with human brain damage
Woodpeckers peck with a force great enough to give people concussions. Now a study shows that birds, too, may suffer some brain damage.
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AnimalsRising carbon dioxide could leave tiny lake dwellers defenseless
Rising carbon dioxide in freshwater lakes may change how predators and prey interact.
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AnimalsBlooms on ‘chocolate’ tree are crazy-hard to pollinate
The cacao trees must be pollinated or those seeds that give us chocolate will never form. The rub: The trees’ flowers challenge all but some of the tiniest pollen-moving insects.
By Susan Milius -
AnimalsBlowflies keep their cool with drool
Personal air conditioning the blowfly way: Dangle a droplet of saliva and then swallow it.
By Susan Milius -
AnimalsJackpot! Hundreds of fossilized pterosaur eggs unearthed in China
A trove of fossilized pterosaur eggs and embryos offer tantalizing clues to the winged reptiles’ early development.
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AnimalsDog wins tally of nerve cells in the outer wrinkles of the brain
Golden retrievers rate at the top for numbers of nerve cells, a study of some carnivores finds.
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AnimalsAnalyze This: Electric eels’ zaps are more powerful than a TASER
Shocking! A biologist reached his hand into a fish tank and let an electric eel zap him. It let him measure precisely how strong a current it could unleash to defend itself.