Animals
- Fossils
Jackpot! 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.
- Animals
Dog 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.
- Animals
Analyze 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.
- Animals
Escaping narwhals can freeze and flee at the same time
Narwhals’ heart rates plummet while diving quickly to get away from people. The combination may stress the whales as human activity increases in the Arctic.
- Animals
Humongous land crab dines on remote-island seabirds
A biologist has documented a coconut crab taking out a seabird as part of a study of the huge invertebrates living on an Indian Ocean archipelago.
- Animals
Alligators aren’t just freshwater animals
It’s time to change the textbooks. Alligators have been seen in salty waters snacking on sharks.
- Animals
Lasers can turn a spider’s silk into sculptures
Spider silk is strong and super-stretchy. Scientists have developed a way to sculpt that material into unusual, micro-scale shapes using lasers.
- Animals
Tiny T. rex arms were built for combat
The fearsome T. rex had more than a mouth full of killer teeth. Its relatively tiny arms also could have served in close combat as powerful slashers.
- Animals
How these poison frogs avoid poisoning themselves
Genetic changes protect poison dart frogs from a toxin, but those changes also cause ripple effects.
- Animals
Surprise! Some jellyfish appear to need their zzz’s
Some upside-down jellyfish are the first known creatures lacking a brain to enter a sleeplike state.
- Animals
Scientists Say: Luminescence
Light and heat don’t always have to go together! Luminescence is what occurs when a substance emits light without making heat.
- Plants
Earthworm invaders may be stressing out some maples
Worms are great for soil when ecosystems have evolved with them. But in earthworm-free places, like parts of the U.S. Upper Midwest, they can cause problems for plants and animals.
