Animals

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.

Animals

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.

Animals

Pumpkin toadlets can’t hear themselves talk

Tiny orange frogs make soft chirping sounds in the forests of Brazil. Their ears, however, cannot hear them, a new study finds.

Animals

Scientists Say: Vampire

Human vampires are found only in fiction. But vampire bats and moths are the real thing. These animals love the taste of blood, and some can’t live without it.

Animals

Sucking blood isn’t an easy life, even for vampires

Real vampires include bats, insects and even birds. And they’ve had to develop novel ways of dealing with a diet of blood.