Animals
- Animals
Explainer: Male-female flexibility in animals
Some animals behave as if they were the opposite sex; others can even change their sex — and still produce offspring.
- Animals
Why seahorses have square tails
The unique shape of a seahorse tail provides strength, and it may also help the fish to grasp objects.
- Genetics
DNA in ivory pinpoints elephant poaching hot spots
Thousands of elephants have been killed for their ivory tusks. A new study used DNA in ivory to trace where most of the killings happen.
- Animals
More dinosaur bones yield traces of blood, soft tissue
More dinosaur bones are found to contain residues of blood and soft tissue. The discovery could help point to when dinosaurs turned into warm-blooded creatures.
- Animals
A whale of a journey
The 5,200-kilometer (3,200 mile) journey of Isabela provides a window into the migration patterns of blue whales.
- Animals
These spiders can purr
This wolf spider can purr like no other. It makes vibrations and sounds to tell a female he’s interested in her.
- Animals
This endangered species gives new meaning to ‘single mom’
Scientists have found DNA evidence that in the wild, sawfish have produced offspring without mating. That’s a first for an animal with a backbone.
- Animals
Biowarfare saves bats from killer fungus
Good news for bats. Those infected with white-nose syndrome may be cured by a brief exposure to fumes from therapeutic bacteria.
- Animals
Scientists Say: Autopsy and Necropsy
Sometimes when animals die, they need to be investigated. These examinations have two special names. One is for people, the other for non-human animals.
- Animals
This is no cold fish!
The opah is the fish closest to the whole-body warm-bloodedness typical of mammals and birds. This trait may give the species an edge in the ocean’s cold depths.
- Microbes
The bugs within us
Hordes of bacteria live inside people and other animals. This ‘microbiome’ can affect the development of the blood-brain barrier, food choices — even mating.
- Animals
Pesticides offer bees a risky allure
Honeybees and bumblebees sometimes cannot taste or avoid pesticides called neonicotinoids. And that may expose some of these important pollinators to harm.
