Animals
- Animals
How seahorses use their heads
A dwarf seahorse’s head may look funny, but its shape allows the creature to sneak up on fast-moving prey.
- Animals
Look ma — no stomach
Many animals can digest their meals without an acid-producing stomach. And research now shows they jettisoned those stomachs a long, long time ago.
- Life
Caught in the act
Scientists observe some evolutionary speed demons as they adapt over the course of just a few years to new environmental conditions.
- Animals
Mimicking mussels’ muscle
People who seek to get a grip on something — especially in wet environments — might want to take a lesson from some common shellfish. Among those who might benefit most: surgeons.
- Animals
Koalas’ very deep voice
Serenading males can sing some surprisingly low notes, and scientists have just uncovered how they do it.
- Animals
Ants on guard
Tiny insects can take on big critters — from fly larvae to giraffes — in defense of their home, sweet home. And that home pays them back for this help.
- Animals
True vampires
Forget Count Dracula or Twilight’s Edward and Bella. Many creatures have a true thirst for blood, and here’s why.
- Animals
Vampires’ gift of ‘blood honey’
A Maryland biologist probes the unusual dining behaviors of a blood-thirsty bat.
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- Animals
Alien carp leap onto the scene
Last summer, Alison Coulter got a big surprise as she piloted a boat along the Wabash River in Indiana. Startled by her boat’s motor, a 60-centimeter (24-inch) carp leaped out of the river. In some cases, jumping Asian carp have broken a boater’s nose, jaw or arm.
- Animals
Mud worth more than gold
Reed Scherer and Ross Powell have studied mud from all over the world. It is different in each place. Mud from the Sulu Sea near Borneo is as smooth as cream cheese. Mud from Chesapeake Bay, in the mid-Atlantic United States, clings to your skin like peanut butter.
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