Animals
- Animals
To clear loops, Sonic the Hedgehog must hit the right speed
Most animals don’t run through loops. Sonic would need the physics behind roller coasters and race cars to clear one.
- Animals
Giant rat border agents could help put a stop to wildlife poaching
African giant pouched rats have been trained to ferret out elephant ivory, pangolin scales and more. They could be put to work preventing smuggling.
- Animals
To keep their pools clean, some tadpoles don’t poop for weeks
Eiffinger’s tree frog tadpoles store their solid waste in an intestinal pouch. This releases less toxic ammonia into their watery cribs.
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- Animals
This spider traps flashy fireflies as bait to catch related prey
When stuck in an orb weaver spider’s web, male fireflies start to blink more like female fireflies — luring in more males.
- Animals
Werewolves could learn from other critters when to hunt
Werewolves aren’t the only creatures that undergo transformation under the full moon. But could weak werewolves be at risk of becoming prey?
- Animals
How to make ‘worms’ more nutritious — and easier to swallow
Extracting protein from insect larvae could lead to a healthful food ingredient — and you never have to bite into crunchy legs or squishy bodies.
- Animals
Let’s learn about animal cannibals
The animal kingdom is full of creatures that eat their parents, their babies, their siblings or their mates.
- Animals
Magic helped this researcher trick birds for research
At the National University of Singapore, Elias Garcia-Pelegrin looks at how magic can help us understand animal intelligence.
- Animals
Weird? These bat toes can glow greenish-blue
Hairy bristles on the toes of Mexican free-tailed bats fluoresce under UV light. The reason is a mystery.
- Oceans
Underwater mountains in the Pacific Ocean may be home to 20 new species
A recent expedition to undersea mountain ranges off the coast of Chile revealed a new seamount and a rich world of deep-sea biodiversity.
- Animals
In 2024, bird flu posed big risks — and to far more than birds
Cows, elephant seals and polar bears are among unexpected bird flu casualties. Learn about potential risks to them, to people and to our food supplies.
