Life

  1. Animals

    Analyze This: Birds may decorate nests to scare off rivals

    Birds that nest in holes face stiff competition for nest sites. Some use feathers, also found where predators have made a kill, to keep rivals away.

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  2. Chemistry

    Scientists Say: Cellulose

    Cellulose is an abundant natural polymer found in plants and algae. It’s used to make everything from paper to clothing.

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  3. Animals

    Orcas can take down the largest animal on the planet

    For the first time, scientists observed that orcas can kill blue whales by using the same hunting techniques that have worked on other large whales.

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  4. Life

    Explainer: What is an endangered species?

    Threats such as climate change and habitat loss can put species at risk of going extinct. Different words describe that risk.

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  5. Animals

    These flying robots protect endangered wildlife

    Flying drones make conservation work much easier. Around the world, drones and artificial intelligence help scientists study or protect endangered animals.

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  6. Ecosystems

    More than 9,000 tree species may be waiting to be discovered

    Scientists estimated how many tree species are on Earth, an important step for forest conservation and protecting biodiversity.

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  7. Animals

    Explainer: Cells and their parts

    Life as we know it depends on the coordination of structures inside cells — whether a living thing has only a single cell or trillions of them.

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  8. Animals

    La nutria soporta el frío, sin un cuerpo grande ni capa de grasa

    Al mamífero más pequeño del mar no le es fácil mantenerse caliente. Ahora, los científicos han descubierto cómo sus células responden al desafío.

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  9. Animals

    Dinos may have had the sniffles 150 million years ago

    A respiratory infection that spread to air sacs in the vertebrae of a sauropod dinosaur likely led to the dino's now-fossilized bone lesions.

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  10. Animals

    Newfound ‘bambootula’ spider lives inside bamboo stems

    A YouTuber discovered a new tarantula genus living in bamboo near his home in Thailand. It’s the only tarantula known to choose such a habitat.

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  11. Archaeology

    Our species may have reached Europe while Neandertals were there

    Archaeological finds from an ancient French rock-shelter show periodic settlements by both populations, just not at the same time.

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  12. Animals

    A new drug mix helps frogs regrow amputated legs

    The treatment helped frogs grow working limbs useful for swimming, standing and kicking. It’ll be a while before people can do that.

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