Life
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AnimalsSome spikes in malaria cases may be tied to amphibian die-offs
Amphibian deaths from a fungal disease may have led to more mosquitoes — and an increase in malaria cases in Costa Rica and Panama.
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Health & MedicineHow wriggling, blood-eating parasitic worms alter the body
Parasitic worms eat blood and make people sick, but they may also help prevent or treat some diseases.
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AnimalsHow to turn your hobby into a seriously cool science project
This year’s Broadcom MASTERS finalists were inspired by their love of painting, horseback riding and other pastimes.
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FossilsDinosaur ‘mummies’ may not be as rare as once thought
Bite marks found on a fossilized dino show that skin can be preserved even when a carcass is not immediately smothered by sediment.
By Jake Buehler -
AnimalsLet’s learn about parasites that create zombies
Some parasites turn their victims into mindless puppets that do the parasites’ bidding, even at the cost of their own lives.
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AnimalsAnalyze This: Octopuses may use favorite arms for grabbing meals
Understanding how octopuses control all their arms could provide clues for engineers building soft robots.
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LifeScientists Say: Fruit
Some foods usually called vegetables — such as tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers — are actually fruits.
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AnimalsSea creatures’ fishy scent protects them from deep-sea high pressures
TMAO’s water-wrangling ability protects a critter’s critical proteins — including muscle — from crushing under deep ocean pressures.
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AnimalsThis acrobatic spider flips for its food — literally
An acrobatic hunting trick lets the Australian ant-slayer spider catch prey twice its size, a new study shows.
By Freda Kreier -
LifeLet’s learn about modern Frankensteins
Modern scientists are creating strange new combinations of living tissue and trying to give dead things new life.
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AnimalsAward-winning photo captures ‘zombie’ fungus erupting from a fly
The winner of the 2022 BMC Ecology and Evolution photo competition captures the cycle of life and death in the Amazon rainforest in Peru.
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GeneticsFor some kids, their rock-star hair comes naturally
A variant of a gene involved in hair-shaft formation was linked to most of the uncombable-hair-syndrome cases analyzed in a recent study.
By Meghan Rosen