Life

Animals

Analyze This: Ropes restore a gibbon highway through a rainforest

When endangered Hainan gibbons started making risky leaps across an area mowed down by a landslide, researchers provided them a rope bridge.

Animals

Attack of the inner-cannibal mega-shark

The outsized megalodon was a fierce terror that chewed its way across the oceans. It learned to kill even before it was born.

Environment

Jumping ‘snake worms’ are invading U.S. forests

These bad-news invaders are spreading across the United States. As they turn forest debris into bare ground, soils and ecosystems are changing.

Microbes

Scientists Say: Nucleus

Nucleus comes from the Latin term “nuc,” meaning nut or kernel. In science there are lots of nuclei. Every one of them is the center of something.

Health & Medicine

When physicians and veterinarians team up, all species benefit

When doctors for people and those for animals share their expertise, they can discover new ways to take better medical care of all species.

Animals

A whale’s nearly four-hour-long dive sets a new record

Cuvier’s beaked whales may rely on large stores of oxygen, a slow metabolism and the ability to tolerate lactic acid to go for hours without surfacing for air.

Environment

Polluting microplastics harm both animals and ecosystems

Researchers are beginning to uncover the real-world impacts of polluting microplastic bits on animals and the ecosystems they inhabit.

Health & Medicine

Many student athletes face risk of concussions that heal slowly

High school girls and those with a history of concussions appear to take longest to recover.

Animals

Learning what stresses queen bees could save their hives

Beehives often die off after the queen gets too stressed to make enough babies. New tests could identify what stressed her — and point to solutions.

Animals

Here’s what bats ‘see’ when they explore the world with sound

High-speed cameras, fancy microphones and slick software are helping scientists get the best look yet at what bats perceive through echolocation.

Plants

Here’s how giant pumpkins get so big

Cinderella took a ride in a pumpkin coach. Though real pumpkins do get big enough, here’s why their ride would be uncomfortable at best.

Plants

Explainer: How photosynthesis works

Plants can take in light, water and carbon dioxide, and send out sugar and oxygen. Here’s how it works.