Life
- Animals
Bones show ancient marine reptile was a big baby
A new study of a rare baby plesiosaur reveals that these marine reptiles were huge at birth, then continued to grow speedily.
- Animals
Bee parasite is more werewolf than vampire
Inventing fake bee larvae prompts scientists to rethink how a mite — ominously named Varroa destructor — does its damage.
- Animals
Ocean acidification may ground swimming skates
Fish might seem immune to acidic waters, but check their skeletons. They can be vulnerable and eventually alter how fish behave.
- Animals
Is ocean acidification knocking the scents out of salmon?
In more acidic water, salmon don’t seem to recognize the smell of danger. Will their populations take a nosedive as carbon-dioxide levels rise?
- Animals
Animal graveyard found in deeply buried Antarctic lake
Mud from Antarctica’s Lake Mercer surprised scientists with what appeared to be the carcasses of tiny animals. A neighboring lake had only microbes.
- Animals
A Bolivian frog species returns from the dead
A Bolivian frog was missing in the wild for 10 years. Scientists feared chytrid fungus had driven the frog extinct. Then they found 5 survivors.
- Animals
Some male hummingbirds wield their bills as weapons
The shape of some hummingbird bills may reflect a trade-off between drinking nectar and fighting off the competition.
- Fossils
This robot shows how an ancient creature might have walked
Scientists used fossils, footprints, a computer models and a life-sized walking robot to find out how an ancient creature moved.
- Chemistry
This houseplant can clean indoor air
Houseplants may be able to help clean up polluted indoor air. Scientists gave this one a boost by givng it a gene from a rabbit.
- Ecosystems
Scientists Say: Niche
An organism’s niche is the role it fills in the community it lives in.
- Genetics
Explainer: What are genes?
Genes are DNA regions that tell cells how to build proteins. But we have many more proteins than genes. And much of our DNA controls when genes turn on and off.
- Ecosystems
Rare-plant hunters race against time to save at-risk species
One in five plants is at risk of extinction. Meet the rare plant hunters who rappel down cliffs and trek through forests to save them.
