We’ve all heard that dogs are a man’s best friend, but our canine companions don’t make up the entirety of humankind’s friend circle. Humans have cooperated with wild animals throughout…
Author: ID
A newfound ‘croakless’ frog may communicate via touch
A newfound species of frog doesn’t ribbit. In fact, it doesn’t make any sound at all. Many frogs have unusual characteristics, from turning translucent to being clumsy jumpers (SN: 12/22/22;…
Vikings brought animals to England as early as the year 873
Vikings brought horses and dogs to the British Isles from Scandinavia, a new study suggests. A chemical analysis of bone fragments from a cemetery in England provides the first solid…
76 percent of well-known insects fall outside protected areas
The existing boundaries of national parks and other habitat preserves aren’t enough to protect more than three-quarters of the world’s well-studied insects. The finding, reported February 1 in One Earth,…
The deadly VEXAS syndrome is more common than doctors thought
A mysterious new disease may be to blame for severe, unexplained inflammation in older men. Now, researchers have their first good look at who the disease strikes, and how often.…
Prairie voles can find partners just fine without the ‘love hormone’ oxytocin
Prairie voles have long been heralded as models of monogamy. Now, a study suggests that the “love hormone” once thought essential for their bonding — oxytocin — might not be…
Mysterious marks on Ice Age cave art may have been a form of record keeping
As far back as roughly 25,000 years ago, Ice Age hunter-gatherers may have jotted down markings to communicate information about the behavior of their prey, a new study finds. These…
It’s possible to reach net-zero carbon emissions. Here’s how
Patricia Hidalgo-Gonzalez saw the future of energy on a broiling-hot day last September. An email alert hit her inbox from the San Diego Gas & Electric Company. “Extreme heat straining the…
Birds that dive may be at greater risk of extinction
Birds that dive underwater — such as penguins, loons and grebes — may be more likely to go extinct than their nondiving kin, a new study finds. Many water birds…
Fossils suggest early primates lived in a once-swampy Arctic
The Arctic today is a hostile place for most primates. But a series of fossils found since the 1970s suggest that wasn’t always the case. Dozens of fossilized teeth and…
