It’s not looking good for the saola. If it still exists, it is one of the world’s rarest large mammals — a deerlike creature from the mountainous rainforests of Vietnam…
Category: Animals
Bedbugs may have been one of the first urban pests
The earliest cities may have had plenty of parasitic, six-legged tenants. Common bedbugs (Cimex lectularius) experienced a dramatic jump in population size around the time humans congregated in the first…
The first cicada concert was 47 million years ago
The oldest known fossil of a singing cicada reveals that these insects were making music during the Eocene epoch — long before humans existed. The fossil represents a new cicada…
Penguin poop gives Antarctic cloud formation a boost
Penguins’ poop may be making Antarctica cloudier — and helping mitigate the regional impacts of climate change. Gases emitted from the birds’ guano are supplying key chemical ingredients to form…
Juvenile capuchins are kidnapping infants of another monkey species
There’s a serious case of stranger danger unfolding on an island off the coast of Panama. A gang of five juvenile capuchin monkeys living on Jicarón Island has started abducting…
A ‘talking’ ape’s death signals the end of an era
Kanzi showed apes have the capacity for language, but in recent years scientists have questioned the ethics of ape experiments.
Some science seems silly, but it’s still worthwhile
The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating FrogCarly Anne YorkBasic Books, $30 What’s the purpose of your study? It’s the question many basic-science researchers dread. And it’s the question that Carly…
What gene makes orange cats orange? Scientists figured it out
Researchers found the gene and genetic variation behind orange fur in most domestic cats, solving a decades-long mystery.
This exquisite Archaeopteryx fossil reveals how flight took off in birds
An exceptionally preserved specimen of the ancient bird Archaeopteryx offers the most detailed window yet into the evolution of flight, researchers report online May 14 in Nature. The remarkable preservation…
Wild chimpanzees give first aid to each other
For wounded chimpanzees, help sometimes comes in the form of first aid — care rendered not by humans but by other chimps. New research reveals the nature and prevalence of…
