Ancient squirrel poo doesn’t stink. At least not at first. But that changes when you begin to break down the pellets. Melting them made it clear that they were not…
Category: Animals
These birds clack their wing bones together to woo mates at night
A series of sharp cracks splits the nighttime air in a forest in the Andean foothills. But this isn’t the sound of boots snapping twigs underfoot. It’s a bird. Male…
Honeybees and shrimp are now getting vaccinated
A shrimp vaccine for commercial use could protect the environment and prove vaccines aren’t just for vertebrates.
This tiny, blue octopus is new to science
Nearly 1,800 meters beneath the surface of the Pacific, a remotely operated submersible was creeping along the slope of a Galápagos seamount when its camera caught a tiny, dark blue…
Bumblebees can solve problems on their own
Bumblebees faced with a challenge know how to play ball. Buff-tailed bumblebees can figure out on their own how to use a ball as a ladder to nab sugar from…
A secret to making a queen bee may lie in the wax around it
A queen bee may be shaped by more than its famous royal diet. The wax of the peanut-shaped chamber where the queen develops has distinct physical and chemical properties that…
Homing pigeons may use a surprising navigation mechanism
Click here for our video on what happens when scientists release homing pigeons with disabled magnetic immune cells. Homing pigeons don’t rely on gut instinct to return to the roost.…
Even careful scuba divers can damage coral reefs
Scuba divers may be beating up coral reefs more than they think. Video analyses of divers show that more than 80 percent of damaging physical contact with the reef is…
Seabirds weren’t fooled by a scarecrow-like buoy with rotating eyes
A buoy with googly eyes was supposed to scare seabirds away from Danish fishing nets. The buoy, named Bobby, sported wind-spun eyes that loomed over the birds as a predator…
AI-powered whale-spotting tech may help save San Francisco Bay’s gray whales
An AI-powered monitoring system could save the lives of gray whales that are increasingly taking a deadly detour into California’s heavily trafficked San Francisco Bay. The new technology combines round-the-clock…
