Three years ago, dozens of African elephants mysteriously died in Zimbabwe. Now scientists have confirmed their killer: a rare and little-known bacterium that can cause organ inflammation leading to deadly…
Category: Animals
Here’s how high-speed diving kingfishers may avoid concussions
Genetic tweaks in kingfishers might help cushion the blow when the diving birds plunge beak first into the water to catch fish. Analysis of the genetic instruction book of some…
Fake fog, ‘re-skinning’ and ‘sea-weeding’ could help coral reefs survive
Erinn Muller should have reason to despair. The marine biologist studies coral health in Florida, a state whose reefs have been devastated by extreme heat, increasingly ferocious hurricanes and deadly…
At the foot of a melting glacier in Peru, llamas helped revitalize the land
When glaciers melt, they leave behind barren landscapes that can take decades to support plants and animals. But a new study found that within just three years, such exposed land…
Pumping cold water into rivers could act as ‘air conditioning’ for fish
PITTSBURGH — Salmon may now have their own version of human air conditioning. This past summer, hundreds of fish in the Wrights River in Nova Scotia, Canada, found reprieve…
These 8 GMOs tell a brief history of genetic modification
Half a century ago, the first genetically modified organism ushered in a new era of biological innovation. To mark this anniversary, here are eight milestone GMOs. Many have had, or…
How sea anemones living on deep-sea hydrothermal vents avoid metal poisoning
Life near deep-sea hydrothermal vents can be pretty metal — literally. In addition to crushing pressures, total darkness and scorching temperatures, poisonous plumes belch from beneath the Earth’s surface. Exhaust…
10 billion snow crabs have disappeared off the Alaskan coast. Here’s why
From 2018 to 2021, an estimated 10 billion snow crabs disappeared from the eastern Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska, with the population plummeting to record lows in 2021.…
Scientists debunked a long-standing cicada myth by analyzing their guts
There are at least three certainties in life: death, taxes and the periodic emergence of millions of cicadas. But one big cicada uncertainty has finally been put to rest —…
In a first, genetically modified silkworms produced pure spider silk
Spider silk is prized for its unrivaled strength and toughness. But figuring out a way to mass-produce it is no easy feat. Spiders cannot be put to work to pump…
