As the only mammals that can fly, bats are the oddballs of the mammalian world. But serotine bats stand out for another, glaringly obvious reason — when erect, a male’s…
Category: Animals
The first embryos from a mammal have now been grown in space
Saima Iqbal is the fall 2023 science writing intern at Science News. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College, where she studied the history of medicine, conducted research on…
Crabs left the sea not once, but several times, in their evolution
Most terrestrial plants and animals left the ocean a single time in their evolutionary history to live ashore. But crabs have seemingly scuttled out of the sea more than a…
Bonobos, like humans, cooperate with unrelated members of other groups
Humans regularly cooperate and share resources with other, unrelated humans in different social groups, often without any immediate, reciprocated benefits. The phenomenon has been considered unique to our species. But…
How hummingbirds fly through spaces too narrow for their wings
Hummingbirds are natural acrobats, twisting their wings in ways that let them fly backward and upside down, unlike any other bird (SN: 1/13/16). New high-speed video now shows how, using…
Head lice hitched a ride on humans to the Americas at least twice
Lice have been bugging humans for as long as our species has been around, and the insects’ genes record the story of their hosts’ global voyages, a study finds. Lice…
The mysterious deaths of dozens of Zimbabwe’s elephants has been solved
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…
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…
