As a long and wiry scrub python slithers its way from branch to branch on a tree, it can effortlessly lift itself upright to climb onto a higher perch. But…
Category: Animals
Watch the first video of a sperm whale birth captured by scientists
In a sperm whale birth recorded in more intimate detail than ever before, local whales huddled around the mother and lifted the calf to the surface.
Modern apes may have actually evolved in North Africa or the Middle East
Modern apes may have swung into existence in North Africa or the Middle East. New fossil findings — published March 26 in Science — unveil Masripithecus, a roughly 17-million-year-old early…
When were dogs domesticated? The oldest known dog DNA offers clues
Dogs in Europe had been domesticated from wild wolves by at least 14,200 years ago, two new genetic studies suggest. Both studies, published March 25 in Nature, use ancient DNA…
These insects fly with their legs. Physics explains how
Senior physics writer Emily Conover has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago. She is a two-time winner of the D.C. Science Writers’ Association Newsbrief award and a…
Female giant rainforest mantises grow up to strike harder than males
If giant rainforest mantises went to kindergarten, little girl mantises wouldn’t look any bigger and stronger than the little boy mantises. Not until the end of mantis high school would…
Mosquitoes get the ‘I’m full’ signal from their butts, not their brains
Mosquitoes have an appetite dampener in their derrières. When mosquitoes’ bellies are full, special cells in their rectums block their bloodthirst, researchers report March 20 in Current Biology. The finding…
Sharks are ingesting drugs in the Bahamas
Sharks off the coast of the Bahamas are getting into drugs like cocaine, caffeine and painkillers — or rather, drugs are getting into them. The contaminated blood of species including…
Platypuses share a surprising fur feature with birds
Platypuses just got weirder. As if a mammal that lays eggs, senses electricity with its bill and fluoresces isn’t enough of a headscratcher, now it appears platypuses also share a…
Wild monkeys invaded Florida. Should people protect them?
It was a typical Florida story. In January 2014, Missy Williams stood at the edge of a park-and-fly in Dania Beach near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. She watched the boundary…
