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…
Category: Animals
Ants may be the first known insects ensnared in plastic pollution
Some Canary Island ants have picked up an unwelcome stowaway — plastic waste. Plastic entanglement is commonly associated with aquatic and ocean life. Finding plastic-wrapped ants suggests that humankind’s pernicious…
Gene editing can make chickens resistant to bird flu
Chickens genetically modified to be impervious to bird flu may one day prevent the spread of the disease on farms, a study suggests. Just small tweaks to a single gene…
Hippos’ oversize front teeth make it hard for them to chew
Hippos are horrible at chewing, and their giant tusks and front teeth are to blame. These intimidating dental features are used by hippos, in part, to protect themselves and their…
A global report finds amphibians are still in peril. But it’s not all bad news
Nearly 20 years ago, the first global assessment of amphibians found the animals facing widespread declines. Now, a second, updated report shows that many amphibians are still in trouble, but…
In noisy environs, pied tamarins are using smell more often to communicate
Native to the Brazilian Amazon, pied tamarins have always used vocal calls to communicate. But noise pollution from car traffic and other human activity are forcing some tamarins to complement…
The right bacterial mix could help frogs take the heat
Some of a green frog’s heat tolerance might come from its microbiome. Put a wood frog tadpole and a green frog tadpole in water and turn up the heat. The…
A one-of-a-kind trilobite fossil hints at what and how these creatures ate
A mysterious, prehistoric marine creature has spilled its guts. For the first time, scientists have unearthed a fossilized trilobite whose final meals were preserved within its digestive system. Paleontologist Valéria…
Seen Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster? Data suggest the odds are low
There were drones, there were boats. There were spotters on land and a hydrophone listening for suspicious sounds underwater. In what may have been the biggest search of its kind…
These brainless jellyfish use their eyes and bundles of nerves to learn
For Caribbean box jellyfish, learning is literally a no-brainer. In a new experiment, these animals learned to spot and avoid obstacles despite having no central brain, researchers report September 22…
