These devices use an electric field to scare sharks from fishing hooks

A new gadget takes advantage of sharks’ sixth sense to send the fish scurrying away from deadly hooks. Sharks, rays and their relatives can detect tiny electric fields, thanks to…

Tiger sharks helped discover the world’s largest seagrass prairie

Scientists have teamed up with tiger sharks to uncover the largest expanse of seagrasses on Earth.   A massive survey of the Bahamas Banks — a cluster of underwater plateaus…

A clam presumed extinct for 40,000 years has been found alive

A species of clam is back from the dead. Known as Cymatioa cooki, the clam had only ever been found as a fossil, and scientists presumed that the species had…

Some harlequin frogs — presumed extinct — have been rediscovered

Across Central and South America, one group of bejeweled frogs is making a comeback. Harlequin frogs — a genus with over 100 brightly colored species — were one of the…

Deer-vehicle collisions spike when daylight saving time ends

People pay deerly for the switch from daylight saving time. The change to standard time in autumn corresponds with an average 16 percent increase in deer-vehicle collisions in the United…

Here’s how polar bears might get traction on snow

Tiny “fingers” can help polar bears get a grip. Like the rubbery nubs on the bottom of baby socks, microstructures on the bears’ paw pads offer some extra friction, scientists…

Bizarre aye-aye primates take nose picking to the extreme

Aye-ayes are true champions of nose picking. A new video offers the first evidence that these nocturnal lemurs of Madagascar stick their fingers up their noses and lick off the…

Insect swarms might generate as much electric charge as storm clouds

You might feel a spark when you talk to your crush, but living things don’t require romance to make electricity. A study published October 24 in iScience suggests that the…

Mountain lions pushed out by wildfires take more risks

Mountain lions have no interest in people, or the built-up areas we enjoy. But after a 2018 wildfire in California, local lions took more risks, crossing roads more often and…

Honeybees order numbers from left to right, a study claims

Like many humans, honeybees seem to prefer their numbers ordered from left to right. Honeybees trained to recognize a specific number tend to fly left when given two side-by-side options…