On a series of expeditions along the spine of the Andes Mountains, a team of high-climbing researchers has found mammalian life scampering through some of Earth’s harshest environments. From 2020…
Category: Animals
‘Crossings’ explores the science of road ecology
CrossingsBen GoldfarbW.W. Norton & Co., $30 Nearly 65 million kilometers of roadway crisscross the Earth — enough to encircle the planet more than 1,600 times — and that number will…
Scientists grow humanized kidneys in pig embryos
Scientists have successfully grown kidneys made of mostly human cells inside pig embryos — taking researchers yet another step down the long road toward generating viable human organs for transplant.…
A DNA leaf swab technique could revolutionize biodiversity monitoring
Just a few swabs from a handful of leaves can say a lot about what animals are roaming in the area. Two dozen leaf swabs from plants in Uganda’s Kibale…
Freezing adult corals could help ensure they survive a changing climate
Like something out of science fiction, small colonies of mature corals have been safely frozen and revived for the first time, though more work will be needed to ensure their…
Emperor penguins lost thousands of chicks to melting ice last year
Thousands of emperor penguins in western Antarctica lost their chicks last year, largely due to receding sea ice, satellite data suggest. Over the last two years, sea ice has reached…
Macaques in Puerto Rico learned to share shade after Hurricane Maria
After Hurricane Maria battered Puerto Rico in 2017, monkeys living there forged new bonds to share a suddenly scarce resource: shade. Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) that were willing to hang…
Many frogs glow in blue light, and it may be a secret, eerie language
In the dim twilight hours, many frogs may be capable of emitting a faint green or orange glow. A survey of hundreds of frogs in South America shows that far…
The newfound Los Angeles thread millipede is ready for its close-up
Despite living in the entertainment capital of the world, the Los Angeles thread millipede has avoided the limelight. But when researchers spotted it, they knew they’d found a creature worthy…
Playful behavior in rats is controlled by a specific area of their brains
Rats are extremely playful creatures. They love playing chase, and they literally jump for joy when tickled. Central to this playfulness, a new study finds, are cells in a specific…
