The ancestors of cobras and related snakes first emerged in Asia roughly 35 million years ago. Many researchers thought the Elapoidea superfamily of snakes evolved in Africa before slithering their…
Category: Animals
Why a small seabird dares to fly toward cyclones
Tropical cyclones are synonymous with destruction. But at least one seabird may take advantage of them as feeding opportunities. The Desertas petrel, a small and threatened seabird native to the…
Pheromone fingers may help poison frogs mate
During mating, some male poison frogs embrace their partner’s face in a love-potion-laced hug. The amorous amphibians may create pheromones in glands in their fingers, researchers report July 21 in…
Static electricity may help butterflies and moths gather pollen on the fly
Birds do it. Bees do it. Even butterflies and moths do it. As lepidopterans flutter their wings, friction with the air causes them to accumulate static electricity — enough to…
Getting drugs into the brain is hard. Maybe a parasite can do the job
A mind-bending parasite may one day deliver drugs to the brain. Toxoplasma gondii is a single-celled parasite that famously makes mice lose their fear of cats, but also can cause…
Komodo dragon teeth get their strength from an iron coat
Komodo dragon teeth are ironclad. Literally. The serrated edges and tips of the reptiles’ razor-sharp chompers are lined with a layer of iron, researchers report July 24 in Nature Ecology…
Bird flu has been invading the brains of mammals. Here’s why
In spring 2022, a handful of red foxes in Wisconsin were behaving oddly. Veterinary pathologist Betsy Elsmo learned that a local wildlife rehabilitation center was caring for foxes with neurological…
Freeze-drying turned a woolly mammoth’s DNA into 3-D ‘chromoglass’
Beef jerky and some woolly mammoths have at least one thing in common: Drying turns their DNA into super-tough glass. This glassy DNA is so stable that it preserved the…
Tiny saunas help frogs fight off chytrid fungus
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Bird flu viruses may infect mammary glands more commonly than thought
The discovery of bird flu in dairy cow milk highlighted a previously overlooked target for the H5N1 virus: mammary glands. A new study suggests it’s not unique to cows. An…
