Antarctic marine worms survive with a little help from their bacterial friends. Close relatives of earthworms, polychaetes are some of the most common animals on the ocean floor, but how…
Category: Life
Can leeches leap? New video may help answer that debate
A chance video by a grad student relishing her first big field trip might help resolve an argument that’s raged among biologists for more than a century. The question: Can…
This tentacled, parasitic ‘fairy lantern’ plant is new to science
In the weird world of chlorophyll-free “fairy lantern” plants, there’s a new species to admire. Fairy lanterns (Thismia) are a type of mysterious, parasitic herb that look like something from…
‘Cull of the Wild’ questions sacrificing wildlife in the name of conservation
In his new book, ecologist Hugh Warwick seeks middle ground in the waging battle that is wildlife management.
Fossil finds amplify Europe’s status as a hotbed of great ape evolution
Two lines of ancient apes, including what may be the smallest great ape yet, lived alongside each other in Europe, fossils discovered in a Bavarian clay pit indicate. It’s the…
Horses may have been domesticated twice. Only one attempt stuck
Horse power may have revved up about four millennia ago. Horses were domesticated at least twice, researchers report June 6 in Nature. Genetic data suggest Botai hunter-gatherers in Central Asia…
Bird flu can infect cats. What does that mean for their people?
Cats are getting — and dying of — bird flu. That’s sparking worries about the risk that the ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza poses for these feline…
The largest known genome belongs to a tiny fern
Big things can sometimes come in small packages. A small fern has broken the record for the largest genome yet known, researchers report May 31 in iScience. The plant’s full…
A built-in pocket protector keeps sawfish from ‘sword fighting’ in the womb
Smalltooth sawfish develop their signature, long, tooth-lined snout while still in the womb. The needle-sharp teeth are encased in a specialized sheath that prevents the rays from cutting up their…
