Animals
Desert Beetles Rely on Oral Sex for Successful Mating
The more time the insects spend on the courtship ritual, the better mating goes
Animals188 articles archived since 1845
Animals
Dogs Can Distinguish Speech from Gibberish—and Tell Spanish from Hungarian
A new study’s authors say their investigation represents the first time that a nonhuman brain has been shown to detect language
Animals
The Best Fun Science Stories of 2021: Rhythmic Lemurs, a Marscopter and Sex-Obsessed Insect Zombies
Check out the weird and wonderful stories that delighted us this year
Animals
Fish Do the Wave to Ward Off Predatory Birds
The synchronized dance of sulfur mollies is not only mesmerizing to watch but also confusing to predators
Animals
Potty Training Cows and Other Messy Stories from the Animal Kingdom
Wombats’ cubic poop, secret pee signals and pandas’ unusual strategy to stay warm
Animals
Newfound Millipede Breaks World Record for the Most Legs
It’s a millipede, literally
Animals
Movie-Making Tech Reveals Elephant Trunk Motions
The pachyderms build simple actions into complex movements
Animals
To See Where a Whale Has Been, Look in Its Mouth
The baleen that hangs from the jaws of some whale species contains clues about their migrations and diets
Animals
The Ups and Downs of a Great Vertical Migration
Research is shedding light on why many water dwellers, from plankton to large fish, commute daily from the depths to the surface
Animals
The Surprising Architecture in Bees’ Honeycombs
The insects’ hives are more complicated than researchers thought
Evolution
The Surprising Secret of Snakes’ Venomous Bites
Fangs evolved over and over because of this groovy process
Animals
Albatross ‘Divorce’ Rate Rises as the Ocean Warms
Monogamous black-browed albatross may split up from the stress of less food availability
Animals
Mystery of Doomed Sardine Migration Is Finally Solved
Pulses of cold seawater mislead millions of sardines into swimming along the South African coast to their death
Animals
Rubbing Up against Sharks May Feel Good despite the Danger
Fish species were found deliberately chafing on sharks around the world, though why they do so is not entirely clear
Animals
Genes Reveal How Some Rockfish Live up to 200 Years
Scientists surveyed dozens of species’ genomes to uncover keys to longevity
Animals
Dog and Cat ‘Moms’ and ‘Dads’ Really Are Parenting Their Pets
Evolutionary science suggests that humans nurture their pets like they do human children
Animals
See through the Glasswing Butterfly’s Fascinating Wings
New research shows how these transparent wings develop
Animals
These Bugs Produce Smelly Defenses That Need to Be Heard to Be Believed
You read that right. Researchers have taken the chemical defenses of some insects and turned them into sounds, which, it turns out, repel people just as well.
Animals
A Frothy Mucus Nest Protects Frog Eggs from Drought
Frogs whip up climate-beating slime nests for their offspring
Animals
For Some Parents, Hiding a Dead Body Shows How Much You Care
Over millions of years of evolution, some beetles have learned to dampen the stench of decay to help their young thrive.
