How Truffles Got Attention in a Land with No Mammals to Smell Them
Scientists turn to fossil poo in an effort to prove a long-standing hypothesis
Stories by Jennifer Frazer
![Predatory Fish Darken to Encourage Hesitant – and Delicious – Cleaner Shrimp [Video]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/blogs/cache/file/AE02FBE9-A930-48CB-919FD47C9C2343E5_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
Predatory Fish Darken to Encourage Hesitant – and Delicious – Cleaner Shrimp [Video]
Hungry shrimp flag down customers by waving antennae; customers encourage reluctant cleaners by changing colors
![Bacterial Harpoons Pluck Naked DNA from the Environment for Sex, Snacks [Video]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/blogs/cache/file/76A63800-301D-44F6-A202D2B24BA2FCAB_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
Bacterial Harpoons Pluck Naked DNA from the Environment for Sex, Snacks [Video]
Natural bacterial transformation happens, thanks to sticky, flexible fibers called pili
Tiny Orchid Seeds Possess Understated Beauty and, Occasionally, Tools
Enterprising seeds secure preferred real estate by deploying coiled threads
Blanket Hermit Crabs Use Anemones as Defensive Snuggies
Invertebrate apparel is apparently nonplussed
Giant Flatworms Invaded France and Ran Amok for 2 Decades before Scientists Realized It
Worms are living the dream of 400 years of medieval English armies
Algae Living inside Salamanders Aren't Happy about the Situation
The world’s only known vertebrate–microbe symbiosis appears to be good for the salamander, but stressful for the alga. So why do they put up with it?
Fungus MacGyvered Gravity Sensor from Stolen Bacterial Protein
Chewing gum and baking soda not required
Zombie Cicadas' Bodies Are Literally Falling Apart
Parasitic fungus manipulates bodies and bedroom behavior of hapless insects
A Big Garden: A Where's Waldo? World of Botany and Whimsy
Deeply weird but beautifully illustrated new children’s book channels Hieronymous Bosch
Prions Are Forever
The lethal proteins are in the Hard-to-Kill Hall of Fame--and may be more common than we realize
Shameless Bacterial Predator Remodels Its Own Prey
Bacterial big game hunters drill into victims, brace the hole, and then seal the wound behind them
Wonderful Things: A Transparent Plant
Filmy ferns live up to their name
New Zealand's Most Patriotic Mushroom
Tylopilus formosus is all black.
Music for the Space Age Houseplant
1970 called—it wants its plant playlist back
Smarty Plants--My Latest Guest Spot for Radiolab
In which we revisit the hot-button topic of plant intelligence
Fake Mushroom Lures Pollinators into Floral Trap
Unassuming houseplant uses alter ego to get lucky at insects' expense
![Marine Microbes Exchange Fire with Elaborate Subcellular Weapons [Video]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/blogs/cache/file/70B5A8B0-65A2-4827-AAAB8ADA51438C0E_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
Marine Microbes Exchange Fire with Elaborate Subcellular Weapons [Video]
Discovery “represents a new extreme in organelle complexity”
In a World of Shifting Sand, Algae Turn to Dark Fermentation
For light-loving marine microbes, living in sand means having a good Plan B
![Plants, Like People, Succumb to Anesthesia [Video]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/blogs/cache/file/D49B7FCC-EEAA-4169-861D3A77FF9C62C9_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
Plants, Like People, Succumb to Anesthesia [Video]
Putting plants under may help solve the enduring mystery of how anesthesia works
