For Some Reason, New World Flying Squirrels Fluoresce Pink
No other placental mammals have ever shown this ability—perhaps because we haven't looked
Stories by Jennifer Frazer
![2.1-Billion-Year-Old Tracks May Be Giant Ancient "Slime Molds" [Video]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/blogs/cache/file/2A078C59-0E9E-4EFF-8B7641A36F0EEE57_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
2.1-Billion-Year-Old Tracks May Be Giant Ancient "Slime Molds" [Video]
Whatever made these structures lived 1.4 billion years before the first animals
The Case for Transmissible Alzheimer's Grows
What separates a lethal prion from a dementia-associated amyloid plaque? Maybe not much
Inside Earth, Microbes Approach Immortality
Mostly dead is slightly alive
Prions, Nearly Indestructible and Universally Lethal, Seed the Eyes of Victims
Discovery suggests worrying transmission possibilities
Fanworms, "Nature's Eye Factories," Stick Them Pretty Much Anywhere
Necessity is the mother of invention
Scientists Sculpt Bacteria into Hearts, Moons and Stars
Because if you can grow a square watermelon…, why not E. coli?
Eye Candy: Fossil Flowers Bloomed When Dinosaurs Ruled Earth
Seven complete specimens of 100-million-year-old flower found preserved in amber
Magic Mushroom Drug Evolved to Mess with Insect Brains
For that matter, so did most natural recreational drugs
Marine Predator Problem? Try a Gastropod Hostage Backpack
It's hard out there for a shrimp
Ambitious Praying Mantis Discovers Sashimi
Is there nothing the raptorial insect won't try to eat?
Florida Oaks Host Exciting Parasite-on-Parasite Action
There’s no honor among thieves
Get Big Quick? Just Graft Some Friends
The marine invertebrate Ectopleura larynx is perfectly happy to glue strangers to itself to grow its team
What Bored These Tunnels inside Thai Garnets?
Nothing quite like the branching, fusing and synchronously turning tunnels has ever been seen before
Parasitic Plants Have a Surprising Accomplice
Plant stakeout reveals never-before-seen seed disperser
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
![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
