WEIRD ANIMALS
“I wouldn’t take that risk.” By Sarah Sloat – Like a buzzing embodiment of Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries,” periodical cicadas emerge from the ground in swarms after spending more than a decade below ground. Some, however, encounter an attacker during their crawl …
Future cancer research may come from studying antler growth. By Mike Colagrossi – While sequencing the genomes of some 44 ruminants — among them cows, giraffes, and other mammals that have chambered stomachs for plant digestion — Chinese scientists closely studied those that …
Scorpions, slugs, and Dracula ants, oh my. By Sarah Sloat – While we’re seemingly surrounded on this world by fantastic fauna and flora, we don’t actually have a great sense of all the critters that are out there. Scientists estimate that more than …
By Michael Irving – A study of 20,000 insects taken from hospitals across the UK has revealed just how many are harboring antibiotic-resistant bacteria. (Credit: radub85/Depositphotos). A new study has revealed the role that regular bugs play in spreading superbugs. A team …
By Nick Lavars – The reasons for a zebras stripes are far from black and white. Debate has long raged over the reasons for a zebra’s stripes, with scientists spending decades theorizing over the evolutionary causes for the animal’s iconic patterns. A …
The owner’s personality was the most important factor in examining the stress-hormone relationship between pet and owner. By Stephen Johnson – A new study found that dogs and their owners show similar levels of the stress hormone cortisol over time. The dog-owner cortisol …
By James Holloway – Svalbard reindeer are well-adapted to extremely cold conditions. Photographic evidence of reindeer eating seaweed is only the beginning. (Credit: Brage B. Hansen/NTNU). In the face of climate change, reindeer are resorting to eating kelp seaweed, according to …
Michael Irving – Researchers have used molecules from the lamprey’s immune system to help fight brain cancer. (Credit: NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (CC BY.SA 2.0)). With a mouth like a whirlpool full of teeth, the lamprey is not something you’d normally …
“You want to be nice to someone who’s going to be important for you.” By Yasmin Tayag – Among the countless shitty things humans have done recently, we’ve revived Nazism, attempted to cover up egregious sexual abuse, and resurrected the threat of nuclear …
By Matt Kennedy – Artist’s interpretation of the newly-named Suskityrannus hazelae. (Credit: Andrey Atuchin). In 1998, a 16 year old boy with a passion for paleontology unearthed a near-complete skeleton of one of Tyrannosaurus rex’s cousins in New Mexico. It was a defining moment …
