WEIRD ANIMALS
“A very small amount of stuff has a very big effect.” By Emma Betuel – When a pufferfish is filleted, one wrong slip of the knife can turn the seaborne delicacy deadly. Even in death, the pufferfish’s natural poison, called tetrodotoxin, is more …
By Michael Irving – A red-eyed tree frog was one of the amphibian species observed during an expedition to the Lost City of the Monkey God in Honduras. (Credit: Trond Larsen). In 2012, centuries-old legends of a lost city in Honduras were …
“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 …
