Scientists in Australia may have discovered a secret weapon in the battle against antibiotic-resistant superbugs, and it comes from a pretty unlikely place. Then again, everything about the platypus is unlikely: it has a duck’s bill and a beaver’s tail. It’s venomous, it lays eggs, and it produces milk to feed its young. The platypus […] More
If this spider isn’t the mother of the year, we’re not sure who is. The Stegodyphus lineatus spider, which lives in the Negev Desert of Israel, really gives her kids everything she’s got. In fact, she lets them eat her — very, very slowly. But let’s back up a moment. Each spring, when insects in the desert […] More
For people, the importance of a social life is well-proven by science. Interacting with family and friends enriches our daily lives, keeps us happy, and most importantly, healthy. Not so for marmots, however. In a recently published study, Daniel T. Blumstein, a biologist at the University of California, Los Angeles and his colleagues found that […] More
If you’ve ever had a good knock on the head, you know how disorienting it can be. For those who get bumped on the head for a living — like football players — there may be even more serious long-term effects of concussions and other head injuries. As it turns out, repeated blows to the noggin […] More
If you’ve ever seen a piece of coral someone’s brought back as a souvenir from an island vacation, you know what coral looks like when it dies. The process through which coral turns completely white is called bleaching, and it’s the first step toward the death of a reef. Essentially, the coral gets stressed — […] More
A rare Malaysian moth species that was previously known only from a 130-year-old specimen has been rediscovered by Polish researchers. The Oriental blue clearwing (Heterosphecia tawonoides) doesn’t look much like most moths. It mimics a bee, in both appearance and behavior, to avoid predators. The clearwing has elongated scales on its legs that look like […] More
In the Arctic, a drastically different climate means glaciers, snowfalls, and ice floes are shrinking. So are the muskoxen. The muskox is a massive creature – between 400 and 900 pounds when fully grown – with a shaggy coat and a big set of horns. Unlike caribou, Arctic muskoxen don’t migrate long distances in search […] More
According to new research, the easiest way to discourage mosquitoes from biting you is also the simplest: swat ’em. In a paper published in the journal Current Biology, researchers studied mosquitoes’ tendency toward what’s called “aversive conditioning,” and discovered that a turbulent experience — like narrowly missing being squished by a slap — discourages a mosquito […] More
Wikie the killer whale has a lot to say. She lives at Marineland, an amusement park in the South of France, where she’s been trained to perform tricks for visitors — and now, she’s participating in groundbreaking research. Recently, a team of researchers set out to determine whether orcas, who are famously vocal creatures within […] More
It seems the first time’s the charm for the female Australian jumping spider. A recent study by Vivian Mendez and her colleagues at Macquarie University, Australia, found that most female Servaea incana spiders only mate once in their lifetime, after which they become unwilling or even aggressive toward males who try to mate with them. The researchers examined the […] More
Spiders are often one of the first species to colonize new habitats, and many species are found in multiple locations — including multiple continents. In other words, spiders get around. Scientists as far back as Charles Darwin have studied an intriguing mode of spider transportation: ballooning, or floating through the air on a thin strand […] More
Ducks are one of only two species in the world (the other is the acorn barnacle) that can adjust their penis size to fit a given situation — including competition from other males, according to new research. Duck mating is an uncomfortable subject, to begin with — male ducks have corkscrew-shaped genitalia, often covered in […] More
