- Explore more »
Amazing Sea Butterflies Are the Ocean’s Canary in the Coal Mine
These delicate and stunning creatures are offering Smithsonian scientists a warning sign for the world's waters turning more acidic
May 14, 2013 |
By Hannah Waters
Solving an Alligator Mystery May Help Humans Regrow Lost Teeth
A gator can replace all of its teeth up to 50 times--learning what triggers these new teeth to grow may someday keep us from needing dentures
May 13, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
There Are Just Three Males of This Endangered Fish Left, And the London Zoo Is on a Global Hunt to Find a Lady
There are just three fish of this species left in the world, and they're all males.
May 10, 2013 |
By Colin Schultz
There Should Be an Endangered Species List for Ecosystems, Too
Listing an ecosystem or animal as endangered does not save it from extinction, but it can bring attention and inspire protection
May 09, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Baby Weddell Seals Have the Most Adult-Like Brains in the Animal Kingdom
The newborn seal pups possess the most well-developed brains compared to other mammals, but that advantage comes with a cost
May 09, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
The Deep Seafloor Turns Out to Be a Treasure Trove for Ancient DNA
DNA preserved in the the ocean floor could provide a unique view of ancient animals that aren't represented in the fossil record
May 08, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Sometimes Male Spiders Eat Their Mates, Too
Many female arthropods - black widows, praying mantises - eat their male mates, but sometimes the reverse is true
May 08, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Mapping the Routes of Invasive Stowaways
Singapore, Honk Kong, New York, Long Beach, CA, and the Panama and Suez canals are the areas most at risk from invasive species
May 07, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
The Cicadas are Coming, And So Are the Terrifying Spores That Eat Them Alive
The cicadas have been waiting for 17 years. This deadly fungus has been waiting for them
May 03, 2013 |
By Colin Schultz
Game Wardens Helped Poachers Kill the Last of Mozambique’s Rhinos
Mozambique's rhinos have been living on the edge of extinction for more than a century, but now they're finally gone for good
May 02, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
The Only Clouded Leopard Left in Taiwan Is Stuffed on a Museum Shelf
Zoologists call the results of a 13-year-long hunt to find any remaining clouded leopards "disappointing"
May 01, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
High Fructose Corn Syrup May Be Partly Responsible for Bees’ Collapsing Colonies
High fructose corn syrup, the sugary compound in soda, is also fed to bees
May 01, 2013 |
By Colin Schultz
How Bone-Eating Zombie Worms Drill Through Whale Skeletons
The worms use a "bone-melting acid" that frees up the nutrients within both whale and fish bones
May 01, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
It’s Crazy to Move a Hundred-Year-Old Tree, But This One Is Thriving
There's controversy surrounding the oak's new home, but park or no park, the Ghirardi Oak is staying, and the transport seems to have been a success
May 01, 2013 |
By Rose Eveleth
Our Battle Against Extinction, 100 Recipes and More Recent Books Reviewed
Growing up as a poor Astor and the roots of psychiatry
May 2013 |
By Chloë Schama
Baby Sand Tiger Sharks Devour Their Siblings While Still in the Womb
This seemingly horrific reproduction strategy may be a way for females to better control which males sire her offspring
April 30, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
We’re Just 35 Devil’s Hole Pupfish Away From the World’s Best-Documented Extinction
If the species does go extinct, it will join Florida's Dusky seaside sparrow as an endangered species that has died out while under federal protection
April 30, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
One Confused Loon Spent 48 Days Trying to Hatch Rocks
In July 2011, something strange was going on with one of the loons at a Massachusetts sanctuary
April 29, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Why Guppies Seem to Have a Death Wish
Aquarium-leaping guppies don't necessarily want to die, they're just trying to colonize the next pond over
April 26, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
