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The American Bumblebee Is Crashing, Too
Colony Collapse Disorder targets honey bees. But now American bumblebees are missing, too
March 04, 2013 |
By Colin Schultz
Why Did (or Didn’t) the Meerkat Cross the Road?
Dominant female meerkats hang back to let subordinates cross busy, dangerous roads first
March 01, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
A Visit to the Natonal Zoo’s “Ark of Life”
Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough journeys to Front Royal, Virginia, to find out the latest in animal research
March 2013 |
By G. Wayne Clough, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
Bioluminescence: Light Is Much Better, Down Where It’s Wetter
From tracking a giant squid to decoding jellyfish alarms in the Gulf, a depth-defying scientist plunges under the sea
March 2013 |
By Abigail Tucker
The Meanest Girls at the Watering Hole
A scientist studying female elephants—usually portrayed as cooperative—makes a surprising observation about their behavior
March 2013 |
By Caitlin O’Connell-Rodwell
How Two Women Ended the Deadly Feather Trade
100 years ago, birds like the snowy egret were on the brink of extinction, all because of their sought-after plumage
March 2013 |
By William Souder
Brian Skerry Has the World’s Best Job: Ocean Photographer
The freelancer’s new exhibit at the Natural History Museum captures the beauty, and fragility, of sea life
March 2013 |
By Joseph Stromberg
Could Disappearing Wild Insects Trigger a Global Crop Crisis?
Three-quarters of the world’s crops—including fruits, grains and nuts—depend on pollination, and the insects responsible are disappearing
February 28, 2013 |
By Marina Koren
Could Spider Silk Stop a Moving Train?
Spiderman really could have stopped that train from falling, so long as his silk resembled that produced by the Darwin's bark spider
February 28, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Why Are Our Brains Wrinkly?
Brain wrinkles naturally develop as the brain gets larger in order to lend more surface area and help white matter fibers avoid long stretches
February 28, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Nitpicking the Lice Genome to Track Humanity’s Past Footsteps
Lice DNA collected around the planet sheds light on the parasite's long history with our ancestors, a new study shows
February 27, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Why Do We Care Whether Animals Appreciate Our Art?
In a recent study, researchers put seven Java Sparrows in a cage with a bunch of artwork and watched them to see which ones they preferred
February 27, 2013 |
By Rose Eveleth
Giant Goldfish Have Invaded Lake Tahoe
Populations of native fish have decreased tenfold in Lake Tahoe, and this new invader could only exacerbate the situation
February 27, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Overzealous Male Frogs Practice a Practical Sort of Necrophilia
Both males and females still get to pass on their genes to the next generation, despite one of them being dead
February 27, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Investigation: China Covertly Condones Trade in Tiger Skins and Bones
The Chinese government says it is committed to saving tigers from extinction, yet it legalized trade in captive-bred big cats' skin and bones
February 26, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Snakes in a Frame: Mark Laita’s Stunning Photographs of Slithering Beasts
In his new book, Serpentine, Mark Laita captures the colors, textures and sinuous forms of a variety of snake species
February 26, 2013 |
By Megan Gambino
Chemicals in Water May Be Messing With Otters’ Sexual Mojo
Scientists examined hundreds of otters to arrive at these grim findings
February 25, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Could a Whale Accidentally Swallow You? It Is Possible
Whale sharks probably can't fit you down their esophagus, but mariners claim that sperm whales have swallowed people in the past
February 25, 2013 |
By Rose Eveleth
Growing New Hearts Without Using Embryonic Stem Cells
A different type of stem cell—one used in asexual reproduction—can create new heart muscle tissue without raising ethical questions, new studies show
February 23, 2013 |
By Marina Koren
