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Animals

The jumping spider bears a distinct resemblance to ants

Jumping Spiders Are the Only Arachnids Known to Provide ‘Milk’ For Their Young

The milk-like nutritious fluid contains four times the protein of cow’s milk

Cool Finds

Here’s How That Cow Got So Large

The sad fact is most steers are slaughtered before they reach their full, awesome size, making the Aussie bovine more lucky than freakish

If Light Can’t Escape Black Holes, How Do We Get Photos of Them… and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

The cholla plant’s prickly proclivities actually serve a reproductive purpose

Researchers Stabbed Slabs of Meat With Cacti Spines to Learn About Puncture Strength

Barbed spines function much like porcupine quills, drawing on an overlapping shingled design to hook onto victims’ muscle fibers

Cool Finds

Early Mammals Were Thought to Be Small and Unseen in the Age of Dinosaurs. An Elephant-Sized Fossil Complicates That Story

At a time when proto-mammals and other creatures were getting smaller, this dicynodont bulked up with the thunder lizards

The skull-collecting ants use chemical mimicry, a behavior usually observed amongst parasitic species, to entrap prey

These Ants Immobilize Prey With Acid Then Drag Them Back to Nest for Dismemberment

Decapitated heads, dismembered limbs litter the floor of Formica archboldi nests

New Research

Why Wombats Make Cube-Shaped Poos

New research shows differences in elasticity in the intestines shapes the poo as it moves through

To attract females, males release a series of mating calls

Hurricane Harvey Didn’t Stop These Fish From Mating

Spotted seatrout engaged in normal spawning patterns as the eye of the storm passed directly over their habitat

Orangutan mothers waited an average of seven minutes before alerting infants to a potential predator's presence

Orangutans Are the Only Non-Human Primates Capable of ‘Talking’ About the Past

Mothers waited several minutes before alerting offspring to potential predators, pointing toward capacity for displaced referencing

The “headless chicken monster” is actually a type of sea cucumber.

Science in the Movies

Fantastic Things We Learned This Year About Fantastic Beasts of the Real World

The second iteration of the “Fantastic Beasts” movie series comes out this week, but why wait for the movie when you can get a glimpse of the real thing?

The unusual primate has baffled scientists since its discovery in 1920

DNA Analysis Offers Insights on Origins of Extinct Jamaican Monkey

The unusual creature had few teeth, rodent-like legs, a squat body and a slow-paced lifestyle

The fire in Griffith Park was largely extinguished by late Friday

How the Los Angeles Zoo Prepares Its Animals to Face Natural Disasters

The institution sprung into action late last week, evacuating birds and some smaller primates before firefighters contained a nearby blaze in Griffith Park

Rake marks on humpback flukes may be literal tallies of battles won—like the scars seen on the upper right fluke fin here—but little is known about the losses.

New Research

With Humans Out of the Way, Humpbacks Are Flourishing—But So Are Orcas

Researchers are just now beginning to understand what happens when one whale species attacks another

Cool Finds

Tomb Full of Sacred Cats and Beetles Found in Egypt

The recently opened tomb in the Saqqara necropolis included gilded feline statues and extremely rare mummified scarab beetles

Burket's warbler

New Research

This Rare Warbler Is Three Species in One

A warbler discovered in Pennsylvania is the offspring of a hybrid female and a male from a completely different genus

Researchers say the shift in laugh patterns doesn't appear to be linked with any major developmental milestones

Babies Share Same Laugh Patterns as Chimpanzees

Unlike adults, who tend to laugh while exhaling, infants let giggles loose while both inhaling and exhaling

Why Experts Are Troubled by a Viral Video of a Baby Bear’s Mountain Climb

The cub and its mother appear to have been disturbed by the drone that shot the footage

A platypus living in the most contaminated site could be routinely exposed to up to half of an adult human’s daily dose of antidepressants

Australian Rivers Are Contaminated With Pharmaceuticals. That’s Bad News For Platypuses, Study Says

The team found evidence of human medications in every insect tested, including those from national park previously believed to be free of contaminants

Cool Finds

This Remote Control Vest Trains Rescue Dogs Using Flashlights

By aiming little spots of light, handlers can direct their fearless doggos through disaster areas

A fin whale picked out from satellite imagery

New Research

Researchers Can Now Monitor Whales Via Satellite

The latest high resolution satellites can pick out whales surfacing in huge swaths of ocean, which will aid in conservation

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