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Animals

New Research

Ants Usually Turn Left While Exploring

It’s a sinister version of human’s tendency towards right-handedness

Get a good look at Sinea incognita, a newly recognized species of assassin bug.

New Research

Meet the Stealthiest Assassin Bug in the United States

The unique and secretive species has been living among us unrecognized for a century

A Persian leopard cub at Zoo Augsburg in Germany

Cool Finds

By Keeping Poachers Out, Mine Fields Give Endangered Animals Somewhere to Hide

The heavily-mined Iran-Iraq border is a sanctuary for the Persian leopard

Sandra, covered with a blanket, gestures inside its cage at Buenos Aires' Zoo, December 8, 2010.

Trending Today

Argentinian Orangutan Is “Non-Human Person,” Says Court

Being in the zoo impinges on her freedom

New Research

Why a Tanzanian Village Chased Six Elephants Off a Cliff

Not all animal killings are linked to the illegal wildlife trade

Aspidoscelis neavesi, a species unlike any other.

Cool Finds

This New Lizard Species Evolved in a Lab

The novel reptile shows that hybrids can indeed lead to viable species, but not by the normal reproductive route

Cool Finds

At 26,700 Feet, This Is the Deepest-Swimming Fish Known

Researchers found a new fish in the depths of the Mariana Trench

Eurasian lynx playing in the snow in Germany.

New Research

Europe Is a Great Place to Be a Large Meat-Eater

In a rare success story for wildlife, bears, lynx, wolverine and wolves are increasing in numbers across the continent

How to Create a Virtual Organism

Through OpenWorm, scientists are hoping to allow anyone with a computer to unlock the secrets of animal behavior

Why the Leatherback Turtle Has a Skylight in its Head

How do animals with poor vision see in dark locales?

New Research

The Cutest Climate Change Culprits: Arctic Ground Squirrels

By digging burrows in permafrost, Arctic ground squirrels help destabilize the vast stores of carbon in the soil

Singer and plastic-clothing designer Pharrell Williams at the "Raw For The Oceans" event at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

The Top 12 Ocean Stories That Made Waves in 2014

The seas served up some compelling headlines this year, from celebrity fashion to solving the mystery of the melting starfish

7th Place: Butter daisy (Melampodium divaricatum) flower at 2x magnification. Fluorescence. Oleksandr Holovachov, Ekuddsvagen, Sweden.

Some of the Most Beautiful Things in Nature Come in the Tiniest of Packages

The winners of the 2014 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition capture a rat brain, the mouthparts of a vampire moth and other small wonders

Only 5 Northern White Rhinos remain. A powerful image of three of them under guard by Kate Brooks.

Trending Today

There Are Probably Just Five Northern White Rhinos Left

The death of a captive rhino at the San Diego Zoo brings the species closer to imminent extinction

New Research

Conserving Tigers Could Hurt Leopards

When one predator returns, another can be displaced

Lab-grown beef—it could be dinner.

Five Animal Products Scientists Can Now Grow In a Lab

In early experiments, scientists are growing meat in vitro and bioengineering yeast for dairy

New Research

By Absorbing Smells From Its Food, This Fish Gets Scent Camouflage

The harlequin filefish is a master of camoufalge

The Shape of Things to Come, Antarctic Sound, February 2010: "As we sailed with the land to our backs, I saw this bright, jagged iceberg with a dark-blue sea," writes Seaman.

Art Meets Science

These Photos Capture a Decade of Change at Earth’s Poles

From courting penguins to moody icebergs, photojournalist Camille Seaman shares her personal journey through polar habitats

A bleached coral reef

New Research

Listen to the Sounds of a Dying Coral Reef

Healthy coral reefs produce a medley of sounds that ocean creatures use as homing beacons

New Research

Bats Have Specific Brains Cells for Tracking Their Location While in Flight

Humans likely carry the same kind of cells in our own brains

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