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Animals

Tyrannosaurus rex probably wasn't full-grown until around age 40, new research suggests.

Tyrannosaurus Rex Was Probably a Late Bloomer—and May Have Taken Around 40 Years to Grow Up

The behemoth dinosaurs grew more slowly and had longer life spans than previously thought, a new study suggests

An illustration of Procoptodon goliah, a giant kangaroo that weighed up to about 550 pounds and went extinct around 40,000 years ago

Giant Kangaroos That Lived During the Ice Age May Have Hopped—Despite Weighing Up to 550 Pounds

The extinct animals may have bounced from scary situations, such as coming face to face with hungry predators

Shovel-tusked elephants like Amebelodon were discovered nearly a century ago, and paleontologists have learned more about their anatomy and behavior with time. This 1932 illustration was later found to be inaccurate, as Amebelodon actually had a longer and narrower trunk.

Strange, Shovel-Tusked Elephants Puzzled Paleontologists, Until Experts Took a Closer Look at Their Teeth

The animals’ extended lower jaws were seemingly made for scooping, but research over the past few decades has found they could do a lot more than initially expected

A gentoo penguin peers up from its colony’s nesting grounds on Booth Island, in the Antarctic Peninsula. The species, an adaptable forager that can switch prey when krill are scarce, has expanded into parts of the Antarctic Peninsula that were once too icy to inhabit.

The Penguins That Thrive—and the Ones Left Behind—as Antarctica Warms

A new decade-long study tracked 37 penguin colonies and found that the birds are breeding earlier. The shift marks one way among many that climate change is transforming life at the bottom of the world

Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced a rare birth of mountain gorilla twins.

Rare Twin Mountain Gorillas Born in the Congo, Giving Hope to Those Working to Conserve the Endangered Animals

While the birth is sparking joy, infant mountain gorillas are vulnerable, and twins can be twice as hard for a mother to take care of

Humpback whales blow curtains of bubbles beneath fish and krill to trick them into thinking they're trapped.

Humpback Whales Are Probably Learning How to Catch Prey With Bubble Nets by Watching One Another

The foraging strategy may help make humpbacks more resilient to food scarcity, emphasizing the importance of preserving their cultural knowledge, a study suggests

The preserve includes roughly five miles of hiking trails, including a mellow route that leads to the beach.

A Stunning Stretch of California’s Rugged Coastline Is Now Open to the Public for the First Time in a Century

Privately owned until 2015, the 547-acre Estero Americano Coast Preserve is welcoming hikers, bird-watchers, wildflower lovers and other outdoor adventurers

Common big-eared bats eat relatively large insects, such as katydids.

A Robot Is Unraveling the Secrets of How Some Bats Bounce Sound Waves Off Leaves to Find Insect Prey

A new study from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute used a robot to mimic common big-eared bats’ echolocation skills

Through gene-editing, researchers in the field of synthetic biology hope to make endangered species more resilient against disease or climate change and protect human health, among other goals.

Three Stunning Ways Biologists Aim to Edit Animal and Plant Genes to Fight Diseases and Extinction

The strategy, known as synthetic biology, is gaining momentum globally as a conservation tool and human health solution, despite attracting some critics

Veronika scratches her back. 

A Cow Named Veronika Can Scratch Her Back With a Broom. Watch the Video That Scientists Are Calling the First Documented Evidence of Cattle Using Tools

The pet cow’s tool use challenges long-held assumptions about bovine intelligence

A reconstruction of what Manipulonyx reshetovi may have looked like

This Dinosaur May Have Used Its Strange Clawed Hands to Pilfer and Pierce Eggs

A fresh analysis of a fossil found almost 50 years ago reveals a newly described genus named for its “manipulating claw”

An illustration of humans hunting cetaceans 5,000 years ago

New Research

These Baffling Bone Artifacts Discovered by an Amateur Archaeologist May Be the World’s Oldest Whale Harpoons

After revisiting items from a Brazilian museum, researchers think humans may have been hunting whales 5,000 years ago, a millennium earlier than previously thought

The "Tumat puppies" were discovered with their fur, skin and stomach contents still intact.

Contents of a Wolf Pup’s Stomach From 14,400 Years Ago Are Teaching Researchers About the Lives of the Last Woolly Rhinos

Analysis of woolly rhinoceros DNA recovered from the permafrost-preserved wolf further hints that the Ice Age beasts went extinct because of a sudden shift in the climate

A worker bee (left) and a queen bee (right) slurp up artificial nectar during laboratory experiments.

Queen Bumblebees’ Tongues Aren’t Built for Slurping Nectar—Which Might Keep the Royals Homebound

Queen bumblebees have sparser hair on their tongues than worker bees, which makes them less efficient at lapping up nectar, new research suggests

In “Depicting Dark Waters,” British sculptural model maker Alice Baker collaborated with marine biologists from the Netherlands and Sweden to depict European cold-water corals in glass and raise awareness about deep-sea ecosystems.

Art Meets Science

The Hidden World of Cold-Water Corals Rises to the Surface With These Glass Sculptures That Are Resurrecting a Lost Craft

As increased industrial activity puts fragile deep-sea ecosystems at risk, one artist is raising awareness about imperiled corals through scientific model making

Naked mole-rats are unusual for their long lives and resistance to cancer. Now, researchers suggest the rodents not only tolerate but prefer to be in low-oxygen air.

Naked Mole-Rats Prefer Low-Oxygen Air That Would Kill Most Mammals, Adding to Their List of Death-Defying Superpowers

These underground rodents are the first mammals found to actively choose air with lower-than-normal oxygen levels. Their remarkable ability to survive these conditions could offer a key model for researchers studying new treatments for stroke or lung diseases in humans

Same-sex behaviors seem to be common among rhesus macaques.

Biologists Reveal How Same-Sex Sexual Behavior May Have Given Some Primates an Evolutionary Advantage

Nonhuman primates like bonobos and chimpanzees might engage in same-sex sexual activities to strengthen bonds, particularly in harsh environments or within strict social structures, a new study suggests

Inky paw prints on a 15th-century Flemish manuscript

A Cat Left Paw Prints on the Pages of This Medieval Manuscript When the Ink Was Drying 500 Years Ago

An exhibition called “Paws on Parchment” tracks how cats were depicted in the Middle Ages through texts and artworks from around the world—including one example of a 15th-century “keyboard cat”

The study involved pups like Miso, a 6-year-old male border collie from Canada who knows the names of about 200 toys.

New Research

Some Dogs Are ‘Gifted Word Learners’ That Learn Language by Eavesdropping—Just Like Human Toddlers

New research suggests prodigious pups that already have large vocabularies can learn new words by listening in on their owners’ conversations

The larvae feed on the leaves of elm trees in a distinctive zigzag pattern.

This Invasive Wasp Is Wreaking Havoc on Elms in North America—and the Damage May Soon Spread to Other Trees

Elm zigzag sawflies can munch on plants beyond their preferred elm trees when foliage isn’t available, a new study suggests

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