Biology

Hibernating common eastern bumblebee queens survived for a week while submerged underwater in a lab.

Hibernating Bumblebee Queens Can Survive Underwater for Up to a Week, Study Finds

Researchers discovered the insects’ unexpected superpower during an accidental laboratory snafu

The two emerging broods of cicadas will appear in states across the Southeast and Midwest. One of the cicadas in the photo above, is infected with a fungal parasite that has replaced its abdomen.

Up to a Trillion Cicadas Could Emerge in the U.S. Later This Spring

Two specific broods will appear together for the first time since 1803

Fortunately, the driver suffered only minor injuries when a tanker truck of salmon rolled onto its roof in Oregon.

77,000 Young Salmon Were Dumped Into the Wrong Creek After a Truck Crashed in Oregon

The spring Chinook salmon smolts should still be able to find their way to the Pacific Ocean and help boost the threatened population of the fish, officials say, though another 25,000 salmon died in the accident

Wildlife biologists are trying to figure out what's killing smalltooth sawfish and other species in Florida.

Florida Fish Are Mysteriously Dying After 'Spinning and Whirling,' and Scientists Can't Explain It

The abnormal behavior has raised special concerns about the endangered smalltooth sawfish, an odd-looking ray with chainsaw-like teeth, as 28 of them have died

Black-capped chickadees' ability to remember where they've stashed food helps them survive barren winters.

Black-Capped Chickadees Are Masters of Memory—and Scientists Are Finding Out Why

The small birds use brain “barcodes” to remember where they stash food, according to new research

Japanese tits have previously been observed combining different calls into phrases to convey meanings. The birds may also use their wings to signal to their partner that they should enter the nest first.

These Small Birds Flutter Their Wings to Say 'After You' to Their Partner

A new study of Japanese tits provides the first evidence of non-primate animals using gestures to convey messages

Dogs may understand more words than humans likely realize, according to new research.

Dogs Can Understand the Words for Several Objects, Such as Toys and Leashes, Study Finds

Your dog may know the word "ball" is associated with their favorite round squishy toy, according to new research that measured brain waves

While spiders can have up to eight eyes, daddy longlegs, which belong to a different order of arachnids called harvestmen, usually have just two eyes.

Daddy Longlegs Have Four Extra, Hidden Eyes, Researchers Say

The new discovery could help scientists unravel the mystery of how the arachnids evolved across some 537 million years

Beluga whales are one of five species of whale that undergo menopause. The new study finds that females in these five species live decades longer than females of similarly sized species.

Whales That Go Through Menopause Live Longer and May Help Care for Grandchildren

Alongside humans, five species of toothed whales are known to experience menopause. A new study suggests they evolved the trait to increase their lifespan

For rabbits and hares, females typically weigh more than males, according to a new study.

For Most Mammal Species, Males Actually Aren't Larger Than Females, Study Finds

New research upends a long-held theory that male mammals tend to be bigger than their female counterparts

The otherworldly form of the octopus has inspired millennia of fear and awe from humans.

Ten Wild Facts About Octopuses: They Have Three Hearts, Big Brains and Blue Blood

These bizarre creatures have been around for hundreds of millions of years, and for humans, they’ve inspired horror, admiration and culinary prestige

The researchers first observed cicadas urinating during a research trip to Peru.

Don't Look Up: Cicadas Produce High-Speed Jets of Urine

The noisy, winged insects produce pee the same way that much larger animals do, according to a new study

P. karlraubenheimeri lived during the Miocene Epoch roughly 8.8 million years ago.

Fossil Hunter Discovers Gigantic Crab in New Zealand—a New, Extinct Species

The massive creature is 8.8 million years old, and its modern descendants in Australia can grow to be the weight of a human toddler

A mutation in a gene called TBXT may be behind the loss of great apes' tails, according to a new study.

Why Don’t Humans Have Tails? An Old Genetic Mutation Could Explain Why Monkeys, but Not Apes, Have the Extra Appendage

Scientists have pinpointed a genetic change that might have led the ancestors of humans to lose their tails

Two green and black poison dart frogs

Why Do Poison Dart Frogs 'Tap Dance' With Their Toes? Research Sheds Light on Feeding Time Footwork

Scientists observed frogs tapping their toes up to 500 times per minute when prey was present, suggesting the behavior is related to predation

An orca hunting sea lion pups on an Argentinian beach in 2006. Before the recent study, killer whales had only been observed hunting white sharks in groups.

Single Orca Spotted Killing a Great White Shark for the First Time Ever

In less than two minutes, the marine mammal attacked a juvenile white shark and ripped out its liver in an encounter off the coast of South Africa last year

A Brazilian flea toad sits on a Brazilian real. The coin is 27 millimeters across.

The World's Smallest Vertebrate Is a Tiny Brazilian Frog, Study Finds

Adult male Brazilian flea toads are just over 7 millimeters long on average, and females measure about 8.15 millimeters

Weliton Menário Costa dances in "Kangaroo Time," his winning music video about kangaroo behavior research.

Watch This Year's 'Dance Your PhD' Contest Winner, a Musical Celebration of Kangaroo Behavior

“Kangaroo Time” took home the competition’s overall prize, while interpretive dances on early life adversity, circadian rhythms and streambank erosion were also honored

Because the fish are translucent and they lack skulls, they're a favorite research subject of neuroscientists.

This Tiny Fish Can Make Sounds That Rival an Airplane or an Elephant—Now, Scientists Know How

Transparent and just half an inch long, male Danionella cerebrum can make noises of more than 140 decibels

An adult humpback whale and calf. In the new study, the researchers blew air into the larynxes of three deceased whales, including a humpback, to learn how the the organ makes sound.

Scientists Discover How Some Whales Can Sing While Holding Their Breath Underwater

Baleen whales have evolved unique voice boxes essential for song, a new study finds—but these low-frequency vocalizations must compete with the noise of humans' ships

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