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Mammals

Artist Nickolay Lamm’s depiction of a polar-grizzly hybrid

What Would a Cross Between a Polar Bear and a Grizzly Really Look Like?

As climate changes and Arctic sea ice melts, species shift habitats and may interbreed. Lamm digitally manipulates photographs to imagine these hybrids

Research in mice shows that heavy drinking triggers cellular changes that interfere with bone formation.

Why Binge Drinking Makes You More Likely to Break Your Bones

Research in mice shows that heavy drinking triggers cellular changes that interfere with bone formation

All living organisms have a two-piece structures inside their cells called ribosomes that make proteins—except naked mole rats’ ribosomes, which was just found to have three pieces.

Why Do Naked Mole Rats Live So Long?

The rodents’ usual cellular structure is good at taking information from DNA and making proteins—these proteins may help extend their lifespans

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How One Moth Species Can Jam Bats’ Sonar Systems

Bertholdia trigona, a moth native to the Arizona desert, emits ultrasonic clicks at a rate of 4,500 times per second to blur bats’ acoustic vision

Migaloo, the white whale

Call Me Migaloo: The Story Behind Real-Life White Whales

White whales, such as the recently spotted humpback nicknamed Migaloo, are rare and elusive creatures. How many are there and why are they white?

Blue whale earplugs can reveal some of these aquatic giants’ life events.

Blue Whale Earwax Reveals Pollution Accumulated Over a Lifetime

Earwax collected from a beached whale shows that the creature ingested a host of toxins, such as DDT and mercury, throughout its life

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Energy Innovation

Could Panda Poop Be the Secret to More Efficient Biofuel?

Unique microbes in a panda’s gut efficiently break down bamboo—mass producing these microbes could help scientists make sustainable biofuels

A colorized microscopic image of a viral particle of the Ebola virus. The virus, which scientists believe originates in non-human primates, causes Ebola hemorrhagic fever, a deadly disease in humans, monkeys, gorillas and chimpanzees.

Cracking the Code of the Human Genome

A Minimum of 320,000 Mammalian Viruses Await Discovery

If we invested just $1.4 billion, we could discover 85 percent of all mammalian viruses, potentially lessening the impact of the next emerging disease

In Montana, ground squirrels have been tunneling under a Air Force base’s fences and setting off intruder alarms, prompting researchers to look for a solution.

How One Nuclear Missile Base Is Battling Ground Squirrels

In Montana, squirrels have been tunneling under a base’s fences and setting off intruder alarms, prompting researchers to strengthen its defenses

“I’d rather gnaw a bean than be gnawed by continual fear.”

Scientists Investigate Whether the City Mouse Is Smarter Than the Country Mouse

Contrary to biologists’ expectations, critters living in cities don’t always have an adaptive edge over their rural counterparts

Five Unusual Ways Scientists Are Studying Climate Change

Fossilized urine, old naval logbooks and the recent speeds of satellites are among the unexpected records that track changing climate

The olinguito, a small mammal native to South America, was announced as the first new carnivorous mammal species discovered in the Western Hemisphere in 35 years today.

For the First Time in 35 Years, A New Carnivorous Mammal Species is Discovered in the Americas

The Olinguito, a small South American animal, has evaded the scientific community for all of modern history

New research shows that, like humans, dogs are prone to yawning when they see someone else do it—and they yawn most frequently in response to their owner.

Dogs Yawn Contagiously Too

Like humans, dogs are prone to yawning when they see someone else do it—and a new study shows that they yawn most frequently in response to their owner

New research shows that bottlenose dolphins are capable of long-term memory, recognizing the distinctive whistles of tankmates up to 20 years after they last lived together.

Dolphins Can Remember Their Friends After Twenty Years Apart

Tests on captive animals reveal that the marine mammals now hold the record for retaining memories longer than any other non-human species

A tiger in the Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary in India

Forest Corridors Help Link Tiger Populations in India

Some tigers trek the human-filled landscape between nature preserves to find mates, but such opportunities to ensure genetic diversity are getting rarer

New work suggests that dolphins each have their own distinctive whistle, and respond to hearing their sound made by calling right back.

Do Dolphins Use Whistles to Call Themselves by Unique Names?

Audio experiments show that the marine mammals each have their own whistle, and respond to hearing their distinct whistle by calling right back

Although their perception of color is limited, new research suggests that dogs routinely discriminate between objects based on their hue.

New Study Shows That Dogs Use Color Vision After All

Although their perception of color is limited, dogs discriminate between objects based on their hue—a finding that may change the way dogs are trained

The city of Shanghai presents A True Story (above), an impressive work of mosaïculture, at Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal 2013.

Horticultural Artists Grow Fantastical Scenes at the Montréal Botanical Garden

Take a peek at some of the living artwork entered in an international competition in Quebec this summer

New research shows that unlike any other small mammal, bats stretch their tendons to store and release energy.

Amazing High Speed X-Ray Videos Reveal How Bats Take Flight

Unlike any other small mammal, bats stretch their tendons to store and release energy, helping the creatures launch into the air

The habitual use of antibiotics at industrial farming operations to promote growth can lead to the development of bacteria resistant to the drugs.

Factory Farms May Be Ground-Zero For Drug Resistant Staph Bacteria

Staph microbes with resistance to common treatments are much more common in industrial farms than antibiotic-free operations

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