Body parts reinforced with zinc and manganese make impossible cuts possible, a study suggests If you’ve ever felt the wrath of a biting or stinging insect, it may seem incredible that something so small can so easily slice or puncture human skin. Scientists already knew that some small animals’ piercingContinue Reading
Spiders from at least 11 different families feed on serpents many times their size. A spider’s typical dinner menu might include insects, worms or even small lizards and frogs. But some arachnids have more adventurous tastes — they can eat snakes up to 30 times their size. Take the AustralianContinue Reading
The nursery of endangered sharks would be the first known in U.S. Atlantic waters. It seems like an unlikely place for a nursery of endangered hammerhead sharks, but a recreational hot spot just off the coast of Miami may host a school of these precious babies. If confirmed, the nurseryContinue Reading
A new study is a take on the adage, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” When parasitic wasps come calling, some caterpillars have a surprising ally: a viral infection. Insects called parasitoid wasps lay their eggs inside young moth larvae, turning the caterpillars into unwitting, destined-to-die incubators forContinue Reading
The book grapples with the ethical dilemmas of saving Earth’s animals. On the Arctic Ocean’s fringe, polar bears stand on ice thinning from human-caused climate change. Without thick ice from which to powerfully pounce on seals, many of these symbols of the wild north can’t eat. Should we feed polarContinue Reading
Mice carry a teeming community of bacteria in their guts, and these gut bugs influence how the rodents’ brains work, according to a new study. Specifically, researchers wanted to find out how gut bacteria influence the activity of brain networks involved in mouse social behavior. Normally, when a mouse encountersContinue Reading
A 6- to 8-foot-long great white shark bit the right leg of a 35-year-old man body-boarding off Grey Whale Cove State Beach in San Mateo County, California, Saturday (June 26) morning. Though the bite was “severe,” the man was able to make his way to shore, Bay Area news siteContinue Reading
One bee has cloned itself millions of times over the past three decades. When hives of the African lowland honeybee (Apis mellifera scutella) collapse, they do so because of an invisible inner threat: the growing, immortal clone army of a rival bee subspecies. That army is possible because the femaleContinue Reading
Black bears can actually be black, brown or white. American black bears (Ursus americanus), often simply called black bears, are the most common bears in North America. They live in northern Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. Black bears are smaller than brown bears (Ursus arctos) and polar bears (Ursus maritimus),Continue Reading
Oh, what a tangled web they weave. Spiderwebs are astonishingly complex constructions for objects that are so delicate. Even if webs don’t literally spell out the words “terrific” and “radiant” like those in the book “Charlotte’s Web” do, each is nonetheless an intricate engineering marvel. Building these strong yet ephemeralContinue Reading
