Animals
- Materials Science
Orange food dye can temporarily turn skin transparent
When mixed with water and rubbed on the skin, a common food dye allows researchers to peer inside the body of a mouse.
- Animals
Among chimpanzees, peeing is contagious
One individual chimpanzee peeing prompts others to follow suit — but scientists don’t know why.
- Science & Society
Does your natural history museum need a makeover?
A lot of their old-fashioned dioramas — a type of exhibit — are biased, boring or even unscientific. Here’s what modern museums are doing to fix that.
By Amber Dance - Animals
A changing Arctic current seems to be impacting bowhead whales
A teen researcher investigated bowhead whales and found their migrations may be responding to a changing sea current.
- Animals
Scientists Say: Caecilian
Some of these amphibians can produce a milk-like liquid for their offspring and give birth to live young. And those aren't the only rules these rebels break.
- Animals
Tiger beetles weaponize sound to ward off bat predators
Some beetles make ultrasonic clicks that camouflage them as toxic tiger moths, warning hungry bats to stay away.
By Maria Temming and JoAnna Wendel - Animals
Analyze This: When do cats move like liquids?
Cats flow through narrow openings but hesitate before short openings. That may help them avoid unseen danger in the wild.
By Carolyn Wilke and Andrea Tamayo - Tech
Meet 5 types of robots with living body parts
Creature-machine mash-ups seem weird or even creepy. But biohybrids that make use of living tissue could be the future of robotics.
- Animals
A surprising number of animals eat poop
A new tally finds more than 150 vertebrate species willing to snack on feces. Eating poop offers nutrients and other benefits.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Meet some of the longest-lived animals
Think a 100-year-old person is old? Not compared to the world’s longest-lived animals — some of which have lifespans of thousands of years.
- Tech
Bird-inspired airplane wings could boost flight performance
Rows of flaps inspired by a bird wings’ feathers improve airfoil performance to boost lift and reduce drag.
By Nikk Ogasa - Animals
Let’s learn about octopuses
These clever, color-changing cephalopods live all over the world.