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Science News
Articles from Science News
sciencenews.orgA new book finds parenting inspiration in the animal kingdom
Looking to creatures from burying beetles to spotted hyenas, The Creatures’ Guide to Caring explores what it means to be a good parent.
Cicadas use darkness cues from shadows to move toward trees
When periodical cicadas surface after years underground, they don’t grope blindly for trees. They head for the shadows , researchers report March 20 in the American Naturalist .
Fossil reveals that an early relative of spiders had claws
A stunningly preserved fossil shows that early relatives of spiders and scorpions were already armed with their hallmark front claws about half a billion years ago.
Secrets of the Bees zooms in on life in a hive
At the edge of a wildflower meadow sits an unassuming tan box with a pitched roof. But a closer look reveals the box is buzzing with activity — literally. The warmth of spring has awoken honeybees within this hive. Inside, a baby bee emerges from her wax cell, the first new bee of the year.
How snakes defy gravity to stand tall
Tree-climbing snakes might localize control instead of stiffening their whole body.
Modern apes may have actually evolved in North Africa or the Middle East
Fossil jaw remains found in Egypt suggest that the earliest modern apes evolved in North Africa, not in East Africa where most fossils have been found.
Watch the first video of a sperm whale birth captured by scientists
It takes a village to deliver a whale calf. The birth of a sperm whale has been captured on camera in more intimate detail than ever before!
When were dogs domesticated? The oldest known dog DNA offers clues
Dogs in Europe had been domesticated from wild wolves by at least 14,200 years ago, two new genetic studies suggest. Both studies use ancient DNA recovered from fossil dog bones to revise the early history of domestic dogs.
Female giant rainforest mantises grow up to strike harder than males
Scientists tracked mantis strike force from youth to adulthood, showing females eventually hit far harder than males. Why is a mystery.
Mosquitoes’ butt cells tell them when to stop biting
Mosquitoes have an appetite dampener in their derrières. When mosquitoes’ bellies are full, special cells in their rectums block their bloodthirst , researchers report March 20 in Current Biology . The finding may unlock a way to stop the insects from biting in the first place.
Sharks are ingesting drugs in the Bahamas
Nearly one third of sharks studied near the Bahamas’ Eleuthera Island were found to have caffeine, painkillers and other drugs in their bloodstreams.
Platypuses share a surprising fur feature with birds
Platypuses just got weirder. As if a mammal that lays eggs, senses electricity with its bill and fluoresces isn’t enough of a headscratcher, now it appears platypuses also share a feature with birds.
Wild monkeys invaded Florida. Should people protect them?
A colony of African vervets in Dania Beach raises big questions about how humans can and should manage nonnative species.
Why African striped mice can be the best of dads — or the worst
The difference between a doting dad and a deadbeat one may come down to a molecular switch in the brain — at least in African striped mice.
The Amazon molly — a sex-skipping fish — hacks evolution
The Amazon molly is an evolutionary enigma: an all-female fish that reproduces by cloning itself. Because it doesn’t mix its DNA with a mate’s, Darwinian logic holds that harmful mutations should pile up over time, eventually driving the species extinct.
Submerged bumblebee queens breathe underwater
Submerged bees breathe and use strategies that don’t require oxygen, lab tests show. In nature, that trick could help the bees survive floods.
A koala population’s rapid rebound may let it escape inbreeding's perils
As koalas in southern Australia have grown from a few hundred to almost half a million, the marsupials show signs of regaining lost genetic variation.
Cockroaches that eat each other’s wings turn into a fierce fighting force
The wood-feeding cockroach’s cannibalistic love bites lead to a lasting bond. Afterward, the pair prefer each other over all other roaches.
Here’s how honeyeaters and other birds thrive on sugary diets
To eat a sugar-filled diet, birds had to evolve some sweet genetic tricks. Birds that feed on nectar and fruits have important variants in genes that control metabolism , fat processing and even blood pressure.
Climate change could threaten monarch mass migration
Suitable milkweed habitat in Mexico may shift south, fracturing existing migration routes and possibly pushing some butterflies to stay put.
Keeping a beat wins caterpillars friends in low places
Some caterpillars speak ant by rocking to a beat. By jiggling like a cellphone receiving a call while on vibrate, the caterpillars cozy up to ants, reaping benefits for them both .
An African monkey ate a rope squirrel and came down with mpox
A monkey making a meal of a squirrel may have sparked an outbreak. In early 2023, mpox broke out among a group of a few dozen sooty mangabeys ( Cercocebus atys ) living in Côte d’Ivoire’s Taï National Park.
This itch-triggering protein also sends signals to stop scratching
People who can’t stop scratching itches may finally have a culprit to blame. In mice (and probably people), a protein called TRPV4 is involved both in starting an itch and stopping it after scratching, says neuroscientist Roberta Gualdani.
A mouth built for efficiency may have helped the earliest bird fly
About 150 million years ago, in a coastal lagoon in what is now southern Germany, the oldest known bird gobbled up food with a beak built for efficient eating.
Some dog breeds carry a higher risk of breathing problems
Research reveals more short-snouted dogs besides pugs and bulldogs that struggle with breathing. Pekingese and Japanese Chins topped the study's list.
A new book finds parenting inspiration in the animal kingdom
Looking to creatures from burying beetles to spotted hyenas, The Creatures’ Guide to Caring explores what it means to be a good parent.
Cicadas use darkness cues from shadows to move toward trees
When periodical cicadas surface after years underground, they don’t grope blindly for trees. They head for the shadows , researchers report March 20 in the American Naturalist .
Fossil reveals that an early relative of spiders had claws
A stunningly preserved fossil shows that early relatives of spiders and scorpions were already armed with their hallmark front claws about half a billion years ago.
Secrets of the Bees zooms in on life in a hive
At the edge of a wildflower meadow sits an unassuming tan box with a pitched roof. But a closer look reveals the box is buzzing with activity — literally. The warmth of spring has awoken honeybees within this hive. Inside, a baby bee emerges from her wax cell, the first new bee of the year.
How snakes defy gravity to stand tall
Tree-climbing snakes might localize control instead of stiffening their whole body.
Modern apes may have actually evolved in North Africa or the Middle East
Fossil jaw remains found in Egypt suggest that the earliest modern apes evolved in North Africa, not in East Africa where most fossils have been found.
Watch the first video of a sperm whale birth captured by scientists
It takes a village to deliver a whale calf. The birth of a sperm whale has been captured on camera in more intimate detail than ever before!
When were dogs domesticated? The oldest known dog DNA offers clues
Dogs in Europe had been domesticated from wild wolves by at least 14,200 years ago, two new genetic studies suggest. Both studies use ancient DNA recovered from fossil dog bones to revise the early history of domestic dogs.
Female giant rainforest mantises grow up to strike harder than males
Scientists tracked mantis strike force from youth to adulthood, showing females eventually hit far harder than males. Why is a mystery.
Mosquitoes’ butt cells tell them when to stop biting
Mosquitoes have an appetite dampener in their derrières. When mosquitoes’ bellies are full, special cells in their rectums block their bloodthirst , researchers report March 20 in Current Biology . The finding may unlock a way to stop the insects from biting in the first place.
Sharks are ingesting drugs in the Bahamas
Nearly one third of sharks studied near the Bahamas’ Eleuthera Island were found to have caffeine, painkillers and other drugs in their bloodstreams.
Platypuses share a surprising fur feature with birds
Platypuses just got weirder. As if a mammal that lays eggs, senses electricity with its bill and fluoresces isn’t enough of a headscratcher, now it appears platypuses also share a feature with birds.
Wild monkeys invaded Florida. Should people protect them?
A colony of African vervets in Dania Beach raises big questions about how humans can and should manage nonnative species.
Why African striped mice can be the best of dads — or the worst
The difference between a doting dad and a deadbeat one may come down to a molecular switch in the brain — at least in African striped mice.
The Amazon molly — a sex-skipping fish — hacks evolution
The Amazon molly is an evolutionary enigma: an all-female fish that reproduces by cloning itself. Because it doesn’t mix its DNA with a mate’s, Darwinian logic holds that harmful mutations should pile up over time, eventually driving the species extinct.
Submerged bumblebee queens breathe underwater
Submerged bees breathe and use strategies that don’t require oxygen, lab tests show. In nature, that trick could help the bees survive floods.
A koala population’s rapid rebound may let it escape inbreeding's perils
As koalas in southern Australia have grown from a few hundred to almost half a million, the marsupials show signs of regaining lost genetic variation.
Cockroaches that eat each other’s wings turn into a fierce fighting force
The wood-feeding cockroach’s cannibalistic love bites lead to a lasting bond. Afterward, the pair prefer each other over all other roaches.
Here’s how honeyeaters and other birds thrive on sugary diets
To eat a sugar-filled diet, birds had to evolve some sweet genetic tricks. Birds that feed on nectar and fruits have important variants in genes that control metabolism , fat processing and even blood pressure.
Climate change could threaten monarch mass migration
Suitable milkweed habitat in Mexico may shift south, fracturing existing migration routes and possibly pushing some butterflies to stay put.
Keeping a beat wins caterpillars friends in low places
Some caterpillars speak ant by rocking to a beat. By jiggling like a cellphone receiving a call while on vibrate, the caterpillars cozy up to ants, reaping benefits for them both .
An African monkey ate a rope squirrel and came down with mpox
A monkey making a meal of a squirrel may have sparked an outbreak. In early 2023, mpox broke out among a group of a few dozen sooty mangabeys ( Cercocebus atys ) living in Côte d’Ivoire’s Taï National Park.
This itch-triggering protein also sends signals to stop scratching
People who can’t stop scratching itches may finally have a culprit to blame. In mice (and probably people), a protein called TRPV4 is involved both in starting an itch and stopping it after scratching, says neuroscientist Roberta Gualdani.
A mouth built for efficiency may have helped the earliest bird fly
About 150 million years ago, in a coastal lagoon in what is now southern Germany, the oldest known bird gobbled up food with a beak built for efficient eating.
Some dog breeds carry a higher risk of breathing problems
Research reveals more short-snouted dogs besides pugs and bulldogs that struggle with breathing. Pekingese and Japanese Chins topped the study's list.
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