Odd Creatures: Plants & Animals
April 30, 2025
Top Headlines
Apr. 28, 2025 — Even under today's climatic conditions, the long-extinct straight-tusked elephant could still live in Europe. This is the conclusion of a recent study. For this finding, the research group combined fossil finds with reconstructions of past ...
Apr. 28, 2025 — Forget fleeting friendships the social secrets of the long-tailed tit has revealed an extraordinary level of family commitment even during migratory journeys. Birds that babysit: scientists reveal long-tailed tits' remarkable family ...
Apr. 28, 2025 — Through intensive breeding, humans have pushed breeds such as pug dogs and Persian cats to evolve with very similar skulls and 'smushed' faces, so they're more similar to each other than they are to other dogs or ...
Apr. 25, 2025 — A recent study provides evidence that some results of behavioral experiments with insects cannot be fully reproduced. So far, possible reproducibility problems have been little discussed in this ...
Latest Headlines
updated 2:53pm EDT
Apr. 24, 2025 — An international team of malacologists discovered a new snail species, Anauchen picasso, in Southeast Asia that exhibits a highly complex and rectangularly angled shell shape, resembling a ...
Apr. 24, 2025 — Female bonobos team up to suppress male aggression against them -- the first evidence of animals deploying this strategy. In 85% of observed ...
Apr. 24, 2025 — A 113-million-year-old hell ant that once lived in northeastern Brazil is now the oldest ant specimen known to science, finds a new report. The hell ant, which was preserved in limestone, is a member ...
Apr. 23, 2025 — Researchers discovered tiny features on sculpins' fins which may enable them to cling firmly in harsh underwater ...
Apr. 23, 2025 — Bite marks found on a skeleton discovered in a Roman cemetery in York have revealed the first archaeological evidence of gladiatorial combat between a human and a ...
Apr. 23, 2025 — If you haven't heard of a tardigrade before, prepare to be wowed. These clumsy, eight-legged creatures, nicknamed water bears, are about half a millimeter long and can survive practically anything: ...
Apr. 22, 2025 — Scientists have identified a novel species of bacteria that acts as electrical wiring, potentially ushering in a new era of bioelectronic devices for use in medicine, industry, food safety, and ...
Apr. 22, 2025 — Researchers are testing a new type of cattle feed that could help dairy cows release less methane gas from burps and flatulence and use nutrients more efficiently. Because methane traps heat in the ...
Apr. 21, 2025 — Use of psilocybin, the hallucinogenic chemical found in what is known as 'magic mushrooms,' has increased significantly nationwide since 2019, ...
Apr. 21, 2025 — What roils beneath the Earth's surface may feel a world away, but the activity can help forge land masses that dictate ocean circulation, climate ...
Earlier Headlines
Apr. 21, 2025 — The study highlights the transformative potential of the Rights of Nature, which views nature as a rights-bearing entity, not merely an object of regulation and subjugation by extractive industries. ...
Apr. 21, 2025 — Wild chimpanzees have been pictured eating and sharing fruit containing ...
Apr. 16, 2025 — Astronomers have detected the most promising signs yet of a possible biosignature outside the solar system, although they remain ...
Apr. 16, 2025 — Researchers have isolated a giant virus, which was named Jyvaskylavirus. The discovery shows that giant viruses are more common in northern regions than researchers have thought. It also illustrates ...
Apr. 16, 2025 — Engineers have developed a building material that uses the root-like mycelium of a fungus and bacteria cells. Their results show that this material -- which is manufactured with living cells at low ...
Apr. 16, 2025 — A bioreactor that mimics a circulatory system can deliver nutrients and oxygen to artificial tissue, enabling the production of over 10 grams of chicken muscle for cultured meat ...
Apr. 16, 2025 — An international team of scientists and crew on board Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel Falkor (too) was the first to film the colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) in its natural ...
Studying How Seals Adapt to Extreme Environments Could Lead to Benefits in Human Reproductive Health
Apr. 15, 2025 — Wild animals that have acquired adaptions to maximize their reproductive output in some of the world's most extreme conditions may provide answers to some of the most pressing problems in the ...
Apr. 14, 2025 — Footprints of armored dinosaurs with tail clubs have been identified, following discoveries made in the Canadian Rockies. The 100-million-year-old fossilized footprints were found at sites at both ...
Apr. 10, 2025 — New research into the overlooked environmental impact of pet dogs has found far-reaching negative effects on wildlife, ecosystems and ...
Apr. 9, 2025 — Rhinos that flourished across much of North America 12 million years ago gathered in huge herds, according to a new ...
Apr. 9, 2025 — A new, exploratory study has revealed statistical links between the performance of medical detection dogs and their scores on behavioral and affective tests, finding that more 'optimistic' ...
Apr. 9, 2025 — Milky seas are a rare bioluminescent phenomenon where vast areas of the ocean glow at night, sometimes for months. This glow, likely caused by Vibrio harveyi bacteria, has been reported by sailors ...
Apr. 9, 2025 — A new genomic study has uncovered long-lost genetic diversity in mammoth lineages spanning over a million years, providing new insights into the evolutionary history of these ...
Apr. 9, 2025 — A new study reveals the modern arid desert between Africa and Saudi Arabia was once regularly lush and green with rivers and lakes over a period of 8 million years, allowing for the occupation and ...
Apr. 9, 2025 — While it may be an unfamiliar sensation to humans, electroreception is relatively commonplace in the animal kingdom. Sharks, bees and even the platypus all share this ability to detect electric ...
Apr. 8, 2025 — About 66 million years ago, an asteroid slammed into the planet, wiping out all non-avian dinosaurs and about 70% of all marine species. But the crater it left behind in the Gulf of Mexico was a ...
Apr. 8, 2025 — Researchers report their discovery of fluorescent pigments in the feathers of Long-eared Owls, that can only be seen by humans with the help of ultraviolet ...
Apr. 8, 2025 — The idea that dinosaurs were already in decline before an asteroid wiped most of them out 66 million years ago may be explained by a worsening fossil record from that time rather than a genuine ...
Apr. 7, 2025 — Scientists have discovered a new phylum of microbes in the Earth's Critical Zone, an area of deep soil that restores water quality. Ground water, which becomes drinking water, passes through ...
Monday, April 21, 2025
Wednesday, April 16, 2025
- Strongest Hints Yet of Biological Activity Outside the Solar System
- New Giant Virus Isolated
- Living Fungus-Based Building Material Repairs Itself for Over a Month
- Bite-Sized Chunks of Chicken With the Texture of Whole Meat Can Be Grown in the Lab
- First Confirmed Footage of a Colossal Squid -- And It's a Baby!
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
- Studying How Seals Adapt to Extreme Environments Could Lead to Benefits in Human Reproductive Health
Monday, April 14, 2025
Thursday, April 10, 2025
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
- Prehistoric Rhinos Lived in Super-Herds
- Do 'optimistic' Versus 'pessimistic' Medical Detection Dogs Perform Differently?
- With New Database Researchers May Be Able to Predict Rare Milky Seas Bioluminescent, Glowing Event
- Mammoth Genetic Diversity Throughout the Last Million Years
- 8 Million Years of 'Green Arabia'
- Scientists Discover That Fruit Fly Larvae Can Sense Electric Fields
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
- Life Recovered Rapidly at Site of Dino-Killing Asteroid: A Hydrothermal System May Have Helped
- New Research Finds Fluorescence in Feathers of Long-Eared Owls
- Dinosaurs' Apparent Decline Prior to Asteroid May Be Due to Poor Fossil Record
Monday, April 7, 2025
- Scientists Discover Microbes in Earth's Deep Soil
- Saturn's Moon Titan Could Harbor Life, but Only a Tiny Amount, Study Finds
- The New Season of The Last of Us Has a Spore-Ting Chance at Realism
Thursday, April 3, 2025
- Revealing Capillaries and Cells in Living Organs With Ultrasound
- Western Diet Causes Inflammation, Traditional African Food Protects
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
- Monkeys Are World's Best Yodellers -- New Research
- Microplastics Detected in Cat Placentas and Fetuses During Early Pregnancy
- Miso Made in Space Tastes Nuttier
- First Ancient Genomes from the Green Sahara Deciphered
Monday, March 31, 2025
Thursday, March 27, 2025
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
- New Species Revealed After 25 Years of Study on 'inside Out' Fossil -- And Named After Discoverer's Mum
- Rare Disease Drug Nitisinone Makes Human Blood Deadly to Mosquitoes
- Cuttlefish 'mesmerize' Their Prey With a Moving Skin Pattern, Study Finds
- Making Sturdy, Semi-Transparent Wood With Cheap, Natural Materials
- Getting Hit by Lightning Is Good for Some Tropical Trees
- New Study Shines a Light on the Mechanics of Bioluminescence in the Rare Fish Vinciguerria Mabahiss
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
- Fluorescent Caves Could Explain How Life Persists in Extraterrestrial Environments
- Were Large Soda Lakes the Cradle of Life?
Monday, March 24, 2025
- Chimpanzees Act as 'engineers', Choosing Materials to Make Tools Based on Structural and Mechanical Properties
- Scientists Engineer Starfish Cells to Shape-Shift in Response to Light
- New Research Reveals Secrets About Locust Swarm Movement
Thursday, March 20, 2025
- Galapagos Birds Exhibit 'road Rage' Due to Noise
- Insomniac Fruit Fly Mutants Show Enhanced Memory Despite Severe Sleep Loss
- From Dinosaurs to Birds: The Origins of Feather Formation
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
- Tiny Musky Rat-Kangaroos Hold the Key to Explain Why 'roos Hop
- Marine Animals Help Solve Ocean Issues
- Unknown Microorganisms Used Marble and Limestone as a Habitat
- Science Behind 'Polly Want a Cracker' Could Guide Future Treatment Design for Speech Disorders
- Squirrel-Inspired Leaping Robot Can Stick a Landing on a Branch
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
- Scientists Uncover Principles Underlying the Toxicity of 'selfish' Genes
- New Fossil Discovery Reveals How Volcanic Deposits Can Preserve the Microscopic Details of Animal Tissues
Monday, March 17, 2025
- RNA Origami: Artificial Cytoskeletons to Build Synthetic Cells
- Magnetic Microalgae on a Mission to Become Robots
- How a Hummingbird Chick Acts Like a Caterpillar to Survive
- How Big Brains and Flexible Skulls Led to the Evolution of Modern Birds
- Iguanas Floated One-Fifth of the Way Around the World to Colonize Fiji
Friday, March 14, 2025
Thursday, March 13, 2025
Wednesday, March 12, 2025
- Signs of Alien Life May Be Hiding in These Gases
- Scientists Develop Solar-Powered Method to Convert Sewage Sludge Into Green Hydrogen and Animal Feed
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
- Butterflies Choose Mates Because They Are More Attractive, Not Just Easier to See
- A 62-Million-Year-Old Skeleton Sheds Light on an Enigmatic Mammal
Monday, March 10, 2025
- Discovery: The Great Whale Pee Funnel Moves Vital Nutrients
- Intranasal Herpes Infection May Produce Neurobehavioral Symptoms
Sunday, March 9, 2025
Friday, March 7, 2025
Thursday, March 6, 2025
- Bacterial 'jumping Genes' Can Target and Control Chromosome Ends
- Study Raises the Possibility of a Country Without Butterflies
- Tracking Polar Bears During Their Most Secretive Stage of Life
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
- The Chances of Anything Coming from Mars
- Insect Populations Are Declining -- And That Is Not a Good Thing
- Packets of Freeze-Dried Bacteria Grow Biocement on Demand
- Iconic Australian Bird Reveals Hidden Farming Talent
Tuesday, March 4, 2025
- Amphibians Bounce-Back from Earth's Greatest Mass Extinction
- Giant Clone of Seaweed in the Baltic Sea
Monday, March 3, 2025
Friday, February 28, 2025
- New Device Could Allow You to Taste a Cake in Virtual Reality
- Drone Captures Narwhals Using Their Tusks to Explore, Forage and Play
Thursday, February 27, 2025
- The International Space Station Is Overly Sterile; Making It 'dirtier' Could Improve Astronaut Health
- When Birds Lose the Ability to Fly, Their Bodies Change Faster Than Their Feathers
- Can We Find Floating Vegetation on Ocean Planets?
Wednesday, February 26, 2025
- Eavesdropping on Whale Songs Sparks New Discoveries in Whale Ecology
- Feeding Anemone: Symbiote Fish Actively Feed Hosts in Wild
- Fish Teeth Show How Ease of Innovation Enables Rapid Evolution
Tuesday, February 25, 2025
- Humans Inherited Their Flexible Joints from the Earliest Jawed Fish
- Bite-Size Clue May Help Rediscover the Missing Desert Rat-Kangaroo
- 'Smarts' Count: Evolution of Intelligence
Monday, February 24, 2025
Friday, February 21, 2025
Thursday, February 20, 2025
- Predator Robots Help Researchers Uncover How Larval Zebrafish Rapidly Learn
- Researchers Outline New Approach for Better Understanding Animal Consciousness
- Big Birds Like Emus Are Technical Innovators, Study Shows
Wednesday, February 19, 2025
- For Success in Bioelectronics, Build With Nature-Inspired Design
- Bio-Hybrid Drone Uses Silkworm Moth Antennae to Navigate Using Smell
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
- Wild Fish Can Recognize Individual Divers
- Coffee Grounds and Reishi Mushroom Spores Can Be 3D Printed Into a Compostable Alternative to Plastics
- Scientists Decode Diet from Stool DNA -- No Questions Asked
Monday, February 17, 2025
- Near-Complete Skull Discovery Reveals 'top Apex', Leopard-Sized 'fearsome' Carnivore
- This Research Is Absolutely Nuts -- For Better Health Care