A group of scientists unveiled the first results last week of an ambitious effort to map the genes of tens of thousands of animal species,…
Japanese macaques at Jigokudani hot spring in Nagano have become notable for their winter visits to the spa. The macaque has other unusual behaviors,…
A new study has identified numerous gestures that mean the same thing to both species. That suggests these signals have biological underpinnings and could…
The world’s fastest hunter—the peregrine falcon—snatches prey out of the sky at speeds of more than 300 kilometers per hour. This breakneck maneuver, called…
The ancient Egyptians famously worshipped them; they traveled the world on Viking ships, and today they are some of the Internet’s best memes. But,…
In tropical seas, flying fish leap out of the water, gliding for up to 200 meters, before dipping back into the sea. In the…
Katie Langin reports in Science Magazine, this unprecedented footage was captured by wildlife filmmakers Kirsten and Joachim Jakobsen, a wife and husband team who…
How deep into the Earth can we go and still find life? Marine microbiologist Karen Lloyd introduces us to deep-subsurface microbes: tiny organisms that…
Soft, squishy caterpillars might seem like easy prey to a hungry predator, but one species doesn’t give up without a fight. Fully developed caterpillars…
Scientists excavated six Matabele ant colonies and brought them back to the lab. Some ants were experimentally wounded by pulling off two of their legs,…
Hummingbirds are the fighter pilots of the avian world, diving, and weaving at speeds of up to 55 kilometers per hour—then turning on a dime…
As predators chase down their prey on the open savanna it’s a race for survival. Lions and cheetahs are some of the most athletic animals…
The bonnethead shark (Sphyrna tiburo), which sticks close to shore and hunts in shallow waters frequented by humans, usually dines on shrimp, small crabs, and…
The frilled tentacles of the Halitrephes maasi jelly came into view at 1225m in the Revillagigedo Archipelago off Baja California, Mexico. Radial canals that move…
Cornelia Habl, a master’s student at the University of Vienna, and Alice M. I. Auersperg, a researcher at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna,…
Zodarion germanicum is an ant-eating spider. If the spider encounters an ant, it retreats and stalks its prey from behind. The bitten ant will continue…
Scientists filmed a great tit opening a white paper packet stamped with a black square. Inside were bits of almond soaked with a bitter fluid.…
Imagine that instead of switching on a lamp when it gets dark, you could read by the light of a glowing plant on your desk.…
Greg Gage is a neuroscientist, biomedical engineer, co-founder of Backyard Brains, and TED Fellow. He spent many years as an electrical engineer designing retail systems…
Electric fish produce their electrical fields from a specialized structure called an electric organ. This is made up of modified muscle or nerve cells, which…