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Updated: 10 hours 51 min ago

Dancing turtles help us understand how they navigate around the world

Wed, 02/12/2025 - 10:00
Some turtles "dance" when they anticipate food, which gives us clues as to how they navigate from A to B
Categories: Fossils

How a moth uses an optical illusion to disguise itself as a leaf

Wed, 02/12/2025 - 10:00
The smooth wings of fruit-sucking moths appear to be ridged like a leaf – but the resemblance is created by nanostructures that reflect light in an unusual way
Categories: Fossils

Quail-sized feathered dinosaur may be the earliest known bird

Wed, 02/12/2025 - 10:00
Archaeopteryx, long considered the earliest fossil bird, could be knocked off its perch by Baminornis zhenghensis, which lived around 150 million years ago and had a short tail like those of modern birds
Categories: Fossils

A whole new world of tiny beings challenges fundamental ideas of life

Wed, 02/12/2025 - 10:00
The surprising discovery of entities smaller than viruses raises profound questions about what life is and how it got started
Categories: Fossils

SpaceX launch site is haven for threatened and endangered species

Tue, 02/11/2025 - 02:00
Vandenberg Space Force Base in Lompoc, California, is home to the US Space Force and is a major Space X launch site. It's also home to unique and rare biodiversity
Categories: Fossils

Humpback whale songs have patterns that resemble human language

Thu, 02/06/2025 - 13:00
The sounds that make up humpback whale songs follow some of the same statistical rules seen in human languages, which may be because of how they are learned
Categories: Fossils

London Underground mutant mosquitoes have surprisingly ancient origins

Thu, 02/06/2025 - 10:00
Genetic analysis suggests a form of mosquito found in urban subway systems evolved in the Middle East thousands of years ago
Categories: Fossils

Amazing plesiosaur fossil preserves its skin and scales

Thu, 02/06/2025 - 10:00
A remarkable plesiosaur fossil reveals that the extinct reptiles had scales like modern sea turtles, unlike the ichthyosaurs that lived during the same period
Categories: Fossils

Cuddling koalas show unexpected sociable side in surprising video

Wed, 02/05/2025 - 21:00
A group of male koalas were filmed grooming and playing together, in contrast to their solitary reputation, probably as a result of an unusually dense population in southern Victoria
Categories: Fossils

Ancient relative of geese is the earliest known modern bird

Wed, 02/05/2025 - 10:00
A newly analysed fossil skull settles a palaeontological debate over Vegavis iaai, confirming it as a relative of ducks and geese that lived 69 million years ago
Categories: Fossils

Spiders can run just as fast after two of their legs drop off

Tue, 02/04/2025 - 09:16
When spiders self-amputate two of their legs, they quickly adjust their running gait so they can return to full speed
Categories: Fossils

Bonobos can tell when they know something you don't

Mon, 02/03/2025 - 14:00
Recognising that someone lacks information you possess is key for effective communication and cooperation, and bonobos seem to share this skill with humans
Categories: Fossils

Ángela Maldonado: Saving monkeys from an illegal Amazon wildlife trade

Sat, 02/01/2025 - 04:00
From narcos to navigating FARC paramilitaries, Angela Maldonado has been spearheading a campaign to protect the Amazon's night monkeys from an illegal wildlife trade
Categories: Fossils

Salamanders fill their toes with blood before each step

Fri, 01/31/2025 - 14:20
Wandering salamanders pump their toes full of blood before lifting their feet, a trick that may help them release their sticky grip while conserving energy
Categories: Fossils

Amazon river dolphins may send messages with aerial streams of urine

Fri, 01/31/2025 - 06:51
Male dolphins have been observed shooting jets of urine into the air and other dolphins seem to follow the stream, perhaps to pick up social cues
Categories: Fossils

How polar bears stop ice from freezing on their fur

Wed, 01/29/2025 - 13:00
Indigenous peoples of the Arctic traditionally use polar bear fur for its ice-resistant properties, but the science behind the bears’ natural antifreeze hasn't been studied until now
Categories: Fossils

How humans evolved to think about risk may cost Earth dearly

Wed, 01/29/2025 - 12:00
A provocative new book delves into the way humans – and elephants – evolved to manage risk. We might do better to think more like elephants
Categories: Fossils

A lively history shows that the human neck is full of surprises

Wed, 01/29/2025 - 12:00
The neck is less than 1 per cent of the human body's surface area, but it plays an oversized role in our lives, reveals Kent Dunlap's engaging natural and cultural history
Categories: Fossils

Giant sloths lived alongside humans in South America for millennia

Thu, 01/23/2025 - 11:00
South American megafauna, from giant sloths to camel-like creatures, survived thousands of years longer than we thought, challenging the idea that they were hunted to extinction by humans
Categories: Fossils

Dinosaurs may have first evolved in the Sahara and Amazon rainforest

Thu, 01/23/2025 - 10:00
Many think dinosaurs first emerged on land well south of the equator that now forms part of Argentina and Zimbabwe, but they may have actually arisen in tougher conditions near the equator
Categories: Fossils

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