New Scientist

Subscribe to New Scientist feed New Scientist
New Scientist - Life
Updated: 20 hours 42 min ago

Male and female spiders pair up to look like a flower

Fri, 03/22/2024 - 03:00
Together, a dark-hued male crab spider and a larger, paler female resemble a flower, in what researchers suspect is the first case of cooperative mimicry
Categories: Fossils

Fluffy beetle discovered in Australia may be the world's hairiest

Thu, 03/21/2024 - 08:02
The exceptionally long white hairs on the newly named longhorn beetle Excastra albopilosa may deceive predators into thinking it’s covered in fungus
Categories: Fossils

Blue tits shared a tree hollow with bird-eating bats – and survived

Thu, 03/21/2024 - 01:00
A pair of blue tits were seen nesting in a tree cavity that was also inhabited by about 25 greater noctule bats, which commonly eat blue tits, but the birds lived to tell the tale
Categories: Fossils

Extinct freshwater dolphin from the Amazon was largest of all time

Wed, 03/20/2024 - 13:00
A dolphin that lived in the Amazon 16 million years ago grew to a length of 3.5 metres – larger than any other freshwater dolphin
Categories: Fossils

Chimp mothers play with their youngsters even when times are tough

Thu, 03/14/2024 - 10:00
Ten years’ worth of observations of a wild chimpanzee community show that most adults stop playing when food is short, but not mothers and their young
Categories: Fossils

Saving the world's largest flowers in the Philippines

Wed, 03/13/2024 - 13:00
These stunning photographs, taken by botanist Chris Thorogood, chart the quest to protect species of Rafflesia, which are on the brink of extinction in the Philippines
Categories: Fossils

In Frank Herbert’s Dune, fungi are hidden in plain sight

Wed, 03/13/2024 - 09:00
There is more lurking below the surface of Arrakis than sandworms. Dune author Frank Herbert had a keen interest in fungi, and so should we, says Corrado Nai
Categories: Fossils

Plant-killing genetic technology could wipe out superweeds

Wed, 03/13/2024 - 05:00
A ‘gene drive’ that spreads through plant populations could be used to wipe out pests such as superweeds, or to help save species by making them resistant to heat or disease
Categories: Fossils

City moths may have evolved smaller wings due to light pollution

Tue, 03/12/2024 - 19:01
Populations of moths living in urban places may have evolved smaller wings to limit how much bright city lights disrupt their lives
Categories: Fossils

Giant sequoia trees are growing surprisingly quickly in the UK

Tue, 03/12/2024 - 19:01
Since their introduction in the 1800s, giant sequoia trees in the UK have grown up to 55 metres tall and capture 85 kilograms of carbon a year on average
Categories: Fossils

Plants send out 'distress calls' – but can other plants hear them?

Tue, 03/12/2024 - 09:00
Some studies have claimed that plants emit sounds when stressed and might perceive the distress calls of other plants, but a review finds the evidence is lacking
Categories: Fossils

The surprising ways animals react to a total solar eclipse

Tue, 03/12/2024 - 06:00
When the moon hides the sun in a total solar eclipse, some animals seem to think that it is briefly nighttime, while others pace anxiously or even gaze up at the sky
Categories: Fossils

Blind cave fish offers lessons in how to survive starvation

Mon, 03/11/2024 - 10:00
Unlike most other animals, the cave-dwelling Mexican tetra doesn’t get a fatty liver when it is malnourished – and its secrets could lead to medical benefits for other species
Categories: Fossils

Flightless terror birds stalked Antarctica after the dinosaurs' demise

Mon, 03/11/2024 - 05:50
Two fossil claws found on Seymour Island reveal that phorusrhacids, or terror birds, lived in Antarctica 50 million years ago and were probably the apex predator
Categories: Fossils

Clownfish avoid the sting of their anemone hosts with sugary slime

Thu, 03/07/2024 - 15:20
As a clownfish spends time with an anemone, its mucus coating begins to change. Chemical tweaks to sugars in the slime may calm stinging cells in anemone tentacles
Categories: Fossils

Worm-like amphibian produces a kind of milk for its hatchlings

Thu, 03/07/2024 - 13:00
After hatching from eggs, young ringed caecilians feed on their mother’s skin, but also on a milk-like substance secreted from her rear end
Categories: Fossils

Salmon farms are increasingly being hit by mass die-offs

Thu, 03/07/2024 - 10:00
Mass mortality events at salmon farms have been getting more frequent since 2011, sometimes killing millions of fish at once, with causes including heatwaves and poor living conditions
Categories: Fossils

Hunger-inducing mutation makes some Labradors more likely to get fat

Wed, 03/06/2024 - 13:00
Dogs with a mutation in the POMC gene, common in Labradors and flat-coated retrievers, have a stronger appetite for snacks between meals and a lower metabolic rate
Categories: Fossils

Bumblebees show each other how to solve complex puzzles

Wed, 03/06/2024 - 10:00
Puzzles that bumblebees cannot solve on their own can be cracked with help from another bee, adding to research on the transmission of culture among insects
Categories: Fossils

Is the woolly mammoth really on the brink of being resurrected?

Wed, 03/06/2024 - 09:00
A company called Colossal claims it has taken a "momentous step" towards bringing back the woolly mammoth. Here's all you need to know about whether such a feat is possible
Categories: Fossils

Pages

S M T W T F S
 
 
 
 
 
1
 
2
 
3
 
4
 
5
 
6
 
7
 
8
 
9
 
10
 
11
 
12
 
13
 
14
 
15
 
16
 
17
 
18
 
19
 
20
 
21
 
22
 
23
 
24
 
25
 
26
 
27
 
28
 
29
 
30