Odd Creatures: Plants & Animals
April 24, 2024
Top Headlines
Apr. 23, 2024 — Bioluminescence first evolved in animals at least 540 million years ago in a group of marine invertebrates called octocorals, according to the results of a new study. The study focuses on an ancient group of marine invertebrates that includes soft ...
Apr. 23, 2024 — Palaeontologists have solved a hundred-year-old mystery of how some fossil frogs preserve their fleshy parts -- it's all down to their skin. Palaeontologists studied 45-million-year-old fossil frogs from the Geiseltal site in central Germany. ...
Apr. 19, 2024 — What can be done when one threatened animal kills another? Scientists studying critically endangered lemurs in Madagascar confronted this difficult reality when they witnessed attacks on lemurs by another vulnerable species, a carnivore called a ...
Apr. 18, 2024 — A new robotic suction cup which can grasp rough, curved and heavy stone, has been developed by ...
Latest Headlines
updated 10:58pm EDT
Apr. 17, 2024 — The fossilized remains of a second gigantic jawbone measuring more than two meters long has been found on a beach in Somerset, ...
Apr. 17, 2024 — Chattering squirrels, charming coypus, and tail-slapping beavers -- along with some other rodents -- have orange-brown front teeth. Researchers have ...
Apr. 17, 2024 — To make weeding easier, scientists suggest bioengineering crops to be colorful or to have differently shaped leaves so that they can be more easily distinguished from their wild and weedy ...
Apr. 16, 2024 — Young male blue tits are less successful in fathering offspring outside their breeding pair, not because of a lack of experience, but because they ...
Apr. 12, 2024 — In the sun-scorched Pilbara region of north-western Australia, scientists have unearthed a mysterious creature from the shadows -- a new ant species ...
Apr. 15, 2024 — Researchers have made a groundbreaking discovery regarding number sense in animals by confirming the existence of discrete number sense in rats, offering a crucial animal model for investigating the ...
Apr. 15, 2024 — An international team of scientists has published a single-cell atlas for Pristina leidyi (Pristina), the water nymph worm, a segmented annelid with extraordinary regenerative abilities that has ...
Apr. 15, 2024 — A series of whole genome and gene duplication events that go back hundreds of millions of years have laid the foundations for tissue-specific gene ...
Apr. 15, 2024 — Sport junkie or couch potato? Always on time or often late? The animal kingdom, too, is home to a range of personalities, each with its own lifestyle. Biologists report on a surprising discovery: ...
Apr. 11, 2024 — Researchers show that ozone levels, such as those found in many places on hot summer days today, destroy the sex pheromones of fruit fly species. As a result, some natural mating boundaries ...
Earlier Headlines
Apr. 9, 2024 — Scientists from Macquarie University have come up with an innovative way to stop cane toads killing native wildlife by training goannas to avoid eating the deadly ...
Apr. 9, 2024 — Several similar large, fossilized bone fragments have been discovered in various regions across Western and Central Europe since the 19th century. The animal group to which they belonged is still the ...
Apr. 8, 2024 — Genetic analysis finds evidence suggesting that acoustic fat bodies in the heads of toothed whales were once the muscles and bone marrow of the ...
Apr. 8, 2024 — Scientists are amazed at the discovery of a bristle worm with such sharp-seeing eyes that they can measure up to those of mammals and octopuses. The researchers suspect that these marine worms may ...
Apr. 3, 2024 — Researchers have discovered a new bacterial killer that can target common lung infection caused by Burkholderia bacteria that has exciting potential for biotechnological ...
Apr. 3, 2024 — Researchers have genetically engineered bacteria to grow animal- and plastic-free leather that dyes ...
Apr. 3, 2024 — Genomic anamolies dating back to the time of the dinosaurs misled scientists about the evolutionary history of ...
Mar. 28, 2024 — Through DNA sequencing of Tasmanian devils and their tumors, researchers have tracked the genomic interactions between the animals and the ...
Mar. 27, 2024 — Australian rock-wallabies are 'little Napoleons' when it comes to compensating for small size, packing much more punch into their bite than larger relatives. Researchers made the discovery ...
Mar. 27, 2024 — Researchers have recovered remarkably preserved microbiomes from two teeth dating back 4,000 years, found in an Irish limestone cave. Genetic analyses of these microbiomes reveal major changes in the ...
Mar. 27, 2024 — This unusual, subterranean mammal with extreme longevity shows genetic adaptations to low oxygen environments which could offer opportunities for advancing other areas of physiological and medical ...
Mar. 27, 2024 — In a remarkable discovery, whole milk powder manufactured in New Zealand in 1907 and transported to Antarctica with explorers seeking the South Pole was unveiled after more than a century. The find ...
Mar. 26, 2024 — Tardigrade proteins are potential candidates in technologies centered on slowing the aging process and in long-term storage of human ...
Mar. 26, 2024 — Two red-tailed coral snakes have been observed competing over a caecilian in the first documented wild case of kleptoparasitism within the family ...
Mar. 25, 2024 — Scientists have discovered how honeybees can decipher dances by their hive mates that relay directions to ...
Mar. 25, 2024 — A small-bird species, the Japanese tit (Parus minor), uses wing movements as a gesture to convey the message 'after you,' according to new research. When a mating pair arrives at their nest ...
Mar. 22, 2024 — Spiders that disguise themselves as ants live in many locations around the globe but until now most had been able to avoid detection from fossil researchers as well as ...
Mar. 22, 2024 — Could life be found in frozen sea spray from moons orbiting Saturn or Jupiter? New research finds that life can be detected in a single ice grain containing one bacterial cell or portions of a cell. ...
Mar. 22, 2024 — Archaeological analysis of a near unique animal cemetery discovered in London nearly 30 years ago has revealed there was an international horse trading network, orchestrated by the elites of late ...
Mar. 21, 2024 — Scientists have uncovered the fossilized skull of a 270-million-year-old ancient amphibian ancestor in the collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. The team of ...
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
- 'Teacher Toads' Can Save Native Animals from Toxic Cane Toads
- Do Some Mysterious Bones Belong to Gigantic Ichthyosaurs?
Monday, April 8, 2024
- Toothed Whale Echolocation Organs Evolved from Jaw Muscles
- Mediterranean Marine Worm Has Developed Enormous Eyes
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
- Giant Phage Holds Promise as Treatment for Lung Infections
- Plastic-Free Vegan Leather That Dyes Itself Grown from Bacteria
- We've Had Bird Evolution All Wrong
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
- Rock-Wallaby Bite Size ‘packs a Punch’
- Scientists Extract Genetic Secrets from 4,000-Year-Old Teeth to Illuminate the Impact of Changing Human Diets Over the Centuries
- Secrets of the Naked Mole-Rat: New Study Reveals How Their Unique Metabolism Protects Them from Heart Attacks
- Milk on Ice: Antarctic Time Capsule of Whole Milk Powder Sheds Light on the Enduring Qualities--and Evolution--of Dairy Products Past and Present
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
- Researchers Show That Introduced Tardigrade Proteins Can Slow Metabolism in Human Cells
- Two Coral Snakes Recorded Battling for Prey in a Scientific First
Monday, March 25, 2024
Friday, March 22, 2024
- Research Uncovers a Rare Resin Fossil Find: A Spider That Aspires to Be an Ant
- Signs of Life Would Be Detectable in Single Ice Grain Emitted from Extraterrestrial Moons
- Tudor Era Horse Cemetery in Westminster Revealed as Likely Resting Place for Elite Imported Animals
Thursday, March 21, 2024
- Researchers Name Prehistoric Amphibian Ancestor Discovered in Smithsonian Collection After Kermit the Frog
- Heat to Blame for Space Pebble Demise
- Decoding the Plant World's Complex Biochemical Communication Networks
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
- Deep Earth Electrical Grid Mystery Solved
- Across Oceans and Millennia: Decoding the Origin and History of the Bottle Gourd
- In Flies, a Single Brain Cell Can Drive Multiple Movements of the Body
- Eyes Open and Toes out of Water: How a Giant Water Bug Reached the Island of Cyprus
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
- Fairy Circles: Plant Water Stress Causes Namibia's Gaps in Grass
- Why Do Tree Frogs Lay Their Eggs on the Ground?
Monday, March 18, 2024
- Tanks of the Triassic: New Crocodile Ancestor Identified
- Backyard Insect Inspires Invisibility Devices, Next Gen Tech
- Genetic Basis for the Evolution of Hair Discovered in the Clawed Frog
Friday, March 15, 2024
- DNA Origami-Based Vaccines Toward Safe and Highly-Effective Precision Cancer Immunotherapy
- Protein Fragments ID Two New 'extremophile' Microbes--and May Help Find Alien Life
Thursday, March 14, 2024
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
- Sonic Youth: Healthy Reef Sounds Increase Coral Settlement
- Milk to the Rescue for Diabetics? Cow Produces Human Insulin in Milk
- Who Knew That Coprophagy Was So Vital for Birds' Survival?
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Monday, March 11, 2024
Sunday, March 10, 2024
Friday, March 8, 2024
Thursday, March 7, 2024
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
- Bee-2-Bee Influencing: Bees Master Complex Tasks Through Social Interaction
- New Deep-Sea Worm Discovered at Methane Seep Off Costa Rica
- Genetic Mutation in a Quarter of All Labradors Hard-Wires Them for Obesity
- Do Some Electric Fish Sense the World Through Comrades' Auras?
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
- Tiny Worms Tolerate Chornobyl Radiation
- Fossils of Giant Sea Lizard With Dagger-Like Teeth Show How Our Oceans Have Fundamentally Changed Since the Dinosaur Era
- Fossil Named 'Attenborough's Strange Bird' Was the First in Its Kind Without Teeth
Monday, March 4, 2024
Saturday, March 2, 2024
Friday, March 1, 2024
- Dung Beetles Show Their Love by Sharing the Load
- Study Identifies Multi-Organ Response to Seven Days Without Food
Thursday, February 29, 2024
- Scientists ID Burned Bodies Using Technique Used for Extracting DNA from Woolly Mammoths, Neanderthals
- Slimming Down a Colossal Fossil Whale
- Radio Waves Can Tune Up Bacteria to Become Life-Saving Medicines
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
- Creepy Crawlies Protect Apples When Flowers Are Planted on Farms
- Double Trouble at Chromosome Ends
- Change in Gene Code May Explain How Human Ancestors Lost Tails
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Monday, February 26, 2024
Friday, February 23, 2024
Thursday, February 22, 2024
Wednesday, February 21, 2024
- High Resolution Techniques Reveal Clues in 3.5 Billion-Year-Old Biomass
- Butterfly and Moth Genomes Mostly Unchanged Despite 250 Million Years of Evolution
- An Awkward Family Reunion: Sea Monsters Are Our Cousins
Tuesday, February 20, 2024
- Bat 'nightclubs' May Be the Key to Solving the Next Pandemic
- Giant New Snake Species Identified in the Amazon
Monday, February 19, 2024
Sunday, February 18, 2024
Friday, February 16, 2024
Thursday, February 15, 2024
- Meow or Rooaaar: Exotic Cats' Ability to Recognize Familiar Caregivers' Voices
- Ancient Retroviruses Played a Key Role in the Evolution of Vertebrate Brains
Wednesday, February 14, 2024
- Some Pre-Roman Humans Were Buried With Dogs, Horses and Other Animals
- By Growing Animal Cells in Rice Grains, Scientists Dish Up Hybrid Food
Tuesday, February 13, 2024
- Great Apes Playfully Tease Each Other
- Desert Ants: The Magnetic Field Calibrates the Navigation System
- Five Dazzling New Species of Eyelash Vipers Discovered in Colombia and Ecuador
Monday, February 12, 2024
- Archaeologists Discover Oldest Known Bead in the Americas
- The Hidden Rule for Flight Feathers -- And How It Could Reveal Which Dinosaurs Could Fly
- How Ancient Sea Creatures Can Inform Soft Robotics
Friday, February 9, 2024
- Surprisingly Vibrant Color of 12-Million-Year-Old Snail Shells
- Surprising Behavior in One of the Least Studied Mammals in the World
Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Tuesday, February 6, 2024
Monday, February 5, 2024
- Mystery of Moths' Warning Sound Production Explained in New Study
- Scientists 'break the Mould' By Creating New Colors of 'blue Cheese'
Friday, February 2, 2024
- Scammed! Animals 'led by the Nose' To Leave Plants Alone
- Rare 3D Fossils Show That Some Early Trees Had Forms Unlike Any You've Ever Seen
Thursday, February 1, 2024
- How Leafcutter Ants Cultivate a Fungal Garden to Degrade Plants and Provide Insights Into Future Biofuels
- Zebrafish Navigate to Find Their Comfortable Temperature
- Clown Anemonefish Seem to Be Counting Bars and Laying Down the Law
Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Tuesday, January 30, 2024
- Goats Can Tell If You Are Happy or Angry by Your Voice Alone
- Poultry Scientists Develop 3D Anatomy Technique to Learn More About Chicken Vision
Monday, January 29, 2024
- Back from the Dead: Tropical Tree Fern Repurposes Its Dead Leaves
- First-Ever Sighting of a Live Newborn Great White