Creature
All that slithers, swims, flits, flies, grows and dies
Animals, plants, microbes, fungi and all life on Earth, from long-buried dinosaurs to newly emerging infections, often serve to instruct and amaze. We are interested in everything from the simplest physical structures to the most complex emergent behavior of life's many forms — from the extinct to the evolved and from the web of ecology to the promise of animal-inspired technology.
As the mother-of-pearl in the inner layer of the shell forms, initial defects attract and eventually annihilate each other.
Australian scientists measure the gases that two Great Barrier Reef corals emit.
The insects adorn their hives with animal feces to fend off giant hornet attacks.
New research method’s validity confirmed by bottom trawls.
The armor might help leafcutter ants defend the valuable fungus they grow for food.
Treatment that eases bipolar symptoms in humans stops risky behavior in infected sticklebacks.
A month’s worth of cool science stories.
The animals have evolved an immune system that doesn’t cause as much inflammation.
By mimicking the diabolical ironclad beetles' wing cases, engineers may be able to build stronger joints for applications such as airplanes.
Accidents like the Deepwater Horizon spill may hurt the rays’ ability to hunt.
The subterranean rodents have little use for vision, but their magnetic sense tells them which direction is which.
Separate subspecies of the fork-tailed flycatcher make different trill sounds with their wing feathers.
