Scientists had previously observed that some species of shrews undergo a form of biological plasticity in which their bodies, skulls, brains and some organs shrink in the winter, then regrow in the spring. Now, a new study ...
As they build their nests, many birds are known to interweave dried grasses and other materials with green plants, such as fresh leaves, grass stems, herbs and aromatic leaves. While this behavior is well documented, why ...
Biologists, zoologists and psychologists have been trying to trace the origins of human language for centuries. One well-known theory, known as the social brain hypothesis, suggests that increasingly complex social lives ...
Blue morpho butterflies have captivated the human eye for centuries. We even have one as an emoji on our phones. In a recent experiment, researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) documented for the ...
Plants & Animals
9 hours ago
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Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon are California's most endangered salmon, with a single surviving population and an average of a few thousand returning fish in recent decades. Shasta Dam blocks their original habitat ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 21, 2026
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New research from Virginia Tech scientists in the College of Natural Resources and Environment provides fresh insight into how environmental conditions influence black bear hibernation, with implications for wildlife management ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 21, 2026
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Young Bewick's swans only survive their first spring migration if they stay with their parents long enough. If they lose their parents in winter, they leave later and are unable to keep up with the rest of the population. ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 21, 2026
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Slash, aka Saul Hudson, is probably best known as the guitarist for Guns N' Roses. But there's more to Slash than his music. He's also a lifelong reptile lover and an avid supporter of zoos and museums. And now, he's the ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 20, 2026
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In the last few centuries, mammals and other animals have been going extinct at least 100 times faster than they did before humans arrived on the scene. So who will be next? Which species are most likely to survive, and which ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 20, 2026
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100 million years ago, long before human intervention, ancestors of grasses, including wheat, rice and maize, developed "bypasses" in chemical pathways used to create two critical compounds: lignin and starch. These more ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 20, 2026
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