Mammals are a vertebrate class (Mammalia) characterized by endothermy, hair or fur, and the presence of mammary glands that produce milk to nourish offspring. They possess a neocortex, three middle ear ossicles, and a single-boned lower jaw articulating with the squamosal bone. Most exhibit viviparity with complex placentation (except monotremes, which are oviparous) and show determinate growth with advanced parental care and social behaviors. Mammalian physiology includes high metabolic rates, a four-chambered heart, and differentiated dentition, supporting ecological diversification into terrestrial, aerial, and aquatic niches across nearly all biomes.
A new analysis supports the previously overlooked "brain lag" hypothesis—the idea that, in some primate lineages, the evolution of larger body size preceded the evolution of larger brain size—while also building on that hypothesis ...
Evolution
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European brown bears are masters of survival: These animals have weathered Pleistocene climate fluctuations and survived the cycles of ice ages and interglacial periods to the present day. Zoologists have now investigated ...
Evolution
Jul 1, 2026
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Natural historians have many observational techniques in their toolkit for learning about the natural world: tagging animals with tracking devices, recording sounds, analyzing droppings or simply watching and counting. As ...
The pangolin is a midsize mammal found only in Africa and Asia. The pangolins' scales make them unique, but these scales have become their undoing. Pangolins are poached for their scales, making them the most highly trafficked ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 1, 2026
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Animals don't experience the world passively. A hawk tilts its head to track prey. A person leans forward to read a sign. Scientists call this "active sensing": moving the body to gather better information. A specific version ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 30, 2026
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Wolves use their urine to communicate with each other. A recent study looked at the reactions of a pack to the marking of an intruder. This is a first step toward understanding what attracts or repels canids.
Plants & Animals
Jun 30, 2026
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A team of international scientists and risk assessment experts has developed a foundational blueprint for an innovative population model designed to improve environmental safety testing for agricultural pesticides. The tool, ...
Biotechnology
Jun 30, 2026
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Over 70 million people in the U.S. are impacted by hearing loss, and age-related hearing loss is the second most common health problem in older adults, according to the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. However, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 29, 2026
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Boreal forests are being clear-cut faster than some of their wildlife and plant species can recover, with a few failing to return even 100 years after harvesting, according to University of Alberta-led research.
Plants & Animals
Jun 29, 2026
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New research from the University of St Andrews has shown that there is a marked drop in the status of Scotland's harbor seal population, as well as in summer gray seal abundance, according to surveys conducted by the Sea ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 29, 2026
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