Death by suffocation seems like an awfully protracted way to go and death by suffocation in the grip of a boa constrictor's coils is the stuff of nightmares. Yet Scott Boback from Dickinson College, USA, wasn't so sure that ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 22, 2015
0
28
Even a short period of inactivity can be extremely bad for our bones, and for astronauts facing months in zero gravity, the risks are serious. But there is an animal that has already solved all of the problems faced by immobile ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 8, 2015
0
30
Famed for their ability to change colour, chameleons have yet another mind-boggling talent: their eyes appear to swivel completely independently. This means that they can simultaneously track two completely different views ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 8, 2015
0
77
Every air-breathing marine mammal faces a multitude of challenges as it dives beneath the waves: carbon dioxide and nitrogen accumulation in the blood can cause intoxication and decompression sickness, while low internal ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 8, 2015
0
237
Many aquatic species have a reputation for negligent parenting. Having cast their gametes to the currents, they abandon their offspring to their fate. However, hands-on parenting is taken to a whole new dimension in the Syngnathidae ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 3, 2015
0
611
Malaria is a cruel and disabling disease that targets victims of all ages. Even now, it is estimated to kill one child every minute. Recent progress in halting the spread of the disease has hinged on the use of insecticide-treated ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 20, 2015
0
92
Bubbling out of their hibernation burrows as the temperature begins to rise, male red-sided garter snakes only have one thing on their mind: mating. And with females in short supply, the pressure is on. But how much effort ...
Plants & Animals
May 13, 2015
1
11
Foraging animals tread a narrow metabolic tightrope, rationing the energy they expend in the pursuit of food to make the most of a catch. And marine mammals that dive on a single breath of air have to be even more frugal ...
Plants & Animals
May 12, 2015
0
33
Fans of The Lord of the Rings may disagree, but when it comes to exquisite excavation, the dwarves of Moria have nothing on the mighty fire ants of Georgia Tech. But Dan Goldman and Michael Goodisman aren't fascinated by ...
Plants & Animals
May 6, 2015
0
39
Scuttling across the floor, a spider's movements have more in common with robots than you may at first realise. Instead of contracting muscles to extend a limb, spiders inflate their joints with haemolymph to straighten them ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 3, 2015
0
39
