136 Items Tagged

Biology

At Plaza San Martín in Buenos Aires, Argentina, crown shyness is hiding in plain sight.

Trees Have Their Own Way of Social Distancing

A treetop expert explains the mystery of "crown shyness."

Zoe Baillargeon September 8, 2020

The researchers used several tactics to identify new species and genera, including <em>Afronycteris</em>.

The Delicate Art of Identifying Bats By Their Penis Bones

They're roughly the size of a hyphen—which makes them extremely easy to lose.

Jessica Leigh Hester August 27, 2020

That mouth is full of info for scientists to chew on.

Sea Otter Teeth Are Gross but Really Useful for Scientists

You don’t want to look an old sea otter in the mouth—unless you want to tell how old it is.

Jessica Leigh Hester July 27, 2020

A scuba diver with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration studies bleached corals.

The Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 on Field Science

As scientists wait, worry, and hunker down, they’re also looking ahead to how their projects will need to adapt.

Claudia Geib April 3, 2020

This individual remains unidentified, because the algorithm that researchers used couldn't pick up the spots from this angle.

Scientists Want You to Photograph This Curious, Enigmatic Giant

Keep an eye out for the giant sea bass's spots.

Jessica Leigh Hester March 18, 2020

Firefly populations seem to be flickering in many spots around the world. The insects are pictured here in the Santuario de las Luciernagas, in Tlaxcala, Mexico, in 2017.

The 21st Century Might Not Be So Magical for Fireflies

Experts are flashing a warning for the future.

Jessica Leigh Hester February 4, 2020

A stunned iguana photographed on Virginia Key, a barrier island off the coast of Miami.

Unseasonably Cold Weather Littered South Florida With Stunned Iguanas

The weather forecast warned it would be raining reptiles.

Lauren Aratani January 23, 2020

Checking In on the Algae of a Brooklyn Reservoir With a Microbiologist

Sally Warring knows a lot about what we can't see.

Sabrina Imbler December 10, 2019

A tumbleweed making its way across Lost Hills, California, in 2013.

California's Meddlesome Tumbleweeds Could Grow Even More Menacing

Sorry, everyone: Researchers found that a hybrid species is even more “vigorous” than its parents.

Jessica Leigh Hester September 6, 2019

Cambridge, England

Ascension Parish Burial Ground

The graveyard with the highest IQ in Britain.

David Ebmer uses his lice comb to gather samples from Valdivia's famous sea lions.

Scientists Invented a Lice Comb for Urban Sea Lions in Chile

The utensil helps researchers study marine mammals in the least disruptive way possible.

Danna Staaf June 21, 2019

Halle (Saale), Germany

Museum of Livestock Science

A beautiful old horse stable hosts one of the largest collections of domestic animal skeletons and taxidermy.

Video • AO Docs

'Discovering' Mexico's Monarch Butterfly Migration

The Méret Oppenheim fountain at Waisenhausplatz.

Bern, Switzerland

Méret Oppenheim Fountain

The Swiss artist's bulbous and overgrown shape-shifting sculpture controversially graces the center of Bern.

Baby mountain gorilla in Virunga National Park.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Virunga National Park

The most biologically diverse protected area in Africa is also the most dangerous.

A key-footed glyptodon.

extinct animals

What in the World Was a Key-Footed Glyptodon?

It had a shell as big as a car.

Sarah Laskow November 9, 2018

"A roving mole."

Why Does It Look Like This National Park Building in Alaska Is Sprouting Hair?

The answer might not sit well with arachnophobes.

Anna Kusmer November 1, 2018

Why Scientists Are Studying the Dining Habits of Manta Rays

These filter feeders might be a ray of hope amidst microplastic pollution.

Abbey Perreault October 15, 2018