Animals, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 31, 2012

Groundhog Day: Phil's Myth Stretches Back Centuries

On Thursday, a roly-poly rodent named Punxsutawney Phil will be hoisted from his burrow in front of TV cameras and cheering crowds and be called upon to predict the weather. If this famous groundhog casts a shadow, legend has it that winter is here to stay for six more weeks....

Jan 31, 2012

Pocket Pets: Early Explorers Brought Guinea Pigs to Europe

It may seem a prestigious post for a rodent, but the guinea pigs that are fixtures in elementary school classrooms today were once ambassadors from a new land. The third-ever guinea pig skeleton found in a European archaeological dig confirms that these little squeakers voyaged to the Old World very...

Jan 31, 2012

How Dinosaurs Grew So Huge

How did some dinosaurs reach such soaring heights -- up to 100 feet high in some cases? Efficient lungs and respiration, along with egg laying, might have given dinos a growth edge when compared to other animals, suggests new research. The study also negates a popular theory that animals tended...

Jan 31, 2012

Fatal Shark Attacks See Spike in 2011

The numbers are in, and 2011 continued the downward trend in shark attacks in the United States. That's the good news. The bad news: Worldwide shark-related deaths were higher than they've been in nearly two decades, according to the report released today (Feb. 7). The 2011 spike in shark-attack fatalities...

Jan 31, 2012

World's Tiniest Chameleon Discovered

A species of chameleon small enough to easily perch on a match head has been discovered on a tiny island off Madagascar, a group of scientists has announced. In addition to the discovery of Brookesia micra, now the tiniest chameleon ever discovered, the researchers also announced the discovery of three...

Jan 31, 2012

New Colorful Lizard Surprises Scientists in Andes

Researchers have discovered a new species of lizard in a strange place. The brightly colored, water-loving lizards live in the Andes Mountains in southern Peru — an odd place to find them, scientists say, because of the chilly conditions. The semi-aquatic reptiles, dubbed Potamites montanicola, grow to about 2.5 inches...

Dec 31, 2011

House Mice Serenade Mates with 'Bird' Song

Most people are familiar with the telltale squeak of a mouse scurrying out of their pantry, but scientists have long known that these aren’t the only noises house mice make. During courtship, the rodents also communicate in the ultrasonic frequency range, which sits beyond human hearing. Now, new research shows...

Nov 30, 2013

No Animals Were Harmed in that Film? Not So, Reports Suggest (Op-Ed)

Marc Bekoff, emeritus professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, is one of the world's pioneering cognitive ethologists, a Guggenheim Fellow, and co-founder with Jane Goodall of Ethologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. This essay is adapted from one that appeared in Bekoff's column Animal Emotions in Psychology Today....

Nov 30, 2013

Wild Animals are Not for Petting (Op-Ed)

Wayne Pacelle is the president and chief executive officer of The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). This Op-Ed is adapted from a post on the blog A Humane Nation, where the content ran before appearing in LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Recently, a woman stuck her arm...

Nov 30, 2013

Ridiculously Cute Photos of Mother Cats and Kittens

Ridiculously adorable (Image credit: Veronica Burns)New research shows that British and American cat owners harbor some pretty serious misconceptions about the reproductive habits of their feline companions. A study of British cat owners, for example, found that 84 percent of the 715 people surveyed thought cats can't get pregnant before...

Nov 30, 2013

Will 'Green Bullets' Ruin Hunting?

Lead, a heavy metal with a notorious reputation for causing severe health problems, has been used for centuries in everything from cooking pots and plumbing to lead shot for hunters. But lead ammunition may be going the way of leaded gasoline, as an increasing number of wildlife conservationists and public...

Oct 31, 2013

Pronghorn Adapt to New Animal Overpasses

Each fall, thousands of pronghorn make an impressive migration southward across Wyoming, traveling 93 miles (150 km) to get to their wintering grounds in the Upper Green River Basin. The most dangerous part of this journey may not be predators or a lack of resources, but an all-too-familiar obstacle: traffic....

Oct 31, 2013

Should Animals Be Used in Laboratory Testing? (Op-Ed)

Marc Bekoff, emeritus professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, is one of the world's pioneering cognitive ethologists, a Guggenheim Fellow, and co-founder with Jane Goodall of Ethologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. This essay is adapted from one that appeared in Bekoff's column Animal Emotions in Psychology Today....

Oct 31, 2013

The World's Most Dangerous Band Promotes Shelter Pets (Op-Ed)

Wayne Pacelle is the president and chief executive officer of The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). This Op-Ed is adapted from a post on the blog A Humane Nation, where the content ran before appearing in LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. This has been a year of...

Oct 31, 2013

Chill Out, Dudes! Female Flies Have Anti-Aggression Powers

Female fruit flies have a secret superpower: Just by their presence, they keep male flies from butting heads. A new study revealing this strange insect phenomenon could eventually lead to new understandings of how human aggression functions. This is really an entry point to study how aggression can be modulated,...