Animals, features and articles | Educational Science

Sep 30, 2019

The Scoop on Slime — Hyenas Squeeze It from Their Butts and Parrotfish Sleep in Snot Balloons

Goopy, sticky slime, whether it intrigues or disgusts you (or both), has more practical uses than you may expect. In fact, many animals and even plants make their own goo. Creatures might slime things up to help with reproduction, as protection against drying out or even as a defense against...

Aug 31, 2019

These Students Are Breeding Endangered Finches. But Will It Save the Species?

A primary school in Australia is breeding endangered finches — but although the program is bringing awareness to the birds' plight, it won't save them, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). The southern subspecies of the black-throated finch, called Poephila cincta cincta, is native to north-east Australia. It is...

Aug 31, 2019

Rare, Two-Headed Rattlesnake Named 'Double Dave' Rescued from Certain Doom in New Jersey

Two herpetologists in New Jersey — both named Dave — have discovered a rare, two-headed snake, which they've named Double-Dave. Members of the Nobel Prize committee: The ball is in your court. Double-Dave is a baby rattlesnake, just a few weeks old and about 9 inches (23 centimeters) long, according...

Jul 31, 2019

A Woman Needed Her Hands and Legs Amputated After Contracting Infection from Dog 'Kisses'

A little lick from a puppy may have led to a life-threatening infection for one woman in Ohio, who ended up needing her hands and legs amputated to save her life, according to news reports. The woman, Marie Trainer, went to the emergency room on May 11 after developing a...

Jul 31, 2019

A Man Accidentally Swallowed a Fish Bone. It Tore a Hole Through His Intestine.

After a man accidentally swallowed a tiny fish bone, it tore a hole through his intestine. The 73-year-old man, who lives in Japan, went to the emergency room after he developed sudden and severe pain in his lower abdomen, according to a report of the man's case, which is published...

Jun 30, 2019

Yellow Jacket 'Super Nests' the Size of Cars Are Popping Up in Alabama

Yellow jackets in Alabama may be in the midst of a colossal craze; they're making humongous super nests that can house 15,000 worker wasps, according to an entomologist there. That's three to four times the size of typical wasp nests, which are the size of a volleyball and house about...

Jun 30, 2019

This Common Sugar Substitute Can Be Deadly for Dogs, FDA Warns

You should always be careful about what you let your dog eat — case in point, a common sugar substitute found in everything from chewing gum to peanut butter can be deadly for man's best friend, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This week, the FDA warned...

Jun 30, 2019

Why haven't all primates evolved into humans?

While we were migrating around the globe, inventing agriculture and visiting the moon, chimpanzees — our closest living relatives — stayed in the trees, where they ate fruit and hunted monkeys. Modern chimps have been around for longer than modern humans have (less than 1 million years compared to 300,000...

Jun 30, 2019

Tiny Fighting Worms Make One of the Loudest Sounds in the Ocean

Tiny, feisty worms that live off the coast of Japan fight by headbutting each other — and they aren't quiet about it. During these feuds, the worms emit one of the loudest sounds in the ocean, according to a new study. The source of the underwater hullabaloo is a nearly...

May 31, 2019

Why Do Skulls Have So Many Bones? (It's Loads More Than You Think)

How many bones are in your skull? You might guess that animal skulls are made up of two bones: the upper region of the skull and the lower jaw. But skulls are actually far more complex — and have a lot more bones — than you may expect. Some animals...

May 31, 2019

Dogs Evolved Sad Eyes to Manipulate Their Human Companions, Study Suggests

About 30,000 years ago, a wolf decided to give up the wild life, commit to a steady relationship and become the first dog. Today, dogs and humans are the undisputed best friends of the animal kingdom — and, according to a new study, that comraderie may have been propelled by...

May 31, 2019

Flushed Goldfish Grew to Be Kitten-Size in Niagara River

A monstrously huge goldfish was recently captured in the Niagara River in New York. The goldfish was presumably a discarded house pet that may have been illegally released or survived a traumatic flush down a toilet. Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper (BNW), a nonprofit working to protect and restore the Niagara River...

May 31, 2019

The Biggest Dinosaur to Ever Walk the Earth Just Wants to Text You

The biggest dinosaur ever discovered just wishes you'd drop him a line. In a new program launched by Chicago's Field Museum, the cast skeleton of the titanosaur dubbed Máximo will text you back answers to questions about the dinosaur's life in prehistoric Patagonia — or anything else you'd like to...

Apr 30, 2019

Car-Size 'Sea Monster' Terrorized Triassic Oceans

Researchers excavated the remains of four of these now-extinct sea monsters from the rocky slopes of the Austrian Alps. But even at 13 feet long (4 meters), these creatures — known as phytosaurs — weren't fully grown. The phytosaurs were only about 8 years old when they died, and they...

Apr 30, 2019

This Bird Evolved into Existence Twice — Thousands of Years Apart

On a ring-shaped reef in the Indian Ocean, a species of bird evolved to be flightless — twice. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, white-throated rails (Dryolimnas cuvieri) flew from their native home in Madagascar to the Aldabra atoll, a ring-shaped reef among the Seychelle Islands. The reef, free of...