Animals, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 23, 2024

Free radicals don't kill tardigrades — they're the secret to the tiny critters' invincibility

Scientists have finally discovered the molecular trick tardigrades use to enter a near-invincible state that protects them from extreme environments — including the cold vacuum of outer space. The tiny eight-legged creatures — known as water bears or moss piglets — thrive across our planet. Their abundance is partly due...

Jan 25, 2024

Tiny male marsupials sacrifice sleep for a chance at sex — then all die at once and get eaten

Male antechinuses live through just a single, extremely intense mating season. So to maximize their chances at sex, these little carnivorous marsupials waste as little time on sleep as possible, new research has found. During a three-week breeding period, males belonging to two species — dusky (Antechinus swainsonii) and agile...

Jan 27, 2024

Indian giant squirrel: The 'rainbow' rodent that is also the world's largest squirrel

Name: Indian giant squirrel or Malabar giant squirrel (Ratufa indica), nicknamed the rainbow squirrel Where it lives: Forests and woodlands in pockets across central and southern India What it eats: Fruits, leaves, bark, seeds, occasionally bird eggs and insects Why it's awesome: Although the stomach and arms of Indian giant...

Jan 28, 2024

Do any animals keep pets like humans do?

People love their pets. Around 60% of the U.S. population owns at least one pet and collectively spends more than $100 billion on them every year. But do any other animals have that kind of drive to care for a member of another species? Do any nonhuman animals keep pets?...

Jan 31, 2024

How fast can piranhas eat a dog?

When we think of piranhas, we often conjure up an image of fearsome predators that can strip an animal to its skeleton in seconds. Their bad reputation stems, in part, from President Theodore Roosevelt, who, after a trip to the Amazon, wrote that they were the most ferocious fish in...

Feb 13, 2024

Bizarre jellyfish with bright red cross for a stomach discovered in volcanic caldera off Japan

A strange,never-before-seen jellyfish with a distinctive stomach that looks like a red cross has been discovered inside a volcanic structure off the coast of Japan. Researchers spotted the jellyfish, which has been named the St. George's cross medusa (Santjordia pagesi), 2,664 feet (812 meters) below the Pacific Ocean's surface near...

Feb 16, 2024

Watch hypnotizing footage of mysterious deep-sea worm dancing in the twilight zone

Mesmerizing footage has captured a weird bioluminescent worm undulating through the twilight zone. Researchers from the Schmidt Ocean Institute spotted the deep-sea worm off the coast of Chile during a research cruise exploring seamounts in the area and posted the video to Facebook. They identified the creature as a segmented...

Feb 21, 2024

Watch bright red blood-sucking parasite feast on gulper eel in rare, deep-sea footage

Rare deep-sea footage captures a blood-sucking parasite latched onto the body of a ghoulish gulper eel. In the video, the eel swims close to the camera before revealing a bright-red parasite protruding from its back with two string-like structures dragging behind it. Researchers from the Schmidt Ocean Institute spotted the...

Feb 22, 2024

'Mind-blowing' deep sea expedition uncovers more than 100 new species and a gigantic underwater mountain

A deep-sea expedition off the coast of Chile has uncovered a treasure trove of scientific wonders, including more than 100 previously unknown marine species and a handful of never-before-seen underwater mountains — the largest of which is around four times the size of the world's tallest building. Incredible photos and...

Feb 23, 2024

What are tardigrades and why are they nearly indestructible?

Tardigrades, often called water bears or moss piglets, are near-microscopic aquatic animals with plump, segmented bodies and flattened heads. They have eight legs, each tipped with four to eight claws or digits, and somewhat resemble the hookah-smoking caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland. Though tardigrades are disarmingly cute, they are also...

Feb 25, 2024

Can animals really smell fear in humans?

It has long been debated whether animals can smell fear in humans. Unfortunately, answering this age-old question isn't as simple as pulling Fluffy or Fido aside and asking them what they're sensing. So what does the research say? Can animals actually smell fear? To get to the root of this...

Mar 1, 2024

Secrets of giant Antarctic sea spiders and their tiny eggs revealed after 140 years

Scientists have finally resolved a 140-year-old mystery about how giant Antarctic sea spiders look after their eggs. Unlike other sea spiders that carry their eggs around until they hatch, the giant Antarctic sea spider (Colossendeis megalonyx) attach their thousands of tiny eggs to the rocky seafloor, a new study finds....

Mar 2, 2024

Shoebill: The human-sized African bird that eats baby crocodiles and kills its siblings

Name: Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex) Where it lives: Marshes and swamps in East Africa What it eats: Fish and reptiles Why it's awesome: This menacing and prehistoric-looking bird can grow up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall – and is equipped with a sharp-edged, 1-foot-long (0.3 meter) bill — the third-largest...

Mar 8, 2024

Chernobyl worms appear unaffected by radiation from world's worst nuclear disaster

Tiny worms in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) in Ukraine are thriving despite being in an area marked by high levels of radiation, and scientists think their resilience could provide insights for cancer research in humans. Researchers traveled to the CEZ and collected microscopic worms of the species Oscheius tipulae....

Mar 12, 2024

Technicolor 'living magic carpet' deep-sea worm discovered near methane seep off Costa Rica

Scientists have discovered a new species of rosy-colored deep-sea worm 30 miles (50 kilometers) off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The worm, named Pectinereis strickrotti, is a type of ragworm, or Nereididae. It was first spotted by researchers in 2009, as they explored a methane seep found at a...