Animals, features and articles | Educational Science

Aug 18, 2023

10 of the most venomous snakes on the planet

They hiss, they slither and unfortunately for humans and unsuspecting prey, they bite. Venomous snakes bite about 5.4 million people every year, resulting in between 81,000 and 138,000 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. Their secret weapon is of course venom, which contains toxic substances produced in a modified...

Sep 8, 2023

Move over, python — this tiny snake holds the record for swallowing the largest prey whole relative to body size

Snakes are known for gulping down truly gargantuan meals. However, one species of serpent outpaces them all, consuming the largest prey relative to its size of any known snake — and it's not the python. Known as the Gans' egg-eater (Dasypeltis gansi), this skinny, nonvenomous African snake has a gape...

Sep 11, 2023

Ancient sea monsters grew their long necks super fast after Great Dying by adding more vertebrae

Millions of years ago, as dinosaur giants were stomping around on land, other giant reptiles were dominating the oceans — and some of them, like plesiosaurs and similar animals, grew extremely long, snake-like necks. Now, scientists have discovered how some of these early marine reptiles evolved these lengthy necks rather...

Mar 15, 2024

What does python taste like? Because it could be slithering onto our dinner plates.

Python meat is a low-effort and sustainable protein alternative that could soon slither onto our dinner plates, scientists suggest. The researchers argue there are a plethora of benefits to farming pythons, including the snakes' ability to fast for extended periods of time, their low space and water requirements and minimal...

Nov 5, 2018

Man Dies 8 Years After Swallowing a Live Slug That Left Him Paralyzed

In 2010, a teenage rugby player in Australia named Sam Ballard accepted an unusual dare at a party: swallow a live garden slug. The experience left him paralyzed and with significant brain damage, and on Friday (Nov. 2), Ballard died in a Sydney hospital at the age of 28. The...

Mar 30, 2019

Gila Monster Photos: The Sluggish and Scaly Sweethearts of the American Desert

Modern-day monsters (Image credit: Linda & Dr. Dick Buscher)Monsters live in the normally dry, desert landscapes of the Mojave, Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern arid regions of Mexico. They belong to an ancient family of lizards called Helodermatidae which is a class of venomous...

Mar 8, 2021

This sea slug can chop off its head and grow an entire new body, twice

Two species of sea slugs can pop off their heads and regrow their entire bodies from the noggin down, scientists in Japan recently discovered. This incredible feat of regeneration can be achieved in just a couple of weeks and is absolutely mind-blowing. Most cases of animal regeneration — replacing damaged...

Jul 13, 2022

Cool Video: Sea Slug Dance Reveals Primitive Learning

An attempt by one slug species to eat another ends in a flamboyant dance by the potential prey — and in a learning experience for the hungry predator. A new video shows this interaction, which reveals that the predator sea slug, Pleurobranchaea californica is cleverer than previously believed. The slug,...

Jul 22, 2022

How do oysters make pearls?

While nearly all of the world's most treasured gemstones can be found buried underground, pearls hide in a far more unexpected setting: inside a shell. So how exactly did these iridescent jewels wind up in such an unlikely place? Despite what many people may think, pearls aren't the result of...

Oct 14, 2022

Shiny Giant Clams May Inspire New Solar Tech

Brilliant shades of blue and aqua coat the iridescent lips of giant clams, but these shiny cells aren't just for show, new research finds. The iridescent sheen directs beams of sunlight into the interior of the clam, providing light for algae housed inside. In a symbiotic return, the algae use...

Oct 7, 2023

Mangrove leaf slug: The solar-powered mollusk that gobbles up sunlight then goes months without eating

Name: Mangrove leaf slug (Elysia bangtawaensis) Where it lives: Shallow pools of water in the mangrove forests and swamps of southeast Asia and Australia What it eats: The content of tiny algal cells Why it's awesome: In addition to looking like a starry night sky, this fabulous slug belongs to...

Feb 18, 2022

Platypus facts

The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is one of the most unusual creatures in the animal kingdom. The platypus has a paddle-shaped tail, like a beaver; a sleek, furry body, like an otter; and a flat bill and webbed feet, like a duck. In fact, the first time a stuffed platypus was...

Jul 17, 2023

Dolphins and orcas have passed the evolutionary point of no return to live on land again

The chances of aquatic mammals — like orcas, bottlenose dolphins and whales — ever evolving to live on land again are almost nonexistent, a new study has found. Researchers discovered that the adaptations that allowed these animals to live in water have passed an evolutionary threshold that marks the point...

Oct 19, 2023

Identity of mysterious 'mermaid globster' that washed up in Papua New Guinea 'is anyone's guess,' experts say

A ghostly white lump of rotten flesh in the shape of a mermaid recently washed ashore on an island in Papua New Guinea — and experts baffled. The strange sea creature was likely a marine mammal, but its exact origins are unclear, experts told Live Science. The mysterious mass was...

Feb 11, 2024

How do marine mammals sleep underwater?

If marine mammals want to sleep, they can't just close their eyes and drift away for the night, as they need to intermediately surface for air. Nor can they float at the water's surface and slumber, because that exposes them to predators and heat loss. So how do marine mammals...