Animals
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Life
Why some whales become giants and others are only big
Being big helps whales access more food. But just how big a whale can get is influenced by whether it hunts or filter-feeds.
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Animals
Whales echolocate with big clicks and tiny amounts of air
Toothed whales may echolocate using bits of air that they recycle inside their heads to conserve both air and energy.
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Tech
Drones help scientists weigh whales at sea
Drone imagery lets scientists estimate a whale’s weight. And that may help monitor the health of these big mammals for conservation purposes.
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Animals
Scientists Say: Papillae
These small nubs stick out from a body part. They include things such as tongue bumps with taste buds and the structures under the skin that help grow hair.
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Animals
Why are bird eggs in cold climates darker colored?
A global survey of bird egg color has revealed a simple trend: the colder the climate, the darker the egg.
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Animals
Piranhas and plant-eating kin replace half their teeth at once
Piranhas and pacus shed and replace half of their teeth at a time. New teeth lock together as they push up from the jaw.
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Animals
Blood vessels in their heads kept big dinos from overheating
Giant dinosaurs evolved several ways to cool their blood and avoid heatstroke.
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Fossils
Fossils show mammals’ rise to dominance after the dino-killing asteroid
What happened to mammals after an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs? Newfound fossils show how they grew in size, eventually dominating much of life on Earth.
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Tech
Weird little fish inspires the development of super-grippers
Suction-cup designers were inspired by the rock-grabbing tricks of the aptly named clingfish.
By Sid Perkins -
Animals
Humpback whales catch fish using bubbles and flippers
Scientist for the first time have captured details of humpback whales’ hunting tactics on camera.
By Sofie Bates -
Animals
Congolese toads may avoid predators by copycatting deadly vipers
If Congolese giant toads are mimicking venomous Gaboon vipers, this would be the first reported case of a frog imitating a snake.