Animals

Earth

Nine big stories you may have missed this summer

We hope you enjoyed time off from school this summer. But you may have missed some scientific developments, from mega-eruptions to Martian lakes.

Animals

Where did all of those king penguins go?

Île aux Cochons in the southern Indian Ocean was once home to the largest known colony of king penguins. Most of those birds are now gone and no one knows why.

Animals

What ‘The Meg’ doesn’t quite get right about megalodon sharks

A paleobiologist helps separate shark fact from fiction in the new Jason Statham film The Meg.

Animals

Scientists Say: Nematocyst

Nematocysts are special cells in some ocean critters, such as jellyfish, sea anenomes and corals. They have a barb coated in venom that shoots out at their prey.

Genetics

Koala genes could help scientists save these furry animals

Scientists have examined the clues within koalas’ genetic instruction book. They are learning more about how to save these cuddly creatures.

Fossils

There’s more than one way to build a giant dinosaur

Some early long-necked dinosaurs may have built big bodies from a different blueprint than their later giant relatives.

Animals

Electric currents in the air may cue ‘ballooning’ spiders on when to take off

Some spider species float on the breeze using a parachute of silk. A new study suggests electrical charges in the air help spiders time these flights.

Animals

Here’s how a clam can hide within a rock

Old boring clam research has been upended after 82 years.

Genetics

Toxic toads pose threat to Madagascar’s predators

The Asian common toad, an invasive species in Madagascar, produces a chemical in its skin that’s probably toxic to most of the island’s predators.

Animals

An Asian, self-cloning tick threatens U.S. livestock

The longhorned tick spreads human diseases in its East Asian homeland. Now it’s invaded the United States. There, it has threatened mostly livestock — so far, anyway.

Animals

Here’s what narwhals sound like underwater

Scientists eavesdropped while narwhals clicked and buzzed. The work could help pinpoint how the whales may react to more human noise in the Arctic.

Animals

Scientists Say: Krill

Krill are small crustaceans in the ocean. They are an important food source for other larger animals, and their tiny swimming motions can mix nutrients in the sea.