Animals

Brain

A rat’s playfulness relies on cells in one part of its brain

Certain cells here control its behavior. Studying this circuitry could also help us understand depression in people.

Animals

A new technique creates glowing whole-body maps of mice

Removing cholesterol from mouse bodies lets fluorescent proteins seep into every tissue. That has helped researchers map entire body parts.

Animals

Toothed whales use their noses to whistle and click

Much as people do, toothed whales, such as dolphins and sperm whales, make noises in three different vocal registers.

Agriculture

Cow dung spews a climate-warming gas. Adding algae could limit that

But how useful this is depends on whether cows eat the red algae, a type of seaweed — or it gets added to their wastes after they’re pooped out.

Fossils

New fossils bring the wide world of pterosaurs to life

The latest clues from fossils hint at where these flying reptiles came from, how they evolved, what they ate and more.

Animals

Let’s learn about beetles’ survival superpowers

Some beetle species can survive extreme pressure, dehydration or even getting eaten.

Animals

Analyze This: White wing spots may help monarch butterflies fly far

Monarchs with more white on their wings are more successful migrants, new research shows

Math

Bees and wasps devised the same clever math trick to build nests

During nest building, these insects add five- and seven-sided cells in pairs. This helps their colony fit together hexagonal cells of different sizes.

Animals

How artificial intelligence could help us talk to animals

AI translates human languages with ease. Researchers are now using this tech to analyze the sounds of whales, rodents and many other animals.

Tech

What is my pet saying? Scientists are working to find out

Researchers are using artificial intelligence for pet-translation apps. One day, it might put into words what our furry friends are vocalizing.

Animals

This bird nest becomes a ‘fortress’ using antibird spikes

The spikes were meant to keep birds away. But five nests found in Europe may use the bird deterrents for structure and to scare off predators.

Tech

Horses are inspiring this roboticist to build trustworthy robots

Computer scientist Eakta Jain is looking at human-horse interactions for ideas about how to design robots that work well with people.