Odd Creatures News
December 24, 2024
Top Headlines
Dec. 19, 2024 — A new study finds nearly 50 hidden relatives of Pterodactylus, the first pterosaur. Joined by its newly discovered relatives, Pterodactylus's 'family' now encompasses tiny flaplings, a host of teenagers, some mums and dads and even a few large old ...
Dec. 19, 2024 — Scientists have successfully identified a previously unknown species to Southern California from fossilized seeds, revealing a drought-fueled dance between two species of juniper with lessons for the ...
Dec. 19, 2024 — Fossilized skeletons and shells clearly show how evolution and extinction unfolded over the past half a billion years, but a new analysis extends the chart of life to nearly 2 billion years ago. The chart shows the relative ups and downs in species ...
Dec. 16, 2024 — Researchers have uncovered unexpected diversity in the genetic processes that determine the sex of the African clawed frog, a significant discovery in what was already one of the most widely studied ...
Latest Headlines
updated 8:00pm EST
Dec. 18, 2024 — While volcanism caused a temporary cold period, the effects had already worn off thousands of years before the meteorite, the ultimate cause of the dinosaur extinction event, ...
Dec. 18, 2024 — A fragment of 'lost' music found in the pages of Scotland's first full-length printed book is providing clues to what music sounded like five centuries ago. Scholars have been investigating the ...
Dec. 18, 2024 — California ground squirrels hunt, kill and eat voles, reveals a new study documenting evidence of widespread carnivorous behavior among ...
Dec. 17, 2024 — The holidays are in full swing and people are shopping, wrapping and packing to visit loved ones. Along with the extra fees for checked baggage and seat upgrades, some airlines are also considering ...
Dec. 16, 2024 — Analysis of the remains of at least 37 individuals from Early Bronze Age England finds they were killed, butchered, and probably consumed before being thrown down a 15m-deep shaft. It is the ...
Dec. 12, 2024 — Scientists have today announced the discovery of a species of lipstick vine completely new to science, from the depths of the Philippine rainforest. ...
Dec. 11, 2024 — DNA stores the instructions for life and, along with enzymes and other molecules, computes everything from hair color to risk of developing diseases. Harnessing that prowess and immense storage ...
Dec. 12, 2024 — Researchers have uncovered in anglerfish a specialized motor neuron population for the first dorsal fin used for 'fishing'. When the first dorsal fin ...
Dec. 12, 2024 — Researchers are linking human activity to increased gene transfer from soil bacteria to ...
Dec. 12, 2024 — Using data from 23 studies of what psychologists call 'inequity aversion,' researchers combed through results of more than 60,000 observations involving 18 animal species. In what they said was the ...
Earlier Headlines
Dec. 12, 2024 — Stars similar to the Sun produce a gigantic outburst of radiation on average about once every hundred years per star. Such superflares release more energy than a trillion hydrogen bombs and make all ...
Dec. 12, 2024 — Neanderthal genes make up 1-2% of the genomes of non-Africans. Scientists analyzed the lengths of regions of Neanderthal DNA in 58 ancient Eurasian genomes of early modern humans and determined that ...
Dec. 12, 2024 — Thanks for a powerful antioxidant, Deinococcus radiodurans can withstand radiation doses 28,000 times greater than what would kill a human. In a new study, scientists discovered how the antioxidant ...
Dec. 11, 2024 — Recycling all the human and livestock feces and urine on the planet would contribute substantially to meeting the nutrient supply for all crops worldwide, thereby reducing the need to mine ...
Dec. 11, 2024 — Scientists' findings in mice could translate into a radical, needle-free vaccination approach that would also eliminate reactions including fever, swelling and ...
Dec. 11, 2024 — How can we explain the morphological diversity of living organisms? Although genetics is the answer that typically springs to mind, it is not the only explanation. By combining observations of ...
Dec. 11, 2024 — A new study by researchers investigating a unique free-ranging feral population of water buffalo on Lantau Island in Hong Kong has discovered that close spatial proximity serves as an indicator of ...
Dec. 11, 2024 — A groundbreaking study has shed light on how lizards and snakes -- the most diverse group of land vertebrates with nearly 12,000 species -- have evolved remarkably varied jaw shapes, driving their ...
Dec. 10, 2024 — Some of the world's smallest animals and their tiny poops could aid in the fight against climate change. A study reports that clay dust sprayed on the surface of seawater converts free-floating ...
Dec. 9, 2024 — A new study shows that dogs trained to use soundboards to 'talk' are capable of making two-word button combinations that go beyond random behavior or simple imitation of their ...
Dec. 9, 2024 — A cave in Galilee, Israel, has yielded evidence for ritualistic gathering 35,000 years ago, the earliest on the Asian ...
Dec. 9, 2024 — Characterized by darkness and intense pressure, the ocean's hadal zone seems uninhabitable, yet dozens of unique organisms call it home. Each species discovered there adds a crucial piece to the ...
Dec. 6, 2024 — A researcher has uncovered evidence of intestinal parasites in a 500-year-old latrine from Bruges, Belgium, and while the finding may induce queasiness in some, it is expected to provide important ...
Dec. 6, 2024 — Researchers have built a drone that can walk, hop, and jump into flight with the aid of birdlike legs, greatly expanding the range of potential environments accessible to unmanned aerial ...
Dec. 6, 2024 — Desert ants of the Cataglyphis nodus species use the Earth's magnetic field for spatial orientation, but rely on a different component of the field than other insects. The survey suggests that ...
Dec. 5, 2024 — Hummingbird bills -- their long, thin beaks -- look a little like drinking straws. But new research shows just how little water, or nectar, that comparison holds. Scientists have discovered that the ...
Dec. 5, 2024 — Research has revealed that several groups of meat-eating dinosaur stalked the Bexhill-on-Sea region of coastal East Sussex 135 million years ...
Dec. 5, 2024 — A research team has made exceptional discoveries on prehistoric archery from the early Neolithic period, 7,000 years ago. The well organic preservation of the remains of the Cave of Los Murcielagos ...
Dec. 5, 2024 — A new study suggests that the fundamental abilities underlying human language and technological culture may have evolved before humans and apes diverged millions of years ...
Dec. 5, 2024 — Colorful auroras appeared around Japan's Honshu and Hokkaido islands on May 11, 2024, sparked by an intense magnetic storm. Usually, auroras observed at low latitudes appear red due to the ...
Thursday, December 12, 2024
- Superflares Once Per Century
- A New Timeline for Neanderthal Interbreeding With Modern Humans
- How 'Conan the Bacterium' Withstands Extreme Radiation
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
- Recycling Human, Animal Excreta Reduces Need for Fertilizers
- Scientists Transform Ubiquitous Skin Bacterium Into a Topical Vaccine
- Biological Diversity Is Not Just the Result of Genes
- Buffalo Besties: Feral Female Buffalo Build Friendships Based on Similar Personality Traits
- New Research Unlocks Jaw-Dropping Evolution of Lizards and Snakes
Tuesday, December 10, 2024
Monday, December 9, 2024
- Dogs Use Two-Word Button Combos to Communicate
- Earliest Deep-Cave Ritual Compound in Southwest Asia Discovered
- New Ocean Predator Discovered in the Atacama Trench
Friday, December 6, 2024
- Getting to the Bottom of Things: Latrine Findings Help Researcher Trace the Movement of People and Disease
- Bird-Inspired Drone Can Jump for Take-Off
- Desert Ants Use the Polarity of the Geomagnetic Field for Navigation
Thursday, December 5, 2024
- That's No Straw: Hummingbirds Evolved Surprisingly Flexible Bills to Help Them Drink Nectar
- Tyrannosaur Teeth Discovered in Bexhill-on-Sea, England
- Iberian Neolithic Societies Had a Deep Knowledge of Archery Techniques and Materials
- Chimpanzees Perform the Same Complex Behaviors That Have Brought Humans Success
- Researchers Use Data from Citizen Scientists to Uncover the Mysteries of a Blue Low-Latitude Aurora
Wednesday, December 4, 2024
Tuesday, December 3, 2024
- Can Plastic-Eating Bugs Help With Our Microplastic Problem?
- Uncovered a Mystery of 'electron Carrier' Existing in All Living Organisms: Discovery of a 'nano-Switch Mechanism' Controlled by a Single Hydrogen Atom
- Tiny Dancers: Scientists Synchronize Bacterial Motion
- Scientists Identify Brain Cell Type as Master Controller of Urination
- Peat-Bog Fungi Produce Substances That Kill Tuberculosis-Causing Bacteria
Monday, December 2, 2024
- Insect Fossil Find 'extremely Rare'
- Deep-Sea Marvels: How Anglerfish Defy Evolutionary Expectations
- Feeding Grazing Cattle Seaweed Cuts Methane Emissions by Almost 40%
Friday, November 29, 2024
- Fossil Dung Reveals Clues to Dinosaur Success Story
- Inside the 'swat Team' -- How Insects React to Virtual Reality Gaming
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
- Early North Americans Made Needles from Fur-Bearers
- 'Genetic Time Machine' Reveals Complex Chimpanzee Cultures
- Unexplained Heat-Wave 'hotspots' Are Popping Up Across the Globe
Monday, November 25, 2024
- New Study Reveals the Explosive Secret of the Squirting Cucumber
- To Design Better Water Filters, Engineers Look to Manta Rays
- Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers Heard the Elks Painted on Rocks 'talking'
- Focaccia: A Neolithic Culinary Tradition Dating Back 9,000 Years Ago
- Bats' Amazing Plan B for When They Can't Hear
- The Next Evolution of AI Begins With Ours
- Cyanobacterial Circadian Clock Uses an AM Radio-Like Mechanism to Control Cellular Processes
Thursday, November 21, 2024
- The Parasaurolophus' Pipes: Modeling the Dinosaur's Crest to Study Its Sound
- Smarter City Planning: Researchers Use Brain Activity to Predict Visits to Urban Areas
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
- Oldest Known Alphabet Unearthed in Ancient Syrian City
- Friendly Social Behaviors Are Contagious for Chimpanzees
- Sweet Tooth Ethiopian Wolves Seen Feeding on Nectar
- Thanksgiving Special: Dinosaur Drumsticks and the Story of the Turkey Trot
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
- The Chilling Sound of the Aztec Death Whistle
- How Cells Habituate
- Sliding Seeds Can Provide Insight Into Devastating Landslides and Rock Avalanches
Monday, November 18, 2024
- Scientists Recreate Mouse from Gene Older Than Animal Life
- New Research Explores Volcanic Caves, Advancing the Search for Life on Mars
- New Fossil Reveals the Evolution of Flying Reptiles
Saturday, November 16, 2024
- Earliest Evidence of Humans Using Fire to Shape the Landscape of Tasmania
- 'Walk This Way': How Ants Create Trails to Multiple Food Sources
Friday, November 15, 2024
- Generation of Rat Offspring from Ovarian Oocytes by Cross-Species Transplantation
- Biologists Reveal the Genetic 'switch' Behind Parrot Color Diversity
- Egyptians Drank Hallucinogenic Cocktails in Ancient Rituals, Study Confirms
Thursday, November 14, 2024
- Spectacular Chimneys Discovered in the Dead Sea
- 'Cool' White Car Headlights More Likely to Dazzle Moths
- Living Microbes Discovered in Earth's Driest Desert
- How Conflicting Memories of Sex and Starvation Compete to Drive Behavior, Study in Worms Shows
- NeuroMechFly V2: Simulating How Fruit Flies See, Smell, and Navigate
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
- 12,000-Year-Old Stones May Be Very Early Evidence of Wheel-Like Technology
- On the Origin of Life: How the First Cell Membranes Came to Exist
- Anti-Fatberg Invention Could Help Unclog City Sewers
- Robot Identifies Plants by 'touching' Their Leaves
- Bird Brain from the Age of Dinosaurs Reveals Roots of Avian Intelligence
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
- Young Coral Use Metabolic Tricks to Resist Bleaching
- Synthetic Cells Emulate Natural Cellular Communication
- First Amber Find on the Antarctic Continent
- Remarkable New Swimming Sea Slug in the Deep Sea
Monday, November 11, 2024
- A New Wrinkle in Turtles: Their Genomes Fold in a Unique Way, Researchers Find
- A Milestone in the Study of Octopus Arms
- Was 'Snowball Earth' A Global Event? Study Delivers Best Proof Yet
- The Shellowship of the Ring: Two New Snail Species Named After Tolkien Characters
- Secret Behind the Corpse Flower's Famous Stench
Friday, November 8, 2024
- Study of Mountaineering Mice Sheds Light on Evolutionary Adaptation
- Measurements from 'lost' Seaglider Offer New Insights Into Antarctic Ice Melting
- New Insights Into the Denisovans: New Hominin Group That Interbred With Modern Day Humans
- Scarlet Macaw Parents 'play Favorites,' Purposefully Neglect Younger Chicks
- Elephant Turns a Hose Into a Sophisticated Showering Tool
- Chimpanzees Perform Better on Challenging Computer Tasks When They Have an Audience
- Deep-Sea Corals Are Home to Previously Unknown Bacteria With Extremely Small Genomes
Thursday, November 7, 2024
- Insect-Killing Fungi Find Unexpected Harmony in War
- Scientists Trained AI to Detect Faces in Pain, in Goats
- DNA Evidence Rewrites Story of People Buried in Pompeii Eruption
- Research Shows Caterpillar Fungus Can Slow Down Growth of Cancer Cells
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
- How Gophers Brought Mount St. Helens Back to Life in One Day
- Research Reveals How Stormy Conditions Affect Albatrosses' Ability to Feed
- The Egg or the Chicken? An Ancient Unicellular Says Egg
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
- Deaf Male Mosquitoes Don't Mate
- Researchers Develop Artificial Plants That Purify Indoor Air, Generate Electricity
Monday, November 4, 2024
- The Secrets of Baseball's Magic Mud
- Did the World's Best-Preserved Dinosaurs Really Die in 'Pompeii-Type' Events?
- Fossil of Huge Terror Bird Offers New Information About Wildlife in South America 12 Million Years Ago
Thursday, October 31, 2024
- Echolocating Bats Use an Acoustic Cognitive Map for Navigation
- New Methods for Whale Tracking and Rendezvous Using Autonomous Robots
- Why Elephants Never Forget but Fleas Have, Well, the Attention Span of a Flea