Odd Creatures: Plants & Animals
June 5, 2025
Top Headlines
May 29, 2025 — The process of necrosis, a form of cell death, may represent one of the most promising ways to change the course of human aging, disease and even space travel, according to a new ...
May 29, 2025 — The fossils of ancient salamander-like creatures in Scotland are among the most well-preserved examples of early stem tetrapods -- some of the first animals to make the transition from water to land. Thanks to new research, scientists believe that ...
May 29, 2025 — Spring in the Arctic brings forth a plethora of peeps and downy hatchlings as millions of birds gather to raise their young. The same was true 73 million years ago, according to a new article. The paper documents the earliest-known example of birds ...
May 28, 2025 — Palaeontologists have analyzed the most complete stegosaurian skull ever found in Europe and rewritten the evolutionary history of this iconic group of ...
Latest Headlines
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May 28, 2025 — Chemists have demonstrated how RNA (ribonucleic acid) might have replicated itself on early Earth -- a key process in the origin of ...
Apr. 29, 2025 — Regular light-dark cycles greatly affect organisms, and events like eclipses induce distinctive physiological and behavioral shifts. While well-documented in animals, plant behavior during eclipses ...
May 28, 2025 — Close to five million smuggled seahorses worth an estimated CAD$29 million were seized by authorities over a 10-year span, according to a new study ...
May 27, 2025 — Humans were making tools from whale bones as far back as 20,000 years ago, according to a new study. This discovery broadens our understanding of early human use of whale remains and offers valuable ...
May 22, 2025 — Proteins catalyze life by changing shape when they interact with other molecules. The result is a muscle twitching, the perception of light, or a bit of energy extracted from food. The ability to ...
May 26, 2025 — Contrary to widespread assumptions, the largest shark that ever lived -- Otodus megalodon -- fed on marine creatures at various levels of the food pyramid and not just the top. Scientists analyzed ...
May 21, 2025 — A new study has revealed why some spiders possess venom that is far more potent than others. By analyzing the venoms of more than 70 different spider species, the team explored whether factors such ...
May 23, 2025 — A new study uses metabolic profiling to uncover ancient knowledge systems behind therapeutic and psychoactive plant use in ancient ...
May 23, 2025 — A group of fossils of elasmosaurs -- some of the most famous in North America -- have just been formally identified as belonging to a 'very odd' new ...
May 21, 2025 — When pollinators visit flowers, they produce various sounds, from wing flapping during hovering, to landing and takeoff. Scientists studied these vibroacoustic signals to develop noninvasive and ...
Earlier Headlines
May 22, 2025 — Research reveals that for C. elegans worms, the presence of dead members of their species has profound behavioral and physiological effects, leading them to more quickly reproduce and shortening ...
May 22, 2025 — Scientists have analyzed ancient DNA and compared more than 400 fossils from 17 natural history museums to figure out how and why extinct sloths got so ...
May 22, 2025 — A new study proves that a type of genetic element called 'introners' are the mechanism by which many introns spread within and between species, also providing evidence of eight instances in ...
May 21, 2025 — Clownfish have been shown to shrink in order to survive heat stress and avoid social conflict, research ...
May 21, 2025 — New research shows that dentine, the inner layer of teeth that transmits sensory information to nerves inside the pulp, first evolved as sensory tissue in the armored exoskeletons of ancient ...
May 21, 2025 — Researchers developed a way to extend the shelf life of vegetables by injecting them with melatonin using biodegradable ...
May 21, 2025 — With its fascinating ability to regrow entire limbs and internal organs, the Mexican axolotl is the ideal model for studying regeneration. Scientists have now found a factor that tells cells which ...
May 20, 2025 — Imagine drawing on something as delicate as a living cell -- without damaging it. Researchers have made this groundbreaking discovery using an unexpected combination of tools: frozen ethanol, ...
May 19, 2025 — Scientists have uncovered the genetic underpinnings of one of the ocean's most bizarre animals: a branching marine worm named Ramisyllis kingghidorahi that lives inside sea sponges and ...
May 19, 2025 — A team was able to show that swimming movements are possible even without a central control unit. This not only explains the behavior of microorganisms, it could also enable nanobots to move in a ...
May 19, 2025 — Animal abduction: Biologists documented five male capuchin monkeys carrying at least eleven different infant howler monkeys -- a behavior never before seen in wild primates. Rise and spread: The ...
May 19, 2025 — Researchers have shown that mice use chemical cues, including odors, to detect the social rank of an unfamiliar mouse and compare it to their own, using this information to determine their ...
May 16, 2025 — Scientists have decoded the atomic structure of Photosystem I from a 3-billion-year-old cyanobacteria lineage, offering a unique look at early oxygen-producing photosynthesis. The ancient nanodevice, ...
May 16, 2025 — Researchers have found that wild orangutans vocalize with a layered complexity previously thought to be unique to human communication, suggesting a much older evolutionary ...
May 15, 2025 — When trees and soil fungi form close associations with each other, both partners benefit. Many tree species have further enhanced this cooperation by forming a concurrent symbiosis with two different ...
May 15, 2025 — Many an orange cat-affiliated human will vouch for their cat's, let's say, specialness. But now scientists have confirmed that there is, in fact, something unique about ginger-hued domestic ...
May 14, 2025 — The origin of reptiles on Earth has been shown to be up to 40 million years earlier than previously thought -- thanks to evidence discovered at an Australian fossil site that represents a critical ...
May 14, 2025 — Scientists have now discovered the oldest ancestor for all the Australian tree frogs, with distant links to the tree frogs of South ...
May 14, 2025 — With coral reefs in crisis due to climate change, scientists have engineered a bio-ink that could help promote coral larvae settlement and restore these underwater ecosystems before it's too ...
May 14, 2025 — Archaeopteryx is the fossil that clearly demonstrated Darwin's views. It's the oldest known fossil bird, and it helps show that all birds -- including the ones alive today -- emerged from ...
Thursday, May 22, 2025
- The Scent of Death? Worms Experience Altered Fertility and Lifespan When Exposed to Dead Counterparts
- Scientists Have Figured out How Extinct Giant Ground Sloths Got So Big and Where It All Went Wrong
- 'Selfish' Genes Called Introners Proven to Be a Major Source of Genetic Complexity
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
- Shrinking Nemo: Clownfish Survive Heatwaves by Shrinking
- Toothache from Eating Something Cold? Blame These Ancient Fish
- A New Technology for Extending the Shelf Life of Produce
- Hand2: Positional Code That Allows Axolotls to Regrow Limbs Found
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Monday, May 19, 2025
- A Head and a Hundred Tails: How a Branching Worm Manages Reproductive Complexity
- How to Swim Without a Brain
- Capuchin Monkeys Develop Bizarre 'fad' Of Abducting Baby Howlers
- Mice Use Chemical Cues Such as Odors to Sense Social Hierarchy
Friday, May 16, 2025
- Light-to-Electricity Nanodevice Reveals How Earth's Oldest Surviving Cyanobacteria Worked
- Wild Orangutans Show Communication Complexity Thought to Be Uniquely Human
Thursday, May 15, 2025
- Dual Associations With Two Fungi Improve Tree Fitness
- Scientists Track Down Mutation That Makes Orange Cats Orange
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
- Fossil Tracks Show Reptiles Appeared on Earth Up to 40 Million Years Earlier
- Australia's Oldest Prehistoric Tree Frog Hops 22 Million Years Back in Time
- An Ink That Boosts Coral Reef Settlement by 20 Times
- UV Light and CT Scans Helped Scientists Unlock Hidden Details in a Beautifully-Preserved Fossil Archaeopteryx
- Light-Driven Cockroach Cyborgs Navigate Without Wires or Surgery
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
- CT Scanning Helps Reveal Path from Rotten Fish to Fossil
- Palaeontologists Discover 506-Million-Year-Old Predator
- Researchers Develop Living Material from Fungi
Monday, May 12, 2025
- Echidna Microbiome Changes While Mums Nurse Puggle
- Flamingos Create Water Tornados to Trap Their Prey
- From Prehistoric Resident to Runaway Pet: First Tegu Fossil Found in the U.S.
Friday, May 9, 2025
Thursday, May 8, 2025
- Robotic Dog Mimics Mammals for Superior Mobility on Land and in Water
- Scottish Shrimp Study Illuminates New Potential for Bait-Less Fishing
- Eco-Friendly Aquatic Robot Is Made from Fish Food
- AI-Designed DNA Controls Genes in Healthy Mammalian Cells for First Time
Wednesday, May 7, 2025
- Feat of 'dung-Gineering' Turns Cow Manure Into One of World's Most Used Materials
- Triassic Fossil Reveals Nature's Best Jaw for Hunting Fast Fish
- Comb Jellies Reveal Ancient Origins of Animal Genome Regulation
- Cracking the Code: Deciphering How Concrete Can Heal Itself
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
- T. Rex's Direct Ancestor Crossed from Asia to North America
- Study of Velvet Worm Slime Could Revolutionize Sustainable Material Design
- New Drone-Assisted 3D Model Offers a More Accurate Way to Date Dinosaur Fossils
- Two New Crocodile Species Discovered
Monday, May 5, 2025
- Ancient Andes Society Used Hallucinogens to Strengthen Social Order
- How Are They Biting? High Speed Video Reveals Unexpected Jaw Movements in Reef Fish
- Saving the Asian 'unicorn' -- If It Still Exists
- Blue Tips Are Red Algae's Red Flags
- Ancient Poems Tell the Story of Charismatic River Porpoise's Decline Over the Past 1,400 Years
Thursday, May 1, 2025
- Rhythmically Trained Sea Lion Returns for an Encore -- And Performs as Well as Humans
- Ptero Firma: Footprints Pinpoint When Ancient Flying Reptiles Conquered the Ground
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
- Zoo Life Boosts Object Exploration in Orangutans
- Juvenile Salmon Roam Between Salt and Fresh Water While Exploring Coast and Rivers, New Research Finds
- Geobiology: Iron, Sulfur, Heat -- And First Life
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
- Giant Croclike Carnivore Fossils Found in the Caribbean
- Palatable Versus Poisonous: Eavesdropping Bats Must Learn to Identify Which Prey Is Safe to Eat
- Will the Vegetables of the Future Be Fortified Using Tiny Needles?
Monday, April 28, 2025
- Social 'hippie' Spiders Don't Believe in Labels: Study Challenges Long-Held Assumptions About Animal Personalities
- Elephant Instead of Wild Boar? What Could Have Been in Europe
- Family First: Scientists Reveal Long-Tailed Tits' Remarkable Family Bonds
- New Research on Bird Behavior Suggests That Evolution May Repeat Itself
- Evolution of Pugs and Persians Converges on Cuteness
- 'Extremely Rare Event': Bone Analysis Suggests Ancient Echidnas Lived in Water
Friday, April 25, 2025
Thursday, April 24, 2025
- Tiny New Species of Snail Named After Picasso
- Female Bonobos Keep Males in Check -- Not With Strength, but With Solidarity
- The Oldest Ant Ever Discovered Found Fossilized in Brazil
Wednesday, April 23, 2025
- New and Surprising Traction Trait in Sculpin Fish
- Skeletal Evidence of Roman Gladiator Bitten by Lion in Combat
- Scientists Have Found a Way to 'tattoo' Tardigrades
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
- New Species of Electricity-Conducting Organism, Name It After Tribe
- Better Feed, Fewer Burps: Scientists Target Dairy Gas Emissions
Monday, April 21, 2025
- More Americans Are Using Psilocybin -- Especially Those With Mental Health Conditions, Study Shows
- How Activity in Earth's Mantle Led the Ancient Ancestors of Elephants, Giraffes, and Humans Into Asia and Africa
- What If Mother Earth Could Sue for Mistreatment?
- Wild Chimps Filmed Sharing 'boozy' Fruit
Thursday, April 17, 2025
Wednesday, April 16, 2025
- Strongest Hints Yet of Biological Activity Outside the Solar System
- New Giant Virus Isolated
- Living Fungus-Based Building Material Repairs Itself for Over a Month
- Bite-Sized Chunks of Chicken With the Texture of Whole Meat Can Be Grown in the Lab
- First Confirmed Footage of a Colossal Squid -- And It's a Baby!
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
- Studying How Seals Adapt to Extreme Environments Could Lead to Benefits in Human Reproductive Health
Monday, April 14, 2025
Thursday, April 10, 2025
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
- Prehistoric Rhinos Lived in Super-Herds
- Do 'optimistic' Versus 'pessimistic' Medical Detection Dogs Perform Differently?
- With New Database Researchers May Be Able to Predict Rare Milky Seas Bioluminescent, Glowing Event
- Mammoth Genetic Diversity Throughout the Last Million Years
- 8 Million Years of 'Green Arabia'
- Scientists Discover That Fruit Fly Larvae Can Sense Electric Fields
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
- Life Recovered Rapidly at Site of Dino-Killing Asteroid: A Hydrothermal System May Have Helped
- New Research Finds Fluorescence in Feathers of Long-Eared Owls
- Dinosaurs' Apparent Decline Prior to Asteroid May Be Due to Poor Fossil Record
Monday, April 7, 2025
- Scientists Discover Microbes in Earth's Deep Soil
- Saturn's Moon Titan Could Harbor Life, but Only a Tiny Amount, Study Finds
- The New Season of The Last of Us Has a Spore-Ting Chance at Realism
Thursday, April 3, 2025
- Revealing Capillaries and Cells in Living Organs With Ultrasound
- Western Diet Causes Inflammation, Traditional African Food Protects
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
- Monkeys Are World's Best Yodellers -- New Research
- Microplastics Detected in Cat Placentas and Fetuses During Early Pregnancy
- Miso Made in Space Tastes Nuttier
- First Ancient Genomes from the Green Sahara Deciphered