When humans listen to music, we hear a beat. It’s so self-evident, and so foundational to our lives, that it’s hard to imagine how rare that experience is in the animal kingdom. Because here’s the thing: a beat isn’t necessarily a tangible part of music, but a property of human experience, says Andrea Ravignani, who
Bald and golden eagles across North America are in danger from lead poisoning, a new analysis suggests. Researchers tracked levels of the deadly metal in more than 1,000 eagles from 38 US states, and found that “unexpectedly high” proportions of birds from the two species suffered from both chronic and recent poisoning. Almost half of
Bees are essentially vegetarian wasps. Around a hundred million years ago, we know, the common ancestor of all modern bees was a hunter. But over the last 80 million years, bees have become vegetarians. Most get everything they need from flowers: They sip nectar to make honey, lick up floral oils, and pack protein-rich pollen
Raising a child often takes some serious preparation. Future parents may have learned how to change a diaper during home economics or how to quell a baby’s screech with tips from their own mothers. In fact, parenting, much like cooking or writing, is a skill that can be taught or learned. Until recently, researchers didn’t
What’s cuter than a giant panda cub? A giant panda cub doing somersaults in the snow. A winter storm blanketed Washington D.C. and surrounding regions in up to 8.5 inches of snow on Monday, as wind gusts whipped at speeds of over 20 mph. The snow dump closed schools and government offices and even grounded
In November of 2020, a volunteer-run monarch butterfly count across California spotted less than 2,000 of the insects. It was the third consecutive winter they’d tallied less than 30,000 individuals—a worrying trend. But the same count this past Thanksgiving brought a glimmer of hope: Volunteers found 247,237 butterflies over 283 sites, a remarkable turnaround in
With a color palette brighter than a bag of Skittles, you’d think the rose-veiled fairy wrasse would have no trouble standing out. But in the teeming waters of the Indian Ocean, it’s easy for a fish to swim under the radar, even when it looks like it’s ultraviolet. For decades, the rose-veiled fairy wrasse was
When fin whales capture their food, they end up scooping a lot of water into their mouths. Scientists in Canada have discovered a small, fatty structure in these marine mammals that may explain how they are able to engulf such vast amounts of prey-filled water without choking. When the researchers examined deceased whales, they identified
A new species of pterosaur has been discovered, a flying reptile that once graced the skies of the Australian Outback around 105 million years ago. The imposing, dragon-like creature, Thapunngaka shawi, was named to reflect its extremely pointy teeth in the now-extinct language of the local Indigenous Wanamara tribe. In 2011, a local fossil hunter
Male orb-weaving spiders risk it all to get intimate with female mates—even their lives. Like a number of spider species, these silk web architects participate in sexual cannibalism, where typically females feast upon male mates or nibble on their appendages during or after sex. But the males of one particular orb-weaving spider species, Philoponella prominens
