To cat owners, a litter box is a nuisance. But to scientists, it’s a trove of information. A team of researchers at Nestlé Purina PetCare decided to investigate litter boxes as records of behavior: the pre-squat scratch, the whirl, the precise geometry of the bury. The scientists built a painstaking dictionary of these gestures—a full…
A reconstruction of what the Xiphodracon may have looked like Bob Nicholls Meet the “Sword Dragon”, a newly-named species of ichthyosaur – predatory prehistoric reptiles that dominated the oceans while dinosaurs ruled the land. The beautifully-preserved fossilised skeleton was found on the UK’s Jurassic Coast near an area called Golden Cap back in 2001, and…
October 9, 2025 3 min read This Bat Recorded Itself Catching and Eating a Songbird in Midair Scientists suspected that Europe’s largest bats snack on migrating songbirds when they can, but a stunning newly published observation proves it By Meghan Bartels edited by Andrea Thompson A greater noctule bat caught in a mist net with…
Magnet-like materials have an inner swirl that can only be corralled with circularly polarised lasers Andrew Ostrovsky/iStockphoto/Getty Images Researchers have taken control of a previously elusive material behaviour, similar to magnetism, that could be used to build better hard drives in the future. If you place a bar magnet in a magnetic field, it will…
October 9, 2025 3 min read RFK, Jr., Says Tylenol Use for Circumcision Causes Autism. Here’s Why That Claim Is Flawed Studies suggesting circumcision rates are linked with autism are “riddled with flaws” By Allison Parshall RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP/Getty Images Today, in a cabinet meeting, U.S. secretary of health and human services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.,…
Irritable bowel syndrome could be relieved through techniques taught in types of therapy Sladic/Getty Images Therapies that alter the behaviour of people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) may be more effective than the existing go-to treatments. If offered digitally, these could also help speed up their relief. IBS commonly results in bloating, diarrhoea, constipation and…
If you’ve ever had a slobbery ball at your feet and a dog’s hopeful eyes asking for yet another throw, then you know that some dogs really love to play. Now, scientists back that up by finding that some pups’ behaviors share features with human addictions. Behavioral biologist Stefanie Riemer and her colleagues explored the…
When a total solar eclipse plunged North America into darkness on the afternoon of April 8, 2024, the songbirds in Bloomington, Ind., suddenly fell silent. In the middle of the forest, the only sounds biologist Kimberly Rosvall could hear were the croaks of nocturnal frogs and the distant howl of a coyote. But when sunlight…
Studying naked mole rats could us develop new anti-ageing strategies Jannissimo/Shutterstock Naked mole rats live for up to 37 years – far longer than other rodents their size. What is the secret of their longevity? Among other factors, it could be down to a variant of an immune protein that boosts DNA repair The discovery…
Vampire bats are a Halloween staple, and now they’ve got company. Another bat species snatches birds out of the air for a gruesome midnight feast. Songbird DNA has previously shown up in the guano of three bat species, so researchers knew these flying mammals were eating more than just insects. But how, exactly, does a…
