Unweaving the peacock spider’s rainbows
Peacock spiders use sophisticated optical nanostructures.
Brightly colored Australian peacock spiders (Maratus spp.) captivate even the most arachnophobic viewers with their f...
Animals
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It’s official: dogs are smarter than cats
Counting brain cells reveals that cats are a bit dim.
Bad news for cat lovers. Your pet is not haughty, enigmatic and given to philosophical pondering. Your pet is just du...
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Lemurs are what they eat
Poor quality fruit drives Madagascan diets.
Lemurs eat a lot of leaves because fruit on Madagascar isn’t nutritious enough to sustain them, according to new rese...
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The beauty of ecology
Stunning images celebrating both scientific and photographic skills.
At first glance this photograph of Heron Reef, in the southernmost section of the Great Barrier Reef, looks somewhat ...
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A two-headed snake
Two-headed snakes are rare, but they do exist.
Are two heads better than one? This snake with two heads (or it is two snakes with one body?) might have an opinion. ...
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Scientists collar marauding baboons
Population pressure is exacerbating human-wildlife conflict.
For residents in some parts of Cape Town urban violence is a real and worsening trend. The threat, however, comes not...
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English bulldogs' shallow gene pool problems
Distinctive physical features are accompanied by health problems.
English bulldogs are among the world’s favourite dogs, but centuries of inbreeding has cursed the pooches with poor h...
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Why do cats have slit-shaped eyes?
Pupil shape reveals prey or predator in animals.
Ever wondered why cat eyes have vertical slit-shaped pupils, while sheep have horizontal bars? A recent study suggest...
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The key gene that allows bees to collect pollen
Just how do they do it?
Scientists at Michigan State University have identified an important gene in the underlying genetic mechanism that en...
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Outfoxing a cunning killer
Scientists credit improvements in control methods
Australian scientists are within sight of eradicating the red fox from Phillip Island, south-east of Melbourne, where...
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Sex and the single cannibal
The males of some species have it tough when it comes to love.
This is a story about love gone horribly wrong. It’s a story where the girl always gets her man. We are talking abou...
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Symbiosis: when living together is win-win
Long-term interactions between two biological organisms.
There are many cases in nature where species team up to help each other, a behaviour known as symbiosis. Resources or...