Anxious cats just want real cuddles from their human
Scent alone just isn’t enough for kitties with separation anxiety.
Anxious cats aren’t comforted by the scent of their absent human alone. It just reminds them that their human is gon...
Animals
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Bring on the conservation champions!
Aquariums and zoos collect the data – now let’s do the science on endangered species.
My passion has always been in conservation. Before my PhD I worked at The National Kiwi Hatchery in Rotorua. It’s the...
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Video
Is this frogpocalypse? The frogs are vanishing
But we can be part of the solution – here is how we can save the frogs.
Frogs have been vanishing in concerning numbers along the east coast of Australia since June, and we’re not yet sure ...
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Moths vs bats, weird asteroids, and ancestors with a sweet tooth – catch up on the science you mi...
Moths vs bats: moths use sound to thwart bat attacks Photograph of the Atlas moth (Attacus atlas). This large silk...
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Our 5 favourite Ig Nobel Prize Winners
Upside-down rhinos, nose-clearing sex and chewing gum forensics.
Every year, the science humour magazine the Annals of Improbable Research awards the Ig Nobel Prizes – a riff on the ...
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Butterflies feed on live young to steal chemicals for good sex
The toxic seduction secrets of the milkweed butterfly – and a new word for stealing chemicals.
Eat your young, load up on supplements, and woo the ladies – it’s all in a day’s work for male milkweed butterflies, ...
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After 10,000 years of inbreeding, the kākāpō is hanging on
Genetic study of the critically endangered kākāpō shows some hope for survival.
The kākāpō (Strigops habroptila), the world’s heaviest and arguably dumbest parrot, doesn’t seem to suffer from a his...
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How a leopard gets its spots
Study identifies a specific gene that may influence the colour and pattern of animal fur.
It’s been a more than 70-year mystery in the making, but now we may finally understand how the leopard got its spots ...
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Animals are 'shapeshifting' because of climate change
Animals around the planet are adapting to climate change in ways that are measurable, remarkable ...
Some warm-blooded animals are “shapeshifting” in response to a warming climate, growing larger legs, beaks and ears a...
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Lizard vs snake: Venom showdown
Unravelling the secrets of defence against one of Australia’s deadly snakes.
The humble blue-tongue lizard, an iconic Aussie species, is resistant to the venom of the deadly red-bellied black sn...
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East coast frogs dying by the thousands
Frogs are vanishing in numbers along the east coast, and we’re not entirely sure why – but locals...
In early to mid-June, a few reports started coming into Dr Jodi Rowley, reptile and amphibian curator at the Australi...
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Crashlanding geckos rely on their tails to get a grip
High-speed cameras reveal the extraordinary dynamics of gecko flight – and landing.
Crash landings are quite normal for geckos – it is their habit to launch themselves into leaps between trees to trave...