In a 2006 research published in Science, investigators Alex Thornton and Katherine McAuliffe examined the learning experience of meerkat pups when faced with a live scorpion—an important prey item that can defend itself. Their findings highlighted the significance of practice under the supervision of older meerkats, who offer younger learners incremental exposure to prey. The […]

At approximately 50 meters down, in the shade of floating pens containing bluefin tuna off Malta’s northeastern coastline, a remotely operated vehicle glided over a shifting seabed. In October 2024, researchers controlling that ROV recorded an estimated 100 to 150 common eagle rays, Myliobatis aquila, clustered on and just above the bottom underneath a tuna […]

Some of the most compelling evidence that a dog cares for you appeared, rather mundanely, in a specimen container. A group at Azabu University in Japan placed dogs and their owners in a quiet room for half an hour and instructed them to act naturally. Some owners spoke to their dogs, others caressed them, while […]

A Clear Revelation: The Newly Identified Jellyfish Species *Orchistoma integrale* In 2018, under the serene waters of Tanabe Bay, Wakayama, a young enthusiast stumbled upon a captivating jellyfish — one that would eventually be classified as a new species. Ryoya Sugimoto, merely 13 at the time, was familiar with Japan’s diverse marine ecosystem. However, this […]

In 1971, ten lizards transported between two Adriatic islands served as the foundation for a remarkable comparative study. Their offspring not only formed a new population but also adapted their diets and evolved different feeding structures. The transfer consisted of five male and five female Italian wall lizards, relocated from Pod Kopište to Pod Mrčaru […]

Cheese Industry Residue: Converting Whey into Treasure Cheese manufacturing frequently leaves dairies with whey, a light, liquid by-product, which is generally regarded as waste. Yet, researchers at ETH Zurich have discovered a novel method to repurpose whey, converting some of it into genuine gold nuggets. This extraordinary finding was accomplished by extracting 450 milligrams of […]

A field of loose debris beneath the peak of Mount Timpanogos conceals enough frozen water to fill 600 Olympic swimming pools. There are no visible signs on the surface. This estimate stems from University of Utah geologists who spent autumn 2024 ascending to a cirque, a bowl carved into the mountainside above Emerald Lake, to […]

A Rockhounding Journey Evolves into a Paleontological Revelation During a rockhounding excursion in the autumn with his grandparents, 11-year-old Touren Pope from Nevada uncovered an extraordinary find on public lands in southwest Wyoming. While navigating the badlands, he spotted an unusual fragment of shell extending from an outcrop. This discovery led to the excavation of […]

On a petite isle located in the heart of the Panama Canal, a distinctive scientific heritage continues to flourish. It all started in 1982 when Jacalyn Giacalone and Gregory Willis initiated a significant endeavor to catalog the mammal population on Barro Colorado Island, a research station overseen by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Annually, they […]