Humpback whale songs undergo a ‘cultural revolution’ every few years
Males learn entirely new songs, but their repertoire may be limited
Plants & Animals
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Spider silk is five times stronger than steel—now, scientists know why
Thousands of tiny nanostrands make up larger silken “cables” -
How do cats stay so clean? Video reveals secrets of the feline tongue
Three-dimensional scans and thermal imaging give unprecedented insight into cat grooming -
These termite mounds are so big you can see them from space
Insects have created millions of these structures in Brazil, some of them thousands of years old -
Orangutans are the only great apes—besides humans—to ‘talk’ about the past
New finding may shed light on the evolution of language -
Killing badgers not enough to defeat costly tuberculosis in cattle, U.K. report finds
Farmers need better testing and biosecurity, too -
Venus flytraps kill with chemicals like those from lightning bolts
Cold plasma experiments reveal the chemical processes that precede the flytrap’s snapping -
New tracking system could show—at last—how pesticides are harming bee colonies
Experiments with the system suggest neonicotinoids severely disrupt bumble bee social behavior -
Jellyfish almost killed this scientist. Now, she wants to save others from their fatal venom
Box jellyfish stings are an underestimated public health problem, Angel Yanagihara says -
This lily’s cousin is an ear of corn. Now, scientists know how they—and many other plants—are related
Mysterious monocots have a watery origin story -
Whales spotted from space
Satellite images let scientists count hundreds of whales -
Record number of monkeys being used in U.S. research
Trends alarm animal activists, but biomedical community says nonhuman primates are becoming increasingly important -
Researchers launch plan to sequence 66,000 species in the United Kingdom. But that’s just a start
U.K. effort part of larger Earth Biogenome Project to sequence 1.5 million species -
Nasal gene spray inspired by llama antibodies could prevent all types of flu
Unusual strategy for mutable virus might outdo traditional vaccines -
Dinosaur eggs came in many colors—just like birds’
New method suggests colored and speckled eggs appeared more than 150 million years ago -
Are wild monkeys becoming a reservoir for Zika virus in the Americas?
More than one-third tested in Brazilian study were positive
