Biology

Feb 13th, 2026 - A curious pangopup trundles through the forest riding on the long tail of its mother. A male peacock pheasant flaunts his colorful eyespots to woo a seemingly uninterested female. Two sun bears engage in playfighting while an idyllic creature that resembles a gym-going cow on drugs gazes at the camera. Bizarre sights unfolded when biologists played the videos their camera traps had recorded from the Annamite mountain forests. Led by  Flora & Fauna , the camera trap survey was aimed at ... [Read More]

Feb 13th, 2026 - Number of males at RSPB Abernethy rises to 30, after 'huge amount of work' by conservationists in Highlands forests After decades of decline, there are signs of hope for the capercaillie, one of Britain's most endangered birds. Populations of the charismatic grouse, which is found only in the Caledonian pine forests of the Scottish Highlands, have increased by 50%, from 20 males in 2020 to 30 in 2025 at RSPB Abernethy. It is a lifeline for the "horse of the woods", whose numbers have plummeted ... [Read More]

Feb 13th, 2026 - Researchers have caught intriguing changes in frog calls, and they believe climate change is responsible for these alterations. The team followed several frogs and found that in early spring, mating calls by male frogs are sluggish in quality. As the temperature increases in the water, possibly due to global warming, these calls become quicker. Some suggest that the calls sound "sexier" because of this pacing. Though meant for females, even humans can note these subtle changes if they hear the ... [Read More]

Feb 13th, 2026 - You can now listen to Fox News articles! Almost every forest bird species in Hawaii is spreading avian malaria, posing an increasing threat to wildlife in the popular honeymoon destination, according to a new study published in Nature Communications. The research revealed a potential explanation for why the disease shows up almost everywhere mosquitoes are found on the Hawaiian Islands. Scientists from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa and the University of California analyzed blood ... [Read More]

Feb 12th, 2026 - By Production of this article included the use of AI. It was reviewed and edited by a team of content specialists. A chance encounter on the outskirts of a village in northeastern India has yielded something rare: a previously undocumented vine snake species with a distinctively elongated snout that sets it apart from its relatives. The discovery began in 2021 when scientists Sourabh Verma and Soham Pattekar were surveying the area around Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar, India. The region's ... [Read More]

Feb 12th, 2026 - Follow Earth on Google The southern right whale was once seen as proof that conservation can work. After heavy hunting pushed this giant close to extinction, protection laws helped the population slowly grow again. Many people called it a success. Now, new research shows a worrying change. Scientists say this whale may be sending an early signal about climate change in the oceans. Researchers at Flinders University and Curtin University , along with international partners in the United States ... [Read More]

Feb 12th, 2026 - Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. . B efore there was Charles Darwin, there was Erasmus. Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. The English pioneer of evolutionary theory is thought to have taken inspiration from his paternal grandfather Erasmus, whom he never got the chance to meet. Erasmus, who died seven years before Charles was born (on this day in 1809), was a well-regarded poet, physician, and philosopher, among other specialties. But his influence on his grandson's ... [Read More]

Feb 12th, 2026 - Wiped out in its native range by invasive pathogens, the trees may make a comeback. Very few people alive today have seen the Appalachian forests as they existed a century ago. Even as state and national parks preserved ever more of the ecosystem, fungal pathogens from Asia nearly wiped out one of the dominant species of these forests, the American chestnut, killing an estimated 3 billion trees. While new saplings continue to sprout from the stumps of the former trees, the fungus persists, ... [Read More]

Feb 12th, 2026 - By Production of this article included the use of AI. It was reviewed and edited by a team of content specialists. A juvenile dinosaur unearthed in northeastern China preserved something paleontologists have never encountered before. The hollow, cylindrical spikes scattered across its body were made of hardened skin and intact down to individual cell nuclei. The find is rewriting assumptions about how diverse dinosaur body coverings actually were. The new species, called Haolong dongi ("spiny ... [Read More]

Feb 12th, 2026 - Follow Earth on Google Have you ever wondered what happens to a forest long after people stop cutting down trees? Does nature always heal on its own, or can something stand in the way? In the rainforests of Madagascar, scientists have been asking this exact question. What they found surprised them. Deep inside Ranomafana National Park , a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1991, a small fruit tree is quietly changing the future of the forest . Guava blocks forest recovery Rice University ... [Read More]

Feb 11th, 2026 - Denmark has introduced a revolutionary transformation: to change the street lighting. In the region called Gladsaxe, red LED streetlights have been installed along selected roads as a way to protect wildlife while keeping residents safe. It is also a way to reduce the harmful effects of artificial light at night. Nocturnal animals, especially bats, are highly sensitive to bright urban lighting, and this change could cut down the disruptions. Backed by scientific research, the shift hints toward ... [Read More]

Feb 10th, 2026 - Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. . T ermites are capable of constructing sprawling colonies containing millions of individuals, a complex social structure that evolved at least 100 million years ago. But how did they come to be so organized? A new study published in Science is shedding light on their fascinating evolutionary history. Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. To get a better picture of termite evolution, an international team of evolutionary biologists led by ... [Read More]

Feb 10th, 2026 - Follow Earth on Google For more than a century, one small group of jumping spiders existed in scientific records mostly as fragments – incomplete specimens, scattered notes, and unanswered questions. New fieldwork in southern India has brought the missing pieces together. Researchers rediscovered the lineage, documented its first known female, and formally described a new species, closing a 123-year gap that once left the genus difficult to identify. The discovery does more than add a new ... [Read More]

Feb 10th, 2026 - Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. . F or 100 million years, plants had Earth's surface mostly to themselves while vertebrates thrashed around in the primordial seas. When vertebrates finally crept up on terra firma, they still opted to dine on their fellow animals, leaving the foliage alone. Tens of millions of years later, that changed. Now, researchers have identified one of the earliest known fossils of a terrestrial vertebrate plant-eater. They published their findings today in ... [Read More]

Feb 9th, 2026 - The evolution of vertebrates sheds light on disease prevention The research is important for understanding how these proteins and pathways could be manipulated in disease management New research from the University of St Andrews (Scotland) has discovered an important piece in the puzzle of how all vertebrate animals (with a spine) – including all mammals, fish, reptiles and amphibians – evolved.   Here, the ... [Read More]

Feb 9th, 2026 - Follow Earth on Google New clues from very old fish are helping scientists understand one of the biggest moments in the history of life on Earth. More than 400 million years ago, some fish began to change in small but meaningful ways. Over time, those changes opened the door for animals to leave the water and move onto land. That moment eventually led to frogs, dinosaurs, and humans. Two recent studies add new details to that story. They focus on lungfish, an ancient group of fish that still ... [Read More]