Beavers may weigh only around 20 kilograms, but their engineering skills can reshape entire landscapes. Using little more than their powerful teeth, branches, stones and mud, these rodents build dams that slow rivers, create wetlands and transform dry valleys into thriving ecosystems. While these structures are best known for forming ponds, scientists have discovered they…
From a great distance, the planet could easily give the wrong first impression. Seen in visible light, it appears as a rich blue world, bringing to mind the familiar colour of Earth as viewed from orbit. Yet the resemblance ends almost immediately. Instead of oceans reflecting sunlight, this distant planet is wrapped in an atmosphere…
Life aboard the International Space Station (ISS) depends on making the most of every available resource, especially water. Transporting supplies from Earth is enormously expensive, so astronauts cannot simply rely on regular deliveries for drinking water. Instead, the ISS uses one of the most sophisticated recycling systems ever built. At the heart of that system…
Under the watchful eye of scientists, volunteers clean the skeleton of a mastodonsaurus A huge fossilised skeleton weighing 1,300 kilograms (2,865 pounds) that was found in southern Poland is currently being chipped out of solid rock by a group of more than 2,000 public volunteers.According to a report by the Associated Press, this unusual public…
A scientific paper describing a previously unknown group of rove beetles has produced an unusual meeting point between taxonomy and popular culture. Researchers have introduced a new beetle genus named Luffy, borrowing the name of Monkey D. Luffy, the central character from the long-running manga and anime series One Piece. While the choice may appear…
A worker ant of the species Temnothorax nylanderi infected with the tapeworm Anomotaenia brevis, recognizable by its yellowish coloration, alongside an uninfected worker (Credit: Susanne Foitzik) Deep inside the damp leaf litter of the Lenneberg Forest near Mainz, Germany, tiny worker ants of the species Temnothorax nylanderi are living surprisingly long lives. While a normal…
Hand reaching into a mosquito enclosure. Credit: Credit: Edwin Remsberg / University of Maryland Low-income urban neighbourhoods in Baltimore and Washington, DC, have higher mosquito numbers partly because of the types of trees growing on their streets and in empty lots, according to new research published in the Journal of Medical Entomology.The study, co-authored by…
Saturn has strengthened its position as the planet with the largest known family of moons after astronomers officially discovered 128 new moons. The discoveries were officially recognised by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) on 11 March 2025 following years of observations by an international team of researchers from Taiwan, Canada, the United States and France.The…
Still, the outlook for Hawaii’s snails is uncertain, symbolizing a new era in the conservation of endangered species. In 1955, wildlife officials in Hawaii released a meat-eating “cannibal” snail to control an invasive pest. But the plan went terribly wrong. Instead of eating the pest, the predator turned on the islands’ rare native tree snails,…
The decline of coral reefs is often described through bleaching events, rising sea temperatures and fading marine life. Less attention is paid to something that disappears at the same time: sound. A healthy reef is rarely quiet. Snapping shrimp, feeding fish and countless other marine animals create a constant underwater backdrop that helps young fish…