Latest stories
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Hummingbirds Can Fly Backward. Their Wings Do More Than Flap.
Hummingbirds can hover, fly sideways and backward by changing their wing movements. That aerial control helps them feed at flowers.
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Lyrebirds Can Mimic Chainsaws—but the Famous One Lived in a Zoo
Lyrebirds can mimic chainsaws, but the famous recording featured captive birds. In the wild, their best-documented impressions are other birds.
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Giant Deep-Sea Isopods Can Go Remarkably Long Without Eating
A giant deep-sea isopod reportedly survived five years without eating in captivity. Here’s how these armored scavengers cope with life between meals.
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Mantis Shrimp Punch So Fast They Make Bubbles Implode
Mantis shrimp use spring-loaded clubs to smash shells. Their rapid strikes can create cavitation bubbles that collapse and add another jolt.
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Spiders Can Sense Electricity in the Air—and Use It to Fly
Some spiders sense atmospheric electricity and use silk to take off. Controlled experiments show how electric fields can help them balloon without wind.
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Sunsets on Mars Turn Blue Near the Sun
Mars is red, but its sunsets can glow blue near the Sun. NASA rover images show how fine dust creates the counterintuitive color pattern.
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Some Moonquakes Can Keep Shaking for Hours
Apollo seismometers revealed four kinds of lunar shaking. Some moonquakes can last for hours, and NASA is preparing new instruments to listen again.
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The First Computer “Bug” Was a Real Moth—but the Word Was Already Old
A moth really did jam a Harvard computer relay in 1947. The famous logbook survived—but “bug” had described machine faults for decades.
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This Lizard Breathes From a Bubble on Its Nose
A Costa Rican water anole rebreathes an air bubble over its nose. An experiment found normal bubble use extended average dive time by about 32%.
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Crows Can Count Their Own Calls—Up to Four
Three carrion crows learned to produce one to four calls after visual or sound cues. Their first caw revealed that they had planned the sequence.