Animals | Science News for Kids

Publication of the Society for Science & the Public

Explore:

Animals Articles

Flower power

By Stephen Ornes / March 11, 2013

Scientists report that bees and flowers appear to have a charged communication. In addition to a flower’s color and scent, its electric field may also bring in bees, a new study shows. Credit: Emily Krieger

Electric field around flowers may help bees find nutritious blooms

Posted in Animals, Plants | Tagged bees, biology, charge, Daniel Robert, electric field, electric potential, electricity, entomology, flowers, getinvolved, nectar, negative charge, Pollination, positive charge, sensory biology, Stephen Buchmann, University of Arizona at Tucson, University of Bristol

Whale of a lesson

By Eric Wagner / March 7, 2013

A North Atlantic right whale lifts its tail to dive in the Bay of Fundy. Credit: Eric Wagner

Once given up as all but extinct, the North Atlantic right whale is making a comeback

Posted in Animals | Tagged Amy Knowlton, baleen, biology, blubber, callosity, cetaceans, citizen science, conservation, ecology, entanglement, feature, fishing, genes, genetics, keratin, mammalogy, marine policy, marine science, Mark Baumgartner, Moira Brown, New England Aquarium, oceans, right whales, Saint Mary’s University, Scott Kraus, shipping, ships, Tim Frasier, whale oil, Whales, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

These ants boast mighty grip

By Susan Milius / February 28, 2013

Strong sticking power and quick reaction time helps them hold onto trees

Posted in Animals | Tagged ants, capillary action, foot pads, footing, getinvolved, glue, grasping, locomotion, mechanical force, Thomas Endlein, topstories, University of Cambridge, University of Glasgow, Walter Federle, weaver anats

Cool Jobs: Museum science

By Sharon Oosthoek / February 27, 2013

Royal Ontario Museum scientist Oliver Haddrath must wear protective clothing when working with ancient DNA. This ensures his DNA doesn’t get mixed up with the genetic material he is analyzing. Credit: Royal Ontario Museum

Samples collected long ago may hold answers to important questions in science and medicine today

Posted in Ancient Times, Animals, STEM Careers | Tagged Adaptation, ancient DNA, anthropology, antibody, arenavirus, British Museum, Charles Fulhorst, collections, computed tomography, cool jobs, crime scene, CSI, CT scan, Daniel Antoine, deer mouse, Egypt, evolution, feature, flightless birds, forensics, hantavirus, holdings, moa, mummy, Museums, Oliver Haddrath, outbreaks, pack rat, Robert Baker, Robert Bradley, rodents, Royal Ontario Museum, Texas Tech, tinamou, topstories, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, viral RNA, virus, X-ray

Oldest bird is new mom

By Allison Bohac / February 26, 2013

Wisdom, an albatross who is estimated to be 62 years old, tends to her newly hatched chick. She is the oldest known wild bird. Credit: John Klavitter/U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

At 62, albatross hatches a healthy chick

Posted in Animals | Tagged albatross, bird banding, bird fertility, Bruce Peterjohn, Chandler Robbins, Geological Survey, getinvolved, Laysan, leg banding, long lifespan, Midway atoll, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, topstories, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USF&WS, USGS, Wisdom

Feeling the invisible

By Sid Perkins / February 18, 2013

A rat with an infrared-detecting sensor wired into its brain soon learned that it could find water at a door marked with an invisible infrared light.
Credit: Thomson et al., Nature Communications (2013)

Sensor wired into a rat’s brain lets it detect light it can’t see

Posted in Animals, Light & Radiation, Tech & Math, Technology & Engineering | Tagged bioengineer, brain, Duke University, electromagnetic radiation, getinvolved, infrared light, Miguel Nicolelis, neuroscientist, plasticity, rat, San Diego, sight, spectrum, Todd Coleman, topstories, touch, University of California

Fancy feather gene

By Stephen Ornes / February 15, 2013

This Indian fantail, one of 350 breeds of rock pigeons, has a tuft of feathers called a peak crest. Scientists recently pinpointed the gene mutation responsible for this feather formation. Credit: Michael Shapiro

A tweak in a single pigeon gene causes a distinct feather formation

Posted in Animals | Tagged birds, cells, crests, DNA, feathers, genes, genetic mutations, genetics, getinvolved, Michael Shapiro, University of Utah

Killer cats

By Stephen Ornes / February 7, 2013

Cats kill between 1.4 billion and 3.7 billion birds every year in the United States, according to a new study. Credit: Emily Krieger

Puss may pose the single biggest threat to birds

Posted in Animals | Tagged biology, birds, cats, conservation, conservation biology, D.C., environment, felines, feral, Gary Langham, getinvolved, mammals, National Audubon Society, nonnative species, Peter Marra, pets, Smithsonian, Stanley Temple, topstories, Washington, wild

Cool Jobs: Delving into dung

By Roberta Kwok / January 23, 2013

Wood’s colleague, Janet Wilmshurst, studies a piece of moa poop. Credit: Jamie Wood

Scientists uncover fascinating secrets through the study of animal feces

Posted in Animals, STEM Careers | Tagged animal navigation, animal reproduction, baboons, beetles, Brazil, Center for Conservation Biology, Cerrado, chemical markers, Chinook salmon, conservation biology, cool jobs, coprolite, Dactylanthus taylorii, diet, digestion, DNA, DNA fingerprint, droppings, dung, ecology, Emily Baird, endocrinology, excretions, feature, feces, fossils, glucocorticoid, Hades flower, hormones, kakapo, killer whale, Landcare Research, Lund University, manure, moa, New Zealand, oceanography, olfaction, orca, paleontology, pollen, Pollination, poo, poop, scat, stress, Tanzania, topstories, University of Washington, Wasser, whiskers

When the nose no longer knows

By Roberta Kwok / December 13, 2012

Clown fish raised in acidified waters don’t respond properly to smells. For example, they swim toward the scent of a predator instead of away from it. Credit: Simon Foale, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies

Pollution can endanger aquatic animals by damaging their sense of smell

Posted in Animals | Tagged animal behavior, behavior, carbon dioxide, clown fish, CO2, copper, Danielle Dixson, dottyback, feature, fish, GABA, Göran Nilsson, James Cook University, Jen McIntyre, Kate de la Haye, Keith Tierney, neurons, nose, Ocean acidification, olfaction, Philip Munday, Plymouth University, Puyallup Research and Extension Center, rockcod, salmon, Schreckstoff, Senses, smell, topstories, University of Alberta, University of Oslo, Washington State University

SSP Network

Utilities