Biology

For decades, scientists have sought to understand how the present-day starfish came to be. Newly analyzed fossils should help, as they represent a transitional step between the starfish and the family tree it branched off of.

Tyrannosaurus rex may have ruled the land in the time of the dinosaurs, but the mosasaur was likely the most ferocious reptile in the sea. A new species of the creature was recently classified, which distinguished itself with teeth like those of a shark.

It has generally been thought that electric eels are purely solitary animals, which stalk prey on their own. Now, however, scientists have described seeing the creatures hunting in packs – which only nine other fish species are known to do.

Scientists working in the West African country of Guinea have discovered a new orange-furred species of bat. The rare discovery came while conducting field surveys in the isolated Nimba Mountain range.

The ingenuity of bacteria keeps surprising scientists. The latest example is a species called Geobacter sulfurreducens, which has now been found to survive exposure to toxic cobalt by building a metal “suit” like a tiny little Iron Man.

Exactly how some animals, such as birds, can detect magnetic fields remains a mystery. Now researchers in Japan may have found a crucial piece of the puzzle, making the first direct observations of live, unaltered cells responding to magnetic fields.

The latest amber time capsule discovery comes from Oregon State University researchers who have identified a completely new, previously unknown genus and species of flower dating back 100 million years to the mid-Cretaceous period.

Metolazone, an anti-hypertension drug, has been found to kickstart a lifespan-extending cellular repair process in roundworms. The mechanism may be translatable to humans, offering new research pathways in the search for an anti-aging drug.

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a genetically modified pig for human consumption and therapeutic use. The pig is engineered to be free of a certain sugar molecule responsible for severe allergic reactions in some people.

Paleontologists have discovered a new species of dinosaur that’s a real show-off. Ubirajara jubatus is a small creature found with strange spikes sticking out of its shoulders, which scientists speculate were used as ornaments, like a peacock’s tail.

Led by the sounds of mysterious acoustic signals, a group of beaked whale experts believe they have captured evidence of an entirely new species, sending chills up their spines as they ponder the existence of a completely unknown large mammal.

Ichthyosaurs were intriguing prehistoric aquatic creatures, in that they looked kind of like dolphins but were actually reptiles. Scientists have now classified a previously-unknown species, that distinguished itself by diving deep.