Animals

A new study led by University of Queensland researchers is suggesting fecal transplants may help koalas in Australia adapt to new habitats.

Palaeontologists in New Zealand have now uncovered the remains of Heracles inexpectatus, an extinct giant parrot that would have stood hip-high to most people and packed a beak powerful enough to crack open pretty much whatever it wanted to.

Our bodies aren't great at regeneration. Other creatures have mastered this skill though, and now scientists at the University of California Davis (UC Davis) and Harvard have sequenced the RNA transcripts for the immortal hydra and figured out how it manages to do just that.

Under the right conditions, DNA can last for thousands of years. RNA, on the other hand, degrades much more quickly and was thought impossible to recover in older samples. But now researchers have isolated and sequenced the RNA of a 14,000-year-old wolf found frozen in the Siberian permafrost.

​As you remember from Jurassic Park, velociraptors were known for terrifying claws on their toes. A newly-discovered dinosaur from a related species was packing twice as many weapons. Vespersaurus paranaensis has been found to brandish two large claws on each foot, supporting itself on just one toe.

Livestock like sheep and cows are responsible for huge amounts of methane emissions. Now, an international team of researchers has analyzed the gut microbes of different sheep and found clues that may help us curb the problem.

An expedition to the “Lost City of the Monkey God” in Honduras has revealed a trove of natural treasures. The pristine forests house an incredibly rich ecosystem, including species new to science, some unknown in the area, some that haven’t been seen in decades and others that were believed extinct.

Generally speaking, the animals alive today are mere shadows of their former selves, and birds were no exception. In a Crimean cave, palaeontologists have uncovered the bones of some of the most gigantic birds to have ever walked the Earth, that would have lived alongside early European humans.

The hole in the ozone layer may be on the mend, but its environmental impacts are ongoing. A new review study has examined the effects that the extra UV radiation is having on the environment, such as shifting climate zones, changing ocean temperatures and making some species more vulnerable.

​​Debate has long raged over the reasons for a zebra’s stripes. A new study has shed further light on this topic, uncovering new evidence that suggests the stripes are indeed used to help zebras control their temperature, even describing a previously unknown mechanism they use to keep them cool.

Mole-rats are pretty amazing animals, with a remarkable resistance to pain. A new study has uncovered the molecular reasons for the pain insensitivity, which could eventually lead to new pain relief techniques for human use.

Amber can be a veritable treasure trove of ancient animals and insects, but it most commonly captures creatures that lived in forests – understandable, given the stuff starts life as tree sap. But now researchers have found a piece of amber bearing a strange mix of land and sea-dwelling creatures.