Animals

If you’re a farmer with a herd of hundreds of cows, keeping tabs on them can be tricky work, but we’ve seen how sensor tags might one day ease the burden. New research has demonstrated how smartwatch-style sensors could be powered by animal movement.

Scientists in Japan have demonstrated a technique that allows them to remotely control the movements of worms. By implanting light-sensitive proteins into the organisms, the team was able to make them move under green light and stop under UV.

It's thought the Earth is currently entering its sixth major extinction event, but a new study suggests it may actually be the seventh. Scientists have found evidence of a previously unknown mass extinction event that struck half a billion years ago.

Paleontologists have discovered the fossil remains of one of the largest turtles that ever lived. Measuring about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle, it roamed the seas of Europe during the age of the dinosaurs.

Researchers have created induced pluripotent stem cells from the genetic material of the critically endangered Sumatran rhino, potentially providing new ways to help conservation efforts. They even used them to grow mini rhino brains in lab dishes.

Birds sing, dogs bark and turtles – well, talk in their way too. A new study has found a range of “mute” species do actually vocalize, and concluded that all acoustic communication can be traced back to a single ancestor more than 400 million years ago.

From a shy raccoon waving hello, to a penguin that's had enough of its friend's squawking, the Comedy Wildlife Photography Award finalists have again delivered a most entertaining array of hilarious animal antics.

A new study has delved into the tardigrade's ability to endure freezing temperatures, a state known as cryobiosis, and shown for the first time that they are able to stop their internal clocks to halt the aging process in such conditions.

Evolution occurs as species adapt to environmental pressures, and few environments exert pressures like the Chernobyl exclusion zone. A new study shows evolution in action as frogs within the radioactive region are turning blacker than those outside.

Some 180 million years ago, there lived an early mammal – built a lot like the guilty looking fella above – that became the earliest-known ancestor to all mammals on Earth, from the blue whale, to the camel, the rhino, the koala, and your good self.

The next time an inquisitive four-year-old asks how many ants there are on Earth, you can be ready to fire back a specific number. Researchers in Germany now have an answer to that question, as well as a follow-up: how much do they all weigh combined?

Scientists have identified the earliest known mammal – a small shrew-like animal that lived 225 million years ago. The species, Brasilodon, had previously been categorized differently, but new research reveals a distinctly mammalian tooth structure.