Global shark bites return to average in 2025, with smaller proportion in the United States
Global unprovoked shark bites returned to near-average levels in 2025, following a sharp reduction the year prior. There was a…
Scientists trace ancient bird flight paths using modern plant diversity
Key points The Massif de la Hotte is a young, exceptionally biodiverse mountain range in southern Haiti that is home…
Butterfly mimicry reveals a supercharged biodiversity feedback loop
Key points Scientists constructed a family tree for butterflies in the genus Adelpha, which are native to North and South…
Paleontologists find first bee nest fossils made inside fossilized bones
Key points Paleontologists working in a cave on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola have discovered the first known instance of…
Museum staff overwhelmingly in favor of behind-the-scenes tours
If natural history museums can be said to have a problem, it’s that they have too many specimens for any…
From radar to reptiles, scientists trace the evolution of ancient swimmers
Key Points Convergent evolution occurs when completely unrelated groups of animals evolve similar features in response to similar environmental...
Scientists discover chameleon’s telephone-cord-like optic nerves once overlooked by Aristotle and Newton
C hameleons’ wandering eyes have fascinated and puzzled scientists since the days of ancient Greece. Now, after millennia of study,…
When only the strong shells survive: Archaeology’s fresh approach to turn oyster shells into tools of conservation
Key Points As global oyster populations decline and fisheries collapse, archaeologists may be able to inform effective management with valuable,…
Tempered by time, Choctaw pottery connects ancestral past with living present
Key Points Archaeologists rely on pottery artifacts to understand the everyday lives of the people who made them. Analyzing the…
Some plants can make their own fertilizer with this one weird trick. Scientists say they learned it more than once.
Key points Low nitrogen availability is the number one limitation to plant growth in most ecosystems. Farmers compensate by adding…