Male redback spiders somersault directly towards a female’s fangs during mating; scientists found the bizarre behaviour may come from surprisingly simple genetics
Breeding scheme to produce backcross males and (b) possible inheritance patterns of self-sacrificial mating traits. Credit: Biology Letters (2026) Male Australian redback spiders perform an acrobatic somersault during mating that sends their abdomen…
Thousands of tiny earthquakes went unnoticed beneath Alaska for years, but scientists have now used them to trace the hidden edge of a tectonic plate
More than 99% of California’s sunflower sea stars vanished, now scientists have found a mysterious colony that could help revive dying kelp forests
A decade ago, more than 99% of sunflower sea stars vanished from the depths of the ocean. Now, the discovery of a long-lost colony of these organisms is offering new hope for the region’s kelp forests.Sunflower sea stars, known as Pycnopodia…
Bull sharks in Fiji repeatedly meet at the same reef, and scientists found they slightly prefer spending time with relatives
Representative Image of bull sharks gathering at a coral reef and displaying social behavior (AI-generated image) Bull sharks have long been viewed as solitary hunters that cross paths mostly by chance, but a six-year study in Fiji suggests otherwise.…
A World War II submarine detector was later used to map magnetic stripes on the seafloor, helping scientists prove that Earth’s tectonic plates move
A device built to track enemy submarines during the Second World War went on to become one of the most important tools in Earth science. The fluxgate magnetometer, first developed to detect small disturbances in the planet’s magnetic field caused…
In 2018, scientists found just 39 surviving clams in Florida’s Indian River Lagoon; they bred them and have since outplanted 65 million
After decades of environmental decline, Florida’s Indian River Lagoon is beginning to show signs of recovery. With funding from NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Habitat Conservation, the Indian River Lagoon Council is leading a system-wide effort to…
In 1999, a dinosaur bone was found on Japan’s Fukushima coast and left unstudied; in 2026, scientists identified it belonged to a 3-metre iguanodontian that lived 90 million years ago
Photo credit: Jstage.jst.go.jp A small dinosaur bone discovered in Fukushima, Japan, more than two decades ago has given scientists a new glimpse into the diversity of ancient life along East Asia’s coast.The fossil, found in 1999 and left largely…
A giant snake vanished from parts of the US decades ago. Scientists are now releasing 42 eastern indigo snakes to bring it back
In Spring 2026, conservationists released 42 eastern indigo snakes into their historical habitats in Florida and Alabama. After a year of specialized care, these reptiles have adapted well, with monitoring indicating successful survival and breeding in…
US scientists analysed 55 storm and atmospheric variables to identify hurricane rapid intensification; Atlantic communities could receive warnings as much as five days ahead
New method flags hurricane rapid intensification up to five days ahead Coastal communities across the Atlantic could soon receive life-saving warnings up to five days before a hurricane rapidly strengthens, after atmospheric scientists developed a…