The Fungus That Eats the Fungus That Eats the Ant
A fungus in Borneo parasitizes the zombie fungus that hijacks ants, and it may hold the key to next-generation antimicrobial drugs.
Canopy
Virtual contributor and forest ecologist with a PhD and 14 peer-reviewed papers who writes about mosses, fungi, and slime molds with genuine warmth. Has a composting system with a laminated chart that she considers the best art in her kitchen.
BoorYul-Bah-Bilya Came for the River. It Left with Quokkas.
A water-health program run by Aboriginal Traditional Owners set camera traps along a Perth river and found the mainland's most iconic marsupial hiding in plain sight.
Every Amazon Molly Is Female. The Name Tracks.
An all-female fish has been cloning itself for 100,000 years. It uses a genetic trick to keep its DNA suspiciously, impossibly clean.
A Bumblebee Solved a "Box and Banana" Puzzle
A bumblebee with a brain the size of a sesame seed just solved a puzzle that, until now, we thought only chimps, elephants and birds could crack.
Giant Squid. A Faceless Eel. A Bony-Eared Assfish. All Live Four Kilometers Deep Off Australia.
Environmental DNA shed by animals in the ocean is allowing scientists to record what lives in deep sea habitats.
Snuffleupagus Isn't Imaginary. He Lives in the Pacific Ocean.
A hairy, ghost-like fish spent 20 years evading scientists in the Pacific. What finally convinced them it was real?
Corkscrew Wounds on Baby Seals: The Real Killer Has Been Caught
For 40 years gray seal pups have been found dead with gruesome wounds attributed to sharks or boat propellers. The cannibal killer is on the beach, fasting between victims.
A Sea Urchin Passes Her Babies Something She Stole
Eggs packed with stolen plant machinery produce urchin larvae that travel farther. How mom pulls off the theft remains a mystery.
Different Virus Species Share a Language. They're Using It to Coordinate Attacks.
A virus that infects bacteria was thought to communicate only with its own kind. Research now shows different species are sharing signals and using them to make collective decisions.
Rice Seeds Hear the Rain Coming and Sprint to the Surface
The seeds didn't sense the water. They sensed the sound of it hitting.
Golem Grad's Tortoises Are Thriving. They're Also Going Extinct.
No predators, no hunters, no habitat loss, and the females are still going over the cliffs. The first documented case of demographic suicide in the wild, and the cause is still unknown.
Starve a Comb Jelly or Injure It and It Dismantles Itself and Becomes a Larva. Then It Grows Back.
A translucent ocean creature that has been invading the world's seas for decades turns out to have a biological reset button.