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Microeledone galapagensis. Image credit: Voight et al., doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5814.4.5.

New Species of Octopus Discovered in Deep Waters near Galapagos Islands

May 25, 2026 by Natali Anderson

A single female specimen, collected 1,773 m below the surface near Darwin Island, has been described as a new species of deep-sea octopus, and it doesn’t...

Amichaud et al. found that cows not only recognize human faces, but can connect them with familiar voices. Image credit: NeiFo.

Cows Can Recognize Familiar Human Faces, New Study Finds

May 25, 2026 by News Staff

New research led by scientists from the French National Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE) suggests cows (Bos taurus taurus) can...

Manzi et al. tested house crickets (Acheta domesticus), among the most widely farmed insects on Earth, for what is thought a key behavioral hallmark of pain: flexible, site-directed self-protection. Image credit: Matthew Lindsey / CC BY 2.0.

Insects May Feel Pain, New Study Suggests

May 18, 2026 by Natali Anderson

When an antenna of the house cricket (Acheta domesticus) is touched with a heated probe, something curious happens: the insect turns its attention to the...

Analysis of Camponotus nicobarensis venom. Image credit: Koch et al., doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aed4078.

Formicine Ants Produce Hidden Arsenal of Venom Peptides, Study Finds

May 18, 2026 by News Staff

Entomologists have discovered that carpenter ants — the largest genus within the stingless ant subfamily Formicinae — produce dozens of previously...

Koungoulos et al. discovered for the first time clear links between fossils of the iconic Australian dingo and dogs from East Asia and New Guinea. Image credit: Sharkolot.

Most Australia’s ‘Wild Dogs’ Are Actually Dingoes, DNA Study Finds

May 14, 2026 by News Staff

A large genetic survey reveals that the country’s so-called ‘wild dogs’ remain predominantly dingo, reshaping debates over conservation and wildlife...

A foggy field in Pennsylvania has a little secret: its suspended water droplets form a habitat for helpful bacteria that eat air toxins. Image credit: Thi Thuong Thuong Cao.

Tiny Bacteria in the Fog May Be Helping Clean the Air

May 13, 2026 by News Staff

A study of radiation fog events over Pennsylvania has found that bacteria living inside fog droplets are actively growing and feeding on toxic chemicals...

Geographical distribution of yellow-eyed penguins. Image credit: Guhlin et al., doi: 10.1038/s41559-026-03062-w.

Rare New Zealand Penguins Are Three Distinct Subspecies, New Study Shows

May 12, 2026 by Natali Anderson

For decades, scientists treated the yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes antipodes) as a single species split into two broad populations. A new genomic study...

Geographic distribution of the four species of gentoo penguins around the Southern Ocean. Image credit: Noll et al., doi: 10.1038/s42003-026-10081-7.

Gentoo Penguins Aren’t One Species After All

May 11, 2026 by News Staff

Genetic evidence suggests the familiar seabird is actually four separate species — including one previously unknown to science — with three...

A cross section of a mouse nose. Image credit: Datta Lab, Harvard Medical School.

Researchers Create Detailed Map of Smell Receptors in Mouse Nose

May 7, 2026 by News Staff

By mapping millions of smell-sensing neurons in mice, scientists discovered precise striped patterns inside the nose, overturning decades-old assumptions...

A giant squid, at least 10-12 feet in length, approaches the Medusa’s e-jelly lure before realizing the e-jelly is not food and retreating. Image credit: Edie Widder & Nathan Robinson.

Giant Squid DNA Found in Deep Canyons off Australia

May 7, 2026 by News Staff

Using environmental DNA (eDNA) collected from waters more than 4 km deep off Western Australia’s Nyinggulu (Ningaloo) coast, researchers identified a...

Early Earth. Image credit: Peter Sawyer / Smithsonian Institution.

Earliest Organisms on Earth Built Their Biochemistry around Molybdenum, Study Suggests

May 5, 2026 by Natali Anderson

New research reveals that 3.4 billion years ago (Archean Eon), ancient microbes relied on molybdenum — a metal that was vanishingly rare at the time...

Ben Chehida et al. studied convergent evolution in multiple mimetic Neotropical lepidopteran lineages that diverged between 1 and 120 million years ago, including seven species of Ithomiini and Heliconius butterflies and a day-flying Chetone moth. Image credit: Ben Chehida et al., doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003742.

Study: Butterflies and Moths Have Reused Same Genetic Toolkit for 120 Million Years

May 4, 2026 by News Staff

A landmark study of several butterfly lineages and a day-flying moth in South America shows that convergent evolution — when unrelated species arrive...

The western yellow wagtail (Motacilla flava), a small passerine bird in the family Motacillidae. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Urban Birds Seem to Fear Women More Than Men: Study

May 1, 2026 by News Staff

Experiments involving dozens of European bird species — such as great tits, house sparrows and blackbirds — suggest the birds can distinguish...

The Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni). Image credit: Camila Mazzoni.

Two-Toed Sloths May Be Three Distinct Species, New Research Suggests

Apr 29, 2026 by Natali Anderson

A comprehensive genome-wide analysis of Amazonian two-toed sloths (genus Choloepus) suggests the animals are more genetically diverse than once believed,...

Western honeybees (Apis mellifera). Image credit: PollyDot.

Honeybees Can Process Numerical Information, New Study Confirms

Apr 27, 2026 by News Staff

A new analysis of honeybee vision suggests their ability to distinguish quantities is not a trick of visual patterns, but evidence of genuine numerical...

This ‘golden orb’ was found at a depth of about 3,300 m in the Gulf of Alaska. Image credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration, Seascape Alaska.

Marine Biologists Solve Mystery of Deep-Sea ‘Golden Orb’

Apr 24, 2026 by Natali Anderson

In the lightless depths of the Gulf of Alaska, approximately 3,251 m (two miles) below the surface, a softball-sized golden object clinging to a rock left...

Rice and related seed types can sense the sound of rain impacting the soil or water surface above them and respond by accelerating germination at depths where impulsive rain sound is sufficiently intense to intermittently shake statoliths from contact with cell membrane receptors and trigger gravitropic growth mechanisms.

Sound of Rain May Help Plant Seeds Decide When to Grow

Apr 23, 2026 by News Staff

New experiments with rice suggest that the acoustic vibrations of falling droplets can jolt dormant seeds into growth, offering the first direct evidence...

The African gray parrot (Psittacus erithacus) named John eating cucumber. Image credit: Papooga.

Study: Parrots Use Names in Flexible, Sometimes Human-Like Ways

Apr 20, 2026 by News Staff

By studying almost 900 parrots living with humans, a team of researchers from the University of Northern Colorado, the University of Vienna, the Acoustics...

Asiagomphus melaenops female in Miroku forest, Kasugai, Aichi prefecture, Japan. Image credit: Alpsdake / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Dragonflies and Humans Share Way of Seeing Red, New Research Shows

Apr 13, 2026 by News Staff

A newly-identified visual protein lets dragonflies detect deep red and near-infrared light using a mechanism strikingly similar to that in human eyes,...