Starlings come together in groups of up to thousands of birds for the protection of numbers. These flocks form spellbinding, undulating masses known as murmurations, where the movement of individual Keep reading
Tag: biology
“Flowing Kelp”
This CUPOTY-shortlisted photo by Sigfrido Zimmerman shows giant kelp drifting in the current. At the base of each blade is an inflated bladder that helps keep the algae buoyant. The Keep reading
Holding Steady
Before a mammalian cell divides, the spindle — a protein structure — divides the cell’s genetic material in two. As it does, the cytoplasm inside the cell forms a toroidal Keep reading
Tar Pit, Sweet Tar Pit
The La Brea Tar Pits have delivered countless creatures to their doom over tens of thousands of years. But the sticky quagmire of the pits’ natural asphalt is a comfy Keep reading
Dry Plants Warn Away Moths
Drought-stressed plants let out ultrasonic distress cries that moths use to avoid plants that can’t support their offspring. In ideal circumstances, a plant is constantly pulling water up from the Keep reading
Inside the Squirting Cucumber
Though only 5 cm long, the squirting cucumber can spray its seeds up to 10 meters away. The little fruit does so through a clever combination of preparation and ballistic Keep reading
Inside a Big Cat’s Roar
The roars of big cats — tigers, lions, jaguars, and leopards — carry long distances. In part, this reflects the animals’ size: large lungs exhale lots of air through a Keep reading
Skydiving Salamanders
The wandering salamander can spend its entire 20-year lifespan in the canopy of a coast redwood. When predators come calling, they have a special skill that helps them get away: Keep reading
Seeking Mars’ Past
Although Mars is quite dry and inhospitable today, our rovers continue to search for evidence of a past Mars that could have sustained life. A recent study suggests that, at Keep reading
“Last Breath of Autumn”
On a rainy autumn day, Agorastos Papatsanis headed to the forest in search of fungi. There he captured this fairytale-like scene with falling rain and drifting spores. Near the forest Keep reading