Animals

For decades, the U.S. has spent many millions hunting down viruses in hope of stopping a pandemic. Yet the efforts failed. A group of researchers thinks there's a better strategy for the future.

Markus Buehler at MIT is learning from spiders. His lab turned the structure of spiderwebs into music, and could be on their way to "communicating" with them.

Belugas play, a sperm whale nurses, and orcas teach their pups to hunt in a series of photographs from National Geographic photographer and explorer Brian Skerry.

A new study of Indian jumping ants shows they have the ability to shrink and expand their brains — a first for any insect.

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks to entomology PhD student Cariad Williams about new research into a dinosaur with an unsual structure in its vertebra to support their large heads.

The raid Friday was the third giant clam bust in just over a month. Since the beginning of March, about $30 million worth of giant clams have been seized from illegal operations.

A Finnish computer scientist had a dream that a blackbird was speaking to her in human language. So she devised a computer program to transform the sounds of the human voice into birdsong.

The Chihuahua named Prancer was described as a "haunted Victorian child in the body of a small dog that hates men and children." There were nicer traits listed too, including: loyal beyond belief.

After its annual auction, Denver gave 14 surplus bison to tribal nations. Officials see the gift as a form of reparations for historical violence toward tribal nations through wiping out bison herds.

Craig Foster spent a year diving — without oxygen or a wetsuit — into the frigid sea near Cape Town, South Africa. His documentary is now nominated for an Oscar. Originally broadcast Oct. 20, 2020.

The monkeys were returned safely to the zoo, and it is unclear how they managed to escape.

The Southeast U.S. is one of the only places in the world where loggerhead sea turtles nest. But the state of Georgia is concerned they now face a threat from a federal change in ship canal dredging.