What does Jack LaLanne have in common with a Jamaican lizard?

Like the ageless fitness guru, the lizards greet each new day with vigorous push-ups. That’s according to a new study showing that male Anolis lizards engage in impressive displays of reptilian strength — push-ups, head bobs, and threatening extension of a colorful neck flap called […]

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Alternative fishing technology has been shown to save turtles while not affecting fish catches. (Credit: iStockphoto/Kim Bunker)

Alternative fishing technology has been shown to save turtles while not affecting fish catches, according to a report released by WWF and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC).

The report demonstrates how changing from the classic J hook to circular […]

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A rapid response service is being set up to help trap and kill grey squirrels across southern Scotland.

It is part of the Red Squirrels in South Scotland (RSSS) project to try to control grey squirrel numbers and stop the spread of the squirrel pox virus.
Landowners and wildlife and forestry agencies will work to create a […]

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Forget cow tipping—next time you want to mess with a bovine friend, try waving a magnet in its face.

Researchers have found that when grazing or resting, cattle and deer tend to point their bodies toward Earth’s magnetic poles, which suggests they are able to sense magnetic fields in the same way as many smaller animals.
German […]

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Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, have shown capuchin monkeys, just like humans, find giving to be a satisfying experience. This finding comes on the coattails of a recent imaging study in humans that documented activity in reward centers of the brain after humans gave to charity.

Empathy in seeing the pleasure […]

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Shipwreck - view from bow. (Credit: Thierry M. Work (USGS))

Shipwrecks on coral reefs may increase invasion of unwanted species, according to a recent U.S. Geological Survey study. These unwanted species can completely overtake the reef and eliminate all the native coral, dramatically decreasing the diversity of marine organisms on the reef. This study documents for […]

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For Charles Darwin, the problem of the peacock’s tail, in light of his theory of natural selection, was vexing in the extreme.

Indeed, in 1860, writing to Asa Gray, his most ardent American champion, Darwin confessed: "The sight of a feather in a peacock’s tail, whenever I gaze at it, makes me sick!"
In his struggle to […]

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Researchers from the University of Hawaii, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, National Marine Fisheries Service and Projecto Meros do Brazil discovered a new species of fish—a grouper that reaches more than six feet in length and can weigh nearly 1,000 pounds. This newly discovered species can be found roaming the tropical reefs […]

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A scientist who bought a fossilised insect on the web auction site eBay for £20 has discovered that it belongs to a previously unknown species of aphid.

Dr Richard Harrington, vice-president of the UK’s Royal Entomological Society, bought the fossil from an individual in Lithuania.
He then sent it off to an aphid expert in Denmark, who […]

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French birds are moving northwards in response to climate change, but not fast enough, scientists have found.

Their data came from a large survey in which volunteer ornithologists counted more than 105 species of bird.
In the Royal Society journal Proceedings B, researchers say that the birds are lagging some 182km behind the increases in temperature.
This lag […]

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