This snake grows a fake spider on its tail to lure birds; scientists scanned the bizarre appendage and found surprisingly normal bones inside

Spider-tailed horned viper (Image Credit: Omid Mozaffari) The natural world is full of animals that use mimicry to survive, but few examples are as unusual as the spider-tailed horned viper. Native to Iran, this elusive snake has evolved a remarkable tail tip that resembles a spider, complete with a bulbous body and dangling, leg-like structures….

Read More

More than 100 years ago, crayfish were introduced into Oregon’s Crater Lake; today they occupy 95% of the shoreline and its unique newt is disappearing |

The Mazama newt is a salamander found only in Crater Lake (Image: Oregon Zoo) More than a century ago, people introduced signal crayfish into Oregon’s Crater Lake as food for nonnative trout and salmon. The decision was made in 1915, decades before scientists understood how dramatically the crustaceans could reshape the lake’s ecosystem. Today, the…

Read More

In 1902, Hawaii introduced red mangroves to stabilize shorelines; 124 years later, the invasive trees clog waterways and degrade habitat used by endangered native waterbirds

Representative image of Hawaii from Canva In 1902, red mangroves were brought to Hawaii with an apparently practical purpose. Their tangled roots could hold soil in place, reduce erosion and stabilise shorelines around vulnerable coastal areas. At the time, the trees seemed like a useful solution for an island environment shaped by waves, storms and…

Read More

‘I don’t want to be murdered by Chinese AI’: Is AI going to ‘kill everyone’ in ten years or is Big Tech conning us with ‘doomsday’ predictions? |

A still from Terminator 2: Judgement Day Marvel Studios is as good a metaphor for what happens when a company starts believing in its own infallibility. After the success of Endgame in 2019, Disney executives were thoroughly convinced that no matter what they produced, it would be lapped up by audiences if you stuck a…

Read More

NASA celebrated its employee’s journey from living under a bridge to the agency. Later, her profile was erased, and 20 days later she was fired |

Rose Ferreira’s path to NASA was shaped by setbacks few people would expect to overcome. She battled poverty, homelessness and cervical cancer while pursuing an education in science, eventually earning degrees that led her into the US space agency. NASA later celebrated her resilience in an employee profile that highlighted her unconventional journey into aerospace….

Read More

Scientists fitted GPS collars to 17 lions and 14 hyenas expecting hyenas to follow lions; thousands of locations revealed the opposite, with male lions approaching as hyenas retreated

Wildlife biologists tracking lions and spotted hyenas in Southern Africa have found evidence that challenges a long-held belief about how the two predators interact. Instead of hyenas mainly following lions to find leftover food, the study found that male lions often actively move towards spotted hyenas, while the hyenas try to get away. The study,…

Read More

Quote of the day by Nicolaus Copernicus: “Although the idea seemed absurd, still … I believed it would be readily permitted me to try” |

Quote of the day by Nicolaus Copernicus: “Although the idea seemed absurd, still … I believed it would be readily permitted me to try”New ideas can often appear strange before they are understood. Centuries ago, Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus confronted an idea that challenged the accepted understanding of the universe. In his work De revolutionibus…

Read More

Washington built wildlife bridges over a busy highway; more than 10,000 animals have now crossed safely |

Washington has reached a striking milestone in its effort to make a major highway safer for wildlife. More than 10,000 successful animal crossings have now been recorded at the I-90 wildlife overcrossing near Snoqualmie Pass. The milestone was reached in July 2026 and was announced by the Washington State Department of Transportation. The bridge is…

Read More

Malaysian students built a device that turns wastewater from sinks into electricity; the system stores intermittent flow and powers a tiny turbine |

Malaysian students have built a prototype that attempts to recover electricity from one of the most overlooked sources of wasted energy in a home, water flowing down the sink. Developed by three students at Universiti Malaya, WattsUp is an IoT-enabled micro-hydropower system designed specifically for the weak and intermittent flow produced by household wastewater. Rather…

Read More

In 2001, Hurricane Iris devastated southern Belize; the damage inspired Lisa Carne’s coral-restoration work, which has now outplanted over 100,000 corals

When Hurricane Iris tore through southern Belize in 2001, it left more than a battered coastline behind. The storm severely damaged the region’s coral reefs, including those around Laughing Bird Caye. For marine biologist Lisa Carne, the destruction became the starting point for a restoration effort that has since helped put more than 100,000 corals…

Read More