Vampire Bats Lose Bitter Taste

Once though essential to every animal species as a caution against ingesting toxins, three species of vampire bats have significantly fewer taste receptors for bitter compounds due to their evolutionary specialization for an all-blood diet.

Cancer-Resistant Mole Rats

Studies have found both blind mole rats (Spalax spp.) and their cousins naked mole rats (Heterocephalus glaber) have cells that resist tumor growth and make them virtually immune to cancer, the former committing a "concerted cell death" when densities reach a certain level and the latter simply ceasing to grow beyond a certain cell density.

Shrews Warm Up Before Dive

Scientists have found the American water shrew rapidly elevates its body temperature moments before diving into icy waters for its prey, an unexpected attribute and contrary to other aquatic animals whose body temperature drops to slow oxygen consumption while underwater.

"Immortal" Tasmanian Devil

DNA analysis shows that the bizarre communicable cancer threatening the Tasmanian devil populations can be traced back to a single "immortal" female who lived about 16 years ago and who lives on through the infection, revealing possible leads for a potential vaccine.

Young Goats Develop Accents

Young goats have been found to develop distinctive bleating "accents" to their vocalizations when divided into separate similar social groups, a subtle and innate quality once thought too primitive to be expressed in all but a few mammals and songbirds.

Zebra Stripes as Insect Defense

Researchers have found the vertical stripes of the zebra to be the least attractive hide pattern for horseflies (tabanids), who are otherwise attracted to horizontally polarized light to identify aquatic environments, suggesting the zebra stripes evolved as a defense against these insects.

Panda Poop Analyzed

In an attempt to discover how pandas live on an all-bamboo diet without the physiological or enzymatic traits common to most herbivores, zoologists have identified thirteen species of bacteria known to break down cellulose present in their feces, with seven of those species unique to pandas.

Elephant Using Stool

A young Asian elephant in a Washington, D.C. zoo used nearby objects as stepstools to retrieve food in a behavioral study, providing the first evidence elephants can run extensive problem-solving scenarios and map out effective solutions in their heads.

Seven New Mammal Species

Researchers have discovered seven new species of mammals in Luzon, Philippines, all of which are of the genus Apomys and are species of forest mice that inhabit small areas of the island.

Deepest-Living Animal

A newly discovered nematode species (Halicephalobus mephisto) has been found living at a depth of 2.2 miles under the Earth's surface, making it the deepest-living animal yet found and suggesting a richer biosphere at those depths than previously suspected.

Reindeer See Ultraviolet

A new study demonstrates that reindeer are able to see ultraviolet wavelengths, a relatively recent evolutionary adaptation since migrating to the Arctic 10,000 years ago in which frozen landscapes can reflect as much as 90% of UV light.

Red-Crested Tree Rat

Thought extinct since 1898 and eluding all organized searches since then, the red-crested tree rat (Santamartamys rufodorsalis) has been rediscovered in a nature reserve of northern Colombia, where it is now designated as "critically endangered."

Magnetic Sense in Sea Turtles

Research with newly hatched loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) reveals a sensitivity to a strong magnetic field, suggesting these sea turtles instinctively use Earth's magnetic field to navigate during migratory periods.

Gaze-Following in Wolves

The ability to follow another's gaze, an important attribute of social animals in collaborative efforts of hunting or survival and a key to understanding intention and attention, has been observed in wolves whereas previously such behavior had only been documented in birds and primates.

Venomous New Pseudoscorpion

A new species of venomous pseudoscorpion (Cryptogreagris steinmanni), 0.5-inch long and nearly blind, has been discovered living exclusively in the high-altitude caves near Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

New African Wolf Discovered

Using genetic analysis, scientists have discovered that the animal most commonly referred to as the Egyptian jackal is actually a new and distinct species of African wolf more closely related to the Holarctic grey wolf, the Indian wolf and the Himalayan wolf.

Iranian Cheetah Subspecies

Genetic analysis of the critically endangered Asian cheetahs of Iran reveal that it is a distinct subspecies (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) that split from African cheetahs about 30,000 years ago.

Quantum States in Bird's Eyes

In a process known as the radical pair (RP) mechanism, bird's eyes are thought to detect changes in quantum-entangled electron pairs separated by light and altered by Earth's magnetic field, allowing them to orient themselves by exploiting this phenomenon of long-lived quantum states.

New Amazon Species

A new report issed by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) details more than 1200 new species discovered over a decade-long study of the Amazon rainforest, including an new anaconda species, a "goliath" catfish that feeds on monkeys, a pink river dolphin and hundreds of new amphibians, spiders and plant species.

New Carnivorous Mammal

A new species of cat-sized, carnivorous mammal named Durell's vontsira (Salanoia durrelli) similar to a mongoose has been identified living in Madagascar, one of the most threatened carnivore species in the world and the first new species to be discovered in 24 years.