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Articles on Biology

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Limbless robots may not need lots of complex algorithms when they have mechanical intelligence. Tianyu Wang

We designed wormlike, limbless robots that navigate obstacle courses − they could be used for search and rescue one day

Robots often have a hard time navigating through debris, but robots designed based on worms and snakes could move around obstacles faster, thanks to an idea called mechanical intelligence.
Fruit bats have honed their sweet tooth through adaptive evolution. Keith Rose/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Why don’t fruit bats get diabetes? New understanding of how they’ve adapted to a high-sugar diet could lead to treatments for people

Fruit bats can eat up to twice their body weight in fruit a day. But their genes and cells evolved to process all that sugar without any health consequences − a feat drug developers can learn from.
Rather than a tracking tag telling scientists where this shark traveled, its violent removal let them observe an unexpected regeneration process. Josh Schellenberg

I set out to investigate where silky sharks travel − and by chance documented a shark’s amazing power to regenerate its sabotaged fin

After scientists’ GPS tracking tag was violently removed from one shark’s dorsal fin, they were in for a surprise: The wound didn’t just heal, but the missing tissue grew back.
The majestic St. Lawrence River, a jewel of economic, historical and environmental importance, reminds us of the need to preserve this essential ecosystem. (Ludovic Pascal)

Oxygen in the St. Lawrence Estuary is decreasing – and having a major impact on small animals living there

The waters of the St. Lawrence are running out of breath and bottom-dwelling organisms are already feeling the effects. Here’s how ecosystems are reacting.
Temperature sensitivity makes western fence lizards vulnerable to climate change. Greg Shine/BLM

Climate change is already forcing lizards, insects and other species to evolve – and most can’t keep up

From dark dragonflies becoming paler to plants flowering earlier, some species are slowly evolving with the climate. Evolutionary biologists explain why few will evolve fast enough.

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