Soloviova Liudmyla
All the ways plants, animals, insects and the bacteria around us can be beneficial to human health.
The European fire ant, Myrmica rubra, is one of the invasive ant species in Ontario. They are known for their painful sting.
(Jon Sanders)
Animals that are traded as pets are more likely to be invasive species, including a relatively new pet: ants.
Female elephant seals take seven-month feeding trips during which they balance danger, starvation and exhaustion.
Dan Costa
By measuring how and when elephant seals sleep, researchers were able to figure out how elephant seals change their risk-taking behavior as they gain weight.
Horses have been our companions and partners for thousands of years. They deserve better than to be shipped from Canada in inhumane and cruel conditions for slaughter.
(Jerzy Górecki/Pixabay)
This story is not graphic, but what happens to slaughter-bound horses is, and it’s time for change.
The Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis), lives in scattered populations across distant mountain ranges in Ethiopia, and its remarkable resilience suggests recovery is possible if threats like habitat loss and degradation can be kept at bay.
(Shutterstock)
Reports of global biodiversity doom hide a more complex and encouraging picture. Conservation efforts can be targeted with more nuance species population data.
Shutterstock/Chendongshan
Dogs are more in tune with human social cues than cats.
Naked mole-rats are among the most vocal of rodents.
Felix Petermann, MDC
A new study found naked mole-rats communicate with chirps unique to their colony.
Albanian health department workers, wearing protective suits, collect chickens, in the village of Peze Helmes some 20 km from the capital Tirana, 23 March 2006, after the second case of H5N1 bird flu was discovered in Albania.
Gent Shkullaku / AFP
Ever since the 2001 SARS outbreak and H5N1 avian flu in 2003, we’ve developed tools to monitor diseases that transmitted from animals to humans. But what does a large-scale roll-out entail?
Research shows that pets may support mental health for some people.
SeventyFour
Pets both helped and harmed mental health.
Whale sharks are the ocean’s biggest fish.
jjsupasit srisawthsak/shutterstock.com
This is the first study to link human activity with a change in whale sharks’ life stages.
Spitting cobras use their venom for defence.
Stu Porter/shutterstock.com
A toxin unique to spitting cobras means their venom causes more pain than other snakes.
Starfish are one of the most recognisable animals on our planet.
Yellowj/shutterstock.com
New study sheds light on how the starfish evolved.
A wild mink in Utah was the first wild animal in the U.S. found with COVID-19.
Peter Trimming via Wikipedia
COVID-19 has been found in pets, zoo animals and in a wild mink in Utah. Monitoring wildlife for COVID-19 is important for animals and humans, both of whom face risks from a jumping virus.
Key to the success of a long-term dog-owner relationship is building a good foundation.
from www.shutterstock.com
From long walks to dangerous foods, you could be damaging the health of your puppy without realising.
Megalodons are the biggest predatory sharks ever discovered.
from www.shutterstock.com
New fossil detective work sheds light on the life of megalodon, the biggest predatory shark ever discovered.
Crocodiles have not evolved much in the past 200 million years.
Bas Leenders/flickr
New research shows crocodiles have landed upon an equilibrium state of evolution.
Breeds with exaggerated features include the Scottish fold.
Andrey Tairov/Shutterstock
Breeding cats for exaggerated facial features might have hindered our ability to understand them.
Human-animal bonds can have beneficial impacts on society.
(Shutterstock)
The ways in which humans connect with animals relate to how we interact with other humans. Understanding these relationships can help inform more inclusive societies.
Pets can develop separation anxiety when their people are suddenly gone.
Jairo Alzate/Unsplash
Alleviating separation anxiety is about changing the owner’s behavior, too.
Soldiers used spent shells and casings to make trench art, like this brass bottle opener that was made during World War II.
Michael Riordan
One scholar spent a decade studying the ways everyday people drew, carved, glued, sewed and baked their own pornography.