Kevin Burns, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
A colony-building fern that grows in treetops on Lord Howe Island has adopted a lifestyle similar to social insects, turning our understanding of the evolution of biological complexity on its head.
Worker naked mole-rats take care of their colony’s young even though they aren’t the pups’ actual parents. New research suggests the queen gets them ready via hormones in her poop.