Science Articles about Animals | Popular Science https://www.popsci.com/category/animals/ Awe-inspiring science reporting, technology news, and DIY projects. Skunks to space robots, primates to climates. That's Popular Science, 145 years strong. Mon, 27 Nov 2023 19:00:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://www.popsci.com/uploads/2021/04/28/cropped-PSC3.png?auto=webp&width=32&height=32 Science Articles about Animals | Popular Science https://www.popsci.com/category/animals/ 32 32 A critically endangered Sumatran rhino named Delilah welcomes first calf https://www.popsci.com/environment/sumatran-rhino-calf-born/ Mon, 27 Nov 2023 19:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=592458
A newborn rhino calf stands under his mother. He is black and does not have his signature horns in yet.
The new arrival is the fifth calf born at the Way Kambas Sanctuary and second in 2023. Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry

The species is critically endangered, with fewer than 50 animals left.

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A newborn rhino calf stands under his mother. He is black and does not have his signature horns in yet.
The new arrival is the fifth calf born at the Way Kambas Sanctuary and second in 2023. Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry

On November 25, a healthy male Sumatran rhinoceros was born at a western Indonesian sanctuary. This birth is welcome news for the critically endangered species. There are less than 50 Sumatran rhinos left, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

[Related: Rhino horns are shrinking, and humans are to blame.]

A seven-year-old female rhino named Delilah gave birth to the 55 pound calf at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Way Kambas National Park (SRS TNWK) on the island of Sumatra. According to officials from the sanctuary, a conservation guard found her laying next to her calf early on Saturday morning. The birth was about 10 days before the baby’s expected due date. The baby’s father is a rhino named Harapan who was born at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden in Ohio before coming to Sumatra. 

“You never know if a first-time mom will know what to do, but Delilah brought that calf into the world and started nursing it with no fuss or fanfare. It’s an incredible event that gives hope to the future of this critically endangered species,” International Rhino Foundation executive director Nina Fascione said in a press release

A newborn rhino lays on the ground with its eyes open. It is black and does not have its horns in yet.
The male calf was born roughly 10 days early. CREDIT: Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry

Sumatran rhinos are the smallest of all rhino species at about 1,000 to 2,100 pounds and three to four feet tall. They have two horns that are dark gray to black. The horns are usually very smooth and form a slender cone that is curved backwards in the wild. Poaching, illegal trading of rhino horns, and climate change have pushed these mammals to the brink of extinction. According to the IUCN Red List, they are currently extinct in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, according to the Red List. It is uncertain if they are still present in Myanmar. 

Successful births like this one are also rare. In 2012, a male rhino named Andatu born at Way Kambas became the first Sumatran rhino born in an Indonesian sanctuary in over 120 years.

“Two years ago there was only one captive Sumatran rhino pair in the world able to successfully produce offspring. Now there are three pairs–six rhinos–who are proven breeders. Those are much better odds for the long-term survival of this species,” said Fascione.

According to Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar, this still-to-be-named calf is the fifth born under a semi-wild breeding program at the park. The new addition brings the rhino herd at Way Kambas up to 10 animals and follows the birth of another calf in September. 

[Related: Rhinos pay a painful price for oxpecker protection.]

The sanctuary is part of a special zone in the national park where all of the rhinos are protected and looked after by local experts.

“The main objective is to produce Sumatran rhino calves to maintain the survival of the Sumatran rhino species which is now threatened with extinction,” sanctuary Director General of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation Satyawan Pudyatmoko said in a statement. “The Sumatran rhino calves are the result of a breeding program. In the future, at SRS TNWK they can be released back into their natural habitat.”

Veterinarians from the Rhino Foundation of Indonesia (Yayasan Badak Indonesia) and animal care staff will continue to closely monitor Delialah and her new calf as they bond.

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My dog’s safe space can be your dog’s new happy place https://www.popsci.com/environment/fable-crate-dog-accessories-cyber-monday-2023/ Mon, 27 Nov 2023 17:55:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=592450
Charli my toy Aussie Shepherd in her Fable crate next to the couch
Tony Ware

If you need a crate your dog will love napping in and you won't get tired looking at, check out this Cyber Monday special.

The post My dog’s safe space can be your dog’s new happy place appeared first on Popular Science.

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Charli my toy Aussie Shepherd in her Fable crate next to the couch
Tony Ware

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Anyone with a small dog will tell you that they come with big personalities. Charli, my Aussie Shepherd-Japanese Chin mix, is 10 pounds of opinion. So, if she doesn’t like something, well, hope you kept the receipt. And, while every comfy spot in the house is ultimately hers, she still likes to have a space that’s exclusive when she’s feeling reclusive. But when it came time to upgrade her crate, we not only had to deal with a picky pup but also the logistics of limited space—which is why we love the Fable Crate, which lets her have a cozy den and we don’t have to lose a “side table.” And right now, the stylish accessory is up to 30% off if you buy it today.

Fable Crate $345 – $1,015 (w/ coupon BFCM2023, was $495 – $1,499)

Fable

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Arriving in five easily assembled bentwood pieces, Charli’s Fable crate blends in seamlessly in the corner beside our couch (as seen at the top of the page). Topped by planters and bathed in indirect light for much of the day, it’s like a secluded forest glen for when she needs to recover from her adventures—or just take a mid-afternoon post-nap nap. We opted for the small, naturally, and went with the lighter signature finish. But there are also medium and large sizes, and you can go darker walnut if you’re feeling it. You can also choose between a metal or clear acrylic built-in gate … for when contractors come calling or for any other reason you don’t want your loyal companion snuffing around the house. I couldn’t remember where I put the Fable receipt if my life depended on it, but the restful look on Charli’s face when she’s nestled in her crate says it’s safe to rip it up anyway.

Additional Fable accessories for outdoor exploration:

Want to know more about your dog than where they like to sleep? Get a DNA test:

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African penguins may tell each other apart by the spots in their plumage https://www.popsci.com/environment/african-penguins-spots/ Mon, 27 Nov 2023 16:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=592374
Six African penguins standing on a rock. They have white plumage with black dots arranged in individual patterns on their chests.
A few members of the Zoomarine Italia penguin colony. The unique ventral dot patterns are visible on each penguin's chest. Cristina Pilenga/Animal Behaviour (2023)

The dots reemerge in the exact same position when their annual plumage comes in.

The post African penguins may tell each other apart by the spots in their plumage appeared first on Popular Science.

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Six African penguins standing on a rock. They have white plumage with black dots arranged in individual patterns on their chests.
A few members of the Zoomarine Italia penguin colony. The unique ventral dot patterns are visible on each penguin's chest. Cristina Pilenga/Animal Behaviour (2023)

The assortment of black dots that decorate African penguins’ mostly all-white fronts might help the birds tell each other apart. This is the first documented time that animal behaviorists and psychologists have pinpointed a physical feature that a bird species uses for visual recognition. The findings are described in a study published in the January 2024 issue of the journal Animal Behaviour.

[Related: How African penguins continue to survive changes in climate.]

In birds, distinguishing individual flock members is primarily based on auditory cues and not visual cues. For example, some parrots distinguish their offspring with squawking equivalent of individual names. This new research is one of the first studies to show that birds could use visual cues more than scientists previously believed. 

According to study co-author and animal psychologist Luigi Baciadonna, the dots on African penguins appear when they are about three to five months old. These birds molt annually and reemerge in the same position when the new plumage comes in. 

In the new study, a team from Italy’s University of Turin, the University of Oulu in Finland, and Zoomarine Italia marine park near Rome conducted a simple experiment with 12 penguins. The team built a small enclosure with plywood walls that was just tall enough to prevent a penguin from seeing over it. They placed cameras on either end of the pen and life-size pictures of two penguins on one of the far walls. One penguin entered the enclosure, where one of the pictures featured its specific mate. 

African penguins form lifelong bonds with their partners and the team tracked their responses to images of other penguins from their species. They found that the penguins spent more time looking at the picture of their partner than they did a picture of a different familiar penguin. This occurred even when the heads of the penguins were blurred. 

When the test penguins were shown two images of their partner, including one that had the spots removed, they preferred the images where the dots remained intact. However, this preference for their partner did not occur when the birds saw unspeckled versions of their mate and a different bird. According to the team, this suggests that the penguins use these spots to tell one another apart.

[Related: Jackass penguins talk like people.]

African penguins live along the coasts of Namibia and South Africa. They are about 24 to 27 inches tall and eat squid, anchovies, and other small fish. African penguins are known to be particularly communicative with one another, so scientists have studied their behavior to better understand some of the more advanced social behaviors seen in primates. A 2021 study found that African penguins are capable of vocal accommodation. Different group members have a different dialect and vocal accommodation allows group members to learn to speak more like the others. 

“Given how goofy penguins can seem–almost stumbling over their feet as they walk, for example–the birds may not seem like they are all that bright,” Baciadonna told New Scientist. “But we showed in these two or three experiments that actually they are quite complicated and complex. They’re also clever.”

Animal physiologist and director of the Institute of Neurobiology at the University of Tübingen Andreas Nieder told Science, “It is an original study with a remarkable finding.” Nieder was not involved in the new research.

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Tracking bird migration with radio-based technology https://www.popsci.com/technology/tracking-bird-migration-radio/ Sun, 26 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=591788
The red knot is one of some 350 North American bird species that migrate.
The red knot is one of some 350 North American bird species that migrate. Getty

Scientists are turning to accessible, low-cost gadgets to solve the mysteries of declining bird populations.

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The red knot is one of some 350 North American bird species that migrate.
The red knot is one of some 350 North American bird species that migrate. Getty

This article was originally featured on Undark.

Twice each year, members of a subspecies of red knots—salmon-colored sandpipers—migrate thousands of miles between their wintering grounds in northern Mexico and breeding sites in the Arctic tundra, encountering myriad obstacles along the way. Thought to migrate during both day and night, brightly lit cities likely disrupt their nighttime journeys, and rising sea levels and invasive species threaten the wetlands they rely on for refueling at stopover sites.

The red knot is one of some 350 North American bird species that migrate. Yet there remains much to learn about the details of their journeys. It’s a critical information gap given the loss of an estimated 3 billion birds in North America since 1970, according to a 2019 study.

“The only way to think about conservation of migratory birds is to consider their full annual cycles,” including their migration routes and wintering sites, said Bill DeLuca, a senior migration ecologist with the National Audubon Society.

The problem, he said, is “We don’t know, for a lot of species, what time of the year is causing the declines.” For the vast majority of migrating birds, the full picture of their life cycle is incomplete, DeLuca added.

That’s partly due to technology. Until recently, while scientists could study birds at their North American breeding sites, they had few ways to track them individually throughout their migrations or while in their wintering grounds, especially small songbirds like warblers and sparrows.

And for birds that migrate through the West’s remote deserts and mountains and across its wild shorelines, like the rufous hummingbird, which journeys between Alaska and the Pacific Northwest and Mexico, their flight routes are even less understood. “Knowledge of migration patterns for birds in the West is way behind the East,” said Mary Whitfield, research director at the California nonprofit Southern Sierra Research Station, because of the smaller number of long-term banding stations there.

But scientists across the West are increasingly turning to an accessible, low-cost technology to answer key questions about bird migration and how climate change is impacting their life cycles.

The Motus Wildlife Tracking System, launched in 2014, is an international network of about 1,800 radio receiver stations in 34 countries. The program, run by the conservation organization Birds Canada, is already well established in eastern North America, but has begun to spread rapidly across the West in the last couple of years. Researchers in the Motus network track birds (or other animals, like butterflies) using small tags. When a bird flies within range of a station—up to about 12 miles away, depending on the conditions—the tag automatically transmits a signal to a receiver, which is then uploaded to the Motus website. Scientists participate through tagging, building Motus stations, or both, and fund their own projects. Museums, zoos, and schools may also participate by hosting a Motus station and educating the public about bird migration and movement, Whitfield noted. So far, more than 43,600 animals, including butterflies, bats, and birds, have been tagged by researchers using Motus globally.

Until recently, tracking tags were too large and heavy for small songbirds. The Motus system uses tags that weigh less than 3 percent of a bird’s weight—in the case of a small songbird that weighs around 18 grams, a tag weighs just half a gram. After birds are captured in mist nets made of fine mesh, they are fitted with the tags using a harness, which they wear like a backpack.

An estimated 1 billion birds use the Pacific flyway, a route through Western coastal states, during their migration, and many millions more migrate via the central flyway through the interior West. Along the way, they routinely encounter natural phenomena like storms, drought, and predators, as well as man-made obstacles like glass-facades that attract birds and pose serious collision risks. In addition, given the rapid growth of wind and solar projects across the West, Whitfield said, it’s crucial to identify birds’ movements through desert areas earmarked for alternative energy development.

According to Whitfield, Motus (Latin for motion) could be a “game changer” for understanding Western birds’ movements through the seasons. “It’s critical,” Whitfield said. “We have to find out more about migration, because it’s definitely a pinch point for bird mortality—that’s typically when birds die the most, because it’s just a really perilous journey.”


In May of this year at the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, Matt Webb, an avian ecologist with the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, was getting ready to install a Motus radio tower with funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He hoped to fill “in some of the knowledge gaps” about grassland songbirds, which are experiencing rapid declines in population. Four species in particular have declined more than 70 percent since 1970, according to the bird conservation network Partners in Flight.

Grassland birds range from the prairies of Saskatchewan to the southernmost edges of the Chihuahuan desert in Mexico. “We’ve got this massive geography that we need to cover adequately” to understand their migration, Webb said.

And the birds don’t just travel during migration, he added—they roam widely during both the breeding season and winter, making them even more difficult to monitor. With data from Motus, Webb said, they hope to “unravel some of those mysteries of why they’re moving around and where they’re going during those seasons.”

Webb was equipped with several long antennas and a shoebox-sized, solar-powered sensor station computer with cellular connectivity for receiving and transmitting data. But the road to the tower site was flooded, after increased snowpack drove high flows in the Rio Grande River.

“We have to find out more about migration, because it’s definitely a pinch point for bird mortality—that’s typically when birds die the most, because it’s just a really perilous journey.”

So Webb and Kylie Lamoree, another Bird Conservancy ecologist, turned to Plan B, surveying old water and communications towers as potential locations. In order to detect tagged birds up to 12 miles away, “We need to get it up above the topography and the vegetation nearby,” Webb said. (He later noted that they were able to go back at the end of August and install the station.)

At the northern end of the Chihuahuan desert, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge is a major destination for migrating and wintering waterfowl as well as for birders. Webb was seeking to determine if the four grassland birds he’s studying—thick-billed longspurs, chestnut-colored longspurs, Baird’s sparrows, and Sprague’s pipits—are using the refuge during the winter, during migration, or both.

Those four species are small songbirds with ochre, tan, or black plumage that make them well-camouflaged in shortgrass prairie habitat. The birds are difficult to capture for tagging without large vegetation to conceal the researchers’ mist nets, Webb said.

Even so, Webb said the payoff is great: “There’s really never been a technology that works well enough to be able to collect this data” for such tiny birds, he said. And after a bird is tagged with its transmitter “backpack,” it doesn’t need to be recaptured.

Migrating shorebirds are another group of Western birds with steep population losses in recent decades. Julián Garcia Walther, a Mexican biologist and Ph.D. student at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, is monitoring shorebirds in northwest Mexico to find out more about climate change impacts on sea level rise and biodiversity. “I started thinking about how these birds that live on the interface between land and sea, the intertidal zone, how they’re going to be affected by sea level rise,” Garcia Walther said.

He learned about Motus in 2019, and realized the small tags used in the network were ideal for monitoring red knots, many of which winter in the coastal wetlands of northwest Mexico and whose populations are under pressure. But there were no Motus stations in the region.

Garcia Walther has now installed about 25 Motus stations with the help of the Mexican conservation organization Pronatura Noroeste, where he is the Motus network coordinator, along with other partner organizations. “It’s a big learning curve,” he said, requiring skills in electricity, radio communications, and construction. One of his biggest challenges is sourcing materials in Mexico, so he turned to improvised materials, like a pole once used for an osprey nest converted into an antenna mast.

Another hurdle was capturing the birds. Without tagged birds, stations are “just poles and antennas,” Garcia Walther said. Shorebirds are especially tricky to capture because they disperse across the coastline’s open expanses. While the harness method used for tagging grassland birds is also often used in shorebird research, Garcia Walther added, his team uses glue to secure the tags to the backs of red knots, meaning the birds will shed the devices when they molt.

But with three years of data from some 100 birds, Garcia’s team has made some significant observations. One finding, the result of data from Motus stations as well as GPS loggers—trackers that show fine-scale movements—revealed that during high spring tides, red knots use dried seagrass as rafts to rest on while the tidelands are inundated.

“This is analogous to what’s going to happen with sea-level rise,” Garcia Walther said. The data he has collected should help wildlife researchers plan for the future when there will likely be little shoreline available for roosting, he said, informing strategies to protect, restore, and improve vulnerable habitats.

Garcia Walther said he got advice from colleagues in the U.S. when he was setting up his stations, and he now helps scientists elsewhere in Latin America with their Motus projects.

Blake Barbaree, a senior ecologist at Point Blue Conservation Science with projects in California’s Central Valley, also depends on cross-border collaboration. His team is investigating the impact of drought on shorebirds, using Motus to track the movements of birds in California during the winter as well as during migration.

Since they’re only in the second season, Barbaree said it’s too soon to draw any definitive conclusions, though data collected at Motus towers has confirmed high connectivity between the Central Valley and coastal Washington, as well as the Copper River Delta in Alaska. “Numerous detections at Motus stations along the coasts of Oregon and British Columbia,” he wrote in a follow-up email, “have also highlighted the fact that a network of stopover sites is critical to their migration.”

This linkage, Barbaree said, helps researchers “piece together puzzles of population increases or decreases,” looking for impacts not just in wintering or breeding grounds but in key stopover habitats.

The network “has really opened up a world of migratory connectivity research” on other small animals like insects and bats, Barbaree added. And he’s seen it inspire collaboration between researchers investigating not just birds, but other migratory species.

Motus projects include studies on bats and insects, for example, with more than 340 species tagged to date. And scientists are turning to Motus for help identifying threats common to birds and bats. In 2023, a team from the U.S. Geological Survey installed two coastal Motus stations in California—with plans to install about two dozen more—to monitor three seabird species and three species of bats, to determine potential impacts of offshore energy.


After a major effort last winter to tag grassland birds in northern Mexico, Webb followed their migration north in the spring—via data their tags uploaded to the Motus website. A Baird’s sparrow his team tagged was tracked from Chihuahua to northern Kansas and up through North Dakota and Montana, the first time they had connected migratory stops through North American grassland habitats in such detail. It was “a lot of fun this spring watching the stations every morning,” he said.

DeLuca of the Audubon Society said understanding the life cycles of different species is the first step in revealing the factors causing their decline, like habitat loss or pollution. “When you think of all of the drivers that are pushing these species” towards extinction, he said, “it’s really kind of mind boggling.”

And climate change, he said, is an additional “huge over-arching pressure,” since it affects bird migration directly with impacts like increased severe weather, and indirectly when food resources like fruit or insects aren’t available.

Identifying the habitats birds rely on during migration and winter is key, DeLuca said.

And the Motus network can amplify those efforts.

Motus projects include studies on bats and insects, with more than 340 species tagged to date.

The Motus philosophy is “all about collaboration,” Garcia Walther said. In addition to recording birds tagged by his own team, his Motus stations in Mexico are detecting birds from other research projects.

Once a tower is installed, any bird tagged by a Motus collaborator anywhere in the world can be detected there. “Any stations we place benefit the network as a whole,” Webb noted. And most of the data collected is publicly accessible on the Motus website.

The more the network grows, DeLuca said, “the more flexibility we have in terms of the kinds of questions we can answer with Motus.”

And with increased knowledge, scientists can better target conservation actions.

“The more we know, the more we realize just how dire the situation is,” DeLuca said. For migratory birds, he said, “The stakes, honestly, could not be higher.”

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How animals get their skin patterns is a matter of physics https://www.popsci.com/environment/how-animals-colorful-skin/ Sat, 25 Nov 2023 17:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=591546
colorful eel and the physics behind its skin color
Color patterns seen in fish and other animals evolved to serve various purposes. DepositPhotos

New research clarifying how could improve medical diagnostics and synthetic materials.

The post How animals get their skin patterns is a matter of physics appeared first on Popular Science.

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colorful eel and the physics behind its skin color
Color patterns seen in fish and other animals evolved to serve various purposes. DepositPhotos

This article was originally featured on The Conversation.

Patterns on animal skin, such as zebra stripes and poison frog color patches, serve various biological functions, including temperature regulationcamouflage and warning signals. The colors making up these patterns must be distinct and well separated to be effective. For instance, as a warning signal, distinct colors make them clearly visible to other animals. And as camouflage, well-separated colors allow animals to better blend into their surroundings.

In our newly published research in Science Advances, my student Ben Alessio and I propose a potential mechanism explaining how these distinctive patterns form–that could potentially be applied to medical diagnostics and synthetic materials.

A thought experiment can help visualize the challenge of achieving distinctive color patterns. Imagine gently adding a drop of blue and red dye to a cup of water. The drops will slowly disperse throughout the water due to the process of diffusion, where molecules move from an area of higher concentration to lower concentration. Eventually, the water will have an even concentration of blue and red dyes and become purple. Thus, diffusion tends to create color uniformity.

A question naturally arises: How can distinct color patterns form in the presence of diffusion?

Movement and boundaries

Mathematician Alan Turing first addressed this question in his seminal 1952 paper, “The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis.” Turing showed that under appropriate conditions, the chemical reactions involved in producing color can interact with each other in a way that counteracts diffusion. This makes it possible for colors to self-organize and create interconnected regions with different colors, forming what are now called Turing patterns.

However, in mathematical models, the boundaries between color regions are fuzzy due to diffusion. This is unlike in nature, where boundaries are often sharp and colors are well separated.

Our team thought a clue to figuring out how animals create distinctive color patterns could be found in lab experiments on micron-sized particles, such as the cells involved in producing the colors of an animal’s skin. My work and work from other labs found that micron-sized particles form banded structures when placed between a region with a high concentration of other dissolved solutes and a region with a low concentration of other dissolved solutes.

In the context of our thought experiment, changes in the concentration of blue and red dyes in water can propel other particles in the liquid to move in certain directions. As the red dye moves into an area where it is at a lower concentration, nearby particles will be carried along with it. This phenomenon is called diffusiophoresis.

You benefit from diffusiophoresis whenever you do your laundry: Dirt particles move away from your clothing as soap molecules diffuse out from your shirt and into the water.

TK
The blue circle in this diagram is moving to the right due to diffusiophoresis, as it is swept along with the motion of the red circles moving into an area where there are more green circles. Richard Sear/Wikimedia CommonsCC BY-SA

Drawing sharp boundaries

We wondered whether Turing patterns composed of regions of concentration differences could also move micron-sized particles. If so, would the resulting patterns from these particles be sharp and not fuzzy?

To answer this question, we conducted computer simulations of Turing patterns–including hexagons, stripes and double spots–and found that diffusiophoresis makes the resulting patterns significantly more distinctive in all cases. These diffusiophoresis simulations were able to replicate the intricate patterns on the skin of the ornate boxfish and jewel moray eel, which isn’t possible through Turing’s theory alone.

This video shows small particles moving due to a related phenomenon called diffusioosmosis.

Further supporting our hypothesis, our model was able to reproduce the findings of a lab study on how the bacterium E. coli moves molecular cargo within themselves. Diffusiophoresis resulted in sharper movement patterns, confirming its role as a physical mechanism behind biological pattern formation.

Because the cells that produce the pigments that make up the colors of an animal’s skin are also micron-sized, our findings suggest that diffusiophoresis may play a key role in creating distinctive color patterns more broadly in nature.

Learning nature’s trick

Understanding how nature programs specific functions can help researchers design synthetic systems that perform similar tasks.

Lab experiments have shown that scientists can use diffusiophoresis to create membraneless water filters and low-cost drug development tools.

Our work suggests that combining the conditions that form Turing patterns with diffusiophoresis could also form the basis of artificial skin patches. Just like adaptive skin patterns in animals, when Turing patterns change–say from hexagons to stripes–this indicates underlying differences in chemical concentrations inside or outside the body.

Skin patches that can sense these changes could diagnose medical conditions and monitor a patient’s health by detecting changes in biochemical markers. These skin patches could also sense changes in the concentration of harmful chemicals in the environment.

The work ahead

Our simulations exclusively focused on spherical particles, while the cells that create pigments in skin come in varying shapes. The effect of shape on the formation of intricate patterns remains unclear.

Furthermore, pigment cells move in a complicated biological environment. More research is needed to understand how that environment inhibits motion and potentially freezes patterns in place.

Besides animal skin patterns, Turing patterns are also crucial to other processes such as embryonic development and tumor formation. Our work suggests that diffusiophoresis may play an underappreciated but important role in these natural processes.

Studying how biological patterns form will help researchers move one step closer to mimicking their functions in the lab–an age-old endeavor that could benefit society.


Ankur Gupta is the Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Disclosure statement: Ankur Gupta receives funding from NSF (CBET – 2238412) and ACS Petroleum Research Fund (65836 – DNI9).

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Shop pet DNA kits at Amazon for Black Friday and find your dog or cat’s origin story https://www.popsci.com/gear/pet-dna-kit-amazon-deal-black-friday-2023/ Fri, 24 Nov 2023 11:11:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=592064
A cat DNA test on a plain background
Amanda Reed

Your pet is 100% perfect. Dig in to where they came from with these pet DNA kit deals at Amazon for Black Friday.

The post Shop pet DNA kits at Amazon for Black Friday and find your dog or cat’s origin story appeared first on Popular Science.

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A cat DNA test on a plain background
Amanda Reed

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According to the ASPCA, 6.3 million pets are adopted each year. Chances are that your dog or cat could be a strange amalgamation of different breeds. Find out your pet’s ancestry with these pet DNA tests, on sale at Amazon for Black Friday.

Wisdom Panel Complete: Comprehensive Cat DNA Test Kit $90.99 (Was $129.99)

Wisdom Health

SEE IT

This test identifies more than 70 breeds and populations. For your cat’s health, the company runs 45 genetic health tests to see if they are at risk for any genetic conditions. If you’re curious about why your cat looks the way they look, Wisdom Panel also runs more than 25 trait tests to track down where they got their physical features. There’s also a version for dogs if you want to test your pooch.

In case you’re curious about your own DNA, here are some test kits for humans:

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10 new species of trilobite fossil rise from volcanic ash https://www.popsci.com/environment/new-species-trilobite-fossil/ Fri, 24 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=591224
An artist's rendering of a trilobite based on preserved soft body parts. The animal has two antennae protruding from its head and is oval-shaped.
An artist's rendering of a trilobite based on preserved soft body parts. Nobu Tamura

The extinct arthropods date back at least 490 million years.

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An artist's rendering of a trilobite based on preserved soft body parts. The animal has two antennae protruding from its head and is oval-shaped.
An artist's rendering of a trilobite based on preserved soft body parts. Nobu Tamura

Geologists have discovered 10 new species of trilobite in a relatively unstudied area of Thailand. These extinct sea creatures were hidden for 490 million years and are helping scientists create a new map of the animal life during the late Cambrian period. They are described in a monograph that was published in October in the journal Papers in Palaeontology.

[Related: These ancient trilobites are forever frozen in a conga line.]

Trilobites were marine arthropods similar to today’s spiders and crustaceans and are known for a wide variety of body designs. A species called Walliserops may have jousted with ‘tridents’ on their heads to win mates and recent trilobite specimens have been found with full stomachs. More than 20,000 species lived in Earth’s seas before they went extinct about 250 million years ago.

The trilobite fossils described in the new paper were trapped between layers of petrified ash in sandstone and were the product of old volcanic eruptions. The sediment from the eruptions settled on the bottom of the sea and formed a green layer called a tuff. This important layer contains crystals of a critical mineral that formed during the eruption called zircon. Aside from being as tough as steel, zircon is chemically stable and heat and weather resistant. Zircon also persists while the minerals in other kinds of rocks erode over time. Individual atoms of uranium that transform into lead live inside these resilient zircon crystals and give paleontologists a benchmark for dating the fossils

“We can use radio isotope techniques to date when the zircon formed and thus find the age of the eruption, as well as the fossil,” study co-author and University of California, Riverside geologist Nigel Hughes said in a statement.

Finding tuffs from the late Cambrian period (between 497 and 485 million years ago) is also rather rare. According to the team, it is one of the “worst dated” intervals of time in Earth’s history.

“The tuffs will allow us to not only determine the age of the fossils we found in Thailand, but to better understand parts of the world like China, Australia, and even North America where similar fossils have been found in rocks that cannot be dated,” study co-author and Texas State University geologist Shelly Wernette said in a statement. Wernette previously worked in the Hughes Lab.

The trilobite fossils were found on the coast of an island called Ko Tarutao. This island is part of a UNESCO geopark site that has encouraged international teams of scientists to work in this area. 

One of the most interesting discoveries was 12 types of trilobites that scientists have seen in other parts of the world, but not in Thailand. 

“We can now connect Thailand to parts of Australia, a really exciting discovery,” said Wernette.

During trilobites’ lifetime, this area was located on the margins of an ancient supercontinent called Gondwanaland. The giant land mass included present day India, Africa, South America, Australia, and Antarctica. 

[Related: Ancient ‘weird shrimp from Canada’ used bizarre appendages to scarf up soft prey.]

“Because continents shift over time, part of our job has been to work out where this region of Thailand was in relation to the rest of Gondwanaland,” Hughes said. “It’s a moving, shape shifting, 3D jigsaw puzzle we’re trying to put together. This discovery will help us do that.”

They named one of the newly discovered species Tsinania sirindhornae in honor of Thai Royal Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, for her dedication to developing the sciences in Thailand.

“I also thought this species had a regal quality. It has a broad headdress and clean sweeping lines,” Wernette said.

A gray fossil embedded in volcanic ash. The fossil is named Tsinania sirindhornae, a trilobite named in honor of the Thai Royal Princess and her dedication to advancing the sciences.
Fossil of Tsinania sirindhornae, a trilobite named in honor of the Thai Royal Princess and her dedication to advancing the sciences. CREDIT: Shelly Wernette/UCR.

If the team can get an accurate date from the tuffs that the remains of T. sirindhornae had been sitting in for millions of years, they could be able to determine if closely related species found in northern and southern China are roughly the same age. 

The team believes that the portrait of the ancient world hidden in these trilobite fossils contain invaluable information about our planet’s history.

“What we have here is a chronicle of evolutionary change accompanied by extinctions. The Earth has written this record for us, and we’re fortunate to have it,” Hughes said. “The more we learn from it the better prepared we are for the challenges we’re engineering on the planet for ourselves today.”

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The best bird feeder camera is cheaper than ever at Amazon for Black Friday https://www.popsci.com/gear/bird-buddy-deal-amazon-black-friday-2023/ Wed, 22 Nov 2023 19:02:07 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=591312
A blue Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder filled with seed is mounted to a green post.
Abby Ferguson

We love the Bird Buddy for capturing impossibly close images of feathered friends. It's on deep discount at Amazon for Black Friday.

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A blue Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder filled with seed is mounted to a green post.
Abby Ferguson

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Bird photography is hard. It can require years of practice, expensive equipment, and endless patience. We don’t have any of those, so we really like the Bird Buddy, which puts a camera in a feeder that brings your avian models to you. Usually $279, this clever contraption is just $209 right now at Amazon for Black Friday—making it something for the birds, even if the discount is anything but. It’s a phenomenal gift and a gateway to a whole new hobby.

Bird Buddy Bird Feeder Camera $209 (was $279)

Abby Ferguson

SEE IT

The Bird Buddy took home the best overall title in our list of the best bird feeder cameras. Setup is simple: Just mount the feeder, connect it to the app, fill it with food, and get ready to observe some birds. The camera is smart so it can recognize what kind of feathered friends it sees while they feed. It will automatically capture images of the birds and catalog them so you can look at your avian visitors later. It can even send live alerts to your phone when birds arrive so you can watch in real-time.

Even if you’re not the biggest birding fan, this is a super cool way to see nature from an up-close view that would otherwise be impossible.

Once you’ve ordered your Bird Buddy, go check out our big list of the Best Black Friday deals to kill time before it arrives.

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Army ants could teach robots a thing or two https://www.popsci.com/technology/robot-swarm-army-ants/ Wed, 22 Nov 2023 18:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=591264
Army ants building living bridge between two ledges in lab
Ants' tiny brains can still coordinate to build complex structures using their own bodies. Credit: Isabella Muratore

Army ants use their bodies to build bridges. Robots could soon take a cue from the tiny insect’s ability to collaborate.

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Army ants building living bridge between two ledges in lab
Ants' tiny brains can still coordinate to build complex structures using their own bodies. Credit: Isabella Muratore

Apart from their nasty stings, army ant colonies are often known for their stunning, intricate architectural feats using their own bodies. When worker ant hunting parties encounter obstacles such as fallen tree branches, gaps in foliage, or small streams, the tiny insects will join forces to create a bridge for the remaining ant brethren to traverse. It’s as impressive as it is somewhat disconcerting—these are living, crawling buildings, after all. But one research team isn’t studying the coordination between miniscule bugs to benefit future construction projects; they are looking into how army ant teamwork could be mimicked by robots.

“Army ants create structures using decentralized collective intelligence processes,” Isabella Muratore, a postdoctoral researcher at the New Jersey Institute of Technology specializing in army ant building techniques, explains to PopSci over email. “This means that each ant follows a set of rules about how to behave based on sensory input and this leads to the creation of architectural forms without the need for any prior planning or commands from a leader.”

[Related: These robots reached a team consensus like a swarm of bees.]

Along with engineers from NJIT and Northwestern University, Muratore and her entomologist colleagues developed a series of tests meant to gauge army ant workers’ reactions and logistical responses to environmental impediments. After placing obstacles in the ants’ forest paths, Muratore filmed and later analyzed the herds’ subsequent adaptations to continue along their routes. Utilizing prior modeling work, the team also tested whether the ant bridges could withstand sudden, small changes in obstacle length using an adjustable spacing device.

Muratore and others recently presented their findings at this year’s annual Entomological Society of America conference. According to their observations, army ants generally choose to construct bridges in the most efficient locations—places wide enough to necessitate a building project while simultaneously using the least number of ants possible. The number of bridges needed during a sojourn also influences the ants’ collective decisions on resource allocation.

David Hu, a Georgia Institute of Technology engineering professor focused on fire ant raft constructions during flooding, recently likened the insects to neurons in one big, creepy-crawly brain while speaking to NPR on the subject. Instead of individual ants determining bridge dimensions and locations, each ant contributes to the decisions in their own small way.

[Related: Robot jellyfish swarms could soon help clean the oceans of plastic.]

Muratore and her collaborators believe an army ant’s collaborative capabilities could soon help engineers program swarms of robots based on the insect’s behavior principles and brains. Ants vary across species, but they still can pack a surprising amount of information within their roughly 1.1 microliter volume brains.

Replicating that brainpower requires relatively low energy costs. Scaling it across a multitude of robots could remain comparatively cheap, while exponentially increasing their functionality. This could allow them to “flexibly adapt to a variety of challenges, such as linking together to form bridges over gaps of different lengths in the most efficient manner possible,” Muratore writes to PopSci.
Robotic teamwork is crucial to implement the machines across a number of industries and scenarios, from outer space exploration, to ocean cleanup projects, to search-and-rescue efforts in areas too dangerous for humans to access. In these instances, coordinating quickly and efficiently not only saves time and energy, it could save lives.

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In India, a need for new antidotes to curb deadly snakebites https://www.popsci.com/environment/india-antidotes-deadly-snakebites/ Wed, 22 Nov 2023 17:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=591245
An Indian cobra found in the farmlands of Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, India. Around 58,000 Indians die from snakebites every year, the highest rate in the world.
An Indian cobra found in the farmlands of Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, India. Around 58,000 Indians die from snakebites every year, the highest rate in the world. Gnaneswar/MCBT

The country has the highest rates of snakebite deaths in the world. Experts say a lot more must be done to save lives.

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An Indian cobra found in the farmlands of Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, India. Around 58,000 Indians die from snakebites every year, the highest rate in the world.
An Indian cobra found in the farmlands of Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, India. Around 58,000 Indians die from snakebites every year, the highest rate in the world. Gnaneswar/MCBT

As far back as he can remember, Kali Chockalingam, now 53 and living in Echur, a village in Southern India, has loved snakes. He often got in trouble with his teachers for hiding them in his schoolbag. “As a young boy, I thought they looked like little dolls,” he said. Chockalingam hails from India’s Irula tribe, one of the country’s oldest Indigenous communities, known for their extraordinary ability to trace and catch snakes. From his father and grandfather, he learned the family trade.

Roughly 200,000 Irulars are spread out over three Southern Indian states—Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. And for the past 45 years, Chockalingam’s tribe in Tamil Nadu has run the Irula Snake Catcher’s Industrial Co-operative Society, India’s largest producer of quality snake venom, which is used to manufacture antidotes to snakebites, or antivenin.

Research has shown that antivenin made from the co-op’s venom has been effective in treating bites by the four most common venomous snakes in the country, the only snakes the Irulars are legally allowed to catch: the Russell’s viper, the common krait, the Indian cobra, and the Indian saw-scaled viper.

Irular women in a rice field encounter a Russell’s viper in Tamil Nadu, India. Research gathered by Gnaneswar Ch and his team suggest that people are most likely to be bitten on their legs when they walk across agricultural fields barefoot. Visual: Gnaneswar/MCBT
Irular women in a rice field encounter a Russell’s viper in Tamil Nadu, India. Research gathered by Gnaneswar Ch and his team suggest that people are most likely to be bitten on their legs when they walk across agricultural fields barefoot. Visual: Gnaneswar/MCBT

Still, snakebite deaths remain a problem. According to the Million Death Study, one of the largest ongoing global studies of premature mortality, around 58,000 Indians die from snakebites every year, the highest rate in the world. And a growing proportion of these bites come from less common species of venomous snakes in specific pockets of the country, for which, according to researchers at the Indian Institute of Science, available antivenin — also often called antivenom—are not very effective.

People living in India’s rural areas, who are exposed to a broad range of snakes, are particularly at risk. Treating these patients can be difficult, said Gnaneswar Ch, project leader of the Snake Conservation & Snakebite Mitigation Project at the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust Center for Herpetology, where the Irula Co-op is located.

For instance, in Tamil Nadu, data on snakebites and how to prevent them—gathered by Gnaneswar’s team since 2015—suggest that people are most likely to be bitten on their legs when they walk across agricultural fields barefoot. And they may not seek treatment at the hospital until hours after the bite, turning first to natural or folk remedies. As a result, Gnaneswar said, “we’re seeing many amputations and loss of limbs.”


The Irulars’ history with snakes traces back to the tribe’s roots as hunter-gatherers. In pre-Independent India, the tribe began to sell snakes to the British, who wanted their skins. But the tribe was thrust into poverty after India’s Wildlife Protection Act came into effect in 1972, which banned snake hunting (and later, snakeskin export in 1976).

The tribe’s prospects changed in 1978, when herpetologist Romulus Whitaker, who had formed a deep friendship with the Irulars, established the Irula Co-op. Since then, the Irulars were charged with the responsibility of catching snakes, said Gnaneswar. And “they went from snake hunters to lifesavers.”

A growing proportion of snake bites in India come from less common species of venomous snakes in specific pockets of the country, for which available antivenin is not very effective.

The Irula Co-op now has approximately 350 members who, like Chockalingam, are licensed to catch venomous snakes. As a collective, they are allowed to bring in up to 13,000 snakes per year, generating an annual income between 10 and 25 million Indian rupees (between approximately $120,000 and $300,000). At any given time, the co-op has the license to house up to 800 venomous snakes. Because of the region’s immense heat, the snakes are stored in wide brimmed earthen pots, which are covered with cotton cloths and closed with a string. The snakes are protected by India’s Wildlife Act, and so the co-op is only permitted to keep individual animals in captivity for 21 days, during which their venom is extracted—or milked—four times. Venom milking involves holding the snake by its head and forcing it to bite the lip of a jar; venom drips from its fangs and collects in the jar.

The work has its dangers. Over the past 30 years, Chockalingam has been bitten five times, he said, and some of the bites have been life threatening. In 2001 on a routine snake catching operation, a Russell’s viper sank its fangs into his index finger. After stopping for a cup of tea, Chockalingam said, he went to the hospital for shots of antivenin. When he was finally allowed to go home after five days, he remembers immediately setting out to catch another snake.

Not everyone can catch snakes with the ease and expertise of the Irulars, so antivenin manufacturers across India rely heavily on the co-op. Today, just seven companies in the country produce antivenin, and all of them buy Irular-milked venom for their products.

“Manufacturing antivenin is a very technologically challenging process,” said MV Khadilkar, co-founder and technical director of Premium Serums, which makes country- and region-specific snake antivenin for India, Sri Lanka, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa. The product is manufactured using horses; it’s complex and labor intensive, and the outcome isn’t always guaranteed. Small, harmless doses of the snake venom are injected into the horses, and the doses are then gradually increased (though they remain at levels that will not hurt the animal). The horses’ bodies produce proteins in reaction to the venom, called antibodies, which are then harvested from their blood and processed into an injectable antivenin. “We have to ensure the health and welfare of the animal as well as we have to maintain productivity,” Khadilkar said. “It is a very delicate balance.”


The seven Indian companies that produce antivenin make 8 million vials a year, most of it derived from the Irula Co-op venom. But in spite of the Irula co-op’s efforts, and the availability of antivenin across the country, many challenges persist.

First, producing antivenins for India’s different regions is difficult. Some snakes aren’t considered medically important: Though their bites may cause severe pain, disability, neurological issues, and paralysis, they are not life-threatening. Other snakes that are lethal are restricted to specific areas of the country. In the end, producing the antidotes must be affordable without compromising on quality.

“The problem of snake venom is a problem of poor people,” Khadilkar said. It involves hard labor in manufacturing, but the profits aren’t high, he said, and “that’s why you don’t find many big pharmaceutical companies who are in this field.”

A common krait is milked by Irula tribal member K. Muthu at the Irula Co-op. From venom like this, companies in India produce 8 million vials of antivenin a year, most of it derived from the Irula Co-op venom.
A common krait is milked by Irula tribal member K. Muthu at the Irula Co-op. From venom like this, companies in India produce 8 million vials of antivenin a year, most of it derived from the Irula Co-op venom. Visual: Gnaneswar/MCBT

“Despite this,” he added, “there’s always a demand from different corners of India.”

The antivenin that is made isn’t always well-distributed. According to Gnaneswar, while the country produces adequate venom from the big four snakes, the antivenin may not always reach the places that need it the most. Stocks may be inadequate, especially in rural hospitals and small health care centers, because they are not distributed to places that see the most snakebites.

And the antivenins that are produced and distributed won’t treat every snakebite, even from related species. “The problem is that venom varies between species and geographically as well,” said Whitaker, who is now the Indian head of the Global Snakebite Initiative. While the Irula Co-op pulls venom from the four species that cause the most fatal bites across India, there are also four species of cobras, seven species of kraits, and two species of saw-scaled vipers, he added, and the co-op venoms may not work as well “for bites of the same or related species in other parts of the country.” And venom also changes over different seasons, even within an individual snake.

“The problem of snake venom is a problem of poor people.”

Then there’s the issue of quality. How well an antivenin works depends on the potency of the venom—a mixture of biological substances including amino acids, carbohydrates, fats, nucleic acids, peptides, and proteins. The best practices for venom extraction, which were created by the World Health Organization, “are hard to achieve in India, considering our existing wildlife laws and drug manufacturing laws, but more importantly, the necessity to keep the venom production costs to the minimum,” said Gnaneswar. For instance, the best practices dictate that snakes should be held in a controlled environment with appropriate nutrition and low chances of stress. This goes against Indian laws, where snakes are protected and can’t be held indefinitely in captivity.

There are also issues with venom storage. Once milked, the venom must quickly be stored at minus 20 degrees Celsius, or minus 4 Fahrenheit, to retain the highest quality; otherwise, its biological components could degrade. The Co-op’s current methods involve extracting venom from up to a hundred snakes in quick succession, which means the earliest collections don’t immediately go into a freezer. “It’s evident that venom loses its potency,” said Gnaneswar. “However, we are not sure how much potency it loses.”


To help make the antivenin that can treat a wider range of India’s many snakebites, there are two possible approaches, according to Khadilkar. The first is to manufacture region-specific antivenin dedicated to a particular area where there is strong demand—individual antivenins for each species of snake. If venom was collected from diverse snakes across India, a “cocktail” of those from the same species could then be used to immunize the horses, he said. The antigenic variation “can provide more diverse antibodies and the antivenin becomes effective over a wider geographical area.” But the costs for this approach would be high.

The second is to make a more diverse antivenin that can effectively act on a spectrum of snakebites. This would entail catching and milking snakes from different parts of India, not just the big four, and making a mixed antivenin. The biggest drawback is that there isn’t enough skilled labor to achieve this.

Still, on a smaller scale, there are such efforts underway. Gnaneswar’s employer, the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust Center for Herpetology, is working with the Tamil Nadu government to set up a new state-of-the-art venom collection center. The hope is for the facility to get permission to permanently house snakes from all over the country. If approved, it could be operational as early as August 2025. For Chockalingam and the other Irulars—should they get the government’s permission to catch more species of snakes beyond the big four — the serpentarium could translate to more work, more venom, better infrastructure and safety protocols, and richer rewards. “It gives me a deep sense of joy when I think of the lives we’re saving by doing this work,” said Chockalingam. “It makes every struggle worth it in the end.”

Another possible solution may be to produce antivenin in a way that doesn’t rely on injecting horses with venom and collecting antibodies. Some labs are experimenting with such an approach: oral antidotes, which target proteins in venom that are most toxic to humans. These antidotes can also withstand higher temperatures and produce fewer allergic reactions. One such company, the U.S.-based Ophirex, has recently completed a Stage 2 clinical trial on its product.

“If that drug proves out to be effective,” Gnaneswar said, “it would be a huge, huge jump for antivenom in India.”

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Why these sea worms detach their butts to reproduce https://www.popsci.com/environment/deatching-butt-sea-worm/ Wed, 22 Nov 2023 14:30:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=591162
A mature Megasyllis nipponica with a developing female stolon.
A mature Megasyllis nipponica with a developing female stolon. Nakamura et al 2023

Biologists might be closer to solving the mystery behind the Japanese green syllid worm's reproductive behavior.

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A mature Megasyllis nipponica with a developing female stolon.
A mature Megasyllis nipponica with a developing female stolon. Nakamura et al 2023

It’s been a wormy, sexual head-scratcher for years. The Japanese green syllid worm Megasyllis nipponica detaches its butt in order to reproduce. But how do these algae-eating invertebrates do this? The process could come down to some developmental genes, according to a study published November 22 in the journal Scientific Reports.

[Related: The jumping worm invasion may be less worrisome than it sounds.]

A swimming Megasyllis nipponica with a stolon in its posterior end. CREDIT: Nakamura et al 2023.

Bye bye, butt

Some segmented sea worms like the syllid worm go through a reproductive process called  stolonization. The stolon is the worm’s posterior organ and it is full of eggs or sperm depending on the worm’s sex. During stolonization, the stolon completely detaches from the rest of the worm’s body for reproduction. 

This detached butt swims around by itself and spawns when it meets another stolon of the opposite sex. This autonomous swimming is believed to protect the original body of the worm from dangers in the environment and help the eggs and sperm travel longer distances. 

In order to swim by themselves, the stolon have to develop their own eyes, antennae, and swimming bristles while still attached to their original body. How this happens has been a mystery. The formation of the stolon itself begins when the gonads near the worm’s butt mature. A head is then formed in the front of the developing stolon, with the eyes, antennae, and swimming bristles following close behind. It develops its nerves and the ability to sense and behave independently before the stolon detaches from the rest of the body.

Hot hox genes

In the new study, a team from the University of Tokyo looked into how the stolon’s head is formed in the first place. The researchers investigated the developmental gene expression patterns in worms as they were sexually maturing. A well-known group of genes that determine body part formation called hox genes help define the head regions of various animals. The team found that hox genes are expressed more in the head region of the stolon. The genes are not typically expressed as much in the middle of the body, except for when the gonads are developing. During this time, the hox genes are highly expressed in the worm’s middle and butt. 

“This shows how normal developmental processes are modified to fit the life history of animals with unique reproductive styles,” study co-author and University of Tokyo marine biologist Toru Miura said in a statement.

[Related: These newly discovered bioluminescent sea worms are named after Japanese folklore.]

Hox genes also determine the segmentation along the worm’s body. The team thought that the hox genes would be expressed differently along the invisible line that runs from the head of the worm to the back end.

“Interestingly, the expressions of Hox genes that determine body-part identity were constant during the process,” said Miura. 

Because of this consistency, the stolon does not have a separatedigestive tract. It also has repeated uniform body segments, except for in its head and tail. 

“This indicates that only the head part is induced at the posterior body part to control spawning behavior for reproduction,” said Miura.

The study showed the developmental mechanism of stolons for the first time and sparked more investigation into this reproductive method. Miura and the team hope to clarify the sex determination mechanism and the endocrine regulations during the worm’s reproductive cycles in future studies.

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How do animals see the world? https://www.popsci.com/environment/animal-vision-facts/ Tue, 21 Nov 2023 14:45:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=590097
Colorful eyes of different animals; illustration
Aaron Fernandez for Popular Science

From eyes that change color with the seasons to orbs as big as basketballs, the animal kingdom is out of sight.

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Colorful eyes of different animals; illustration
Aaron Fernandez for Popular Science

EYES MIGHT NOT be able to speak, but they have plenty to say. Many animals use complex visual systems to help them survive in particular habitats. Sight is often a first line of defense against predators—or a crucial sense for catching prey. To dwell in Earth’s darkest locations or travel high through the sky, creatures have evolved special and bizarre ways to perceive their worlds.

UNSPECIFIED - CIRCA 2002: Barreleye, Opisthoproctidae family. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)
Barreleye, Opisthoproctidae family. Credit: DeAgostini/Getty Images

Spookfish: Mirrored orbs

It’s gloomy year-round for the spookfish, a spiked carnivore that swims in the dark depths of the ocean. Sunlight rarely penetrates more than a few hundred feet below the surface, so this critter uses mirrors instead as well as lenses to see—the only known vertebrate with this feature. The disks, made of guanine crystals, can focus light emitted by bioluminescent plankton and other glowing marine life. Weirder still, the funky fish’s eyes are split into two connected parts: one section gazes up while the other looks down. That way, it can spy food above and below it, as well as lurking predators.

Golden Eagle, Aquila chrysaetos, Scotland, winter. (Photo by: Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Golden Eagle in Scotland. Credit: Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Golden eagle: Cones galore

In North America, Europe, and Asia, golden eagles soar on 7-foot wingspans while searching for small prey like rabbits, which they can spot more than a mile away. The birds can see from great distances thanks to an extreme density of visual cells known as rods and cones in their retinas. Rods generally register the overall shape of an object, whereas cones detect color and detail. In general, the density of rods and cones in a raptor’s eye is five times greater than in a human’s. 

WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND - APRIL 30:  (STRICTLY EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Dr Eric Warant from the University of Lund in Sweden displays the eyes of a giant squid at the Te Papa Museum on April 30, 2008 in Wellington,  New Zealand. The giant squid is currently defrosting to enable scientist to examine it and it will in the future be put on display at the Museum on Wednesday April 30, 2008 in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Marty Melville/Getty Images)
The eyes of a giant squid at the Te Papa Museum in New Zealand. Credit: Marty Melville/Getty Images

Giant squid: Titanic eyes

The largest eyes in the animal kingdom, at up to 10 inches in diameter, belong to adult giant squids. And it makes sense: The biggest individuals can exceed 40 feet long, so the peepers on these invertebrates have to be proportionally massive. The species uses its dinner-plate-size eyes to draw in as much light as possible from its dark watery world to hunt fish and shrimp. Its line of sight can also detect a moving sperm whale—one of the squid’s main foes—up to 400 feet away in deep ocean zones that have little or no sunlight.

(GERMANY OUT)   Mantis Shrimp, Odontodactylus scyllarus, Ambon, Moluccas, Indonesia   (Photo by Reinhard Dirscherl\ullstein bild via Getty Images)
Mantis Shrimp in Indonesia. Credit: Reinhard Dirscherl\ullstein bild via Getty Images

Mantis shrimp: Extra light

Mantis shrimp, known for their herculean strength and swift clubbed appendages that can break a snail’s shell in a single strike, also boast a unique vision system. Their eyes process 12 channels of color and can detect ultraviolet (UV) and polarized light, which has waves that all vibrate in the same direction. By comparison, humans can process only three channels of color—blue, green, and red—and can’t process polarized or UV light at all. The crustaceans’ 10,000 small photoreceptive units are organized in strips that log objects around them, similar to how a scanner reads a bar code. 

Lone Svalbard reindeer grazing in the Tundra in Svalbard.
Lone Svalbard reindeer grazing in the Tundra in Svalbard. Credit: Getty

Arctic reindeer: Color play

In the Arctic reindeer, the tapetum lucidum, a part of the eye located behind the retina in many vertebrates, changes color with the seasons. Their eyes go from gold in summer to blue in winter, compensating for the drastic variation in sunlight at the North Pole. Blue eyes enhance the ungulates’ ability to detect shorter wavelengths of light during the dark and dreary winter, when they have only a few short hours per day to detect sunlight. During the extremely bright summer, their eyes no longer need to take in as much light in a short period and switch back to yellow. 

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Cuttlefish and their amazing technicolor dreamcoats https://www.popsci.com/environment/cuttlefish-changing-colors/ Tue, 21 Nov 2023 12:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=590663
Broadclub Cuttlefish
What are you thinking?. DepositPhotos

Cuttlefish change colors to hide, hunt, and communicate—and, these scientists think, when they dream.

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Broadclub Cuttlefish
What are you thinking?. DepositPhotos

This article was originally featured on Hakai Magazine, an online publication about science and society in coastal ecosystems. Read more stories like this at hakaimagazine.com.

A person might wear their heart on their sleeve, but cuttlefish seem to wear their thoughts right on their skin.

Horst Obenhaus, a neuroscientist working with the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, is studying how these unusual creatures communicate with color. In particular, he and his team now think the unique patterns cuttlefish show on their skin while they sleep might be a colorful reflection of their inner thoughts—and, maybe, even of their dreams.

Cuttlefish are cephalopods—cousins of octopuses and squid. They’re clever animals with complex brains. Previous research has shown cuttlefish have decent short- and long-term memory and are social animals that can learn from past experiences. Cuttlefish have passed the marshmallow test, a commonly used psychological gauge of self-restraint and long-term planning. And they even experience something that looks like REM sleep, or rapid eye movement sleep. This is the phase of sleep during which humans dream. Sleeping cuttlefish have been seen moving their eyes rapidly, twitching, and altering the patterns on their skin, suggesting they might be experiencing something similar.

Even in people, sleep is a mysterious process. Scientists aren’t entirely sure why we do it. But one explanation is that sleep helps convert daily experiences into long-term memories, reactivating experiences we had while awake so that brain structures like the cortex can extract useful information. This, scientists think, helps us consolidate experiences and learn new skills.

So, Obenhaus wondered: are cuttlefish doing the same thing?

“Wouldn’t it be cool if we could pinpoint whether these animals reactivate experiences they’ve had during the day while they’re asleep?” he says.

Like other color-changing animals, including chameleons and some fish, cuttlefish change their hues using cells in their skin called chromatophores—“little sacs of pigment, surrounded by muscles,” says Sarah McAnulty, a squid biologist and founder of Skype a Scientist who was not involved with the research. A cuttlefish can flex these muscles to open the chromatophore, revealing the color inside.

Many other color-changing animals automatically change hue in response to changes in their environment or to their hormones. Cuttlefish, however, have incredible control over the color and patterning of their skin. A cuttlefish’s chromatophores are directly wired to the animal’s brain, McAnulty says. “So, they are changing color as quickly as they can think about it.”

In a way, this gives us a direct line to their inner worlds, says Obenhaus. “You just have to watch the skin and learn about what the brain does.”

To find out what cuttlefish’s dozing displays actually mean—if anything—Obenhaus’s team put pairs of dwarf cuttlefish together in tanks and then filmed them for several weeks. The scientists were looking to see if the cuttlefish’s slumbering skin patterns reflected their previous social encounters, similar to how people might revisit their social encounters in dreams.

So far, Obenhaus says, the team’s initial experiment found that while cuttlefish do show patterns on their skin as they’re sleeping, they don’t directly match the colorations the animals made when they were awake. However, some of the sleep-induced patterns did appear to be partial, more abstract versions of those the cuttlefish made during social interactions.

The question, says Obenhaus, is whether they can confirm an alignment between these strange patterns that occur during sleep and those that occur when the cuttlefish are awake.

That there’s any similarity at all between what cuttlefish and people do when they’re asleep, though, shouldn’t be taken for granted.

“Cephalopods diverged from us so long ago,” McAnulty says. “It’s really interesting to observe that other path of evolution that’s been moving alongside us but independently of us.”

This article first appeared in Hakai Magazine and is republished here with permission.

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Scientists are confounded by the sex lives of serontine bats https://www.popsci.com/environment/serotine-bats-mating/ Mon, 20 Nov 2023 16:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=590638
A serotine bat with its mouth open, showing teeth. Serotine bats are widely spread throughout Europe and Asia and have a 15 inch wingspan.
Serotine bats are widely spread throughout Europe and Asia and have a 15 inch wingspan. Alona Shulenko

The size of the bats' male genitals make penetration impossible.

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A serotine bat with its mouth open, showing teeth. Serotine bats are widely spread throughout Europe and Asia and have a 15 inch wingspan.
Serotine bats are widely spread throughout Europe and Asia and have a 15 inch wingspan. Alona Shulenko

The male sex organs of the animal kingdom come in all shapes and sizes from some that look like a bottle opener to genital stingers. For mammals, penetrative sex with a penis is needed to successfully mate. However, scientists have documented the first non-penetrative sex ever seen in a mammal. The mating technique was observed in the serotine bat (Eptesicus serotinus) and it is described in a study published November 20 in the journal Current Biology.

The mysteries of bat sex

Serotine bats are quite common in Europe and Asia, but the intricacies of bat sex remain elusive. Most previous observations of bats mating have only offered a glimpse of the backs of mating pairs. But in the new study, a team from the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and a bat rehabilitation center in Ukraine got lucky. 

[Related: How echolocation lets bats, dolphins, and even people navigate by sound.]

“By chance, we had observed that these bats have disproportionately long penises, and we were always wondering ‘how does that work?’,” study co-author and University of Lausanne evolutionary biologist Nicolas Fasel said in a statement. “We thought maybe it’s like in the dog where the penis engorges after penetration so that they are locked together, or alternatively maybe they just couldn’t put it inside, but that type of copulation hasn’t been reported in mammals until now.” 

The team placed cameras behind a grid that the bats could climb hoping to get footage of their genitals and mating from one side of the grid. They found that bats’ penises are roughly seven times longer than their partners’ vaginas. Each has a “heart-shaped” head that is also seven times wider than the common bat vaginal opening. This size and shape would make penetration after an erection impossible. The study shows that instead of functioning as a penetrative organ, the penis is more like an extra arm. It pushes the female’s tail sheath out of the way to engage in contact mating, similar to cloacal kissing in birds. Instead of penetration, the birds touch their two rear orifices called the cloaca together for only a few seconds, but long enough for sperm to be released.

The bat sex detectives

Fasel collaborated with bat enthusiast and citizen scientist Jan Jeucker, who filmed hours of footage of the serotine bat in a church attic in the Netherlands. The team analyzed 97 mating events—93 from the Dutch church and four from the Ukrainian bat rehabilitation center. During the recordings, the team did not see a single incidence of penetration. The erectile tissues of the bat penis were completely enlarged before they made any contact with the vulva. The male bats grasped their partner’s nape and moved their pelvis like a probe until it made contact with the vulva. Once contact was made, the pair remained still. These interactions lasted less than 53 minutes on average, but the longest event extended to 12.7 hours. 

After copulation, the researchers saw that the female bats had wet abdomens. They believe this dampness indicates the presence of semen, but more research is needed to confirm if sperm was actually transferred during these assumed mating events.

[Related: What bats and metal vocalists have in common.]

The team also characterized the form of serotine bat genitalia by measuring the erect penises of live bats that were captured as part of other research studies. The necropsies on bats that had died at bat rehabilitation centers revealed how much longer and wider the serotine bat penises were compared to the bat vaginas. The penises are also about a fifth as long as the bats’ head to body length. Female serotine bats also have unusually long cervixes, which potentially helps them select and store sperm.

The team believes that the bats may have evolved their oversized penises as a way to push aside the female tail membranes.  

“Bats use their tail membranes for flying and to capture the insects, and female bats also use them to cover their lower parts and protect themselves from males,” said Fasel. “But the males can then use these big penises to overcome the tail membrane and reach the vulva.”

The team plans to study bat mating behavior in more natural contexts and further investigate penis morphology and mating behavior in other bat species. 

“We are trying to develop a bat porn box, which will be like an aquarium with cameras everywhere,” says Fasel.

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Why dogs usually can’t tell what you’re pointing at https://www.popsci.com/environment/why-dogs-usually-cant-tell-what-youre-pointing-at/ Sat, 18 Nov 2023 15:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=590316
A woman in a puffy coat points in a direction. Her small dog looks excitedly in that direction. They are sitting in a park with oranges leaves on green grass.
Dogs usually take gestures like pointing as cue to look in that specific direction. Deposit Photos

New research on canine spacial bias suggests that 'smarter' dogs are more resilient in learning where an object is located.

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A woman in a puffy coat points in a direction. Her small dog looks excitedly in that direction. They are sitting in a park with oranges leaves on green grass.
Dogs usually take gestures like pointing as cue to look in that specific direction. Deposit Photos

While we may never be able to read a dog’s mind, new research indicates that some “smarter” dogs may be able to better interpret where an object is in space. By studying how this phenomenon called spatial bias may reflect what dogs see, researchers could potentially show that dogs process information similarly to the way humans do. The findings are described in a study published November 18 in the journal Ethology.

[Related: Dogs and wolves remember where you hide their food.]

What is spatial bias?

Spatial bias is how the brain processes information related to space, location, or distance when that same information could easily apply to an object.

When a person points to an object, a human toddler will generally focus directly on the object. However, a dog will usually take the gesture as cue to look in that specific direction. This difference is not necessarily due to the dog’s eyesight, but how they think and interpret gestures. Spatial bias is often demonstrated in the difference in how dogs and children react when a person shows them where a toy or treat may be.

“Very early on, children interpret the gesture as pointing to the object, while dogs take the pointing as a directional cue. In other words, regardless of the intention of the person giving the cue, the meaning for children and dogs is different,” study co-author Ivaylo Iotchev said in a statement. Iotchev is a neuroscientist and ethnologist at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary.

Spatial bias has been observed in behavioral tests that show how dogs learn and imitate, but hadn’t been studied until now, according to Iotchev. Earlier studies have not clarified if dogs behave this way due to inferior vision compared to primates, or if it is because the parameters of the space around them are more important to dogs than specific, nearby objects.

In this new study, a team of animal behavior experts was able to gain insight into how some dogs can overcome spatial biases on difficult challenges.

Learning location versus shape and color 

The team first tested two behavioral tasks on 82 domestic dogs of varying breeds and sizes. In one task, the dogs had a maximum of 50 trials to learn whether a treat was placed on the right or left side of a plate. This task was designed to teach the dogs about a location when they were directed to find where the treat was.

The treat is always on the right or left side only, and the plate on the other side is empty.
Learning about the place: the treat is always on the right or left side only, and the plate on the other side is empty. CREDIT: Eniko Kubinyi.

In the second task, the team used a white round plate and a black square one. Both plates were always placed in the middle and a dog was always given only one type of plate to eat from. However, the dog was exposed to each plate in a semi-random sequence, to teach them about the shape and color of the plate. This helped indicate if location or physical properties were easier for the dogs to remember. 

Learning about objects: the treat is always only on the white plate or only on the black plate, the other is empty.
Learning about objects: the treat is always only on the white plate or only on the black plate, the other is empty. CREDIT: Eniko Kubinyi.

The team measured learning by how quickly a canine ran to the correct plate. They found that the dogs learned faster when the treat was placed to the right or left of a plate instead of on it. 

The dogs appeared to have more difficulty remembering whether the food was on the white round plate or black square one. The ‘spatial bias’ measure indicated that the dogs were learning about a specific place faster than an object’s features like color or shape. 

Measuring cognition and vision

A more complicated task looked to see if the dogs had retained the knowledge of where the treat had been placed. If the dog had previously received the treat on the right side of the plate, it was then placed on the left side. If the dog had previously been given the treat on a white plate, it was now on the black plate.

[Related: Do domesticated dogs howl back at wolves?]

To investigate if spatial bias is more sensory, cognitive, or a mixture of both, the team needed to note any differences between the visual and cognitive abilities of different dogs. They measured how short each dog’s head was, since this is correlated with visual acuity. They also observed how efficiently the dogs solved the problems. 

“The visual abilities of dog breeds differ from each other, which indirectly results from their head shape. Dogs with shorter heads–scientifically known as brachycephalic–develop human-like vision,” study co-author and PhD student Zsófia Bognár said in a statement. “The structure of their retina implies sharper and more focused vision than their longer-headed counterparts. “

To gauge their cognitive ability, the dogs took part in a series of tests of their memory, attention skills, and perseverance. They found that spatial bias is smaller in dogs with who could see finer details better. According to the team, as human children develop, spatial bias decreases with increasing intelligence and this could be possible for some canines with the right mindset as well.

Earlier studies have shown that for dogs, being “smart” has more to do with its memory than ability to learn new words. The dogs that exhibit characteristics that humans would label as intelligence demonstrated the ability to stick to a more complex task. Understanding how this works can help biologists better understand dogs’ evolution.

“Spatial bias in dogs is not simply a sensory problem but also a mindset. We also found that ‘smarter’ dogs are resilient in difficult learning situations and can overcome their biases,” said Iotchev.

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How ingredients in everyday soap could help fight malaria https://www.popsci.com/health/soap-fight-malaria/ Fri, 17 Nov 2023 19:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=590235
An extreme close up of a mosquito biting human skin.
In 2020, there were an estimated 241 million cases of malaria and 627,000 deaths. The disease is transmitted by the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. Deposit Photos

Adding a dash of soap could boost the potency of some insecticides.

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An extreme close up of a mosquito biting human skin.
In 2020, there were an estimated 241 million cases of malaria and 627,000 deaths. The disease is transmitted by the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. Deposit Photos

Adding liquid soap can boost the potency of some of the pesticides used on malaria-carrying mosquitoes. The discovery is detailed in a study published November 17 in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases and offers a tool in the fight against the disease.

[Related: New four-dose malaria vaccine is up to 80 percent effective.]

Malaria is most prevalent in Asia, Latin America, and sub-Saharan Africa and is caused by several species of parasites that are transmitted by the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. It causes severe fatigue, fever, headaches, and chills and can be fatal. When it is treated with the right medication, such as artemether-lumefantrine, it can be cured and the malaria parasites can be completely cleared from the body. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there were 241 million cases of malaria worldwide and 627,000 deaths in 2020

While the first malaria vaccines were approved and recommended in 2021, the mosquitoes that carry malaria are becoming more resistant to insecticides. 

“Over the past two decades, mosquitoes have become strongly resistant to most insecticides,” study co-author and University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) evolutionary biologist Colince Kamdem said in a statement. “It’s a race now to develop alternative compounds with new modes of action.”

Before coming to UTEP, Kamdem worked at Cameroon’s Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases, where he first saw soap’s potential potency during some routine insecticide testing. A special class of insecticide called neonicotinoids have shown to be a potential alternative that targets the mosquito populations that show resistance to current insecticides. However, they can have negative effects on bees if not used carefully and neonicotinoids do not kill some mosquito species unless their potency is boosted. 

World Health Organization protocols recommend adding a seed-oil based product to insecticides to test a mosquito’s susceptibility. When the compound was added, Kamdem noticed that it was more effective than when the insecticide was used on its own.

“That compound belongs to the same class of substances as kitchen soap,” Kamdem said. “We thought, ‘Why don’t we test products that have same properties?’”

The team selected three inexpensive, linseed-oil based soaps that are readily available in sub-Saharan African countries. They added the soaps to four different neonicotinoids. In every case, the potency was increased. 

[Related: Mosquitoes are becoming resistant to our best defenses.]

“All three brands of soap increase mortality from 30 percent to 100 percent compared to when the insecticides were used on their own,” study co-author Ashu Fred said in a statement. Fred is a PhD student at the University of Yaoundé I in Cameroon. 

They also tested a class of insecticides called pyrethroids. This class did not see the added benefits of the boost from soap. They hope to conduct additional testing to see exactly how much soap is needed to enhance insecticides. 

“We would love to make a soap-insecticide formulation that can be used indoors in Africa and be healthy for users,” Kamdem said. “There are unknowns as to whether such a formulation will stick to materials like mosquito nets, but the challenge is both promising and very exciting.”

Malaria was once endemic in the US, but was eradicated by the 1970s. However, the CDC issued a health advisory in June after at least four people in Florida and one in Texas contracted homegrown cases of malaria. The disease is most common in warm climates and some scientists worry that as global temperatures continue to rise, more regions will be affected by malaria. A 2022 study published in Nature found that climate change can exacerbate a full 58 percent of the infectious diseases that humans come in contact with worldwide.

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Wild bonobos show surprising signs of cooperations between groups https://www.popsci.com/environment/bonobos-cooperations/ Thu, 16 Nov 2023 19:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=589990
Two wild bonobos sit in a tree. Researchers examined pro-social behaviors of the smaller species of great ape in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Researchers examined pro-social behaviors of wild bonobos in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Martin Surbeck/Harvard University

Our close primate relatives' recently observed group efforts give us a more optimistic view of human behavior.

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Two wild bonobos sit in a tree. Researchers examined pro-social behaviors of the smaller species of great ape in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Researchers examined pro-social behaviors of wild bonobos in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Martin Surbeck/Harvard University

Cooperation between different groups of humans lies at the root of our social norms, traditions, and culture. Groups of a great ape species called bonobos may also work collaboratively with other cliques, according to a study published November 16 in the journal Science.

[Related: Bonobo ladies get to choose their mates and boy oh boy are they picky.]

Along with chimpanzees, bonobos are some of our closest living relatives. Studying their relationships can help scientists reconstruct what human traits appear to be more innate and how they evolve. However, both species of primate exhibit different levels of cooperation despite living in similar social groups that have multiple adult members of both sexes. 

Chimpanzees appear to have more hostile relationships between different groups. Even lethal aggression is not uncommon. This hostility has led researchers to assume that group conflict is an innate part of human nature. 

Bonobos might be telling a different story about how social structures and communities have evolved over time. 

“The ability to study how cooperation emerges in a species so closely related to humans challenges existing theory, or at least provides insights into the conditions that promote between-group cooperation over conflict,’ study co-author and German Primate Center evolutionary biologist Liran Samuni said in a statement.

The study looked at two groups of 31 wild adult bonobos in the Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo over a period of two years. When the different groups of bonobos met up, they often fed, rested, and traveled together. 

“Tracking and observing multiple groups of bonobos in Kokolopori, we’re struck by the remarkable levels of tolerance between members of different groups,” Samuni said. “This tolerance paves the way for pro-social cooperative behaviors such as forming alliances and sharing food across groups, a stark contrast to what we see in chimpanzees.” 

The authors also did not observe disputes that led to the lethal aggression that has been observed in chimpanzees. The bonobos did not not interact randomly between groups. Cooperation only happened among a select few group members. 

“They preferentially interact with specific members of other groups who are more likely to return the favor, resulting in strong ties between pro-social individuals,” study co-author and Harvard University evolutionary biologist Martin Surbeck said in a statement. “Such connections are also key aspects of the cooperation seen in human societies. Bonobos show us that the ability to maintain peaceful between-group relationships while extending acts of pro-sociality and cooperation to out-group members is not uniquely human.”

[Related: Humans owe our evolutionary success to friendship.]

Cooperation between human groups leads to exchanges of ideas, knowledge, innovation, and resources. The Bonobos in the study also shared food resources across groups without any strong cultural influence. The authors believe that this challenges another existing idea that a shared culture and traits are necessary components for groups to cooperate with one another. 

The study also highlights the importance of collaboration when studying bonobos that live in remote and largely inaccessible parts of the preserve. 

“It is through strong collaborations with and the support of the local Mongandu population in Kokolopori, in whose ancestral forest the bonobos roam, that studies of this fascinating species become possible,” said Subeck, who directs research in the Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve. “Research sites like Kokolopori substantially contribute not only to our understanding of the species’ biology and our evolutionary history, but also play a vital role in the conservation of this endangered species.”

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Surprise! These sea cucumbers glow https://www.popsci.com/environment/sea-cucumbers-bioluminescent/ Wed, 15 Nov 2023 19:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=589816
A bioluminescent sea cucumber called Scotoplanes or the “sea pig.”
A bioluminescent sea cucumber called Scotoplanes or the “sea pig.”. Manabu Bessho-Uehara/Nagoya University

Scientists found that 10 species of these deep-sea dwelling invertebrates are actually bioluminescent.

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A bioluminescent sea cucumber called Scotoplanes or the “sea pig.”
A bioluminescent sea cucumber called Scotoplanes or the “sea pig.”. Manabu Bessho-Uehara/Nagoya University

Like jellyfish, fungi, sea worms, and fireflies, some species of sea cucumbers glow in the dark. A team of researchers from Nagoya University in Japan have found that 10 known deep-sea species are bioluminescent in their natural habitats. The findings are part of a new textbook called The World of Sea Cucumber published on November 10.

[Related: The deepest known ocean virus lives under 29,000 feet of water.]

There are roughly 1,200 species of sea cucumbers. These marine invertebrates are found in every ocean on Earth, but they are best represented in the western Pacific and Indian Ocean. They generally live in shallow waters, but some species live at depths of thousands of feet deep. Most closely related to sea urchins, sea stars (aka starfish), sea lilies, and sand dollars, these bottom-dwellers range from as small as one inch long up to six feet. Some sea cucumbers are also known to shoot out a tangle of sticky, noodle-like goo from their butts when provoked. 

The new textbook takes readers deep underwater and discusses the bioluminescent properties of some of these sea cucumbers. According to NOAA, the light emitted by bioluminescent animals is produced by energy released from interior chemical reactions that are sometimes ejected from the organism. Its function is still a mystery, but it is generally used to ward off or evade predators, find food, or as a form of communication

The authors drew on previous sea cucumber research to highlight the differences between the shallow-dwelling and a bit more drab species and their brilliantly glowing deep-sea relatives. The book also shows the evolution of sea cucumbers from the Jurassic era roughly 180 million years ago up to the present day. 

To uncover the 10 bioluminescent sea cucumber species, the team deployed a remotely operated vehicle about 3,280 feet below the surface of Monterey Bay, California. The vehicle was equipped with a very sensitive and an arm that was robotically controlled from the ship. Unlike the more uniform bioluminescence seen in specimens taken onto ships, the light was shining from the sea cucumber’s head to tail and then back up similar to a wave.  

According to the authors, the previously unknown luminosity in these 10 deep-sea species suggests that sea cucumbers are more diverse than scientists once believed. A member of the order Molpadia is included in this discovery, which was previously believed to be a non-luminescent order of animals. 

While these sea cucumbers dwell in some of Earth’s deepest parts, they are still not immune to the effects of overfishing and particularly the drilling and mining activities that threaten their ecosystem

[Related: This headless chicken is the deep-sea ‘monster’ of our dreams.]

“As deep-sea exploration and development continue, information on their biodiversity and ecology, such as this book, becomes important as it allows us to assess the impact of human activities on deep-sea ecosystems,” textbook co-author and Nagoya University biochemist Manabu Bessho-Uehara said in a statement. “Heavy metal pollution from the mud discarded during drilling operations and motor-derived noise disrupting sound communication are important problems, but the effects on organisms when bioluminescence signals are disturbed, such as when light is obscured by drilling mud, have not been examined. It is necessary to clarify the importance of bioluminescence on the deep-sea floor and find measures that will lead to sustainable development.”

Studying the flora and fauna living in these extreme locations can also provide valuable knowledge of all life on Earth. It can help us discover new viruses that thrive in hydrothermal vents and the factors at play in Earth’s climate and carbon cycle

“I believe that understanding deep-sea ecosystems and interactions among organisms will lead to a better understanding of life on Earth itself,” said Bessho-Uehara.

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Piping plovers are in trouble, but there’s some good news https://www.popsci.com/environment/piping-plovers-are-in-trouble-but-theres-some-good-news/ Wed, 15 Nov 2023 15:30:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=589722
A piping plover walks along L Street Beach in South Boston. The bird is small, with white and grey plummage.
A piping plover walks along L Street Beach in South Boston. Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

In Massachusetts, breeding pairs have increased 500 percent since the mid-1980's, but the threatened, tiny shore birds still have a long way to go.

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A piping plover walks along L Street Beach in South Boston. The bird is small, with white and grey plummage.
A piping plover walks along L Street Beach in South Boston. Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Piping plovers are showing signs of recovery from major population losses in the state of Massachusetts. They’re listed as threatened in Massachusetts, due to habitat loss from increasing human impacts. According to Mass Audubon, they’ve identified roughly 1,145 breeding pairs nesting in the state this year. When the organization first started to monitor and protect the species in 1986, there were less than 200 breeding pairs in the Bay State. That’s a 500 percent increase in three decades.

[Related: Remembering Monty and Rose, the Chicago shorebirds that became the face of a movement.]

“While Piping Plovers remain a federally threatened species, this season’s data shows that these iconic birds are making real progress toward recovery in Massachusetts,” Mass Audubon officials wrote in a statement. “Massachusetts Piping Plover populations have recovered at a faster rate than those of most other states along the Atlantic Seaboard. As a result, approximately 50% of Piping Plovers worldwide now nest in Massachusetts. That makes coastal conservation even more important in our state—we’re responsible for safeguarding a huge portion of this threatened species’ worldwide population.”

Piping plovers are small migratory shorebirds that nest in sand and gravel beaches and mudflats across North America. There are three main populations of the endangered birds. One lives along the shores of the Great Lakes, one in the lakes and rivers of the Northern Great Plains, and another along the Atlantic coast. These roughly six to seven inch tall birds eat marine mollusks, beetles, worms, fly larvae, crustaceans, and other small marine animals. Piping plovers have a tendency to run for a short distance, stop, and then tilt forward to pull an insect or worm up from the sand. Raccoons, skunks, and foxes are their primary natural predators. 

Their main threat is habitat loss. According to the US Fish & Wildlife Service, human development on beaches has reduced the amount of suitable areas for the birds to spend the winter months. Disturbance by humans and domestic animals like cats and dogs can also force migrating and wintering birds to expend unnecessary energy, which can lead breeding plovers to abandon their nests and young.

They have been listed as endangered or threatened since 1985 and piping plovers living in other states are also seeing some success and cautious optimism.  

In Maine, breeding pairs increased for the sixth consecutive year. Maine Audubon saw 157 breeding pairs in 2023, with some new nesting areas. However, the chick survival rate was the lowest since 2007.

[Related: Endangered sea turtles build hundreds of nests on the Outer Banks.]

“When monitoring an endangered species population, it is always good to proceed with caution. Despite an increase in our breeding pairs, the low fledge rate we saw this summer could be a cause for concern,” Maine Audubon wrote in a press release. “Piping Plovers migrate as far south as Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean for the winter, then have to make the trek all the way back up to Maine for the breeding season. A lot of variables are at play that are in nature’s hands during these long migrations.”

In the Midwest, 80 unique breeding pairs were counted across all five Great Lakes with a total of 85 nests. There are eight more pairs than 2022 and and the most since the species was first added to the federal Endangered Species List. Scientists with the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa in High Island, Michigan have been monitoring the island’s plovers as they nest and fledge for two decades. 

“This is the best year that we’ve had for monitoring as far as the total number of adults observed and the number of nests and chicks produced,” Bill Parsons, a scientist in the tribe’s natural resources department, told MLive in August. “We’ve definitely, over that 20 years, seen that the population is slowly, incrementally successful, but we’re nowhere near the target for rehabilitation of the population.”

Some general ways to help protect piping plovers include reporting nest locations to state or federal wildlife officials, keeping dogs on a leash during walks to protect nests, and leaving any driftwood or algae found on beaches for the birds. 

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Elusive egg-laying mammal caught on camera for the first time https://www.popsci.com/environment/egg-laying-mammal-caught-on-camera/ Tue, 14 Nov 2023 14:09:27 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=589531
Attenborough's long-beaked echidna, photographed by a camera trap.
Attenborough's long-beaked echidna, photographed by a camera trap. Expedition Cyclops

Rediscovered after 60 years, the funky critter is named for Sir David Attenborough and is one of only five species of monotreme remaining on Earth.

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Attenborough's long-beaked echidna, photographed by a camera trap.
Attenborough's long-beaked echidna, photographed by a camera trap. Expedition Cyclops

For the first time in over 60 years, a rare egg-laying mammal has been spotted by scientists. Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus attenboroughi) was caught on camera during a major expedition in the Cyclops Mountains in Indonesia’s Papua Province.

[Related: Dams are hurting this enigmatic Australian species.]

A sacred animal

The long-beaked echidna is named for wildlife documentarian and conservationist Sir David Attenborough and has only been recorded by scientists once in 1961. It is considered a monotreme, or an evolutionary distinct group of mammals who can lay eggs. The platypus is also a monotreme and there are only five remaining species of these strange types of mammal on Earth. 

They live in burrows and mainly eat insects, earthworms, and termites. They are listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and are only known to live in the Cyclops Mountains.

“Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna has the spines of a hedgehog, the snout of an anteater, and the feet of a mole. Because of its hybrid appearance, it shares its name with a creature of Greek mythology that is half human, half serpent,” University of Oxford biologist James Kempton said in a statement. “The reason it appears so unlike other mammals is because it is a member of the monotremes–an egg-laying group that separated from the rest of the mammal tree-of-life about 200 million years ago.”

The echidna also has cultural significance for the people in the village of Yongsu Sapari. They have lived on the northern slopes of the Cyclops Mountains for eighteen generations. Rather than fighting during conflicts, the tradition is for one party to go up into the Cyclops to find echidna while the other party goes to the ocean to search for a marlin. Both of these creatures were difficult to find and it would take decades to even whole generations to locate them. However, once they were found, the marlin and echidna would symbolize the end of the conflict.

Finding echidnas, whip scorpions, and forest shrimp

During an expedition that began in 2019, a group of scientists from institutions in multiple countries set up over 80 trail cameras. They did not see any signs of the echidna for four weeks of trekking through a “beautiful but dangerous land.” A sudden earthquake forced the team to evacuate, one team member broke his arm in two places, another contracted malaria, and another had a leech attached to his eye for a day and a half.

[Related: Meet the first electric blue tarantula known to science.]

On the last day of the expedition, they finally spotted Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna. The identification of the species was later confirmed by mammalogist Kristofer Helgen from the Australian Museum Research Institute.

In addition to this elusive egg-laying mammal, this expedition marked the first comprehensive assessment of mammal, reptile, amphibian, and invertebrate life in the Cyclops Mountains. They combined Western scientific techniques with the extensive local knowledge of Papuan team members. Among the new discoveries are several insect species that are completely new to science and an entirely new genus of ground and tree-dwelling shrimp.

“We were quite shocked to discover this shrimp in the heart of the forest, because it is a remarkable departure from the typical seaside habitat for these animals,” entomologist  Leonidas-Romanos Davranoglou from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History said in a statement. “We believe that the high level of rainfall in the Cyclops Mountains means the humidity is great enough for these creatures to live entirely on land.”

Some other funky underground species including blind spiders, blind harvestman, and a whip scorpion were also found living in a previously unexplored cave system. The team hope that its rediscovery of Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna and all of these new species will help bring attention to the conservation needs of the Cyclops Mountains and Indonesian New Guinea.

CORRECTION November 19, 2023 3:55 PM EST: An earlier version of the article summary said the animal was named after Richard Attenborough. Zaglossus attenboroughi is named for Sir David Attenborough. We regret the error.

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These newfound beetles have male genitals shaped like a bottle opener https://www.popsci.com/environment/new-beetle-weird-genetalia/ Mon, 13 Nov 2023 14:30:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=589420
A lateral view of Loncovilius carlsbergi. It is a six-limbed beetle less than an inch long, with two antennae protruding from its head.
Loncovilius carlsbergi is among six newly-named species found at the Natural History Museum of Denmark.

Loncovilius carlsbergi is found living on flowers in South America and not on the floor of a bar.

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A lateral view of Loncovilius carlsbergi. It is a six-limbed beetle less than an inch long, with two antennae protruding from its head.
Loncovilius carlsbergi is among six newly-named species found at the Natural History Museum of Denmark.

Researchers in Denmark have discovered six new species of beetle, including one with some eye-opening genitalia. Loncovilius carlsbergi has a penis shaped like a bottle opener. The top looks like the protruding longer part of a bottle opener that latches onto the bottle cap, and the bottom resembles the pincer that holds the bottle in place. The specimen is described in a study published October 28 in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.

[Related: Acrobatic beetle bots could inspire the latest ‘leap’ in agriculture.]

While the team from the Natural History Museum of Denmark still not sure why Loncovilius carlsbergi evolved this uniquely shaped penis, studying them can reveal the role that the genitals play in the bugs’ daily lives. 

Drawing of the male genitalia of Loncovilius carlsbergi, which in lateral view looks like a bottle opener.
Drawing of the male genitalia of Loncovilius carlsbergi, which in lateral view looks like a bottle opener. CREDIT: José L Reyes-Hernández et al.

“Genitalia are the organs in insects that evolve to be different in every species. As such, they are often the best way to identify a species,” study co-author and biologist Aslak Kappel Hansen said in a statement. “That’s why entomologists like us are always quick to examine insect genitalia when describing a species. The unique shape of each species’ genitals ensures that it can only reproduce with the same species.”

Aslak and his colleagues found and named six new species in the rove beetle genus Loncovilius that had been hidden within the insect collections at the museum. Loncovilius carlsbergi was named for the Carlsberg Foundation, which has funded research at the museum for years. Carlsberg is a popular 176-year-old Danish beer company.

Loncovilius beetles are only found in Chile and Argentina and entomologists don’t know too much about them. They are less than an inch long and all of their legs have sticky bristles on them, while other predatory rove beetles only have sticky front legs. 

Where Loncovilius beetles live make them special among this family of beetles. Most predatory rove beetles live on the ground, among dead leaves, fungi, and bark. Loncovilius beetles live on flowers. The authors believe that their sticky legs helped them adapt the ability to climb flowers and vegetation.

“We suspect that they play an important role in the ecosystem. So, it’s worrying that nearly nothing is known about this type of beetles, especially when they’re so easy to spot–and some of them are even quite beautiful,” study co-author and systematic entomologist Josh Jenkins Shaw said in a statement. “Unfortunately, we can easily lose species like these before they’re ever discovered.”

The forces of climate change, pollution, and habitat loss is exacerbating the Earth’s biodiversity crisis. These combined forces have threatened over one million plant and animal species with extinction, a rate of loss that is 1,000 times greater than previously expected. The team believes that this crisis will likely affect these newly discovered beetles as well.

[Related: A pocketful of bacteria helps these beetles through their most dramatic life changes.]

Loncovilius populations are likely to change in coming decades. Our simulations demonstrate that at least three of the Loncovilius species are at risk because the rapidly changing climate strongly alters more than half of their habitat area by 2060,” study co-author and PhD student José L. Reyes-Hernández said in a statement. “It is important to stress that many more species will be affected by this change, but we don’t know how because only for four species we had enough data for our analysis.” 

The planet’s species are also going extinct faster than scientists can fully name and describe them. Some estimates place the number of species lost from the Earth every day at upwards of 150. According to Jenkins Shaw, as many as 85 percent of all species on the planet are still not formally named or described. 

“A taxonomic name is important because nature conservation relies on knowledge about species in particular areas. Without such a description, species are often left out of conservation efforts,” said Jenkins Shaw.

The authors hope that Loncovilius carlsbergi’s attention-grabbing genitals could spark broader interest in insects. They are also working on producing an actual bottle opener shaped like this beetle’s penis into production. 

“It’s important that we recognize the vast wealth of yet to be researched species around us before it’s too late. We would like for people around the world to talk about the crisis facing our planet’s species. A move towards serious learning and awareness may be sparkled by a light chat that takes place over a beer,” said Kappel Hansen.

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It’s time to start counting spiders https://www.popsci.com/environment/its-time-to-start-counting-spiders/ Mon, 13 Nov 2023 02:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=588630
Spiders are among the least popular animals on Earth, despite being generally harmless and often very beneficial (and sometimes even cute).
Spiders are among the least popular animals on Earth, despite being generally harmless and often very beneficial (and sometimes even cute). DepositPhotos

Arachnophobia is pretty bad, but disappearing spiders are much scarier.

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Spiders are among the least popular animals on Earth, despite being generally harmless and often very beneficial (and sometimes even cute).
Spiders are among the least popular animals on Earth, despite being generally harmless and often very beneficial (and sometimes even cute). DepositPhotos

This article was originally featured on Knowable Magazine.

I’m obsessed with jumping spiders. But it wasn’t always so.

While never a spider hater or arachnophobe, I was pretty ambivalent about them for most of my life. Then I learned about jumping spiders: I’ve reported on their impressive vision (as good as a cat’s in some ways!), their surprising smarts (they make plans!) and the discovery that they have REM sleep (and may even dream!). I was hooked.

I also learned that jumping spiders may be in decline. In tropical forests, it used to be easy to find them in a matter of minutes, says behavioral biologist Ximena Nelson, who studies jumping spiders at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. But for some species, that’s changed over the last couple decades. “Now, I mean, you just can’t find them at all in some cases.”

In fact, all over the world, all sorts of spiders seem to be disappearing, says conservation biologist Pedro Cardoso of the University of Lisbon. He and a colleague polled a hundred spider experts and enthusiasts globally about the threats facing the animals. “It’s more or less unanimous that something is happening,” he says.

But there are no hard data to prove this. Why not? There are likely a number of reasons, but one possible contributor keeps coming up in my conversations with arachnologists: People really do not like spiders. Even among the least popular animals on Earth, they are especially reviled. One recent study found that people think spiders are the absolute worst combination of scary and disgusting, beating out vipers, wasps, maggots and cockroaches.

It’s obvious why this is a problem for the house spider who ends up on the receiving end of a rolled-up newspaper. But if our distaste means scientists have a hard time finding the funds to study them, as some suspect is true, it’s also a problem for spiders writ large. For most potentially endangered spiders, there aren’t enough data to consider them for protection. We can’t help spiders if we don’t know which species are in trouble, or where and why they’re disappearing. And if you don’t care about the loss of spiders for their own sake, consider that crashing spider populations are bad news for a whole host of animals—including us.

The case for why people should care about spiders is robust. First, the vast majority of spiders do not bite or harm people, despite rampant misinformation in the media that would have you believe most spiders are out to get you. In reality, a vanishingly small number of spiders are dangerous to humans. Instead, they prey on insects—including mosquitoes, cockroaches and aphids—that actually do cause harm to people in their homes, gardens and fields. Spiders are excellent natural pest controls, but they are often killed by pesticides aimed at those same insect pests. These toxic chemicals also harm people.

Spiders are important food sources for birds, fish, lizards and small mammals. And there are untapped benefits we humans could enjoy someday—if spiders don’t disappear first—such as potential pharmaceutical and pest control applications derived from compounds in their venom, and medical and engineering applications based on their incredibly strong silk.

None of this is likely to overcome the visceral aversion so many people feel. The fear and disgust is so strong and specific that some scientists have suggested spiders represent a unique cognitive category in our minds. Ask people to name a phobia, and I’ll bet arachnophobia is the first one they think of.

But there may be a way to address the animus and the data gap at the same time: We should all start counting spiders.

Changing minds

People are definitely willing to count things for science. More than half a million people participated in the annual Great Backyard Bird Count in 2023, identifying over 7,500 species over the course of four days in February. Of course, people really like birds.

But citizen, or community, science has also proven successful for small-scale projects with insects and other invertebrates, says Helen Roy, an ecologist at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Wallingford, and coauthor of an assessment of the potential for citizen science in the 2022 Annual Review of Entomology. It offers people the chance to be a part of science, even to become local experts. “There are still discoveries to be made on people’s doorsteps,” Roy says. “And I think that’s tremendously exciting.”

Roy recently worked with a graduate student who received nearly 3,000 applications to participate in a citizen science project on the biodiversity of slugs. Yep, slugs. The 60 lucky people who made the cut went out into their gardens at night for 30 minutes, every four weeks for a year, to collect and attempt to identify every slug and snail they could find, and then send them alive to the scientists. Not only did the slug counters enjoy the task, it corrected some of the assumptions they had about the slimy little animals. “They’re not all pests,” Roy says. “Citizen science is a really wonderful opportunity to be able to challenge people’s thinking.”

Could this work for spiders? The UK’s Natural History Museum in London has already shown that it can on a national scale, with its Fat Spider Fortnight project on iNaturalist, a popular online platform for crowdsourcing identifications of plants, animals and more. In 2021, hundreds of people in the UK contributed more than 1,250 observations of 11 relatively large spider species the project had targeted, including the green meshweaver and the flower crab spider. The entries will be added to the British Arachnological Society’s Spider Recording Scheme, which has been collecting observations since 1987.

The Fat Spider Fortnight, a citizen science project in the United Kingdom, asked participants to report sightings of 11 relatively large spider species, including the green meshweaver (Nigma walckenaeri), pictured here. This species has been considered scarce in Britain, but now appears to be expanding its range.
The Fat Spider Fortnight, a citizen science project in the United Kingdom, asked participants to report sightings of 11 relatively large spider species, including the green meshweaver (Nigma walckenaeri), pictured here. This species has been considered scarce in Britain, but now appears to be expanding its range. CREDIT: ALEXIS / iNATURALIST UK

And there is reason to believe that learning about spiders can change how people feel about them, even in extreme cases. Australian author Lynne Kelly was so afraid of spiders that just going for a hike or being in her garden had become difficult. But she managed to conquer her arachnophobia, and today she welcomes spiders into her garden and even her house. Learning made the difference, says Kelly, who’s written a book about her transformation. Being able to identify species and understand their habits made their behavior seem less erratic. She began seeing house spiders as harmless roommates and, eventually, friends. “One of the secrets was, I give them names,” she says. “Giving them names made them individuals. So it wasn’t, ‘Ack! Spider!’ It was, ‘There’s Fred.’”

Regular spider despisers may also have a change of heart after getting to know their eight-legged neighbors. This is what happened to Randy Supczak, an engineer in San Diego, after he came across a spider in his driveway in 2019.

“It kind of freaked me out a little bit,” Supczak says. So he went online, found a Facebook group dedicated to identifying spiders, and uploaded a photo: It was a noble false widow. He read that the species is nocturnal. “So I went outside that night with a flashlight, and I was shocked with what I saw,” he says. “Just everywhere, spiders.”

Something about discovering this hidden world of spiders grabbed Supczak’s curiosity. “Immediately, I was obsessed with learning about them.” Since then, he’s become a spider evangelist and started his own Facebook group where he helps San Diegans identify and learn about local spiders. He’s found that a little bit of knowledge can turn someone from a squisher to a relocator. “I consider that a big accomplishment,” he says. “I’ll take that.”

Determining the precise species of spider often requires expertise and a microscope, but identifying the family and sometimes genus that a spider belongs to is something almost anyone with a smartphone camera can do.
Determining the precise species of spider often requires expertise and a microscope, but identifying the family and sometimes genus that a spider belongs to is something almost anyone with a smartphone camera can do.

Ecologist and self-proclaimed spider ambassador Bria Marty tested whether learning about spiders can change how people feel about them for her master’s thesis project at Texas State University in San Marcos. She recruited college students to find and identify spiders using an illustrated guide and then upload photos to iNaturalist. Marty, currently a PhD student at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, surveyed participants before and after the activity, and one thing jumped out: Afterwards, people reported being far less likely to react negatively to a spider. “Doing an activity like this really does help a lot around fear,” she says.

This kind of change has been known to happen to iNaturalist users, says Tony Iwane, the platform’s outreach and support coordinator and a self-described spider lover. He pointed me to a thread on the site’s discussion forum about how contributing to iNaturalist helped people overcome their fear of spiders, with users sharing the “gateway spider” species that changed how they felt. For @mira_l_b, it was the particularly tiny Salticid (jumping spider) species Talavera minuta. “If I am finding myself confronting life-long fears and cooing sweetly to tiny Salticidae,” she wrote, “then there’s hope for us all!”

When I finally figured out how to find jumping spiders in my neighborhood, it only endeared them more to me. Sometimes they jump away before I can get a good enough look to ID them or take a photo with my phone. But other times, they stop, turn around and look right at me. Something about locking eyes with a half-centimeter-long animal so different from us is amazing to me. It also makes for some pretty cute photos.

Spiders count

If even a fraction of the number of people counting birds were willing to do the same for spiders, would that generate data that could make a meaningful difference? Dimitar Dimitrov, an arachnologist who studies the evolution of spider diversity at the University Museum of Bergen in Norway, thinks it could.

During an interview in 2021 for a story on spider cognition, Dimitrov lamented the lack of scientific attention and funding that spiders receive relative to other animals like birds: “I think there are more ornithologists than species of birds.” I asked if citizen science could help fill the gap. “Definitely, I think this is the way to go,” he said.

We know so little, and biodiversity is declining so fast, he told me, even the level of funding national governments can muster for traditional science couldn’t handle the scale and urgency of the challenge. But involving the public has the potential to make a big impact in a short time, Dimitrov said. “All these people in their free time doing something like this as a hobby, a few hours here and there, can actually contribute a huge amount of information that is probably able to change, qualitatively, what we know about nature and biological diversity.”

Of course, identifying spiders is not the same as identifying birds. Most spiders are nocturnal, and their lives can be ephemeral and seasonal, perhaps necessitating more than one count per year. And in many cases, the species can’t be identified without looking at the reproductive parts under a microscope. Don’t worry, nobody is asking you to do this: A decent photo can often yield a genus-level ID, and sometimes even the species, with the help of arachnologists and amateur spider enthusiasts like Supczak. Even just determining which family a spider is in, whether it’s an orb weaver or a trapdoor spider for example, can be useful scientific data, Dimitrov says.

The University of Lisbon’s Cardoso was enthusiastic when I asked him about the potential for a worldwide citizen science project aimed at collecting spider data. “I think it will be really, really cool,” he says. “We’ll just need to have that critical mass in different countries to start this.”

Maybe you’ll be part of that critical mass if a global spider count comes to be. In the meantime, look around your house or garden, find some spiders, upload the photos, and discover who they are.

I know spiders won’t appeal to everyone the same way birds do. They don’t have beautiful feathers, and they don’t sing beautiful songs. But they also won’t fly away while you try to take a photo, especially if they are hanging out in a web.

And if you find a jumping spider, she just might turn around and look right at the camera, ready for her close-up.

This article originally appeared in Knowable Magazine, an independent journalistic endeavor from Annual Reviews. Sign up for the newsletter.

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Hummingbirds have two creative strategies for flying through tight spaces https://www.popsci.com/environment/how-hummingbirds-fly-through-tight-spaces/ Fri, 10 Nov 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=588344
An Anna’s hummingbird with bright pink plumage flies near some leafy green trees.
Anna’s hummingbirds (Calypte anna) are the most common hummingbirds on the West Coast of the United States and have a wingspan that’s only 4.7 inches wide. Deposit Photos

The sideways vs. the bullet.

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An Anna’s hummingbird with bright pink plumage flies near some leafy green trees.
Anna’s hummingbirds (Calypte anna) are the most common hummingbirds on the West Coast of the United States and have a wingspan that’s only 4.7 inches wide. Deposit Photos

Hummingbirds are some of the world’s fastest birds and must frequently squeeze through tiny spaces in plants to get to the nectar that they need to keep up their energy. However, over time, they have lost their ability to fold their wings close to their bodies at the wrist and elbow like other birds. How hummingbirds squeeze into such tight spaces has remained a mystery to ornithologists until now. A study published November 9 in the Journal of Experimental Biology found that they deploy two very specific strategies: the sideways and the bullet.

[Related: This hybrid hummingbird’s colorful feathers are a genetic puzzle.]

Into the flight arena

The study focused on Anna’s hummingbirds (Calypte anna). These are among the most common hummingbirds living along the West Coast of the United States. They are about the size of a ping-pong ball and have iridescent emerald feathers and sparkling pink throat plumage. 

A team from the University of California, Berkeley designed a two-sided flight arena for the experiment. They used alternating rewards to train the hummingbird to fly through a 2.48 square inch gap in the partition that separated the two sides of the arena. To do so, they only refilled a feeder shaped like a flower with a sip of sugar water if the bird returned to the feeder that was on the other side through one of the gaps. This encouraged the birds with an only 4.7 inch-wide wingspan to flit around the arena. 

The team then replaced the gap between the two sides of the flight arena with a series of smaller oval and circular openings that ranged from 4.7 inches to only 2.3 inches in height, width, and diameter. The birds’ movements were recorded using high-speed cameras, to get a sense of how they negotiated the various openings. 

Next, the team wrote a computer program to methodically track the position of each bird’s bill as it approached and passed through each hole. The program also pinpointed where the hummingbird’s wing tips were, to calculate their wing positions as they transited through.

[Related: These female hummingbirds don flashy male feathers to avoid unwanted harassment.]

The experiment revealed that the hummingbirds used two unique strategies to negotiate the gaps. 

The sideways

CREDIT: Marc Badger

In the first strategy, the hummingbirds approached the circular opening and usually hovered in front of it to assess its size. They then traveled through it sideways, reaching forward with one wing and sweeping the second wing back, similar to the shape of a cross. Their wings were still fluttering to fly through the door and then swiveled forward to continue on their way. 

The bullet

CREDIT: Marc Badger

For the second strategy, the birds swept their wings backwards, pinning them to their bodies. They then quickly shot through the opening beak first like a bullet, before sweeping their wings forward. They resumed flapping their wings once they were safely through the circle. All of the hummingbirds in the study generally deployed this technique as they grew bolder and more familiar with the arena.

Changing tactics

The team observed that the hummingbirds who used the first strategy of sideways traveling tended to fly more cautiously than those that shot through the circles beak first. As the birds became more familiar with the openings after multiple approaches, they appeared to become more confident. They started to approach them quicker and dropped the more sideways way of getting through in favor of shooting through beak first. 

For the smallest opening–only half a wingspan wide–every bird zipped through facing forward with their wings back. Even the more cautious birds did this on their first attempt to avoid collisions. 

According to the team, about eight percent of the birds in the experiment clipped their wings as they passed through the partition and only one experienced a major collision. The bird who did experience the collision was able to successfully reattempting the move and continue flying.  

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Century-old buffalofish are still living in their prime https://www.popsci.com/environment/buffalofish-live-past-100/ Fri, 10 Nov 2023 11:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=588724
Smallmouth buffalofish caught at Apache Lake, Arizone
A smallmouth buffalofish that was caught and aged in Lake Apache in Arizona. Alec Lackmann

These little-known North American fish 'defy expectations.'

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Smallmouth buffalofish caught at Apache Lake, Arizone
A smallmouth buffalofish that was caught and aged in Lake Apache in Arizona. Alec Lackmann

From Saskatchewan to Mexico, buffalofish have been swimming under scientists’ radar. They’re a group of non-game fish, relatively difficult to catch, and not considered economically important to the regions they live in. Compared to other freshwater fish, very little is known about different species of buffalofish and their behaviors.

It was once thought that buffalofish only lived up to 26 years in the wild. Then in 2019, a centenarian buffalofish was identified in Minnesota. Now in a new study, scientists caught and analyzed specimens from Apache Lake, Arizona, and confirmed that three of the buffalofish species there can live to be more than 100 years old—and possibly many years more, based on their health. That makes them only the second animal genus, after the marine rockfish Sebastes, known to have three or more species that can live past a century. The discovery could change how we manage buffalofish populations across North America, and lead to more experimental anti-aging research in the future. The findings were published in October in the journal Nature’s Scientific Reports.

[Related: World’s oldest living aquarium fish could be 100 years young]

To pinpoint the ages of these fish, researchers focused on otoliths, the stone-like structures found in the ears of 97 percent of fish species. “What’s really interesting about otoliths, and what makes them so valuable for age analysis, is that they put down rings as they go through slow growth periods,” says Alec Lackmann, an ichthyologist at the University of Minnesota Duluth and lead author of the new study. He and his team examined thinly sliced sections of the otoliths to estimate ages. They then cross checked their findings with radiocarbon dating, revealing signs that corresponded to historical events and environmental changes in the area. For example, samples from fish that lived through the 1950s and ’60s contained unique radiocarbon signatures from when the US was testing nuclear bombs in the West.

The smallmouth buffalofish the researchers found in the lake ranged from 11 to 101 years old; the black buffalofish were 106 to 108 years old; and the bigmouth buffalofish were 85 to 105 years old. What makes the fishes’ longevity even more remarkable is that they aren’t native to Arizona waters, Lackmann says—the three species were introduced to the state in 1918, likely from Iowa. So, based on the results of the study, it’s likely that some of Arizona’s first buffalofish are still in Lake Apache today.

Bigmouth buffalofish caught in Lake Apache, Arizona
A bigmouth buffalo from Apache Lake with a unique spotting pattern. Alec Lackmann

“I found the new study very exciting and novel in that it was the first to look at multiple species of buffalofish,” says Jeff Sereda, a manager of ecological and habitat assessment at the Water Security Agency in Saskatchewan, Canada. Sereda has studied buffalofish and has previously collaborated with Lackmann, but was not involved in the latest research. “We don’t know what the fishes’ actual upper limit for age is,” he says, and that has “completely turned up our understanding of these species on its head.” 

Before, biologists thought buffalofish populations were relatively stable wherever they existed. But the fact that most of the tested fish were excessively old indicates that they might be more at risk of decline than we thought, Sereda explains. If they’re living for so long, but numbers are stable, it’s a sign they’re barely reproducing. Think of it like the declining birth rate among people in Japan, which is causing the average age of the population to rise and the overall size of the population to shrink each year.

Another aspect of buffalofish that isn’t well understood is their reproductive behavior. Researchers in Saskatchewan haven’t found evidence of new young buffalofish in about 40 years, Sereda says. The fish spawn sometimes but don’t survive to the juvenile stage. Buffalofish remain fertile through old age, even after decades of not spawning any young, Sereda adds. We just need more research to tell whether this is how they survive—living long lives and successfully rearing very few young—or if there’s something amiss. 

[Related: A rare fish with ‘hands’ is spotted in a surprising place]

Getting a clearer picture of how buffalofish in different waters live and reproduce can give us a more accurate idea of how they’re faring. They’re classified as “special concern” in Canada, in part because of the lack of data. While a few species have special conservation statuses in the US—bigmouth buffalofish are listed as endangered by Pennsylvania—researchers don’t have a good grasp on the population sizes or trends in most places where buffalofish are found. Without that information, it’s hard to know what the creatures’ exact needs are.

“There’s such mystery surrounding buffalofish,” Lackmann says. In the future, he would like to study the otoliths of other buffalofish of the same genus, including one species in Mexico. Getting a better grasp of how their genes contribute to their impressive lifespans could also provide insight into how vertebrates postpone aging, he adds. “It’s incredibly fascinating.”

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The mystery of why some dinosaurs got so enormous https://www.popsci.com/science/why-were-dinosaurs-so-big/ Thu, 09 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=587024
Illustration in green, yellow, orange, and purple of big sauropod dinosaurs lifting weights in front of a prehistoric landscape
Dinosaurs didn't have to do deadlifts to gain mass. María Jesús Contreras for Popular Science

Sauropods and theropods dwarfed all other land animals. But what was the benefit of being supersized?

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Illustration in green, yellow, orange, and purple of big sauropod dinosaurs lifting weights in front of a prehistoric landscape
Dinosaurs didn't have to do deadlifts to gain mass. María Jesús Contreras for Popular Science

Dinosaur Mysteries digs into the secretive side of the “terrible lizards” and all the questions that keep paleontologists up at night.

YOU NEVER KNOW how small you are until you’re next to a big ol’ dinosaur. Find the right lighting in the museum hall and you can literally stand in the shadow of the skeletons of Apatosaurus, Patagotitan, Brachiosaurus, and other reptiles that grew far larger than any other terrestrial creature in the past 66 million years. But even after nearly two centuries of research, we have only the haziest notions of why some dinosaurs were larger than any terrestrial mammal to date.

While a number of dinosaurs fell in the supersized categoryTyrannosaurus rex weighed more than a mature male African elephant—the sauropods were the all-time titleholders. They had small heads with simple teeth, impressively long necks, hefty bodies, and tapering tails. So many sauropod species reached more than 100 feet in length, paleontologists still aren’t sure which one stretched the farthest. While the largest land mammals, like the hornless rhino Paraceratherium and the biggest fossil elephants, got to be about 18 tons, sauropods evolved to have more mass at least 36 times during their evolutionary history—an ongoing reprisal of gargantuan herbivores through the Jurassic and Cretaceous.

The stunning heft of these creatures has often led us to wonder why they got to be so much bigger than any terrestrial creature before or since. But in the realm of paleontology, “why” questions are extremely difficult to answer. Queries starting with “why” are matters of history, and in this case, the history plays out dozens of times on multiple continents over the course of more than 130 million years. Though we see the end effect, we can’t quite make out the causes.

Dinosaurs have a habit of digging their claws into our imaginations, however, so researchers have kept on, turning up a few clues in the past two decades about the surfeit of superlative sauropods. While higher oxygen levels have been linked to bigger body sizes in a few ancient insects, the atmosphere in the heyday of the dinosaurs was about the same as today’s. What’s more, the Earth’s gravitational force was just as strong in the Mesozoic era as in the modern era. So we know that the impressive size of Argentinosaurus and other top sauropods was not a matter of an abiotic factor like increased oxygen in the atmosphere or lower gravity. Our explanation lies elsewhere.

These facts only show us what allowed sauropods to become big. The dinosaurs didn’t have to drift in that direction.

Paleontologists are getting closer to the truth by looking at the dinosaurs themselves. For example, experts have identified a suite of characteristics that set sauropods apart from the mastodons and giant rhinos of the Cenozoic. Eggs have a great deal to do with it.

The largest mammals of all time were placentals, gestating their offspring on the inside so they could come out more developed. This reproductive strategy comes with some constraints. To reach even larger adult sizes, females of each species would need to carry their babies in the womb for longer. African elephants, for example, already gestate for about two years—during which much can go wrong. But sauropods, like all nonavian dinosaurs, laid multiple eggs at a time, bypassing the reproductive constraints of live birth and flooding their ecosystems with tons of babies that had the potential to grow huge (even if most ended up as snacks for the carnivores of the time). The different reproductive strategies gave dinosaurs some advantages over mammals.

Camarasaurus and other sauropods also got some assistance from their anatomical peculiarities. Sauropods had complex air-sac systems in their respiratory tracts that created air pockets within and around their bones. These nifty features kept their skeletons light without sacrificing strength, and also made extracting oxygen from the air and shedding excess body heat more efficient. The distinctive dinosaurs could grow long necks too, because they didn’t have heavy heads full of massive, grinding teeth like large herbivorous mammals over the past 66 million years. Instead, sauropods had small, light noggins full of spoon- or pencil-shaped teeth that were mostly just capable of cropping vegetation to be broken down and fermented through their gastrointestinal tracts. In other words, their guts did the work, not their teeth. Studies of ginkgoes, horsetails, and other common Mesozoic plants indicate that the ancient vegetation was more calorie-rich than previously supposed, so the abundance of green food likely fueled the reptilian giants’ unprecedented growth.

But these facts only show us what allowed sauropods to become big. The dinosaurs didn’t have to drift in that direction. In fact, some were relatively small: The island-dwelling species Magyarosaurus was about the size of a large cow. Sauropods could have thrived at smaller sizes, but they instead kept spinning off lineages of giants. We know something about what made living large possible, but what we still don’t know is what evolutionary pressures drove sauropods to evolve enormous bodies.

Predators certainly played their part. All sauropods were born small—even the largest species hatched from eggs about the size of a soccer ball. They were vulnerable to various Jurassic and Cretaceous carnivores, but growing up quickly was one way to stave off those hungry jaws. Hunting megafauna can be dangerous and even deadly, as we see with lions, wolves, and even humans today, and so sauropods may have plumped up to be less appealing to the likes of Allosaurus and T. rex.

But if carnivorous appetites were the main driver of sauropod size, we’d see a more uniform and extended “arms race” between the dinosaurs over time, resulting in gradually larger predators and prey. The fossil record instead shows that sauropods scaled up in different times and places, likely for an array of reasons ranging from local grub to what mating sauropods found sexy in each other. The repeated evolution of gigantic dinosaurs hints that there were many pathways to the sauropods’ impressive stature, not just one. Biology was as complicated back then as it is now, and we’ll never get the full story without experiencing 100-foot-long reptiles ourselves.

Read more PopSci+ stories.

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Megalodon’s warm-blooded relatives are still circling the oceans today https://www.popsci.com/environment/megalodons-warm-blooded-shark/ Wed, 08 Nov 2023 21:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=587979
A side view of a great white shark. Regional endothermy in fish has been seen in apex predators like the great white sharks or giant tuna.
Regional endothermy in fish has been seen in apex predators like the great white sharks or giant tuna. Deposit Photos

Regional endothermy could help the smalltooth sand tiger shark generate power to hunt.

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A side view of a great white shark. Regional endothermy in fish has been seen in apex predators like the great white sharks or giant tuna.
Regional endothermy in fish has been seen in apex predators like the great white sharks or giant tuna. Deposit Photos

While the majority of fish are cold-blooded and rely on the temperature outside of their bodies to regulate their internal temperatures, less than one percent of sharks are actually warm-blooded. The extinct but mighty megalodon and the living great white shark generate heat with their muscles the way many mammals do. However, they are not the only sharks with this warm quirk. A study published November 7 in the journal Biology Letters found that there are more warm blooded sharks than scientists initially believed. 

[Related: Megalodons were likely warm-blooded, despite being stone-cold killers.]

Warmer muscles might help these giant carnivores be more powerful and athletic, by using that heat to generate more energy. Regional endothermy in fish has been seen in apex predators like the great white or giant tuna, but there has been debate on when this warm bloodedness evolved in sharks and if the megalodon was warm blooded. A previous study from June 2023 found that the megalodon was warm blooded and that the amount of energy it used to stay warm may have contributed to its extinction about 3.6 million years ago.

The new study looked at the results of autopsies from some unexpected shark strandings in Ireland and southern England earlier in 2023. The sharks belonged to a rarely seen species called the smalltooth sand tiger shark. These sharks are found around the world in temperate and tropical seas and in deep waters (32 to 1,700 feet deep). They have a short and pointed snout, small eyes, protruding teeth, and small dorsal and anal fins and can reach about 15 feet long. Smalltooth sand tiger sharks are considered a “vulnerable” species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. While they are not targeted by commercial fisheries, the sharks may be mistakenly caught in nets and may face threats from pollution. 

Smalltooth sand tiger sharks are believed to have diverged from the megalodon at least 20 million years ago. The autopsies from this year’s stranded sharks unexpectedly served as a timeline that took marine biologists from institutions in Ireland, South Africa, and the United States back millions of years. 

The team found that these rare sharks have physical features that suggest they also have regional endothermy like the megalodon, great white, and some filter-feeding basking sharks. This new addition means that there are likely more warm-blooded sharks than scientists thought and that warm bloodedness evolved quite a long time ago.

“We think this is an important finding, because if sand tiger sharks have regional endothermy then it’s likely there are several other sharks out there that are also warm-bodied,” study co-author and marine biologist Nicholas Payne said in a statement. “We used to think regional endothermy was confined to apex predators like the great white and extinct megalodon, but now we have evidence that deep water ‘bottom dwelling’ sand tigers, and plankton-eating basking sharks also are warm bodied. This raises plenty of new questions as to why regional endothermy evolved, but it might also have important conservation implications.” Payne is affiliated with Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. 

[Related: Were dinosaurs warm-blooded or cold-blooded? Maybe both.]

Scientists believe that the megalodon’s warmer body allowed it to move faster, tolerate colder water, and spread all over the world’ oceans. However, this evolutionary advantage could have contributed to its downfall. The megalodon lived during the Pliocene Epoch (5.33 million years to 2.58 million years ago) when the world cooled and sea levels changed. These ecosystem changes and competition with newcomers in the marine environment like great whites may have led to its extinction. 

Understanding how extinct sharks met their end could help scientists gauge how today’s warm-blooded sharks could fare due to warmer ocean temperatures from human-caused climate change. It has potential conservation implications and could explain some shifting patterns of where sharks are foraging. 

“We believe changing environments in the deep past was a major contributor to the megalodon’s extinction, as we think it could no longer meet the energetic demands of being a large regional endotherm,” study co-author and Trinity College marine biologist Haley Dolton said in a statement. “We know the seas are warming at alarming rates again now and the smalltooth tiger that washed up in Ireland was the first one seen in these waters. That implies its range has shifted, potentially due to warming waters, so a few alarm bells are ringing.”   

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What head lice can tell us about human migration https://www.popsci.com/environment/head-lice-human-migration/ Wed, 08 Nov 2023 19:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=587873
A louse on human hair under a microscope. Humans and lice have coevolved for thousands of years. The oldest human louse known to scientists is a 10,000 year-old specimen from Brazil.
Humans and lice have coevolved for thousands of years. The oldest human louse known to scientists is a 10,000 year-old specimen from Brazil. Getty Images

‘Lice are like living fossils we carry around on our own heads.’

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A louse on human hair under a microscope. Humans and lice have coevolved for thousands of years. The oldest human louse known to scientists is a 10,000 year-old specimen from Brazil.
Humans and lice have coevolved for thousands of years. The oldest human louse known to scientists is a 10,000 year-old specimen from Brazil. Getty Images

Reviled the world over for making our scalps itch and rapidly spreading in schools, lice have hitched their destiny to our hair follicles. They are the oldest known parasites that feed on the blood of humans, so learning more about lice can tell us quite a bit about our own species and migratory patterns. 

[Related: Ancient ivory comb shows that self-care is as old as time.]

A study published November 8 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE found that lice likely came into North America in two waves of migration. First when some humans potentially crossed a land bridge that connected Asia with present day Alaska roughly 16,000 years ago during the end of the last ice age and then again during European colonization. 

“In some ways, lice are like living fossils we carry around on our own heads,” study co-author Marina Ascunce, an evolutionary biologist with the United States Department of Agriculture, tells PopSci.  

Lice are wingless parasites that live their entire lives on their host and there are three known species that infest humans. Humans and lice have coevolved for thousands of years. The oldest louse specimen known to scientists is 10,000 years old and was found in Brazil in 2000. Since lice and humans have a very intertwined relationship, studying lice can offer clues into human migratory patterns.

“They went on this ride across the world with us. Yet, they are their own organism with some ability to move around on their own (e.g., from one head to another). It provides insight into what happened during our time together,” study co-author and mammal geneticist from the University of Florida David L. Reed tells PopSci

In this new study, a team of scientists from the United States, Mexico, and Argentina analyzed the genetic variation in 274 human lice uncovered from 25 geographic sites around the world. The analysis showed distinct clusters of lice that rarely interbreed and were found in different locations. Cluster I was found all over the world, while Cluster II was found in Europe and the Americas. The only lice that had ancestry from both clusters are found in the Americas. This distinct group of lice appears to be the result of a mixture between lice that were descended from populations that arrived with the people who crossed the Bering Land Bridge into North America and those descended from European lice. 

Researchers found genetic evidence that head lice mirrored both the movement of people into the Americas from Asia and European colonization after Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the late 1400’s.

“Central American head lice harbored the Asian background associated with the foundation of the Americas, while South American lice had marks of the European arrival,” Ariel Toloza, a study co-author and insect toxicologist at Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnica (CONICET) in Argentina, tells PopSci. “We also detected a recent human migration from Europe to the Americas after WWII.” 

[Related: Rare parasites found in 200 million-year-old reptile poop.]

The evidence in this study supports the theory that the first people living in the Americas came from Asia between 14,000 and 16,000 years ago and moved south into Central and South America. However, other archaeological evidence like the 23,000 to 21,000 year-old White Sands footprints and Native American tradition suggests that humans were already living in the Americas before and during the last ice age. Some potentially 30,000-year-old stone tools were discovered in a cave in Central Mexico in 2020, which also questions the land bridge theory. 

The study also fills in some of lice’s evolutionary gaps and the team sequenced the louse full genome for future research. 

“The same louse DNA used for this first study was used to analyze their whole genomes and also more lice were collected, so in the next year or so, there will be new studies trying to answer our ongoing questions,” says Ascunce. 

Technological improvements can also now help scientists study include ancient DNA from lice that has been found in mummies or even from louse DNA recovered from ancient combs. The study also offers some lessons in studying animals that we may generally experience as a nuisance.

“The world is full of a lot of plants and animals that are reviled or despised,” says Reed. “You never fully [know] what role they play in the environment or what their true value might be. So, be curious and see what stories the lowliest of animals might have to tell.”

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These robots reached a team consensus like a swarm of bees https://www.popsci.com/technology/bee-robot-communication/ Wed, 08 Nov 2023 18:30:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=587785
Image of kilobots atop photo of bees
The tiny robots communicate using multicolored LED lights. Credit: Unsplash / University of Barcelona / PopSci

Scout bees vote for new hive locations with a 'dance.' These bots use blinking lights.

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Image of kilobots atop photo of bees
The tiny robots communicate using multicolored LED lights. Credit: Unsplash / University of Barcelona / PopSci

Bees are extremely adept at communicating, even though their brains weigh just two milligrams. They’re so efficient at reaching a consensus, in fact, that researchers created a mini-robot team inspired by their ‘conversations.’

In the search for a new nesting spot, scout bees are known to conduct tiny “waggle dances” to indicate their preferred hive location—slowly winning over swarmmates to join in the process. The moves are tiny but complex, involving moving in figure-eight patterns while shaking their bodies at rapid speed. The bees with the most popular dance part earn final say on where to build. While the three centimeter-wide “kilobots” under the watch of a team at Spain’s University of Barcelona can’t shimmy and shake just yet, they do signal to one another much like bees.

[Related: Bee brains could teach robots to make split-second decisions.]

As detailed in their preprint paper submitted in late October, the team first attached a colored LED light alongside an infrared-light receiver and emitter atop each of a total of 35 kilobots. They then programmed the bots using a modified version of a previously designed mathematical model based on scout bee behavior. From there, the team placed varying numbers of kilobots within an enclosure and let them jitter through their new environment on their trio of toothpick-like legs. During over 70 tests, researchers ordered certain bot clusters to advertise their preferred nesting location “opinion” via signaling between their LED lights’ red, blue, and green hues.

Every kilobot team achieved a group consensus within roughly 30 minutes, no matter the team size or environmental density. Such reliable decision making—even in machines capable of transmitting just 9 bytes of information at a time—could one day prove invaluable across a number of industries.

[Related: Bat-like echolocation could help these robots find lost people.]

“We believe that in the near future there are going to be simple robots that will do jobs that we don’t want to do, and it will be very important that they make decisions in a decentralized, autonomous manner,” Carmen Miguel, one of the study’s co-authors, explained to New Scientist on November 7.

During invasive medical procedures, for instance, tiny robots could maneuver within a patient’s body, communicating with one another without the need for complex electronics. Similarly, cheap bots could coordinate with one another while deployed during search-and-rescue missions. In such scenarios, the environmental dangers often prevent the use of expensive robots due to risk of damage or destruction.

Above it all, however, the University of Barcelona team believes their work draws attention to often underappreciated aspects of everyday existence. The team’s paper abstract concludes: “By shedding light on this crucial layer of complexity… we emphasize the significance of factors typically overlooked but essential to living systems and life itself.”

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The best cat trees of 2023 https://www.popsci.com/reviews/best-cat-tree/ Mon, 24 May 2021 14:59:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=365810
A lineup of the best cat trees split vertically into fourths
Amanda Reed

Stuck at home with a pent-up pet? These keep even the most high-climbing, adventurous kitties amused.

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A lineup of the best cat trees split vertically into fourths
Amanda Reed

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Best for large cats FANDReA is the best cat tree for large cats. FEANDREA Cat Tree for Large Cats
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This cushy condo for big cats  is designed with anti-tipping technology for extra safety.

Best wooden The Vesper Cat Tree is the best wooden cat tree. Vesper Modern Cat Tree
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This eco-friendly modern design comes with a sisal scratching mat and memory-foam bed.

Best budget A cat sitting over a cat tree in a beige color and with two floors. AmazonBasics Cat Condo Tree Tower with Hammock Bed
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Help your kitty get away from it all in this affordable hammock bed made with plush carpeting.

A cat tree is a wonderful way to keep your cat occupied, especially if they have a fondness for high places. The majority also come equipped with scratching posts, which keep claws away from your beloved sofa. If your cat hides in closets and under beds, a cat tree house with covered shelters will provide them a sense of security and personal space. And all these options come stacked in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and materials. Do you need a towering kitty castle, or a cozy perch for a cat that just wants to loaf? Does your interior aesthetic call for a modern cat tower? From kitten to couch potato, we’ll go over the best cat tree for you and your feline’s specific needs.

How we chose the best cat trees

When we’re not vacuuming up all the pet hair our cats leave behind (or letting a robot do it), we enjoy wrangling them from all the places they should not be. Cat hiding habits can be separated into two categories: tree dweller or bush dweller. A cat who is a tree dweller enjoys heights like shelves and windowsills, while bush dweller cats prefer low, hidden spaces, like under the bed. Our final picks ultimately have something for the most adventurous tree dweller to the coziest, most elusive bush dweller. Additionally, we looked at critical reviews and peer recommendations and conducted heavy research.

The best cat trees: Reviews & Recommendations

Does your cat enjoy scaling your cabinets and bookshelves? Do they spend every morning surveying their domain from the top of the refrigerator? Do they like hiding amongst the sweaters on your closet shelves? One of our picks should fit your feline’s hiding, climbing, and scratching preferences.

Best overall: Armarkat 77-inch Faux Fleece Cat Tree & Condo

Armarkat

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Specs

  • Dimensions: 36 x 31 x 77 inches
  • Weight: 58 lbs.
  • Max holding weight: 80 lbs.

Pros

  • Tall
  • Lots of things to keep kitty entertained
  • Sturdy and durable

Cons

  • Not suited for small rooms

The Armarkat stands over six feet high and boasts 10 scratching posts, six platforms, and two comfy condos. This feline fortress is built to handle the more exuberant kitty personalities, with a weight capacity of 80 pounds and a sturdy plywood structure. Your cat can govern from the highest perch of this large cat tree or spend all day snoozing in the privacy of a faux fleece cube.

Best small: Frisco 32-inch Real Carpet Wooden Cat Tree

Chewy

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Specs

  • Dimensions: 20 x 20 x 32 inches
  • Weight: 29 lbs.
  • Max holding weight: 50 lbs.

Pros

  • Compact
  • Multi-level
  • Comes fully assembled
  • Household-grade carpet

Cons

  • Have to remove loose fuzzies upon opening
  • Reviews note loose staples

The Frisco Cat Tree is a double-decker tower for your cat to stretch out on. This wooden cat tower is built to last all nine lives, with a handcrafted solid wood structure and two heavy-duty sisal rope posts. It’s wrapped in plush, household-grade carpet with a familiar texture that every cat can enjoy. This small cat tree comes fully assembled with two luxurious platforms and a hanging toy. The base of this tree measures 20 inches on both sides.

Best for large cats: FEANDREA Cat Tree for Large Cats

FEANDREA

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Specs

  • Dimensions: 24 x 16 x 33 inches
  • Weight: 22.4 lbs.
  • Max holding weight: 44 lbs.

Pros

  • Large perch
  • Included anti-toppling wall attachment
  • Easy to assemble
  • Removeable and washable cushions and coverings

Cons

  • Pillow at the top of perch not attached

The FEANDREA Cat Tree is a welcoming abode that won’t budge under pressure. The roomy cat condos and oversized plush perch provide ample space for big cat naps. Each post is wrapped in natural sisal rope and reinforced with battens at the tree’s base. It also includes an anti-toppling wall attachment if you are super wary of tipping.

Best wooden: Vesper Modern Cat Tree

VESPER

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Specs

  • Dimensions: 22.1 x 22.1 x 47.9 inches
  • Weight: 40.5 lbs.
  • Max holding weight: 45 lbs.

Pros

  • Replacement parts offered
  • Lots of enticing nooks, crannies, and perches
  • Machine washable components

Cons

  • A little difficult to assemble

This cat tower is made with laminated MDF board and comes in three attractive shades: warm walnut, natural oak, and classic black. With a tall observation platform, cozy cat cube, and seagrass scratching posts, this modern cat tree will keep your cat occupied while complimenting your meticulously curated apartment. The sisal scratching mat and memory foam beds are easily removable for easy washing. Vesper Trees are built for lifelong use, and replacement parts for scratching poles, cushions, carpets, and toys are available.

Best budget: AmazonBasics Cat Condo Tree Tower with Hammock Bed

Amazon Basics

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Specs

  • Dimensions: 15.8 x 15.8 x 19.7 Inches
  • Weight: 9 lbs.
  • Max holding weight: 30 lbs.

Pros

  • Secure base
  • Dangling ball toy is replaceable
  • Assembly takes minutes

Cons

  • Hammock too snug for a chonky cat

This tower includes plush carpeting, an elevated hammock cat bed, two pillars wrapped in natural jute rope, and a hanging toy. The Amazon Basics cat tower is super easy to assemble and has a 15.7-inch base, but remember that this condo is best for small and medium-sized cats and might be too snug for a larger breed.

What to consider when buying the best cat trees

There are a few features to keep in mind when shopping for your new cat tree. It is a good idea to designate a space in your home for your cat and keep the limitations of that space in mind. Sprawling homes can accommodate a large cat tree, but a tight apartment might require a more compact design. Then, you will want to consider your cat’s activity level. Rambunctious kittens love to clamber up multilevel towers, but they are not as accessible for older cats; a cat with mobility issues will need a shorter model with wide platforms rather than a high-rise cat condo.

If your cat loves to scratch, it is important to choose a tower with a scratching post that they can’t wait to sink their needle-sharp nails into. The best cat tree will include a scratching material that you know your kitty loves, whether it’s sisal rope, jute, cardboard, or wood. And if your tabby loves to spread out, their dream tower will include ample space for afternoon catnaps. There’s a lot to choose from when it comes to pet products, so let’s break it down some more.

What’s the best for active cats?

The majority of house cats spend all day inside, and they need a place to exert their bundles of energy. If you’re looking to entertain a cat that seems hellbent on toppling your bookshelves, a tall cat tree is an easy way to redirect their attention. If you have multiple cats, a large cat tower can accommodate three to four felines and prevent territorial scuffles. Tall cat towers are also a good way to stimulate and challenge curious kittens.

The most important features to keep in mind when shopping for tall cat trees are durability and weight capacity. Yours will have to handle high-speed cat leaps, and you don’t want the tower to wobble or tip. If you have enough room for a larger cat tower, you will also want to ensure that it offers an assortment of interactive elements. The best cat tower will have scratching pads, a variety of perches, toy attachments, and condos to hide in.

What if I’m looking for a smaller cat tree?

If you live in an apartment or smaller home, you might not have room for a kitty skyscraper. Small cat towers are a great way to designate a spot for your furry friend without sacrificing precious living room space. Does your cat spend all day lounging by the window? The majority of small cat perches are window-level, which makes them perfectly suited for hours of cat contemplation. Although small cat towers are lower to the ground, you will still want one that won’t sway when jumped on. The best small cat tree will have a sturdy base, resilient scratching posts, and soft platforms for maximum relaxation.

What’s the best for larger breeds?

Your Maine coon might not fit on a regular cat perch, but that doesn’t mean he has to miss out on the fun. There are a variety of cat tower designs available that are built to lodge bigger cats. If your cat weighs over 15 pounds, their tower should be uniquely constructed to handle that extra fluff. When selecting cat towers for large breeds, you should ensure that the platforms are wide enough for them to fully recline and that they contain spare padding for optimal comfort. The best way to avoid tipping is with a two-pillar design, which prevents trees from leaning to one side.

What if I prefer a more modern design?

We know that your décor vision might not include a carpeted cat tower. Wooden designs are a sleek solution for those who prefer a more minimal aesthetic. Traditional designs might cause unwanted visual clutter, while a modern cat tower can blend seamlessly into a contemporary layout. Wooden designs may not be covered in plush fabric, but they are easier to clean and attract less hair. The best wooden cat tree will fit your modern style without compromising on kitty comfort.

What can I get for under $30?

We know that cat furniture can run you into the triple digits, especially if you’re shopping for a complex tower or a contemporary design. Luckily, there are options available for inexpensive single-platform trees. Cheap cat towers are sometimes made with flimsier materials, so you will want to ensure that what you pick is sturdy and claw-proof. The best cat tree on a budget will have durable construction, a soft bed, and tough scratching posts.

FAQs

Q: Where should I put the cat tree?

Buying the cat tree is only half the battle—you have to get your cat to actually use it. You might want to stick it in the most convenient or concealed location, but that is not always the most attractive spot for your cat. We recommend setting it up in a shared living space where your cat can keep tabs on you from the comfort of their perch. Proximity to a window is great for cats that love to birdwatch.

Q: How can I get my cat interested in my cat tree?

When you’re first introducing cat furniture to a kitty habitat, you should provide as many positive associations as possible. You can sprinkle the tower with catnip, reward them with treats when they show interest, and line their condo with used toys and blankets for a familiar smell.

Q: How many cat towers do I need for two cats?

With a multiplatform cat tower like the Amarkat, two friendly cats or kittens can coexist peacefully. If your two cats struggle to get along and display territorial aggression, it might be better to purchase more than one cat tower. Ultimately, the number of trees you need depends on the dynamic between your feline pair.

Final thoughts on finding the best cat trees

Cat towers are a smart solution for pet parents looking to keep their cats occupied and relaxed. The right cat products can resolve a scratching habit and entertain your pet while you’re away. From jungle-gym climbing trees to glossy wooden condos, the best cat tower will help your kitty feel truly at home.

Why trust us

Popular Science started writing about technology more than 150 years ago. There was no such thing as “gadget writing” when we published our first issue in 1872, but if there was, our mission to demystify the world of innovation for everyday readers means we would have been all over it. Here in the present, PopSci is fully committed to helping readers navigate the increasingly intimidating array of devices on the market right now.

Our writers and editors have combined decades of experience covering and reviewing consumer electronics. We each have our own obsessive specialties—from high-end audio to video games to cameras and beyond—but when we’re reviewing devices outside of our immediate wheelhouses, we do our best to seek out trustworthy voices and opinions to help guide people to the very best recommendations. We know we don’t know everything, but we’re excited to live through the analysis paralysis that internet shopping can spur so readers don’t have to.

The post The best cat trees of 2023 appeared first on Popular Science.

Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made.

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The best cat scratching posts in 2023 https://www.popsci.com/reviews/best-cat-scratching-post/ Wed, 26 May 2021 12:35:29 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=367099
A lineup of the best cat scratching posts cut vertically into fourths.
Amanda Reed

Cat scratching posts let your feisty feline have a paw-ty that doesn’t cost you your upholstery.

The post The best cat scratching posts in 2023 appeared first on Popular Science.

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A lineup of the best cat scratching posts cut vertically into fourths.
Amanda Reed

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Best overall Beige cat scratching post and a brown cat SmartCat Pioneer Pet Ultimate Scratching Post
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Sisal fibers and a wide base means this scratching post can handle it all.

Best cat tree The Vesper Cat Tree is the best wooden cat tree. Vesper Cat Tree
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Your cat can perch, hide, or scratch.

Best budget Jungle print design cat scratching post Catit Cat Scratcher Boards with Catnip
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Cardboard easily entices a cat, and also makes for a cheap scratching material.

Cats need to scratch, so the secret to keeping your stuff safe is giving them a scratching post they’ll want to sink their claws into even more. Felines are notoriously finicky animals, though, so it can be a little tough figuring out what they’ll want to scratch at. Your sectional may actually be a no-loveseat because your whiskered friend(s) keep tearing it up, but the right piece of cat furniture can be as attractive as white fur on a black sweater. Combined with some catnip, crunchies, and coaxing, and your pet will be purring in no time. The best cat scratching posts are designed for almost every cat and décor, and some are so cool that you might end up liking them as much as your cat.

How we chose the best cat scratching posts

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, over 31 million households in the U.S. own a cat. That’s a lot of places for a cat tree. To find the best cat scratching posts, we looked at critical reviews and peer recommendations, performed a hefty amount of research, and conducted user testing with our own fur-ends. We made sure they were durable, sturdy, and enticing to cats. You want to get them away from your furniture, after all.

The best cat scratching posts: Reviews & Recommendations

A cat scratching post is a great gift for the cat owner in your life. They’re also perfect if your precious pet is a little too good at their job at the biscuit factory. Don’t stop your cat’s need to scratch; per the Humane Society, it helps them express emotions, allows them to mark objects with their scent, removes the dead part of their nails, and lets them get a good stretch in. One of our picks is a suitable choice for making your feline smile, just like the Cheshire Cat.

Best overall: SmartCat Pioneer Pet Ultimate Scratching Post

SmartCat

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Specs

  • Dimensions: 32 x 16 x 15.75 inches
  • Materials: Sisal; wood
  • Weight: 16 lbs.

Pros

  • Durable
  • Sisal is longlasting
  • Post doubles as a perch
  • Wide bottom prevents wobbling

Cons

  • Use depends on if cat likes it

If you’re looking for a great sisal scratching post that you won’t have to replace anytime soon, the SmartCat Ultimate Scratching Post is the one for you. Its handsome design is backed up by strong, durable material, and, as an added bonus, your cat will look very elegant perched on top of it.

Best cactus-shaped: PetnPurr Cactus Cat Scratching Post With Teaser Ball

PetnPurr

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Specs

  • Dimensions: 15.7 x 15.7 x 26.5 inches
  • Materials: Sisal
  • Weight: 6.5 lbs

Pros

  • Stylish
  • Easy to assemble
  • Built-in toy

Cons

  • Reviews note that sisal rope frays easily

This cactus cat scratching post will blend in purrrfectly (sorry) with your houseplants while giving your cat a place to play, scratch, and relax. The built-in teaser ball is a nice little addition, and the base of the platform is sturdy enough to let your cat climb the cactus and channel that inner jungle cat. 

Best cat tree: Vesper Cat Tree

VESPER

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Specs

  • Dimensions: 22.1 x 22.1 x 47.8 inches
  • Materials: Sisal, engineered wood
  • Weight: 40.5 lbs.

Pros

  • Included dangling sisal toy
  • Places to perch and hide
  • Memory foam cushions

Cons

  • Expensive

Available in a variety of sizes and colors, this well-constructed cat tree sets itself apart with its modern design. Memory foam cushions offer the ultimate in cat comfort, and multiple perches make it ideal if you have more than one cat. As a bonus, almost every model comes with a fun dangling sisal toy. Not sold on this one? Check out more of our favorite cat tree picks.

Best combination: ScratchMe Cat Scratcher Post & Board

URPRO

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Specs

  • Dimensions: 17.32 x 17.32 x 6.11 inches
  • Materials: Cardboard
  • Weight: 4.5 lbs.

Pros

  • Made with recycled cardboard
  • Doubles as a bed
  • Can accommodate multiple cats

Cons

  • Cardboard doesn’t last as long as sisal

Made with 100 percent recycled cardboard, this is a great pet product for the eco-conscious cat owner who is also looking for a cat bed. Although cardboard doesn’t last as long as sisal, this cat product is well-made and won’t get torn to pieces overnight. Its circular design is perfect for cats that love to curl up while they nap, and it’s big enough to accommodate one large cat or two smaller ones. 

Best budget: Catit Cat Scratcher Boards with Catnip

Catit

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Specs

  • Dimensions: 17.5 x 7.5 x 2.87 inches
  • Materials: Cardboard, paper
  • Weight: 1 lb.

Pros

  • Cheap and easy to replace
  • Enough room for even the biggest of stretches
  • Also doubles as a lounge

Cons

  • Cardboard doesn’t last as long as sisal

Cardboard attracts cats just like light entices moths. This no-frills cat scratcher board is a great option if you’re trying to save money. It’s big enough for even a large cat to lounge on and inexpensive enough that you won’t break the bank when you inevitably have to replace it. Another plus: it’s recyclable, too.

Things to consider when shopping for the best cat scratching posts

You know all those cute little things your cat does that make them so special and unique? Well, not only is destroying your furniture and clogging the vacuum with pet hair probably not one of them, but neither is how picky they can be when you’re trying to find them the best cat scratching post. Just as it can take trying a few different brands of food to find something they’ll eat, finding a scratching post can require a little trial and error. The best cat scratching post is the one your cat loves using.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, as the case may be), you may already have the most important piece of information you’ll need to help guide your search for these cat supplies. After all, If you’re reading this article, there’s a good chance your cat already went to town on something they weren’t supposed to. Luckily, the material and the texture of your (formally) beautiful sofa can tell you a lot about what your cat likes to scratch at. So, if you can find something that’s similar, you and your cat will be very happy. 

Finding a cat scratching post with as many lives as your cat

The marks of a great scratching post (besides the ones your cat makes!) are durability and design. Most cats love to scratch at sisal, and a high-quality cat scratching post will be made of sisal fabric as opposed to sisal rope. Sisal fabric lasts longer than rope and will become softer the more your cat uses it. Conversely, when sisal rope breaks down, the fibers become sharp and dislodged, creating a texture your cat will turn its nose up at. Sisal scratching posts need to withstand aggressive pawing, so look for ones with sturdy bases. For obvious reasons, you don’t want your cat to be able to knock it down, so look for one that’s a little on the heavier side, especially if you have a big cat that loves to scratch.

Tame your cat’s claws with a funky cactus cat scratching post

Looking for a cat scratching post that also doubles as a conversation piece? Who can say why, but there’s something particularly adorable about a cat going to war with a cactus. In addition to providing your cat with all the benefits of a regular scratching post (exercise, relaxation, territory-marking), cactus scratching posts add a touch of green to any living space that can be relaxing for humans, too. Cactus scratching posts are all the rage right now, so watch out for inferior pet products that have been rushed to market to keep up with demand. Look for models with a durable base that are made with high-quality sisal fabric. Cactus scratching posts may be a bit of a novelty, but the best ones will work and hold up just as well as any standard model. 

A tree your cat will love (no fire department necessary)

Cat trees (also known as cat condos) are designed to satisfy a variety of your cat’s needs in one place. Amenities include scratching posts, perching areas, built-in toys, and boxes for your cat to hide in when you have to use the vacuum cleaner. Like that of their human counterparts, cat real estate runs the gamut from modest one-bedrooms to enormous mansions. Factors to consider when shopping for a cat tree include size (seriously, some cat trees are huge), durability, and style. After all, cat trees are usually much bigger than standard scratching posts, so you’re going to want your cat’s new home-within-a-home to match your own décor. 

Scratch, nap, repeat

Scratching and napping are among a cat’s greatest pleasures, but if you live in a small apartment, you might not have room for a towering cat condo. Not to worry, though! Almost every home has space for a combination cat scratching post and bed. These are an excellent choice if you’ve noticed that your cat tends to scratch where they sleep, or you’re just trying to reclaim your bed as your own. The cat scratching material will attract your cat like a magnet, and once they realize they can curl up and nap there, it will likely become their new favorite hangout. 

Save your furniture and some cash at the same time

Budget cat scratching posts are usually made out of low-grade cardboard or sisal rope as opposed to compressed cardboard or sisal fabric. Inexpensive designs are a great option when you’re low on cash (perhaps because you just paid to have the couch reupholstered), but they probably won’t last as long as a more expensive version. They will almost certainly lack the bells and whistles of a cat condo, but they may suit your cat just fine if they aren’t picky about where they scratch. Keep an eye out for cheap material that looks like it might dislodge and pose a hazard to your cat. And if you’re buying a cheap vertical cat scratching post, make sure the base is heavy enough that your cat can’t knock it down. 

If you’ve implemented a scratching post and need a new couch, some say that velvet is a pet-friendly material, as it hides scratches easily and has no threads to snag. It lacks the woven, tactile feel cats love, so it can also deter them from scratching. This is only backed up by testimonials, so do keep that in mind. If you can’t buy an entirely new couch, see if you can at least buy a new couch cover.

FAQs

Q: Do cat scratching posts really work?

Cat scratching posts really work, but it may take some trial and error to find the one your feline friend likes. Scratching is essential for a cat’s mental and physical well-being, and if you don’t give the cat supplies they need for scratching, they’ll find something on their own that you might wish they hadn’t. Some cats like to scratch either vertically or horizontally, and some cats like to do both. Once you find one that they like, you’ll have a very happy cat.

Q: How do I get my cat to scratch on a new post?

You can get your cat to scratch on a new post by sprinkling some catnip on it and then placing it somewhere accessible. Cats often like to scratch after they wake up, so putting it near where they sleep is a good way to get them to use it. You can also reward your cat with a treat when they use their new post to reinforce the idea that it’s a good place to scratch. And if you see them scratching at something you don’t want them to, you can spray them with water or make a loud noise to get them out of the habit. 

Q: When should I replace my cat scratching post?

You should replace your cat scratching post when it’s been physically clawed to pieces or you notice that your cat isn’t using it as much as they used to. Most last between 6 months and 2 years depending on the quality of the material and how frequently your cat uses it. Sometimes a cat can dislodge pieces that may be hazardous to them, so if you see yours looking worse for the wear, it may be best to err on the side of caution and replace it. 

Final thoughts on the best cat scratching posts

The best cat scratching post is the one your cat loves to scratch at, whether it’s the $50 SmartCat Ultimate scratching post or a $6.99 piece of cardboard. Different cats like to scratch at different surfaces and in different directions, so keep an eye out for how your cat is already scratching to get an idea of what to buy for them. More expensive sisal scratching posts will last longer than cheaper ones, but none of them will last forever. Extra features like built-in toys and cubes for them to climb in are fun, but not essential. Scratching is a basic need for cats, and a basic but well-made post will often do the trick for them.

Why trust us

Popular Science started writing about technology more than 150 years ago. There was no such thing as “gadget writing” when we published our first issue in 1872, but if there was, our mission to demystify the world of innovation for everyday readers means we would have been all over it. Here in the present, PopSci is fully committed to helping readers navigate the increasingly intimidating array of devices on the market right now.

Our writers and editors have combined decades of experience covering and reviewing consumer electronics. We each have our own obsessive specialties—from high-end audio to video games to cameras and beyond—but when we’re reviewing devices outside of our immediate wheelhouses, we do our best to seek out trustworthy voices and opinions to help guide people to the very best recommendations. We know we don’t know everything, but we’re excited to live through the analysis paralysis that internet shopping can spur so readers don’t have to.

The post The best cat scratching posts in 2023 appeared first on Popular Science.

Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made.

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The best dog DNA tests of 2023 https://www.popsci.com/reviews/best-dog-dna-test/ Tue, 23 Nov 2021 15:58:39 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=363801
Dog DNA test header
Stan Horaczek

Curious about what’s behind all of your furry friend’s unique (and adorable) behaviors?

The post The best dog DNA tests of 2023 appeared first on Popular Science.

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Dog DNA test header
Stan Horaczek

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Best overall Embark dog dna test results Embark Dog DNA test
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This popular pick developed with Cornell University can test for more than 350 dog breeds and over 200 genetic diseases.

Best for health Dogs photo Wisdom Panel Premium
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Get a complete breakdown of your dog’s health, with testing for vision, hearing, weight, and drug sensitivities.

Best budget The Wisdom Panel Essential kit is the best for customer service.  Wisdom Panel Essential
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Find out the essentials of what makes your pet unique with 35 genetic tests at a budget-friendly price.

If you’ve recently rescued or purchased a pup, you may not know much about your new furry friend, which is why it’s a good idea to invest in a dog DNA test kit. As a good pet parent, it’s smart to find out as much as you can about their breed so you can understand their behaviors and if your dog might be predisposed to certain health issues. Characteristics such as herding, retrieving, aggressive behaviors, and physical attributes have a lot to do with a dog’s breed and ancestry. And if you’ve rescued a dog, you may not even know what breed(s) your dog is! The best dog DNA test will not only answer the important questions about your pet’s genetic history, but also will help to ensure you have the tools to keep your pup happy and healthy. 

How we chose the best dog DNA tests

There are plenty of home DNA tests for dogs on the market. The truly effective ones may cost more, but they may save you in the long run. Brands such as Wisdom and Embark dog DNA tests can cost between just under $100 and to more than $160, but keep in mind they are the most highly rated and effective home DNA tests. The difference in price is due to what is tested for in the kit. The less expensive tests are specifically for breed identification, while the pricier options will offer information on health and doggy relatives, so the test you choose is up to you and what you are interested in learning more about. Fortunately, most canine DNA tests are very easy to use. You just need to swab your pup’s cheek, send your kit into the lab, and wait for about two to four weeks. We kept all of this in mind when testing the best dog DNA tests.

The best dog DNA tests: Reviews & Recommendations

The best dog DNA test will offer the most accurate breed breakdown for your pup at its most basic function. There are various types of dog DNA tests that will help determine your dog’s breed, genetic testing for diseases, or even help to connect you with your dog’s relatives. One of our choices should help you learn more about your best furry friend.

Best overall: Embark Breed & Health Kit

Stan Horaczek

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Why it made the cut: This market leader provides comprehensive genetic testing for health risks, breed, ancestry, and relatives, with a relatively quick turnaround time. 

Specs

  • Tests: More than 230,000 genetic markers, including 350 dog breeds and 215 health risks 
  • Time to results: 2-4 weeks
  • Price: $139.00

Pros

  • Comprehensive testing
  • Relative finder
  • Fast turnaround time 

Cons

  • Expensive

The Embark dog DNA test is one of the most popular dog DNA test kit brands—and for good reason. The research-grade genotyping platform developed with the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine screens for over 350 dog breeds, making it one of the most accurate tests on the market. The test includes a health screening for over 200 genetic diseases, so you can share your dog’s potential health risks with your vet. You can also find and connect with other pups that share your dog’s DNA to schedule a fun meet-up. Results take about two to four weeks. 

In our hands-on test, results fell on the early end of the typical turnaround time—just over two weeks. The results come with a robust dataset in a 32-page PDF and on the web. My dog is particularly difficult to map because of its extremely varied breed variety, but it rightly identified the major breeds involved.

We mentioned the test to our vet and they agreed the health suggestions are worth keeping in mind, though we shouldn’t worry too much about them. If you’re the type to obsess over dog health issues, that aspect of the testing may be stressful for you. Overall, however, Embark provides a very simple testing method, quick turnaround time, and lots of data in easy-to-read formats.

Best for breed identification: Embark Breed Identification Kit

Embark

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Why it made the cut: If you’re interested in tracking down your dog’s relatives, the Embark Breed Identification Kit is for you. Easy to use, this kit provides access to Embark’s database, in which 90% of dogs tested have a close relative.

Specs

  • Tests: More than 230,000 genetic markers, including 350 dog breeds and 215 health risks 
  • Time to results: 2-4 weeks
  • Price: $109.00

Pros

  • Detailed breed information
  • Comes with Relative Finder
  • Less expensive

Cons

  • May not be as effective with mutts

To understand your dog’s physical traits and personality, it’s important to start with the breed ID. Once you’ve accurately detected your dog’s breed(s), you can correctly address the training that would best fit their temperament. In three simple steps of activating your dog’s test, swabbing your dog’s cheeks, and mailing the swab into the lab, Embark can detect breed contributions of your mutt down to five percent of all of the breeds involved. The Embark DNA test will provide a family tree up to the great-grandparents and will show any relatives that have used the test.

Best for health: Wisdom Panel Premium

Wisdom Health

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Why it made the cut: This comprehensive kit tests for more than 200 genetic health risks, plus provides access to a database of more than three million dogs so you can compare DNA. 

Specs

  • Tests: More than 200 health tests and screening for over 350 breeds 
  • Time to results: 2-3 weeks
  • Price: $159.99

Pros

  • Screens for sensitivity to medications and potential for kidney stones
  • Comes with free vet consultations as part of package
  • Can match dogs with family members in their database of 3 million canines

Cons

  •  Some users have questioned the accuracy of breed identification

If you want to know about your dog and the health risks common with specific breeds, then a canine DNA test is the perfect starting point. Better insight into ancestry, historical conditions, as well as current red flags, means better care.  With over 200 health tests—including vision, hearing, weight, and drug sensitivities—you will learn about any health risks and what procedures and medicines could be of danger to your furry pal.

Dogs photo
Wanda Maximoff Cadden (pup of Senior Director of Commerce, Billy Cadden)

Of course, this easy-to-use Wisdom panel test also includes top-notch breed breakdowns by uncovering your dog’s breed mix down to one percent and by using over 35 trait tests to reveal your pup’s unique physical characteristics.

Best with life plan: ORIVET GenoPet 5.0 Dog DNA Test

ORIVET

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Why it made the cut: This kit tests for health risks and breed information and also provides a personalized wellness plan and ongoing outreach through an online portal. 

Specs

  • Tests: For more than 350 breeds and health risks
  • Time to results: Three weeks 
  • Price: $99.95

Pros

  • Provides personalized nutrition and health plan for your pooch
  • Ongoing support through online portal
  • Developed for purebreds

Cons

  • Not designed for mixed-breed dogs

One of the best reasons to invest in the best dog DNA test is to better understand your pet’s care options throughout their lifetime. With a pet profile, you can easily share information with a veterinarian, health care provider, family, and friends. This dog DNA test kit from Orivet includes all the bells and whistles—and then some. The results reveal breed makeup, weight prediction, behavioral insights, and health risks (and, more importantly, how to act on them). The proprietary test also comes with a personalized wellness plan based on the dog’s breed, age, gender, location, and lifestyle. If you find that your test isn’t accurate, there is a 100% satisfaction guarantee. 

Best budget: Wisdom Panel Essential

Wisdom Health

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Why it made the cut: If you’re just looking for a breakdown of your dog’s breed and major genetic health risks, this kit is a good option. 

Specs

  • Tests: More than 350 breeds, 25 genetic health risks, 35 genetic traits
  • Time to results: 2 to 4 weeks
  • Price: $99.99

Pros

  • Analyzes your dog’s makeup by breed
  • Provides detailed description of pet’s characteristics
  • Identifies major genetic health risks 

Cons

  • Doesn’t provide ongoing plan or advice

You don’t have to be a big spender to get down to the smallest detail; this test lets you discover your pup’s breed mix to one percent by testing for over 350 dog breeds. With over 35 trait tests, you’ll be able to learn more about what makes your dog unique, from their muzzle shape to their fur color. Be in the know when you take your pup to the vet with the help of Wisdom by screening over 25 medical complications including drug sensitivities. 

What to consider when buying the best dog DNA tests

You don’t just walk into the pet shop and pick up the first bag of food you see—you research the best dry dog foods and start your search there. The same goes for a dog DNA test. When shopping around for the best dog DNA test, think about what you want to know about your pooch.

Do you want health information?

If you’re curious about the breed(s) of your pup and then figure you can research the rest from there, then you can get a test that focuses on breed. If you want a more detailed breakdown of your pup’s genetics, then pick a comprehensive genetic kit that can also clue you into your dog’s behavioral proclivities and potential for disease. 

If you’re simply curious about where your dog came from, then a basic test will suffice. More in-depth tests can, however, give you insight into possible health problems that may arise down the road.

Turn around time

We’re not really sure why you’d need to know your dog’s DNA results in a hurry, but most of these offerings promise results in roughly two to four weeks. Some will let you pay extra to get expedited results, but others stick strictly to their window. Generally, we haven’t found any outliers that differentiate themselves purely on turn around time.

Sample size

Another thing to consider when selecting your canine DNA test is the brand. Wisdom, for example, can detect your dog’s breed mix down to one percent, as they have tested two million dogs and have the largest canine DNA database. It may be a bit more expensive, but it will get you the most accurate results. 

FAQs

Q: How much does a dog DNA test cost?

Dog DNA kits range in price from just under $100 to about $160. They often go on sale as part of big shopping holidays such as Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day.

Q: Which dog DNA test is most accurate?

The most accurate dog DNA test kit is Embark, as the platform used has been researched and tested in partnership with the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. Due to the fact that it screens for over 350 dog breeds, including most dogs recognized by the American Kennel Club, some street dogs, and the gray wolf, you’re going to get very accurate results. Since there are many various levels of the Embark dog DNA test, you can select which one you want based on what exactly you want to know, whether you are solely curious about your dog’s breed or need a more comprehensive breakdown. Embark will also immediately contact you if they find any alarming results. 

Q: Can dog DNA tell age?

While some human DNA tests can estimate age, dog DNA tests don’t yet offer this type of information. Some can offer an estimate of genetic age by using the reported calendar age and gender of the dog. From there, characteristics such as breed breakdown are factored in to reveal where a dog is in his or her life relative to a human being. So, while you may not get an exact result, you’ll have a better idea of what topper to buy for your furry friend’s doggy-cupcake.

Q: Do vets do dog DNA tests?

In short, vets do dog DNA tests, but will most likely not use the same home DNA tests that owners use. Some vets prefer to send in blood samples to the lab because they can be sure that large amounts of DNA will be included as opposed to the cheek swab included in-home DNA kits. Since dog DNA tests are so accessible nowadays, it might be easier (and cheaper) to just do it at home!

Final thoughts on the best dog DNA tests

The best dog DNA tests provide a window into your pet. They’ll tell you your dog’s breed and reveal the genetics behind their behavioral and physical traits, such as personality and the color of fur. Some kits will also help you identify breed-specific health issues that can help you know what to look out for, understand medication options, and know what to bring up with your vet. From learning about your pup’s breed to understanding potential inherited health issues, canine DNA tests will help you learn more about your precious pup to give them the happy and healthy life they deserve. 

Why trust us

Popular Science started writing about technology more than 150 years ago. There was no such thing as “gadget writing” when we published our first issue in 1872, but if there was, our mission to demystify the world of innovation for everyday readers means we would have been all over it. Here in the present, PopSci is fully committed to helping readers navigate the increasingly intimidating array of devices on the market right now.

Our writers and editors have combined decades of experience covering and reviewing consumer electronics. We each have our own obsessive specialties—from high-end audio to video games to cameras and beyond—but when we’re reviewing devices outside of our immediate wheelhouses, we do our best to seek out trustworthy voices and opinions to help guide people to the very best recommendations. We know we don’t know everything, but we’re excited to live through the analysis paralysis that internet shopping can spur so readers don’t have to.

The post The best dog DNA tests of 2023 appeared first on Popular Science.

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The best dog beds of 2023 https://www.popsci.com/reviews/best-dog-beds/ Fri, 08 Oct 2021 20:30:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=367479
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Our good boys and girls need a little R&R, too, and these dog beds will give them the snuggly break they deserve.

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Best overall A big brown dog laying on his bed in a grey color and with a neck supportive bed. PetFusion Ultimate Dog Bed
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This memory foam orthopedic dog bed gives medium to large dogs plenty of comfort, with a removable waterproof cover for easy cleaning.

Best for large dogs Wanda being the best girl in Billy's human-sized Plufl dog bed Pfulfl Human Dog Bed
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This plush bed is designed with plenty of room for an adorable pooch and her human.

Best washable A washable pet bed with a dog in it Newton Baby Washable & Orthopedic Pet Bed
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This orthopedic mattress is designed to support your pup, regulate body temperature, and is designed with a cover and core that are machine washable.

Dogs need a place to rest and relax just as much as people do, and dog beds provide that definable space where dogs can escape or stay confined while they rest. While some beds may be a platform only, others have cradling memory foam and cooling technology to keep your pup comfortable. Add a washable cover, and you have a bed you and your dog can love. Bed designs range from simple to sophisticated, plush to flat. Your dog’s size, age, and preferences (if they have them) all come into play. The best dog beds fit the dog and the room and might look comfy enough that you’ll want to test them before handing one over to your pup. 

How we chose the best dog beds

As a dog lover myself, I combined my own experience, as well as that of other PopSci contributors familiar with dog products, into my search. I also conducted market research online, diving deep into customer impressions and scouring the features of numerous bed brands to find the best of the best. When choosing the best beds, I considered size, fabric, and frame choices, as well as durability and comfort features.

  • Size: Dogs come in all shapes and sizes. Some brands make beds that scale to fit the shapes of many different types of dogs, while other brands focus on just the pint-sized or the hippo-competitors. I picked some beds that are meant for all-size dogs but made sure to highlight a few size-specific picks.
  • Fabric and frame: I looked for beds that prioritized either machine-washable outer layers or stain-resistant materials. In my experience, an easily cleanable surface is an all-important feature of a dog bed (as is buying a vacuum for pet hair while you’re shopping). I also looked for especially tough frames on framed beds, as anything else could invite chewing and wear.
  • Durability: Chewing-prone dogs need a high-durability bed that won’t succumb to teething or canine anxiety in just a few weeks (and it can’t hurt to give them some interactive toys to keep them busy).
  • Comfort features: Memory foams, egg-crate textured foam, and bolsters are a few of the comfort features I prioritized in this list. 

The best dog beds: Reviews & Recommendations

Adopting a puppy can be one of the most exciting times in a new dog owner’s life. However, watching a dog grow up and mesh with the rest of the fur family is truly a treat—you remember the first time your dog walked over to the cat bed and decided they were friends. Along with dog crates, mattresses and beds are just some of the best dog items you can purchase to make Fido feel truly at home.

Best overall: PetFusion Ultimate Bed

PetFusion

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Why it made the cut: This memory foam bed gives big dogs support that contours to the dog’s shape, no matter how they lay. 

Specs

  • Number of sizes: 6
  • Machine-washable cover:  Yes
  • Colors: 3

Pros

  • Comes in XXL for bigger dogs
  • Waterproof liner protects the memory foam
  • Removable, washable cover and bolsters

Cons

  • Fabric holds onto fur

The PetFusion Ultimate Dog Bed comes in six sizes, but it’s the extra-large and extra-extra-large sizes that make it a great pick for large breeds. The memory foam support can handle the added bulk of a big body while contouring to a dog’s pressure points. A waterproof, durable fabric covers the padding and unzips down the full length of one side. The zipper makes it easier to remove the foam interior come washing time, which is important, as the exterior is machine washable and the interior isn’t. And, if that zipper breaks—or any part that breaks due to manufacturer defect—there’s a 36-month warranty that covers it.

The cover features soft, comfortable fabric. However, that fabric does hang onto fur, which is the one downside of this bed.

Best for small dogs: FuzzBall Fluffy Luxe Pet Bed

FuzzBall

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Why it made the cut: The FuzzBall made the cut for its soft plushness that gives small dogs big comfort. 

Specs

  • Number of sizes: 4
  • Machine-washable cover: Yes
  • Colors: 4

Pros

  • Machine-washable soft cover
  • Design lets small dogs snuggle in and feel secure
  • Luxe-looking design

Cons 

  • Not enough filling for some dogs

The FuzzBall Fluffy Luxe Pet Bed features an ultra-soft, machine-washable cover that comes in four colors. The bottom fabric has anti-slip silicone grips to keep the bed stationary for wriggly nappers. It is also waterproof to keep floors clean in the case of an accident. This bed includes bolsters around the edges with little cushioning in the center. That’s been surprising for some reviewers. However, the plush cover and bolsters are designed for dogs to snuggle into, using the bed almost like a nest. This model definitely gives off a luxe, cozy feel. However, some dogs (and owners) don’t like that there’s not as much padding in the center of the bed.

Best for large dogs: Plufl Human Dog Bed

Billy Cadden

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Why it made the cut: The Plufl is a super-sized, comfy dog bed you can share with your pup.

Specs

  • Number of sizes: 1
  • Machine-washable: Yes
  • Colors: 4

Pros

  • Soft
  • Gel-infused cooling foam
  • Increased snuggle time with your dog
  • Machine-washable

Cons

  • Hard to fit cushions in the cover
  • Large for smaller homes

The Plufl is perfect for horse-sized dogs, multiple smaller doggos, or humans that want to lie around with their pups after a long, hard day. Looking at the Plufl, it feels like something that should have always existed. It just makes sense. I often stare over at my dog, Wanda, jealous that her bed looks a lot more comfortable than my couch.

The Plufl’s cooling gel-infused foam cushion helps keep everyone cool while providing a thick enough surface that prevents you from feeling like you’re lying on the floor. The plush pillow around the perimeter keeps your pet’s dog toys from rolling out and also provides a comfy pillow to lay your head on, easing neck pain.

The Plufl looks just like your standard fluffy dog bed, but it’s about three times the size—68 inches long by 33 inches wide. You’ll need a fair bit of space for this large dog bed, but the built-in handles make it fairly easy to lug around. And you can fold it in half for storage when not in use.

When putting the bed together, Plufl recommends you leave the two rolls of cushion unraveled and open for at least 24 hours. This will allow the material time to expand. The bed wasn’t the easiest to put together alone due to the large cushions. We’d recommend having someone else there to speed up the process. But the cover is removable and machine-washable, so don’t worry if your dog or your sweaty self stinks up the joint.

Choose from four colors: Grey, Charcoal, Biscuit, and a Blush pink.

Best with memory foam: Casper Dog Bed

Casper

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Why it made the cut: Casper has used its mattress know-how to create a super comfortable bed for dogs made with memory foam.

Specs

  • Number of sizes: 3
  • Machine-washable cover: Yes
  • Colors: 3

Pros

  • Supportive
  • Durable
  • Available in three sizes

Cons

  • Some users said the bed had a chemical smell

If you want your pup to be as comfortable as you are when you sink into your mattress at night, consider the Casper Dog Bed. The well-known mattress brand combined its engineering know-how with research on the habits of canines to develop these beds. They’re designed with supportive memory foam that will conform to a pooch’s shape and provide a cushion for their head. The nylon cover is machine washable, and the microfiber material can withstand plenty of scratching,

Best leather: Le Bed Leather Dog Bed

Billy Cadden

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Why it made the cut: This luxe bed features an orthopedic mattress that will provide your pooch with plenty of support.

Specs

  • Number of sizes: 2
  • Machine-washable cover: No, wipes clean with leather cleaner
  • Colors: 6

Pros

  • Sleek design for a dog bed
  • Provides orthopedic support
  • Durable

Cons

  • Expensive 

Love to indulge your pooch? For dogs with a taste for the good life, consider Le Bed’s Leather Dog Bed. This premium model is designed with a supportive orthopedic mattress with cooling memory foam that will cradle your pooch and help regulate body temperature. The supple leather cover is available in six shades: black, chocolate brown, cognac tan, slate gray, python, and bone (pictured). Cleaning the bed is easy as well. Just wipe clean with a damp cloth and use a leather cleaner.

Best for calming: BarkBox Bed

Why it made the cut: The BarkBox relieves stress with a cooling gel memory foam that helps to calm anxiety as it enhances relaxation.

Specs  

  • Number of sizes: 4
  • Machine-washable cover: Yes
  • Colors: 5

Pros:

  • Two-layer foam design supports and cushions
  • Water-resistant lining
  • Upholstery fabric cover that’s machine washable

Cons: 

  • Fabric can be loud

The BarkBox Memory Foam Bed is covered in a tough machine-washable upholstery fabric. The two-layer memory foam inner cushion gets extra protection with a water-resistant liner. Even better, every bed has a free toy, meaning your dog has an automatic emotional support toy to sleep with.

Dual layers of memory foam soothe restless animals. A gel foam top layer contours the body while removing body heat. It’s supported by a second layer of memory foam that adjusts to your dog as it lays on the bed. The only downside with this model is that the fabric’s rough texture can be loud if your dog is a restless sleeper.

Best for chewers: Kuranda Bed – Chewproof Design

Why it made the cut: The Kuranda’s high-strength PVC frame and choice of fabrics let you design a custom bed that resists chronic chewing. 

Specs 

  • Number of sizes: 6
  • Machine-washable cover: No
  • Colors: 4

Pros

  • Custom fabric options
  • Tough, but lightweight PVC frame
  • Indoor and outdoor designs available

Cons

  • No cushioning

Kuranda beds don’t leave durability to chance with dogs that get bored or have anxiety. High-grade PVC creates a durable frame that can withstand the chewing of teething dogs. 

PVC is also lightweight, so you can carry this bed all over the home or yard without breaking a sweat. Owners get to pick from four bed colors and a choice of fabrics, including heavy-duty vinyl, ballistic nylon, outdoor vinyl mesh, or textured nylon. 

There’s no cushion for this bed, which means chewers can’t rip out the stuffing. However, it also means older dogs, or those with arthritis, may not get the extra-plush they want. And, if your dog is a very determined digger, they might be able to claw a hole in the fabric.

Best orthopedic: Furhaven Orthopedic CertiPUR-US Certified Foam Pet Bed

Why it made the cut: Older dogs and those with joint pain get relief from egg-crate textured orthopedic foam that contours and supports the body with gentle pressure relief.

Specs 

  • Number of sizes: 5
  • Machine-washable cover: Yes  
  • Colors: 8

Pros

  • Egg-crate textured foam cushions while enhancing airflow
  • Soft faux fur, machine-washable cover
  • Bolsters provide a backrest or chin pillow

Cons 

  • Bolsters are only held on by the cover

Are you trying to help your beloved pup stay comfortable and sharp in its golden years? This bed will do just that. The Furhaven Orthopedic CertiPUR-US Certified Foam Pet Bed features egg-crate foam with gentle cushioning and excellent airflow. Bolsters on two or three sides (depending on the model) provide a pillow or back support. 

The bolsters on this bed are held on by only the cover only, meaning that they may not offer the greatest support. However, the cover itself is soft and machine washable. This bed may not be memory foam, but it supports achy joints and muscles with targeted texture and provides ample room for older dogs to get comfortable. 

Best washable: Newton Baby Washable & Orthopedic Pet Bed

Billy Cadden

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Why it made the cut: Both the core and cover are machine washable, making less-than-happy accidents even easier to clean.

Specs 

  • Number of sizes: 3
  • Machine-washable cover: Yes 
  • Colors: One

Pros

  • Temperature regulating core
  • Easy to wash
  • Scratch-proof

Cons 

  • Expensive
  • Limited size range

Every pet parent has known the struggle of Barkers mistaking the pet bed for a wee wee pad. Most pet beds either require spot-cleaning, or boast a removable cover. Get peace of mind that your pet’s bed is truly clean with the Newton Baby Washable & Orthopedic Pet Bed, which features a machine-washable core and cover. It’s orthopedic to support supple little heads and creaky joints, and the core is temperature-regulating to keep your canine cool all year long. The bed itself is made using Wovenaire technology, which was invented in Japan. The bed is created by extruding high-quality, food-grade polymer into a clear pool of water, which creates a resilient rectangle that’s 90% air by volume. The resulting product provides the comfort of foam and latex without the environmental drawbacks. If it’s good enough for fragile, soft little babies, it’s more than perfect for your fragile, soft little (fur) baby.

Best budget: MidWest Homes for Pets Bolster Pet Bed

MidWest Homes for Pets

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Why it made the cut: Quality isn’t sacrificed for price with this versatile, wallet-friendly pet bed.

Specs 

  • Number of sizes: 8
  • Machine-washable cover: Yes  
  • Colors: 5

Pros

  • Fits in most crates
  • Lots of colors and sizes
  • Easy to wash

Cons 

  • Not thick
  • Sheds

Throw this bed in a carrier or a cage for transport, or leave it out for daily napping. Or do both, thanks to its price that makes it easy to purchase more than one to put in multiple places. The synthetic fleece keeps your dog comfortable in warm or cold climates and doesn’t wear down over time. Additionally, its stitching and construction allow it to resist wear and tear. However, the bed might not be best for older dogs, as it’s not thick. The bed also comes with a one-year warranty in case this bed slipped through MidWest’s product testing. Judging by the brand’s longevity—it’s been around for 90 years—you may not need to use it.

What to consider when buying the best dog beds

You can’t just get any dog bed for your pooch. They only deserve the softest, most comfortable pet bed on the planet since they are perfect angels who can do no wrong. However, there are some things to keep in mind when purchasing your dog a new bed to ensure their happiness—and your sanity so they don’t take bed-related anger out on your couch cushions.

Washability

We all love our four-legged friends, but they can really make a mess sometimes. A dog bed with a washable, waterproof cover will make your life infinitely easier. Check the cover’s washing instructions, as some may have to be line-dried, especially if they have a non-skid bottom.

Durability

If you’re spending a lot of money on a pet bed, you’ll want it to have longevity. Otherwise, you’re throwing money right into the hungry, voracious pit that is your dog’s mouth. Additionally, eating stuffing and fabric is not good for a dog’s stomach and could warrant a trip to the emergency vet—which means you’ll throw even more money right into the hungry, voracious pit that is your dog’s mouth. Either invest in a bed that includes structural features like triple-stitched seams, dense stuffing, and a puncture-resistant cover, or accept that nothing will satiate your pup like ripping apart a brand-new bed. In that case, make sure it’s made out of non-toxic materials and cheap so it’s easy to repurchase.

Size

Size matters. An extra-large dog needs an extra-large dog bed. But an extra-extra-large dog? Well, there’s a bed for him too. Beds designed for big dogs often feature more padding to account for the extra weight. Smaller dogs often feel more secure in a bed as pint-sized as they are. The wrong-sized bed could lead to a big dog that’s cramped or a small dog that feels exposed or insecure. 

Comfort

You wouldn’t want to sleep in an uncomfortable bed—why should your dog? More importantly, if your dog has joint problems or is older, a comfortable bed is a must-have feature. The best dog bed will support and cushion your dog’s body to prevent or manage any pain they may have. Your dog’s bed is their domain and helps them feel calm and stress-free. A comfortable bed can help prevent them from tearing up the house out of stress.

Extra features

Do beds really have extra features? Yes, they do. Much like there are fancy dog houses, there are dog bunk beds, luxury dog beds, and heated dog beds. The climate you live in, your dog’s breed, and your personal aesthetic might require a bed with extra features. Extra features may include reinforced corners, covered heavy-duty zippers, bolsters, or more.

FAQs

Q: Do dogs need a bed?

Most dogs need a bed. However, not all of them are picky. A simple cushion or raised bed may be all some dogs want or need. However, as your dog ages, he’ll probably need some cushioning and support to prevent aches and pains. A bed can also provide a space that’s just for the dog. Sometimes dogs try to encroach on the sofa or your bed. If a dog bed is available, it is easier to train the dog by giving them something that’s theirs. 

Q: Do dogs prefer hard or soft beds?

It depends on the dog. Some dogs simply need a platform that keeps them off the ground. Others have more delicate sensitivities and prefer a soft and cushy bed. As dogs age, soft beds can cause arthritis pain.

Q: Are Sealy dog beds good? 

Sealy makes excellent dog beds. If we were adding the best outdoor bed to our list, a Sealy dog bed would probably be the one. Their beds feature cooling foams and come in indoor or outdoor versions for the different lifestyles of our favorite four-footed explorers.

Q: What dog beds are indestructible?

Dogs always find a way to destroy something, but the Kuranda Bed boasts an anti-chew design. However, there are some things you can do to prevent a dog from destroying its bed, including trimming its nails and purchasing beds that feature tightly woven fabric so your dog’s nails can’t catch and cause a tear.

Q: How often should you change your dog’s bed?

If your dog bed is machine-washable, aim to wash it at least once a week to keep it fresh—and keep your dog clean as well. If your dog’s bed is looking like it’s been through some things, change it. A tattered bed can ruin the vibe of your living room and also pose a health risk. Taking good care of your bed, and purchasing beds made of high-quality materials will make a pet bed last longer for more daytime snoozes.

Final thoughts on the best dog beds

For an all-around high-quality, comfortable bed, the PetFusion Ultimate Bed gets the top prize. Its supportive cushion lets the dog sink into the bed. If your dog likes to chew and dig, the Kuranda Bed – Chewproof Design—with its PVC frame and tough fabrics—will probably last longer. Regardless of the best pet bed you choose for your furever friend, dogs deserve a warm, cozy spot to rest their head as much as we do. A comfortable pet bed can make all the difference in your dog’s quality of life when they come in from a snuffari, and help extend your furniture’s lifespan, too.

Why trust us

Popular Science started writing about technology more than 150 years ago. There was no such thing as “gadget writing” when we published our first issue in 1872, but if there was, our mission to demystify the world of innovation for everyday readers means we would have been all over it. Here in the present, PopSci is fully committed to helping readers navigate the increasingly intimidating array of devices on the market right now.

Our writers and editors have combined decades of experience covering and reviewing consumer electronics. We each have our own obsessive specialties—from high-end audio to video games to cameras and beyond—but when we’re reviewing devices outside of our immediate wheelhouses, we do our best to seek out trustworthy voices and opinions to help guide people to the very best recommendations. We know we don’t know everything, but we’re excited to live through the analysis paralysis that internet shopping can spur so readers don’t have to.

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Endangered sea turtles build hundreds of nests on the Outer Banks https://www.popsci.com/environment/endangered-sea-turtles-successful-nesting-season-2023/ Mon, 06 Nov 2023 15:30:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=586477
A baby loggerhead turtle pokes out of a shell on the sand. Its head and front flippers are out of the shell, with the lower half remaining inside.
Loggerhead turtles can weigh up to 2,000 pounds and their nests can contain as many as 100 eggs. Mark Conlin/VW PICS/UIG via Getty Image

The barrier islands saw 459 nests in 2023 including the first loggerhead turtle nest in 11 years.

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A baby loggerhead turtle pokes out of a shell on the sand. Its head and front flippers are out of the shell, with the lower half remaining inside.
Loggerhead turtles can weigh up to 2,000 pounds and their nests can contain as many as 100 eggs. Mark Conlin/VW PICS/UIG via Getty Image

North Carolina’s Outer Banks saw a busy sea turtle nesting season this year. The barrier islands stretching from Ocracoke Island north to the Virginia state saw 459 total nests between May and October, according to reporting from The Virginian-Pilot and three conservation groups in the state dedicated to sea turtle nesting.

[Related: This waddling robot could guide baby turtles to the sea.]

There are six species of sea turtles native to the United States—green, hawksbill, Kemp’s ridley, leatherback, loggerhead, and olive ridley. All six species are protected by the Endangered Species Act and four of them are known to nest in North Carolina. Human activities are the biggest threats to sea turtle species around the world. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says that their biggest threats are being caught in fishing gear, nesting and habitat loss, pollution and marine debris, boat strikes, climate change, and the direct harvest of sea turtles and eggs.

During the early to middle of the summer in the Outer Banks, female turtles return to the same beaches where they hatched to dig nests into the sand. They use their back flippers to dig a hole in the ground to deposit the eggs, and then cover it back up with sand. According to the National Park Service, the nesting process takes about one to three hours to complete. 

The tiny turtles hatch a few months later and follow the light of the moon to the ocean. However, their journey from their nests is quite hazardous, as they can be misdirected by artificial lights from homes and streets, crushed by human activity, or eaten by predators on their way to the ocean. 

[Related: Endangered green turtles are bouncing back in the Seychelles.]

At Cape Hatteras National Seashore, this year tied with 2022 as the second-busiest nesting season on record with 379 reported nests. The area covers more than 70 miles and stretches from Ocracoke Island north to Nags Head. The National Park Service says that the first nest was found on May 12 and the most recent was seen on October 29. The nests comprised 324 loggerhead turtles, 51 green turtles, three Kemp’s ridleys, and one leatherback. The leatherback nest was the first one seen on Hatteras National Seashore in 11 years.

Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge on the northern end of Hatteras island reported its third-busiest nesting season since 2009. The refuge covers about 13 miles and saw 43 sea turtle nests this year. By species, 37 nests belonged to loggerhead turtles and six were green turtle nests, according to data from the Sea Turtle Nest Monitoring System.

The nonprofit Network for Endangered Sea Turtles (NEST) also reported its third-busiest nesting season since 2015. Vice President Susan Silbernagel said 30 nests belong to loggerhead turtles and seven were green turtle nests. The all-volunteer organization covers about 50 miles from Nags Head up to Virginia. 

[Related: Safely share the beach with endangered sea turtles this summer.]

To better protect the endangered turtles, volunteers and scientists have been regularly monitoring the region’s beaches since 1997. Staff members and volunteers at Cape Hatteras will establish a buffer zone around the nests for added protection. 

“We could not manage and monitor sea turtle nesting without the help of over 50 dedicated volunteers that assist with monitoring of our nests and reporting and responding to sea turtle strandings,” Michelle Tongue told The Virginian-Pilot. Tongue is the deputy chief of resource management and science for the National Park Service’s Outer Banks Group. 

Sea turtles spend the vast majority of their lives in the ocean and are among the largest reptiles in the world. Kemp’s ridley and green sea turtles weigh about 75 to 100 pounds, while leatherbacks can weigh about 2,000 pounds. Sea turtles are set apart from their pond or land-dwelling relatives by their flippers. Instead of these appendages, land and pond turtles have feet with claws. 

Continued monitoring and vigilance during the 2024 nesting season will hopefully increase survival rates for these endangered reptiles.

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North America was once home to some unusual wild monkeys https://www.popsci.com/science/ekgmowechashala-fossils/ Mon, 06 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=586445
An illustration of Ekgmowechashala, the last primate to inhabit North America before humans. The animal has a white furry face, with a pink nose, and large dark eyes like a lemur. It is sitting in a leafy tree.
An illustration of Ekgmowechashala, the last primate to inhabit North America before humans. Kristen Tietjen, scientific illustrator with the KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum

According to paleontologists, the five-pound Ekgmowechashala showed up on the continent ‘like a drifting gunslinger in a Western movie.’

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An illustration of Ekgmowechashala, the last primate to inhabit North America before humans. The animal has a white furry face, with a pink nose, and large dark eyes like a lemur. It is sitting in a leafy tree.
An illustration of Ekgmowechashala, the last primate to inhabit North America before humans. Kristen Tietjen, scientific illustrator with the KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum

Humans are the only primates currently living in the wild in North America, but that was not always the case. The continent was once home to non-human primates, including big-eyed tarsier-like animals called omomyiforms and long-tailed critters called adapiforms. About 30 million years ago, a lemur-like creature named Ekgmowechashala was the last primate to inhabit the continent before Homo sapiens arrived. In a study published November 6 in the Journal of Human Evolution, fossil teeth and jaws shed some new light on this mysterious creature. 

[Related: 12-million-year-old ape skull bares its fangs in virtual reconstruction.]

From China to Nebraska

Understanding the origins of North America’s primates has been a paleontological puzzle. It’s been unclear whether they evolved on the continent or arrived from somewhere else via land bridges. The first first primates in North America date back about 56 million years at the beginning of the Eocene Epoch. Scientists believe that the primates like Ekgmowechashala generally flourished on the continent for over 20 million years. 

Ekgmowechashala was about five pounds and only one foot tall. They lived in what is now the American Plains just after the Eocene-Oligocene transition. At this time, a huge cooling and dying event made the continent much less hospitable for primates. Ekgmowechashala went extinct about 34 million years ago. 

For the study, paleontologists first had to reconstruct Ekgmowechashala’s family tree with the help of  an older “sister taxon,” or a closely related group of animals. Both groups generally share a branch on their family trees, but diverged at some point and have different lineages. This sister animal originates in and the team named it Palaeohodites, which means “ancient wanderer.” The fossils were collected by paleontologists from the United States in the 1990s from the Nadu Formation in Guangxi, an autonomous region in China. The fossils closely resembled the Ekgmowechashala material that had been found in North America in the 1960s, when the primate was still quite mysterious to North American paleontologists.

The Palaeohodites fossil potentially helps resolve the mystery of Ekgmowechashala’s strange presence in North America. It was likely a migrant to the continent instead of being the product of local evolution.

“Due to its unique morphology and its representation only by dental remains, its place on the mammalian evolutionary tree has been a subject of contention and debate. There’s been a prevailing consensus leaning towards its classification as a primate,” study co-author and University of Kansas PhD candidate Kathleen Rust said in a statement. “But the timing and appearance of this primate in the North American fossil record are quite unusual. It appears suddenly in the fossil record of the Great Plains more than 4 million years after the extinction of all other North American primates, which occurred around 34 million years ago.”

[Related: These primate ancestors were totally chill with a colder climate.]

The Ekgmowechashala fossils found in the US during the 1960s include an upper molar that looks very similar to the Palaeohodites molars found in China, according to study co-author and University of Kansas paleontologist Chris Beard. The team from Kansas closely analyzed the fossils to establish evolutionary relationships between the American Ekgmowechashala and its cousin Palaeohodites. 

The paleontologists believe that Ekgmowechashala did not descend from an older North American primate that survived the climate shift roughly 33 million years ago that caused other North American primates to go extinct. Instead, Ekgmowechashala’s ancestors likely crossed over the icy Beringian region that once connected Asia and North America millions of years later.

Rising from the dead

Ekgmowechashala is an example of the “Lazarus effect” in paleontology. This is where a species suddenly appears in the fossil record long after their relatives have died off. It is a reference to Lazarus who, according to New Testament mythology, was raised from the dead. It is also a pattern of evolution seen in the fossil record of North American primates, who went extinct about 34 million years ago. 

“Several million years later Ekgmowechashala shows up like a drifting gunslinger in a Western movie, only to be a flash in the pan as far as the long trajectory of evolution is concerned,” Beard said in a statement. “After Ekgmowechashala is gone for more than 25 million years, Clovis people come to North America, marking the third chapter of primates on this continent. Like Ekgmowechashala, humans in North America are a prime example of the Lazarus effect.”

The past is prologue?

Studying the way primates were affected by previous changes in climate can provide important insight to today’s human-driven climate change. Organisms generally retreat to more hospitable regions with the available resources or end up going extinct

“Around 34 million years ago, all of the primates in North America couldn’t adapt and survive. North America lacked the necessary conditions for survival,” said Rust. “This underscores the significance of accessible resources for our non-human primate relatives during times of drastic climatic change.

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Seals with funny hats are helping map the Antarctic seascape https://www.popsci.com/technology/seals-tracker-antarctic-science/ Mon, 06 Nov 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=586226
elephant seal wearing tag like a hat
Clive McMahon, IMOS and SIMS

These trackers turn seals into roving sensors.

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elephant seal wearing tag like a hat
Clive McMahon, IMOS and SIMS

Studying the ocean is a daunting task. It requires machines that don’t corrode in the seawater, and are able to withstand the escalating, crushing pressures as they dive down. While robots have become better at surviving these challenging environments since they became part of the crew embarking on deep-sea explorations, animals like elephant seals and weddell seals do it naturally with ease. As a workaround to keep the tech expenses low but the science quality high, a group of researchers had the idea to attach trackers and basic measurement tools detecting temperature, salinity, and depth to these seals to learn more about their massive marine habitat. 

The tracker looks like a funny little hat, but don’t let its appearance fool you. It has proven to be conducive to serious science. 

Earlier this summer, the team of international scientists working on the Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science (ACEAS) project published a report in the journal Communications Earth and Environment in which the seal divers wearing these satellite-paired, glued-on trackers revealed that the bottom of the sea in some areas is deeper than what’s stated on current maps. The seals also helped uncover a hidden underwater canyon in Antarctica’s seas that was then confirmed with other tools, Scientific American recently reported. 

This study is just one of the many planned projects for these blubbery, flippered research assistants. According to ABC Australia, the tracker-adorning seals are part of a 20-year project to understand the grooves and depths of the East Antarctic continental shelf and the seafloor below it. Turning the seals into effective free-roaming sensors can fill in gaps in data related to some of the most hard-to-get-to parts of the Antarctic ocean, as the seals are “tweeting” small packets of information they’ve collected to a satellite every time they surface. 

[Related: Tagging along with sharks to the ocean’s twilight zone]

Seals may know secret spots, too, that humans have never ventured to before, and they’re still actively exploring, diving down to the seafloor to forage, even when blankets of ice prevent ships and other human devices from accessing certain regions of Antarctica.  

This science is happening for an important reason. Getting a more accurate picture of the labyrinthic world under Antarctic ice is key to making predictions about how and how fast melting occurs as a result of climate change. The seals are definitely not the only tool scientists are deploying. Submersible robots like Boaty McBoatface and Icefin are also on a similar mission. 

There are many lacunas in the reams of scientific data regarding how the ocean is structured, and how its inhabitants traverse it. Part of the shortcoming is because researchers are approaching the task from a human perspective, and not seeing the environment the way an animal living there would. This could be why there are so many remaining mysteries around phenomena like, for example, where eels reproduce. Using an inside source, or an inside marine animal so to speak, may not be the worst idea to spy on their world

The method is already yielding results. Other than the seals, a team of scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution have tagged sharks to study the quirks of the ocean’s twilight zone, and another team tagged turtles in the Indian Ocean to gather data that could be used to predict cyclones.

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Overfeeding cats will mess with their guts and poop https://www.popsci.com/health/cat-overfeeding/ Fri, 03 Nov 2023 15:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=585908
A black and white cat with a large mid-section sits on a kitchen floor.
Roughly 60 percent of domestic cats in the United States are considered overweight. Deposit Photos

A study on cat obesity tracks changes in their microbiomes.

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A black and white cat with a large mid-section sits on a kitchen floor.
Roughly 60 percent of domestic cats in the United States are considered overweight. Deposit Photos

Among domestic cats, feline obesity is the most frequent nutritional disorder veterinarians in the United States see. Defined as a body weight that is 20 percent or more above a normal weight of eight to 12 pounds, it can impact a cat’s longevity and lead to diabetes and chronic inflammation among other health problems. A study published in the Journal of Animal Science in September found that overeating has some observable effects on feline gut microbiota and digestive system. 

[Related: A new shot can be a safe and effective alternative to surgical spaying.]

According to study co-author and University of Illinois nutritional scientist Kelly Swanson, about 60 percent of cats in the US are considered overweight. 

“While many studies have investigated feline weight loss, there has been little focus on the opposite process, which is also important. In this study, we wanted to learn more about the metabolic and gastrointestinal changes that occur as a result of overeating and weight gain in cats,” Swanson said in a statement

Complex changes

In the study, 11 adult spayed female cats were fed a standard dry cat food for two weeks. Baseline body measurements were taken and they were then allowed to eat as much as they wanted. The researchers also collected blood and poop samples at regular intervals and monitored their physical activity. Weight gain was assessed using a body condition score (BCS), which is similar to the controversial body mass index (BMI) in humans. BCS is measured on a 9-point scale where anything 6 or above is considered overweight. Like in humans, BCS is a quantitative, but also subjective, method for evaluating body fat in pets.

The cats immediately increased their food intake when they were allowed to overeat and they began to gain weight. When the study began, their average BCS was 5.41. Their BCS increased to 8.27 after 18 weeks of overfeeding. This corresponds to the cats being about 30 percent overweight by body mass. 

The researchers also analyzed changes in how much the felines pooped, their gastrointestinal transit time, how well nutrients were being digested, and changes in the build up of their gut microbiome over the 20-week study.

“We found that as cats ate more and gained weight, gastrointestinal transit time was reduced, and so was digestive efficiency. When the body gets less food, it will be more efficient in extracting nutrients. But when the amount of food increases, it passes through the digestive system faster and fewer nutrients are extracted in the process,” Swanson explained.  

A cat-specific bacteria shift 

During the 18 weeks of weight gain, the composition of the cats’ gut microbiome also changed. An anti-microbial bacteria that helps stimulate the immune system and inhibits pathogens called Bifidobacterium increased. At the same time, a bacteria that degrades fiber and has been linked to pro-inflammatory disease called Collinsella decreased. According to Swanson, these results are the opposite of what has been measured in overweight humans and suggests that their association to weight gain is complicated.  

[Related: Your cat probably knows when you’re talking to it.]

“The change in the gastrointestinal transit time was a novel finding and a potential reason for the change in fecal microbiota. Future studies should consider measuring transit time to better explain modifications to the microbiome of pets,” Swanson added. 

The more the cats ate, the more they pooped. At the same time that the cats were putting on pounds, fecal pH decreased, meaning that their poop became more acidic. A low fecal pH in humans indicates that the body isn’t absorbing fat or carbohydrates well. It appears that a lower fecal pH with higher food intake also reduced digestibility for cats. 

To measure activity level, the team used special collars. The cats were kept in a group setting where they could interact with one another and play with toys, except on the days when stool samples were collected.

“We expected that weight gain might lead to decreased physical activity, but we did not observe any consistent changes in activity level. However, this could vary with individual cats and their environment, and how much their owners interact with them,” said Swanson.

At the end of the study, the cats were put on a restricted-feeding diet that helped them return to their previous weights. A better understanding of the gastrointestinal and metabolic changes that occur with obesity in domestic pets could help with future prevention and treatment plans. Another new study co-authored by Swanson, demonstrated that restricted feeding can promote safe weight and fat loss in cats

The team also suggests that pet parents encourage regular physical activity with their cats. They can make it fun for the cats by stimulating foraging by placing food around the house, or using food puzzles during mealtime. Both of these strategies promote engagement and mental enrichment, according to Swanson. 

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Rats may have imaginations https://www.popsci.com/science/rats-may-have-imaginations/ Thu, 02 Nov 2023 18:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=585594
A white rat pops its head out of a black box. Like in humans, the rat’s hippocampus is the part of the brain where mental maps of the world are stored.
Like in humans, the rat’s hippocampus is the part of the brain where mental maps of the world are stored. Deposit Photos

New research suggests that rats might picture where they've been and think about moving objects.

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A white rat pops its head out of a black box. Like in humans, the rat’s hippocampus is the part of the brain where mental maps of the world are stored.
Like in humans, the rat’s hippocampus is the part of the brain where mental maps of the world are stored. Deposit Photos

The ability to get lost in thoughts and use our imaginations to daydream might not be completely unique to humans. A study published November 2 in the journal Science found that rats can think about objects and places that are not right in front of them. 

[Related: How science came to rely on the humble lab rat.]

Imagining locations that are away from our current position is a component of both memory and conjuring up possible future scenarios. If animals have this ability, they could have a form of imagination that is similar to our species.

“The rat can indeed activate the representation of places in the environment without going there,” Chongxi Lai, a co-author of the study and engineer and neuroscientist at Howard Hughes Medical Institute, said in a statement. “Even if his physical body is fixed, his spatial thoughts can go to a very remote location.”

To learn more, Lai and a team at Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Maryland designed a series of experiments to see if rats can use their thoughts to imagine going towards a specific location or moving a remote object.

A new brain-machine interface and virtual reality system for rats. In this experiment, a rat uses this system to navigate to a goal solely by thinking about where it wants to go. According to the rules of this system, physical movement by the rat does not affect the rat’s location in the virtual environment. Only by controlling its hippocampal brain activity can the rat control where it goes. Specifically, in this system the animal is virtually moved toward the ‘decoded location’ that the hippocampal activity represents. CREDIT: Lai et al.

Reading a rat’s mind

When humans and rodents experience events or visit places, specific neural activity patterns are activated in their hippocampus. This area of the brain is responsible for spatial memory and stores mental maps of the rat’s world. It is also involved in recalling past events and imagining future situations. To recall memories, specific patterns related to places and events are generated in the hippocampus. Chimpanzees have been shown to have the ability to pretend, but scientists are still figuring out how chimps and other non-human animals think

To peer inside of a rat’s brain and look at these brain patterns, the team developed a real-time “thought detector.” This system measures neural activity and translates what it means using a brain-machine interface (BMI). 

The BMI produced a connection between the electrical activity occurring in the rat’s hippocampus and the animal’s position in a 360-degree virtual reality arena. It allowed the researchers to see if a rat can activate hippocampal activity to think about a location in the virtual arena without physically traveling there. 

A rat ‘thought dictionary’

With the BMI in place, the team worked to decode the brain signals in the rats. They built a “thought dictionary” of what the brain activity patterns looked like when the rat was traveling through the virtual arena in the experiment.

To do this, the rat was harnessed into a virtual reality system. As the rat walked on a spherical treadmill, its movements were translated onto a 360-degree screen. The rat was rewarded when it navigated towards its goal.

While the rat walked on the treadmill, the BMI system recorded the activity occurring in the hippocampus. The team saw which neurons were activated when the rat navigated the virtual arena to reach each goal. These signals provided them with the basis for a real-time translation of what was going on in the hippocampus.

With the thought dictionary set up, the team disconnected the treadmill. The rat was rewarded for the first step of reproducing the hippocampal activity pattern that was associated with walking towards a goal location.

The Jumper task and the Jedi task

Next, they designed two different tasks for the rats to perform–the Jumper task and the Jedi task.

In the Jumper task, the BMI translated the rat’s brain activity into motion on a screen. The animal was essentially using its thoughts to find a reward by thinking about where it needs to go to obtain it. This is a thought process similar to traveling to work or school and imagining the buildings and places we will pass along the way. 

[Related: We probably have big brains because we got lucky.]

The Jedi task had a rat hypothetically move an object to a location in its mind. The rat was fixed in a virtual place, but controlled its hippocampal activity to envision moving the object towards a goal. This is similar to how a person sitting on a couch imagining  getting up and refilling a water glass in a kitchen. The team then changed the location of the rat’s goal, which required it to produce activity patterns associated with the new location.

They found that the rats can precisely and flexibly control their hippocampal activity. Surprisingly, they could sustain this activity and hold their thoughts on a given location for many seconds. This time frame is similar to the amount of time humans can take to relive past events or imagine new scenarios.

“The stunning thing is how rats learn to think about that place, and no other place, for a very long period of time, based on our, perhaps naïve, notion of the attention span of a rat,” Tim Harris, a study co-author and biophysicist from Howard Hughes Medical Institute, said in a statement.

According to the team, this study shows how BMI can be used to probe hippocampal activity and could be a new way to study this critical region of the brain. BMI is increasingly used in prosthetics, and this new work could be used to develop devices based on these same principles.

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The science behind mixing honey into cocktails https://www.popsci.com/diy/honey-cocktail-science/ Thu, 02 Nov 2023 12:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=584784
A honey-infused Bee's Knees cocktail on a white plate on a table next to a jar of honey, some lemons, and a honey dipper.
Honey, alcohol, and citrus work well together. Depositphotos

You don't have to be an experienced bartender to get your guests buzzin'.

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A honey-infused Bee's Knees cocktail on a white plate on a table next to a jar of honey, some lemons, and a honey dipper.
Honey, alcohol, and citrus work well together. Depositphotos

In Washington, D.C., a honey bee landed on a restaurant bar, creating quite a stir. But a man a few feet away, who was allergic to the insect’s sting, was not alarmed. This bee’s head and wings were metal, and its abdomen glass.

The bistro, Bresca, which means “honeycomb” in Catalan, likes to serve its riff on a Bee’s Knees cocktail in this bee-like vessel. And, to fit the theme, Bresca’s version swaps out simple syrup made of processed sugar and water for a syrup made entirely of honey and water. Unlike the sucrose-heavy simple syrups that many bartenders use in cocktails, honey is mostly fructose and glucose. Because fructose is sweeter than sucrose, honey goes a long way in a cocktail, and knowing how to use it is key to impressing your guests. 

Use different varieties of honey to your benefit

“Honey comes from thousands and thousands of varietals of plants,” says Juliana Rangel, associate professor of apiculture at Texas A&M’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “Each plant has its own unique [taste] profile that’s not found in [table] sugars.”

[Related: How to build a garden that’ll have pollinators buzzin’]

When you are familiar with the varieties of honey available to you, you can choose the perfect honey to complement the other ingredients in a cocktail. “Horsemint honey,” Rangel notes, which comes from a plant that grows wildly across central Texas and other areas, “would be a great complement to a minty beverage like mojitos because the honey itself has those components.” Rangel also explains that because honey naturally contains acids, it combines well with citrus fruits often used in cocktails. 

Work with honey’s texture, not against it 

Honey, unlike a simple syrup, imparts mouthfeel, texture, and aroma, says Chris Gerling, senior extension associate at Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

“Because honey has this viscosity, this texture, and waxiness,” Gerling says, “it helps to soften and round out ethanol, which can be harsh. It can make the more strident parts of bitters… less aggressive.”

But because of honey’s thickness, it needs to be thinned out before it goes into a cocktail. At the urban apiary on the rooftop of the Hilton hotel in McLean, Virginia, the harvest goes to the kitchen and bar, where it’s mixed with equal parts warm water. This keeps it viscous and flavorful, but loose enough to be blended easily into a cocktail of whiskey, Cointreau, and muddled lemon slices so the oils from the skin can help round out the drink.

Actually, mind your beeswax

Bees work busily, visiting flowers and converting pollen and nectar in their stomachs to remove water and produce a simple sugar. A harvesting bee then passes this nectar to another bee that stores this sugar in the honeycomb, drying it out with their wings and capping it with beeswax. As it turns out, beeswax is another useful agricultural product and has its place around alcohol.

Bresca’s bartender works much like a bee. Not only is cocktail construction a busy process, but to infuse the right flavors into the drink, the bartender must move it from vessel to vessel, aging it in beeswax for nine days before it goes into the metal and glass bee.

Storing a cocktail in a jar with a beeswax-coated interior is a lot like putting wine into an oak barrel, Gerling explains. “Alcohol is a solvent. It’s extracting properties from the beeswax.”

Hawksmoor in New York City goes as far as infusing whiskey with melted beeswax harvested from Manhattan rooftops to make their Night Nurse cocktail. After time in the refrigerator, the bartender skims off all that rises to the surface—about a quarter of the initial wax. It’s the same process as fat-washing a cocktail, and the melted beeswax imparts floral flavors and a creamy mouth-feel. Hawksmoor also acid-adjusts their honey with malic acid from apples and citric acid for a cleaner taste.

[Related: 5 ways to keep bees buzzing that don’t require a hive]

While Rangel says beeswax can add an earthy and floral taste to a cocktail, she is less keen on aging alcohol in beeswax. Alcohol will degrade the wax particles, she says, resulting in leaching. And because bees visit agricultural crops and can carry pesticides on their bodies, those chemicals get imparted into the beeswax, giving it a chemical residue.

But it’s no different than eating a salad without the organic label stamped on the bag. And it’s probably no worse than the alcohol itself.

“In urban environments,” Rangel notes, “the pesticides are actually less.”

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The sea star’s whole body is a head https://www.popsci.com/science/starfish-head-body/ Wed, 01 Nov 2023 16:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=585202
An orange starfish, or sea star, on a black backgorund. The unusual five-axis symmetry of sea stars has long confounded our understanding of animal evolution.
The unusual five-axis symmetry of sea stars (Patiria miniata) has long confounded our understanding of animal evolution. Laurent Formery

‘It’s not at all what scientists have assumed about these animals.’

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An orange starfish, or sea star, on a black backgorund. The unusual five-axis symmetry of sea stars has long confounded our understanding of animal evolution.
The unusual five-axis symmetry of sea stars (Patiria miniata) has long confounded our understanding of animal evolution. Laurent Formery

When looking at a sea star–or starfish–it’s not really clear which part of its identical five pointed body is considered its head. This question has puzzled biologists for decades, but some new research says that a starfish’s whole body could function like a head. The findings are described in a study published November 1 in the journal Nature and might have solved the mystery of how sea stars and other echinoderms evolved their distinctively shaped bodies.

[Related: This strange 500-million-year-old sea urchin relative lost its skeleton.]

12 starfish colored blue white white portions showing specific genes. By staining genetic material with fluorescent labels, researchers can examine how key genes behave across the sea star body.
By staining genetic material with fluorescent labels, researchers can examine how key genes behave across the sea star body. CREDIT: Laurent Formery. Laurent Formery

Searching for heads and trunks 

Sea stars are invertebrates that belong to a group of animals called echinoderms.This group also includes sea urchins and sand dollars and they all have bodies that are arranged in five equal and symmetric sections. Early in their evolution, echinoderms had a bilaterally designed ancestor with two mirrored sides more like a human’s. 

“How the different body parts of the echinoderms relate to those we see in other animal groups has been a mystery to scientists for as long as we’ve been studying them,” Jeff Thompson, a co-author of the study and evolutionary biologist at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom, said in a statement. “In their bilateral relatives, the body is divided into a head, trunk, and tail. But just looking at a starfish, it’s impossible to see how these sections relate to the bodies of bilateral animals.”

In the new study, an international team of scientists compared the molecular markers in sea stars with a wider group of animals called deuterostomes. This group includes echinoderms like sea star and bilateral animals including vertebrates. Deuterostomes all share a common ancestor, so comparing their development can offer clues into how echinoderms evolved their more unique five-pointed body plan.

They used multiple high-tech molecular and genomic techniques to see where different genes were expressed during a sea star’s development and growth. Micro-CT scanning also allowed the team to understand the shape and structure of the animals in closer detail.

Sea star mapping

Team members from Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley, and Pacific BioSciences, used techniques called RNA tomography and in situ hybridization to build a three-dimensional map of a sea star’s gene expression to see where specific genes are being expressed during development. They specifically mapped the expression of the genes that control the growth of a sea star’s ectoderm, which includes its nervous system and skin. 

They found gene signatures associated with head development almost everywhere in juvenile sea stars. The expression of genes that code for an animal’s torso and tail sections were also largely missing.

[Related: What’s killing sea stars?]

“When we compared the expression of genes in a starfish to other groups of animals, like vertebrates, it appeared that a crucial part of the body plan was missing,” said Thompson. “The genes that are typically involved in the patterning of the trunk of the animal weren’t expressed in the ectoderm. It seems the whole echinoderm body plan is roughly equivalent to the head in other groups of animals.”

The molecular signatures that are typically associated with the front-most portion of an animal’s head were also localized towards the middle of each of the sea star’s five arms. 

“It’s as if the sea star is completely missing a trunk, and is best described as just a head crawling along the seafloor,” study co-author and Stanford University evolutionary biologist Laurent Formery said in a statement. “It’s not at all what scientists have assumed about these animals.” 

Sea stars and other echinoderms may have evolved their five-section body plan by losing the trunk region that their bilateral ancestors once had. This chance would have allowed them to move around and feed differently than animals with two symmetrical arms.

“Our research tells us the echinoderm body plan evolved in a more complex way than previously thought and there is still much to learn about these intriguing creatures,” said Thompson. “As someone who has studied them for the last ten years, these findings have radically changed how I think about this group of animals.”

This research was supported by the Leverhulme Trust, NASA, the NSF, and the Chan Zuckerberg BioHub.

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Giant prehistoric lamprey likely sucked blood—and ate flesh https://www.popsci.com/environment/ancient-lamprey-blood-flesh/ Tue, 31 Oct 2023 16:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=584732
An artist's illustration of an early lamprey's teeth and sucker. The Jurassic lampreys Yanliaomyzon had a feeding apparatus that surprisingly resembles that of the pouched lampreys. It foreshadows the ancestral flesh-eating habit of present day. lampreys.
The Jurassic lampreys Yanliaomyzon had a feeding apparatus that surprisingly resembles that of the pouched lampreys. It foreshadows the ancestral flesh-eating habit of present day. lampreys. Heming Zhang

A newly discovered nightmarish fossil of one of these parasitic ‘water vampires’ is 23 inches long.

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An artist's illustration of an early lamprey's teeth and sucker. The Jurassic lampreys Yanliaomyzon had a feeding apparatus that surprisingly resembles that of the pouched lampreys. It foreshadows the ancestral flesh-eating habit of present day. lampreys.
The Jurassic lampreys Yanliaomyzon had a feeding apparatus that surprisingly resembles that of the pouched lampreys. It foreshadows the ancestral flesh-eating habit of present day. lampreys. Heming Zhang

Lampreys are the vampires of the ocean and the lakes they can invade. While these eel-like parasitic vertebrates don’t use two sharp fangs to suck blood, lampreys have a toothed oral sucker that latches onto their prey and feasts on their host’s blood. Modern day lampreys are found in temperate zones of most of the world’s oceans except in Africa. However, specimens of their extinct ancient ancestors are fairly rare in the fossil record, despite dating back roughly 360 million years. Now, paleontologists in northern China have found two unusually large fossilized lamprey species that fill a large evolutionary gap. The specimens are described in a study published October 31 in the journal Nature Communications.

[Related: Why sea lampreys are going to be a bigger problem for the Great Lakes.]

“We found the largest fossil lampreys ever found in the world,” study co-author and Chinese Academy of Sciences paleontologist Feixiang Wu tells PopSci. “Based on these fossils, our study assumed that the most recent common ancestor of modern lampreys was likely eating flesh rather than sucking blood as conventionally believed.”

The earliest known lampreys date back about 360 million years ago during the Paleozoic Era. These early species are believed to have been only a few inches long and had weak feeding structures. The 160 million-year-old fossils in this new study were discovered in the Lagerstätte Yanliao Biota in northeastern China and date back to the Jurassic. The longer of the two specimens is named Yanliaomyzon occisor. It is more than 23 inches long and is estimated to have had 16 teeth. The shorter 11 inch-long species is named Yanliaomyzon ingensdentes and had about 23 teeth. By comparison, modern lampreys range from six to 40 inches long.

An artist's illustration of a lamprey from the Jurassic era. It is a long and eel-like fish with a toothed sucker on its mouth. These Jurassic lampreys from China are jawless predators of the Age of Dinosaurs. They suggest that living lampreys are ancestrally flesh-eating and most probably originated in the Southern Hemisphere of the Late Cretaceous. CREDIT: Heming Zhang
These Jurassic lampreys from China are jawless predators of the Age of Dinosaurs. They suggest that living lampreys are ancestrally flesh-eating and most probably originated in the Southern Hemisphere of the Late Cretaceous. CREDIT: Heming Zhang.

Their well-preserved oral discs and “biting” structures indicate that these lamprey species had already evolved enhanced feeding structures, bigger body size, and were predators by the Jurassic period. It also appears that they had already evolved a three-phased life cycle by this point

Lampreys begin their lives as burrowing freshwater larvae called ammocetes. During this stage, they have rudimentary eyes and feed on microorganisms with their toothless mouths. They spend several years in this stage, before transforming into adults. Some move into saltwater, while others will remain in freshwater. As adults, they become parasites that attach to a fish with their mouths and feed on their blood and tissue. Lampreys eventually return to freshwater to reproduce, where they build a nest, then spawn, and then die.

It is still unclear when lampreys evolved this lifecycle and their more complex teeth for feeding. These new well-preserved fossils fill an important gap in the fossil record and give some insights into how its lifecycle and feeding originated. 

[Related: Evolution made mosquitos into stealthy, sensitive vampires.]

The study also pinpoints where and when today’s lamprey’s first appeared. “We put modern lampreys’ origin in the Southern Hemisphere of the Late Cretaceous,” says Wu. 

The Late Cretacous lasted from 100.5 million years ago to 66 million years ago and ended with the mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs. In future research, the team would like to search for specimens from the Cretaceous. According to Wu, this time period could be very important to their evolutionary history.

More fossilized specimens could also provide more accurate ideas of what kinds of flesh ancient lampreys feasted on with all those teeth and how that has evolved over time. 

“Living lampreys are always hailed as ‘water vampires,’ but their ancestor might be a flesh eater, their teeth tell,” says Wu. 

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Newfound mosasaur was like a giant Komodo dragon with flippers https://www.popsci.com/environment/mosasaur-jormungandr-walhallaensis/ Mon, 30 Oct 2023 14:30:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=584308
An artist’s illustration of two Jormungandr walhallaensis mosasaurs fighting. The extinct creatrue is a long sea serpent with flippers, a shark-like tail, and narrow jaws. One is seen biting the other in the next, while pterosaurs fly above it.
An artist’s illustration of two Jormungandr walhallaensis mosasaurs fighting. Henry Sharpe

Jormungandr walhallaensis is named for the Norse creature Jörmungandr who will fight Thor during Ragnarok, aka the end of the world.

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An artist’s illustration of two Jormungandr walhallaensis mosasaurs fighting. The extinct creatrue is a long sea serpent with flippers, a shark-like tail, and narrow jaws. One is seen biting the other in the next, while pterosaurs fly above it.
An artist’s illustration of two Jormungandr walhallaensis mosasaurs fighting. Henry Sharpe

Paleontologists in North Dakota have discovered new species of mosasaur. These giant meat-eating aquatic lizards swam the Earth’s seas about 80 million years ago during the late Cretaceous period. This new species is named Jormungandr walhallaensis after a sea serpent in Norse mythology named Jörmungandr and Walhalla, North Dakota where its fossils were found. The findings are described in a study published October 30 in the Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History.  

[Related: Dinosaurs who stuck together, survived together.]

“If you put flippers on a Komodo dragon and made it really big, that’s what it would have looked like,” study co-author and Richard Gilder Graduate School PhD student Amelia Zietlow, said in a statement.

The first mosasaur specimens were discovered over 200 years ago and the word “mosasaur” even predates the word “dinosaur” by roughly 20 years. There are still several unanswered questions about these ancient sea lizards, including how many times they evolved to have flippers and when they became fully aquatic. Scientists believe that they evolved to have their signature flippers at least three times and possibly four or more. It is also still a mystery if mosasaurs are more closely related to present day monitor lizards or snakes or another living creature entirely. This new specimen fills in some knowledge gaps of how the different groups of mosasaurs are related to each other.

“As these animals evolved into these giant sea monsters, they were constantly making changes,” Zietlow said. “This work gets us one step closer to understanding how all these different forms are related to one another.”

Researchers in northeastern North Dakota first discovered the Jormungandr fossil in 2015. It included a nearly complete skull, jaws, and cervical spine, and a number of vertebrae. An extensive analysis revealed that the fossil is of a new species that has multiple features that are also seen in two other mosasaurs: Clidastes and Mosasaurus. Clidastes is a smaller animal of about six to 13 feet long that lived roughly 145 million years ago. Mosasaurus was much larger at almost 50 feet long and lived about 99.6 to 66 million years ago alongside the Tyrannosaurus rex

[Related: This four-legged snake fossil was probably a skinny lizard.]

The new specimen is about 24 feet long and has flippers. It also has a shark-like tail similar to other early mosasaur species. It also likely would have had “angry eyebrows,” caused by a bony ridge on its skull. Its slightly stumpy tail would have also been shorter than the rest of its body.

Jormungandr was likely a precursor to the bigger Mosasaurus

“This fossil is coming from a geologic time in the United States that we don’t really understand,” study co-author and paleontologist from the North Dakota Geological Survey Clint Boyd said in a statement. “The more we can fill in the geographic and temporal timeline, the better we can understand these creatures.”

In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr is an enormous sea serpent or worm who encircles the Earth. Jörmungandr is believed to be the middle child of the trickster god Loki and the giantess Angrboða. Thor the god of thunder also has an ongoing battle with Jörmungandr and it is believed that the two will fight to the death during Ragnarok, or the end of the world. 

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The best pet water fountains of 2023 https://www.popsci.com/reviews/best-pet-water-fountain/ Wed, 07 Jul 2021 17:59:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=370540
happy dog pet water fountain
Anna Stampfli, Unsplash

The best pet water fountains refresh your cat or dog’s water so you don’t have to.

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happy dog pet water fountain
Anna Stampfli, Unsplash

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Best for dogs Dog drinking water in a black and white, plastic pet water fountain PetSafe Healthy Pet Gravity Food or Water Station
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This durable model is stainless steel and easy to clean.

Best for cats eufy pet water fountain on top of white gradient background Eufy Water Fountain
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This five-stage water filtering system ensures safe and clean water for your furry friend.

Best high-capacity Light gray pet water fountain, electric corded with LED lights PetSafe Drinkwell Platinum
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This item has an activated carbon filter and is made of BPA-free plastic.

Pet ownership includes the rewards of companionship and the love of your furry friend. It also comes with a lot of work. The best pet water fountains take some of the work out of your hands by providing cats and dogs with clean, fresh water. These bubbly, burbling fountains are made in different styles, designs, and materials to meet the varying needs of different pet households. A gravity-fed, battery-powered, or standard electric model could help you keep your pets hydrated with purer water 24/7.

The best pet water fountains: Reviews & Recommendations

Cat and dog water fountains have become popular pet supplies to keep your furry friends hydrated. The trick is determining which design—faucet, flower, gravity-fed, multi-basin, high-capacity—best fits your pet and lifestyle. Once you get an idea of the size you need and how you’d like the fountain to fit in with the rest of your home’s décor, the right fountain will likely present itself. 

Best overall: PetSafe Healthy Pet Gravity Food or Water Station

PetSafe

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The PetSafe Healthy Pet Gravity Food or Water Station comes in three sizes—64-, 128-, or 320-ounce sizes. The manufacturer provides a chart that shows how long the water should last in each one based on the size of the pet using the water station. Even the smallest dog water fountain can last several days before it needs a refill. The entire water station comes apart for easy cleaning and includes a dishwasher-safe stainless steel basin. However, the water tank is hand wash only, though it doesn’t need cleaning as often as the basin. This model doesn’t come with a water filter, but the manufacturer sells one separately. This company also offers a matching food station in the same size options.

Best for cats: Eufy Water Fountain

Eufy

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The Eufy Water Fountain offers an attractive design that caters to the needs of a cat. A water filtration system removes impurities and contaminants from the water, leaving clean water for the picky feline. A BPA-free ABS plastic basin resists scratches, bites, and drops up to 1.6 feet. An angled opening provides a splash guard to protect floors and fits the natural angles of a cat’s body.

Easiest to clean: PetSafe Drinkwell Original Pet Fountain

PetSafe

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The PetSafe Drinkwell Original Pet Fountain has a 50-ounce capacity so your pet is never dehydrated. The bowl is top-shelf dishwasher safe, and the BPA-free fountain ensures your furry friend is always drinking fresh water. This fountain includes a 5.5-foot electrical cord connected to the water pump. The pump comes apart in a three-step process, granting access to all of the fountain’s components for thorough cleaning. Reassembly is intuitive.

Best high-capacity water fountain: PetSafe Drinkwell Platinum

PetSafe

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The PetSafe Drinkwell Platinum’s reservoir completely removes from the base for fast, easy filling. A faucet-style design provides two drinking options—the faucet or the basin. It also offers adjustable flow control. The carbon filter removes odors and strange flavors for picky pets but needs occasional changing. The BPA-free fountain is dishwasher-safe (top rack only) for easier maintenance and cleaning. 

Best budget: Wonder Creature Cat Water Fountain

Wonder Creature

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The Wonder Creature Cat Water Fountain’s affordable price tag might attract you, but the premium features will seal the deal. A window on the tank lets you see the water level, and there’s also a blue indicator light that turns red when water starts to run low. Additionally, an auto-shutoff feature turns the pump off if the tank runs dry, preventing burnouts. The stainless steel basin stays cleaner than average thanks to a design that keeps debris from collecting at the edges. As a bonus, it includes a silicone mat to protect the floor. 

What to consider when shopping for the best pet water fountains

Pet water fountains provide a set-it-and-forget-it watering option. Most, though not all, models have a built-in filtration system to remove hair and debris from drinking water. There are also different types and shapes to consider. Everything from the number of pets to the size of the animals using the fountain can also determine which model works best for your household. Take a look at the factors you’ll need to consider before making the final decision on these great pet supplies

What type of water fountain do you want? 

There are three basic fountains types—flower, faucet, and gravity-fed. The flower and faucet models are electric or battery-powered. They both continuously recycle water, filtering it as they do so. There’s not a lot of difference performance-wise between flower and faucet models. It often comes down to what you (and your pet) prefer. 

The third option, a gravity-fed water fountain, features a large water container with a filter in the spout that feeds water into a basin via a valve. The valve and gravity do all of the work. It’s easy to see when the water container is ready for a refill, and these models come in larger sizes than the other two types. 

A word of warning—sometimes pets refuse to use one type of water fountain for no other reason than they don’t like it, and you can’t always predict what a pet will like until they’ve tried it.

How hard is the water fountain to assemble and clean?

In general, the more pieces the water fountain has, the more difficult it is to take apart and clean. Models with at least a few dishwasher-safe pieces make cleaning easier. 

Cleaning and maintenance also include monitoring and changing any filters. Some models feature multi-stage filtration, which offers cleaner water but also means more complicated (and expensive) filters. Models with easy access to simple, washable filters save time and work on the pet owner’s part. 

How many pets will use the drinking fountain?

The more pounds of pet you have, the more water the fountain needs to produce. Cats and small dogs can get by with just about any pet water fountain. However, multi-pet homes or homes with large dog breeds may need a high-capacity water fountain that holds over 100 ounces of water at a time.  

How well does the filter work, how often does it need replacing, and how much do replacement filters cost? 

Filters remove hair and other debris that finds its way into the water. Keep in mind that pets can drink water that humans wouldn’t dare touch without suffering a single stomach cramp. Some have sponge filters that need little more than rinsing and squeezing out the water, and others feature multi-stage filtration with two to three-part filters that require more frequent replacement.

The cost of replacement filters can quickly add up, especially if they’re clogged by something as common as pet saliva. Check the price of replacement filters and how often the manufacturer recommends replacing them to get a better idea of the water fountain’s total lifetime cost.

What materials make up the drinking fountain? 

Some people find the more expensive stainless steel and ceramic water fountains resist water deposits and clean better than plastic models. However, there’s no clear basis for those claims. 

Stainless steel pet water fountains are more likely to be dishwasher safe and resist the wear and tear of a rambunctious pet. Ceramic fountains often look better aesthetically, but they’re more likely to chip than either stainless steel or plastic. BPA-free plastic works well for many homes. However, it may show nicks and scratches more readily than stainless steel and ceramic. 

Will the drinking fountain be visible?

Pet water fountains come in fun designs and colors, adding a touch of personality to the room. Most of the time, they’ll be at least partially visible to guests. Generally, you want a model that isn’t an eyesore. 

Many faucet and flower designs stand out with their gentle burble, while others, like modern plastic designs, are transparent and blend into the background. Others are basic and functional, looking like a giant upside-down water bottle attached to a basin. No matter what design you choose, it should fit in with the existing decor and meet your design goals—disappear into the back or add a fun water feature. 

Some pets may find the water fountain a source of entertainment. Consequently, it’s best to place them on a waterproof mat or flooring that won’t be damaged by water exposure. 

FAQs

Q: Should I leave my water fountain on all the time?

You don’t have to leave pet water fountains running all of the time, but they are designed to do so. In some cases, you probably should, and there are a few reasons why you might want to. Electric and battery-powered pet water fountains use a pump to recycle water through a filter to keep it free of debris and bacteria. If you stop that pumping action, it takes extra effort on the pump’s part to start that circulation process again. 

Turning the pump off also gives time for bacterial growth. The filter then has to play catch up. Second, an electric water fountain that’s constantly running often attracts pets. For animals that may not drink enough, the constant access to moving water can encourage them to drink more. However, if you let the water fountain run continuously, you must make sure it doesn’t run dry and burn out the pump.  

Q: How often should the fountains be cleaned?

How often the fountain needs cleaning depends on a few factors, like how many animals use it and how much debris gets in the fountain. Fountains in single-pet homes probably need to be cleaned once every other week. However, if you live where it’s dusty or have several pets using the fountain, it might need cleaning once or twice a week.

Q: How often should you change the water in the fountain?

Change the water about every two days. At that rate, the water stays clean, and the fountain won’t run dry. However, if you have several animals using the fountain, you may need to change the water more often. More animals will drink more, spill more, and leave behind more hair and saliva in the water. 

The final word on shopping for the best pet water fountains

Pet water fountains are one of those pet supplies that can reduce the workload of pet ownership. You’ll still need to keep an eye on water levels, but your pet will have constant access to fresh, clean water. However, the pros may come with some cons, including filter replacements and general maintenance. Still, for many pet parents, the convenience of a fountain outweighs the price of replacing filters.

Why trust us

Popular Science started writing about technology more than 150 years ago. There was no such thing as “gadget writing” when we published our first issue in 1872, but if there was, our mission to demystify the world of innovation for everyday readers means we would have been all over it. Here in the present, PopSci is fully committed to helping readers navigate the increasingly intimidating array of devices on the market right now.

Our writers and editors have combined decades of experience covering and reviewing consumer electronics. We each have our own obsessive specialties—from high-end audio to video games to cameras and beyond—but when we’re reviewing devices outside of our immediate wheelhouses, we do our best to seek out trustworthy voices and opinions to help guide people to the very best recommendations. We know we don’t know everything, but we’re excited to live through the analysis paralysis that internet shopping can spur so readers don’t have to.

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New refuge provides hope for critically endangered toad https://www.popsci.com/environment/saving-endangered-toad/ Mon, 30 Oct 2023 09:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=584056
Molter scans a Wyoming toad for the microchip that indicates he was raised in captivity. After noting the toad’s location and the number of his microchip, she will release him back into his Laramie Basin habitat and continue her survey.
Molter scans a Wyoming toad for the microchip that indicates he was raised in captivity. After noting the toad’s location and the number of his microchip, she will release him back into his Laramie Basin habitat and continue her survey. Christine Peterson

One of the most endangered amphibians in North America faces threats but also possibilities.

The post New refuge provides hope for critically endangered toad appeared first on Popular Science.

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Molter scans a Wyoming toad for the microchip that indicates he was raised in captivity. After noting the toad’s location and the number of his microchip, she will release him back into his Laramie Basin habitat and continue her survey.
Molter scans a Wyoming toad for the microchip that indicates he was raised in captivity. After noting the toad’s location and the number of his microchip, she will release him back into his Laramie Basin habitat and continue her survey. Christine Peterson

This article was originally featured on High Country News.

The Wyoming toad, which evolved to live in a small slice of southeastern Wyoming, is one of the most endangered amphibians in North America. But now, at least, it will have more room to recover: On Oct. 10, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the creation of the Wyoming Toad Conservation Area.

“When we invest in a species like the Wyoming toad, we really can turn it around,” Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams told High Country News. “This is a perfect example of what we can do when we persevere and give a species time, and when we all work together toward its long-term recovery.”

No one knows exactly how many Wyoming toads used to live in Albany County, Wyoming, though reports from the mid-1900s suggest they were once abundant. They’re a glacial relic, isolated in the Laramie Basin and separated from their closest relative, the Canadian toad, by hundreds of miles. In 1984, after land-use changes, disease and pesticides caused their numbers to crash, they were placed on the U.S. endangered species list. But the species continued to decline, in part because of the deadly chytrid fungus that is still ravaging amphibian populations worldwide. When the last known population of Wyoming toads began to crater, biologists scooped up the remaining 10 individuals to breed in captivity.

For almost 20 years, researchers released captive-bred toads on the Mortenson Lake National Wildlife Refuge and on nearby private properties designated as “safe harbors” under the Endangered Species Act. But the Laramie Basin’s toad population, facing disease and habitat degradation, languished.

In 2017, the agency decided to improve the toad’s chances by working with willing landowners to buy or pay for easements on up to 43,000 acres.

Years later, The Conservation Fund, an environmental nonprofit, purchased 1,078 acres of braided streams, marsh and lush grassland—prime toad habitat, in other words—from a private owner. The Fish and Wildlife Service then bought the land and has now designated it as the Wyoming Toad Conservation Area.

The National Wildlife Refuge system, which is managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service, has historically protected only federal lands, but in 2006, the agency began to designate conservation areas, which primarily include conservation easements on private land. The agency now oversees more than 560 wildlife refuges and 13 conservation areas, while another two conservation areas—one in the Missouri Headwaters of Montana and another in Florida’s Everglades—are in the works.

“When we invest in a species like the Wyoming toad, we really can turn it around.”

The new conservation area secures some much-needed habitat, but the Wyoming toad still faces a long road to recovery. Under the Endangered Species Act, the species needs five separate, stable breeding populations before it can be considered eligible for delisting. Researchers have documented breeding in four Laramie Basin populations over the last six years, but disease, small population sizes and fragmented habitat still threaten the species, says Rachel Arrick, the Wyoming toad recovery coordinator for the Fish and Wildlife Service. She is unable to estimate the number of toads on the landscape, largely because they’re so hard to find, but biologists continue to supplement the local populations with captive-bred animals: This year, 824 adults, 25,211 tadpoles and 260 baby toadlets were released in the Laramie Basin.

The captive toad populations that exist at zoos and rearing facilities across the country mean that researchers can also use these releases to field-test treatments for chytrid, which remains prevalent in the basin. Most recently, Arrick has been studying whether probiotics can boost the toads’ chytrid-fighting microbiome. Researchers are also investigating how and why some Wyoming toads are able to survive chytrid and even acquire immunity to it. This research is particularly important given that 41% of the world’s amphibian species are threatened with extinction, due in part to the fungus.

Laramie Basin landowner Fred Lindzey works with the Fish and Wildlife Service to provide habitat for the toads and facilitate regular surveys on his land. Under his safe harbor agreement, the agency will not demand more of him without his consent. (He is also allowed to change the way he uses his property, but if his activities were to threaten toad habitat, the agency would request permission to collect the resident toads.)

Lindzey acknowledges that restoring a critically endangered species like the Wyoming toad to health is “an uphill battle.” But he takes comfort in the new conservation area.

“It continues to be a good sign that we as people are interested in recovery and keeping these species around,” he said. “And maybe one spring, we’ll wake up and hear so many calling you can’t hear yourself talk.”

Christine Peterson lives in Laramie, Wyoming, and has covered science, the environment and outdoor recreation in Wyoming for more than a decade. Her work has appeared in National Geographic, Outdoor Life and the Casper Star-Tribune, among others. We welcome reader letters. Email High Country News at editor@hcn.org or submit a letter to the editor. See our letters to the editor policy.

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In the spirit of survival: How Indigenous protectors are saving rez dogs https://www.popsci.com/environment/indigenous-protectors-rez-dogs/ Sat, 28 Oct 2023 23:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=584042
rez dog
Some dogs have one family, while others, often called community dogs, may move among different families’ yards and homes. Robert Alexander/Getty Images

From healing historical wounds to championing a brighter future, advocates are redefining the narrative around reservation dogs and their integral role in Indigenous identity and welfare.

The post In the spirit of survival: How Indigenous protectors are saving rez dogs appeared first on Popular Science.

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rez dog
Some dogs have one family, while others, often called community dogs, may move among different families’ yards and homes. Robert Alexander/Getty Images

This article was originally featured on MIT Press. This article is excerpted from Kendra Coulter’s book “Defending Animals: Finding Hope on the Front Lines of Animal Protection.”

In many native communities around the lands we now call North America, dogs roam freely. They may be viewed as a risk to people’s safety, members of the community, or some combination, depending on where you are and who you ask. Often called rez dogs, the animals are imbued with many different identities. Some native people themselves identify with the dogs as relatives and reflections, members of families, similarly hungry and rejected, and stubborn and wily survivors who are emblematic of the Indigenous spirit.

“Whenever I visit tribal communities, I am always on the lookout for my relatives, the rez dogs,” writes Dr. Michael Yellow Bird, dean of social work at the University of Manitoba and member of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation in North Dakota. “I want to know their stories: How did they get to where they are today? How did they survive? What happened to their babies, their parents, their friends, and their culture? What do they dream about? What hopes do they have for the future? What can they tell us about the fate of the human race and the planet?” He says that the lives of rez dogs cannot be uncoupled from human-human relationships, and particularly from the impacts of European arrival on native ways of living, learning, and honoring fellow creatures, including dogs. “The condition of dogs in our communities is a reflection of us. If they are sick, it is because we are also sick.” Many other Indigenous people who work with animals make a similar argument.

“The condition of dogs in our communities is a reflection of us. If they are sick, it is because we are also sick.”

Although unknown to many outside native communities, rez dogs have attracted the attention of some animal protection groups concerned about their health and safety, especially those in regions with harsher climates. These organizations have proceeded in a range of ways: Some have stolen the dogs right off the land, while others have reached out to leaders in these communities to offer assistance by bringing veterinary services, food, and other supplies, or rehoming the dogs outside the community.

Other animal organizations have been invited into native communities (usually called First Nations or Indigenous communities in Canada) to exchange knowledge. With its successful Northern Dogs project, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, for example, built relationships with First Nations to better understand challenges before co-developing programs to address issues facing the communities. “Today, we offer veterinary services, culturally relevant education, and real-life solutions for communities that would otherwise not have them.” Dialogue and relationship building must come first, particularly because of the longer pattern of outsiders telling native people that they can’t take care of their own. This has not only happened with dogs but also with children. Native children have been taken into state systems or religious residential schools designed to assimilate and destroy Indigenous cultures and spirits. The children experienced harsh treatment, abuse, and disease, and many died. Decades of these patterns have created widespread and intergenerational trauma with psychological, social, and economic symptoms as well as mistrust. Understanding these truths, and working for reconciliation and healing, is difficult but necessary.

Many native communities have their own law enforcement and/or animal care and control services tasked with investigating potential harm and/or enforcing the communities’ animal bylaws, which may permit free-roaming dogs or not. Native communities are diverse and have responded in different ways to rez dogs. Ermineskin Cree First Nation has developed a comprehensive law covering dogs at large, dangerous dogs, excessive barking, licensing, and protection. It begins from a place of respect, establishing that the nation “has a deep and abiding respect of the Creator’s Natural Laws and a great sense of stewardship, with a long-standing traditional and spiritual relationship with domesticated animals, in particular dogs (atimwak), and holds such animals in high-regard and, as such, strives to ensure that matters related to such animals are carried out in a conscientious, respectful and prompt manner.” It also states that the regional Animal Protection Act applies on the reserve.

Animal services officer Norm Running Rabbit of the Siksika First Nation differentiates between dogs being “allowed” to roam free and being recognized “as free beings, as animals that should be without restraints.” Speaking to the Alberta Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Alberta SPCA), he explains that this means dogs who are technically “owned” and cared for may be free to move about too. Some dogs have one family, while others, often called community dogs, may move among different families’ yards and homes. He recognizes that many people are not accustomed to this approach, and that safety and animal welfare issues have emerged and will arise. The chief and council of the Siksika First Nation created an action plan, including building its own team and infrastructure. Running Rabbit works to enforce humane standards of care and responds to safety concerns—both animal protection and animal control.

He sees the dedicated animal services program with specialized officers who can handle issues responsively and work proactively to offer lessons for other native communities. Siksika has formed relationships with outside partner animal organizations, including to provide veterinary care, and Running Rabbit emphasizes the need for those who want to work with native communities and are guests on the land to learn and then respect protocols and local cultures, and get to know both leaders and community members. In a similar vein, Yellow Bird highlights the need to see the difference between being “a rescuer and a supporter,” and central to this is not making assumptions. This kind of work is about mutual respect.

Diana Webster of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe founded the Native American Humane Society in 2014 to serve as a bridge between tribal and outside animal welfare organizations. She works to empower native peoples as they respond to the animal issues in their communities. Speaking at the Reconciliation in Animal Welfare Symposium, a historic event that brought together those who work in animal welfare to better understand Indigenous history and lived experiences, Webster says, “When I first started in animal advocacy, it was all about rescue and spay-neuter. But I quickly realized that what it really was all about was the relationship that people have with their animal. We were going into communities and finding that people really love their animals, but they don’t have the resources or access to the services that their animals need.” She stresses that the work is emotionally difficult and can be frustrating. “A lot of it is being done by women, by strong women. We need to build systems and build onto existing systems.” Based on her leadership experiences, she offers advice for people wanting to help animals in native communities. She suggests breaking big tasks down, taking the time to plan, and trying not to get jaded. Webster also encourages people not to be obsessed with perfection and instead be kind to themselves as they do their best.

The number of native tribes and nations that have their own animal services agencies is growing. Some bring vet clinics into their communities. Some work with national organizations like the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and the Humane Society of the United States’ Pets for Life as well as local or regional humane societies.

Indigenous peoples are also creating their own grassroots organizations such as Rez Road Adventures, the brainchild of Vernan Kee and Chantal Wadsworth of the Navajo Nation, and Save Rez Dogs, founded by Leah Arcand of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation. They are working to help dogs, inspire and educate others, build partnerships and community champions for rez dogs, raise funds to make more work possible, and reclaim traditional relationships that have been distorted and damaged by residential schools, the reservation system, intergenerational trauma, and many other effects of colonization. Arcand credits her role as a teacher, mother, and Indigenous woman as to why she does the work, even though it can be emotionally exhausting. Arcand and co-lead Craig Edes, who is Gitxsan and based out of Treaty 6 (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan), emphasize the need to go upstream when seeking to help the dogs. They highlight the value of understanding history, share insightful tools for communities and individuals looking to make a difference, and offer practical advice for people who have dogs. In other words, the big picture and the little details.

Dorothea Stevens, a public health nurse with the San Carlos Indian Health Service, began by transporting animals from her Apache nation in southern Arizona to get the veterinary care they needed. But as the years passed, a group of other volunteers joined her to form the Geronimo Animal Rescue Team. Speaking to the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, Stevens said, “We work along with animal control. We just don’t have the vets that we need and we don’t have the enforcement as far as animal abuse. That’s something we will be working on.”

This sort of work isn’t about denying that problems can emerge and animals—and people—may need help. It’s about doing so in a way that is rooted in respect for everyone.

In addition to responsive work, she highlights the power of education. “As Apaches we respect all animals and we were raised that way a long time ago, but we don’t see this happening anymore. We want to start with the little ones so they can teach the adults.” Emphasizing the range of ways nation members can defend animals, the Rescue Team says, “Adopt. If you can’t adopt, foster. If you can’t foster, sponsor. If you can’t sponsor, volunteer. If you can’t volunteer, donate. If you can’t donate, educate.” In recruiting volunteers, the group stresses essentials like physical strength, and twice it underscores the importance of mental stability, noting, “It can be really tough seeing the condition of some animals.” This sort of work isn’t about denying that problems can emerge and animals — and people—may need help. It’s about doing so in a way that is rooted in respect for everyone.

There are many significant lessons to draw from this landscape and work, whoever and wherever we are. One is the importance of understanding history and context as well as asking questions and learning how things came to be and why, even if it’s uncomfortable, and maybe especially when it is. Another is the need to question stereotypes, myths, and assumptions about Indigenous people. The value of creating but not imposing. The significance of dialogue, reciprocity, and respect. The interconnectedness of pain and healing. The interconnectedness of us all.


Kendra Coulter is Professor in Management and Organizational Studies at Huron University College at Western University and a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics. She is the author of “Defending Animals,” from which this article is excerpted.

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Why ladybugs and ‘Halloween beetles’ are everywhere right now https://www.popsci.com/environment/why-are-there-are-so-many-ladybugs/ Fri, 27 Oct 2023 12:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=583872
The Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis) aka the Halloween beetle looks very similar to more common ladybugs, but they are generally bigger and with more spots. The bug is sitting on a yellow flower.
The Asian Lady Beetles (Harmonia axyridis) aka the Halloween beetles look very similar to more common ladybugs, but they are generally bigger and with more spots. Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto via Getty Images

How do you tell them apart?

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The Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis) aka the Halloween beetle looks very similar to more common ladybugs, but they are generally bigger and with more spots. The bug is sitting on a yellow flower.
The Asian Lady Beetles (Harmonia axyridis) aka the Halloween beetles look very similar to more common ladybugs, but they are generally bigger and with more spots. Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto via Getty Images

Bats and spiders get most of the attention for Halloween and spooky season, but October is also ladybug time in many parts of the United States. Alongside their appropriately nicknamed cousins the “Halloween beetle,” residents from Wisconsin to North Carolina to New Hampshire historically report seeing more of these insects indoors this time of year. Here’s why.

[Related: These fold-up robots fly just like ladybugs.]

Looking for warmth

Ladybugs typically spend the warmer summer months outside in gardens and grasses. As fall settles in, the insects likely begin to seek a place to hibernate indoors when the temperatures begin to drop. 

They could also be looking for a safe and warm place to lay their eggs. According to This Old House, ladybugs will often leave a trail of pheromones that tells other ladybugs in the colony, “Hey, this place is safe, warm, and perfect for egg-laying,” when they find a good spot to lay eggs. 

They are most commonly spotted by doors and windows, where it is easy for them to squeeze inside under cracks. They can also hitch a ride on potted plants and flowers brought into the home.

How to tell a ladybug from a Halloween beetle

The more well-known and common seven spotted ladybugs (Hippodamia convergens) are often confused with their cousins the Asian lady beetle aka harlequin ladybird or the Halloween beetle (Harmonia axyridis). These bugs are also red, but can also appear more orange and have more spots on their backs. It is also more typical for them to swarm houses in the fall and before the winter. Both species are members of the Coccinellidae family of beetles, but belong to a different genus. 

The easiest way to tell the two cousins apart is to look at their spots. If there are more spots, it’s a Halloween beetle. If there are only seven, it’s a ladybug. You can also look around their “neck.” Halloween beetles have different markings that look a bit like a butterfly or a black “M.” They are also generally larger than ladybugs. 

Ladybugs also typically have a rounded or oval shape. Halloween beetles also have an oval appearance, but they are slightly longer with a pointed head and snout. 

According to University of Kentucky entomologists, Asian lady beetles seem to be attracted to lit up surfaces that have a light-dark surface contrast. Homes that are partially illuminated by the sun are then attractive to the beatles. 

[Related: How many ants are there on Earth? Thousands of billions.]

“Once the beetles alight on buildings, they seek out crevices and protected places to spend the winter. They often congregate in attics, wall cavities, and other protected locations,” the entomologists told WBIR-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee. “Since lady beetles are attracted to light, they are often seen around windows and light fixtures.”

Can they hurt me or my house?

Ladybugs do more good than harm. They do not carry any diseases and they are a garden’s best friend, by eating aphids and worms that can ruin spring flowers and veggies. Halloween beetles are generally more likely to infest a home. 

They are not typically aggressive to humans, but Halloween beetles can bite if they feel trapped or threatened. Like other insects, their bites can create small, red, and itchy marks. 

Halloween beetles can also harm furniture or carpets with their secretions. Some safe ways to keep them away include planting mums, lavender, bay leaves, cloves, citronella, and plants in the citrus and mint families to naturally repel ladybugs, sealing entry points to your home, and using door sweeps at the bottom of doors. 

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Wild chimpanzees show signs of potential menopause—a rarity in the animal kingdom https://www.popsci.com/environment/wild-chimpanzees-menopause/ Thu, 26 Oct 2023 18:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=583524
Ma Rainey, a post-reproductive female of the Ngogo community of chimpanzees in Kibale National Park, Uganda, and her adult son Wes. The two are sitting among trees in a forest.
Ma Rainey, a post-reproductive female of the Ngogo community of chimpanzees in Kibale National Park, Uganda, and her adult son Wes. Kevin Langergraber/Arizona State University

The evolutionary benefits of living after reproductive age are still debated.

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Ma Rainey, a post-reproductive female of the Ngogo community of chimpanzees in Kibale National Park, Uganda, and her adult son Wes. The two are sitting among trees in a forest.
Ma Rainey, a post-reproductive female of the Ngogo community of chimpanzees in Kibale National Park, Uganda, and her adult son Wes. Kevin Langergraber/Arizona State University

Living long lives past reproductive age is a real rarity for female members of the animal kingdom. Humans and some species of toothed whales are the only known animals to go through menopause and the reasons behind it are an evolutionary puzzle. A team of primatologists recently found that a group of wild chimpanzees in Uganda also show signs of menopause. The findings are described in a study published October 26 in the journal Science and could provide more insight into this rare biological phenomenon.

[Related: Adolescent chimpanzees might be less impulsive than human teens.]

In humans, menopause typically occurs between the ages of 45 and 55 and is characterized by a natural decline in reproductive hormones and the end of ovarian functions. Some symptoms in humans include chills, hot flashes, weight gain, and thinning hair. The evolutionary benefits of this process are still a mystery for biologists. It is also still unclear why menopause evolved in humans but not in other known long-lived primates. 

“During our ongoing twenty five year study of chimpanzees at Ngogo in Kibale National Park, Uganda, we noticed that many old females did not reproduce for decades,” study co-author and Arizona State University primatologist Kevin Langergraber tells PopSci. “It’s a surprising trait from the perspective of evolution: how and why can natural selection favor the extension of lifespan past the point at which individuals can no longer reproduce? We need to know in what species it occurs and which it doesn’t as a first step [to that question].”

To look closer, the authors calculated a metric called the post-reproductive representation (PrR). This measurement is the average proportion of adult lifespan that an animal spends in its post-reproductive state. Most mammals have a PrR close to zero, but the team found that Ngogo chimpanzees have a PrR of 0.2. This means that the female chimpanzees in this group live 20 percent of their adult years in a post-reproductive state

Urine samples from 66 female chimpanzees from different stages in their reproductive lives also showed that the transition to this post-reproductive state was marked by changes in hormones like gonadotropins, estrogens, and progestins. 

While similar hormonal variations are also a way to tell that this transition is happening in humans, the post-reproductive chimpanzees were not involved in raising their offspring’s children. In these chimpanzees, the common grandmother hypothesis, where females live longer after menopause to help take care of future generations, does not appear to apply. This contrasts with some populations of orca whales, where grandmothers are a critical part of raising their offspring’s young to ensure their survival

[Related: Nice chimps finish last—so why aren’t all of them mean?]

According to the team, there are two possible explanations for these longer post-reproductive lifespans. Chimpanzees and other mammals in captivity can have artificially long post-reproductive lifespans because they are protected from natural predators and some pathogens. Even though they’re a wild population, the Ngogo chimpanzees could also be similarly protected and live artificially long lives. They live in a relatively remote area that is undisturbed by logging and hunting by humans and are exposed to fewer human pathogens. Their current habitat could also be closer to what existed in their evolutionary past compared with other populations of primates that are more affected by humans.

“The study both illuminates and raises questions about the evolution of menopause,” University of Exeter evolutionary biologist Michael Cant wrote in a related review on the study. “It also highlights the power of difficult long-term field studies–often run on small budgets and at constant risk of closure–to transform fundamental understanding of human biology and behavior.” Cant is not an author of the study.

Langergraber says future studies like this one could answer the question of how common substantial post-reproductive lifespans have been throughout chimpanzee evolutionary history and if impacts from humans have kept their survivorship rates artificially low.

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Why electric knifefish ‘shimmy’ https://www.popsci.com/environment/electric-knifefish-shimmy/ Thu, 26 Oct 2023 15:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=583514
A long torpedo-shaped fish swims among green plants. Knifefish like the black ghost knifefish are known for their shimmying motions and electrical pulses. and live in freshwater lakes and rivers in Central and South America.
Knifefish like the black ghost knifefish are known for their shimmying motions and electrical pulses. and live in freshwater lakes and rivers in Central and South America. Deposit Photos

Quick movements heighten animal senses—even in humans.

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A long torpedo-shaped fish swims among green plants. Knifefish like the black ghost knifefish are known for their shimmying motions and electrical pulses. and live in freshwater lakes and rivers in Central and South America.
Knifefish like the black ghost knifefish are known for their shimmying motions and electrical pulses. and live in freshwater lakes and rivers in Central and South America. Deposit Photos

Animals have a wide range of ways to make sense of the world around them. Dogs sniff the air around them. Dolphins use echolocation. Humans glance at each other. For the electric knifefish, “shimmying” around in the water like a tadpole helps it make sense of its watery world. But knifefish are not the only ones that wiggle with purpose. In a study published October 26 in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence, scientists describe a wide range of organisms that perform these same wavy patterns of movement to feel out the environment around them. 

[Related: Five animals that can sense things you can’t.]

The team behind this study was interested in what the nervous system does when animals move to improve their perception of the world, and if that behavior could be translated to robotic control systems.

“Amoeba don’t even have a nervous system, and yet they adopt behavior that has a lot in common with a human’s postural balance or fish hiding in a tube,” study co-author and Johns Hopkins University mechanical engineer Noah Cowan said in a statement. “These organisms [knifefish and amoebas] are quite far apart from each other in the tree of life, suggesting that evolution converged on the same solution through very different underlying mechanisms.”

An observation tank illuminated by infrared shows electric knifefish behavior with the lights on (top) and lights off (bottom). CREDIT: Johns Hopkins University.

Shimmying in the dark

Knifefish are blade-shaped fish found in freshwater lakes and rivers in Central and South America. They can reach three feet long and eat insects, crustaceans, and other fish. In the wild, they are hardwired to hide to avoid predators. They send out weak electric discharges that sense the predators’ location and find shelter. Wiggling around rapidly helps them actively sense their surroundings to find a place to hide.

While watching electric knifefish in an observation tank, the team noticed that when it was dark, the fish shimmied back and forth significantly more frequently. The fish swayed more gently with occasional bursts of quick movements when the lights were on. 

“We found that the best strategy is to briefly switch into explore mode when uncertainty is too high, and then switch back to exploit mode when uncertainty is back down,” co-author and Johns Hopkins computational cell biologist and neuroethologist Debojyoti Biswas said in a statement. When a predator could be nearby, the knifefish will quickly search for somewhere to hide. If they feel safe, they can return back to a more normal and less wiggly state to find food.

Exciting the senses

In the study, the team created a model that simulates the key sensing behaviors of the fish. They used work from other labs and spotted these same sensory-dependent movements in other organisms including amoeba, moths, cockroaches, moles, bats, mice, and even humans.

According to the authors, this is the first time scientists have deciphered this mode-switching strategy in fish and linked the behavior across species. They believe that all organisms have a brain computation that manages uncertainty in their environment.

[Related: How cats and dogs see the world.]

“If you go to a grocery store, you’ll notice people standing in line will change between being stationary and moving around while waiting,” Cowan said. “We think that’s the same thing going on, that to maintain a stable balance you actually have to occasionally move around and excite your sensors like the knifefish. We found the statistical characteristics of those movements are ubiquitous across a wide range of animals, including humans.”

Understanding these sensory mechanisms and their nuances could be used to improve search and rescue drones, space rovers, and other autonomous robots. These same characteristics for looking around could be built into future robots to help them perceive the space around them. The team also plans to explore how these mechanisms work in living things—even in plants.

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This seafaring robot ‘eats’ stinky seaweed and dumps it in deep water https://www.popsci.com/technology/algaray-seaweed-robot/ Tue, 24 Oct 2023 18:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=582851
AlgaRay robot floating atop water in Antigua
After gathering the seaweed, AlgaRay can dive below the surface to deposit its cargo near the ocean floor. Seaweed Generation/University of Exeter

The AlgaRay scoops up invasive sargassum seaweed before it washes onto shores. It could even alleviate CO2 pollution in the process.

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AlgaRay robot floating atop water in Antigua
After gathering the seaweed, AlgaRay can dive below the surface to deposit its cargo near the ocean floor. Seaweed Generation/University of Exeter

If you’ve ever spent time on a beach in the Gulf of Mexico or the Caribbean, there is a solid chance you stumbled across a slimy mass of stinky, sulfurous-smelling seaweed. The specific marine plant in question during those gross encounters is likely sargassum—while helpful for absorbing CO2, sargassum is also incredibly invasive, and can wreak havoc on both shoreline and ocean ecosystems. Cleanup efforts can cost tens of thousands of dollars while disrupting both tourist and fishing industries, but a recent aquatic robot project is showing immense promise in alleviating sargassum stress. In fact, AlgaRay’s recent successes have even earned it a spot on Time’s Best Inventions of 2023.

Co-designed by Seaweed Generation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to utilizing the versatile plant to help mitigate and remove carbon emissions, an AlgaRay prototype is currently patrolling off the coasts of Antigua. There, the roughly 9-foot-wide robot scoops up clumps of sargassum until its storage capacity is filled, at which point the autonomous bot dives 200m below the surface.

[Related: Rocks may be able to release carbon dioxide as well as store it.]

At this depth, the air pockets that make sargassum leaves so buoyant are so compressed by the water pressure that it simply can’t float anymore. Once released by AlgaRay, the seaweed then sinks to the ocean floor. According to a new writeup by Seaweed Generation’s partners at the University of Exeter, the robot can repeat this process between four and six times every hour. And thanks to a combination of solar panels, lithium batteries, and navigational tools connected to Starlink’s satellite internet constellation, AlgaRay will “ultimately be able to work almost non-stop,” reports the University of Exeter.

Of course, ocean ecosystems are complex and delicate balancing acts at any depth. AlgaRay’s designers are well aware of this, and assure its potential additional ocean floor CO2 deposits won’t be carried out recklessly. Additionally, they note sargassum blooms—exacerbated by human ecological disruption—are already causing major issues across the world.

“Sargassum inundations… cause environmental, social and economic disruption across the Caribbean, Central US and West African regions,” Seaweed Generation CEO Paddy Estridge and Chief of Staff Blythe Taylor, explain on the organization’s website. “Massive influxes of seaweed wash ashore and rot, releasing not just the absorbed CO2 but hydrogen sulfide gasses, decimating fragile coastal ecosystems including mangroves and seagrass meadows and killing countless marine animals.”

[Related: The US is investing more than $1 billion in carbon capture, but big oil is still involved.]

Estridge and Taylor write that humans “need to tread carefully” when it comes to depositing biomass within the deep ocean to ensure there are no “negative impacts or implications on the surrounding environment and organisms.” At the same time, researchers already know sargassum naturally dies and sinks to the bottom of the ocean.

Still, “we can’t assume either a positive or negative impact to sinking sargassum, so a cautious pathway and detailed monitoring has been built into our approach,” Estridge and Taylor write. “The scale of our operations are such that we can measure any change to the ocean environment on the surface, mid or deep ocean. Right now, and for the next few years our operations are literally a drop in the ocean (or a teaspoon of Sargassum per m2).”

As the name might imply, the AlgaRay is inspired by manta rays, which glide through ocean waters while using their mouths to filter and eat algae. In time, future iterations of the robot could even rival manta rays’ massive sizes. A nearly 33-foot-wide version is in the works to collect upwards of 16 metric tons of seaweed at a time—equal to around two metric tons of CO2. With careful monitoring of deep sea repositories, fleets of AlgaRay robots could soon offer an efficient, creative means to remove CO2 from the atmosphere.

“The [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]  has been very clear that we need to be able to remove (not offset, remove) 10 billion [metric tons] of carbon a year from the atmosphere by 2050 to have a hope of avoiding utter catastrophe for all people and all earth life,” write Estridge and Taylor. Knowing this, AlgaRay bots may be a key ally for helping meet that goal. If nothing else, perhaps some beaches will be a little less overrun with rotting seaweed every year. 

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How kingfishers pull off breakneck dives without hurting their brains https://www.popsci.com/environment/kingfishers-plunge-dive-brains/ Tue, 24 Oct 2023 17:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=582825
A kingfisher with blue and yellow feathers and outstretched wings dives through the air.
Kingfishers can reach speeds of up to 25 miles per hour. Deposit Photos

Studying these bird brains can help scientists better understand traumatic brain injuries and even Alzheimer’s disease.

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A kingfisher with blue and yellow feathers and outstretched wings dives through the air.
Kingfishers can reach speeds of up to 25 miles per hour. Deposit Photos

Among birds, raptors are known for their sight, penguins for their huddling techniques, and some kingfishers are skillful divers. Some of these colorful and long-beaked birds dive headfirst into water to catch fish at break-neck speeds, all without damaging their brains. How they accomplish this feat is all in their genes, according to a study published October 24 in the journal Communications Biology.

[Related: Birds are so specialized to their homes, it shows in their bones.]

The special type of diving kingfishers perform is called plunge-diving. Other birds including gannets and pelicans also plunge-dive, but it is not a common foraging method in the animal kingdom. While kingfishers don’t generally hurt themselves on these dives that can reach up to 25 miles per hour, they do not come without risk. 

“For kingfishers to dive headfirst the way they do, they must have evolved other traits to keep them from hurting their brains,” Shannon Hackett, study co-author and associate curator of birds at the Field Museum, said in a statement.

Kingfishers are divided into three families that generally share vivid plumage and smaller feet. Kingfisher species also have varied diets. Not all of them eat fish, with many species eating lizards, insects, and even other kingfishers. After a 2017 study found that the groups of kingfishers that eat fish are not even closely related within the kingfisher family tree, it became clear to Hackett that fishy diets and diving abilities likely all evolved from a common ancestor.

“The fact that there are so many transitions to diving is what makes this group both fascinating and powerful, from a scientific research perspective,” says Hackett. “If a trait evolves a multitude of different times independently, that means you have power to find an overarching explanation for why that is.”

Birds photo
A kingfisher with a successful catch. CREDIT: Richard Towell.

In the study, the team compared the DNA of 30 different kingfisher species to see which genes explain the birds’ diet and their ability to dive without sustaining brain damage. They used specimens from various field work.

“When our scientists do fieldwork, they take tissue samples from the bird specimens they collect, like pieces of muscle or liver. Those tissue samples are stored at the Field Museum, frozen in liquid nitrogen, to preserve the DNA,” study co-author and evolutionary biologist Chad Eliason said in a statement

They began the process of sequencing the full genomes for each of the kingfisher species, generating the entire genetic code of each bird. They then used software to compare the billions of base pairs that make up these genomes to look for the genetic variations that the diving kingfishers have in common.

[Related: What engineers learned about diving injuries by throwing dummies into a pool.]

They found that the fish-eating birds had several modified genes associated with both diet and brain structure. There were mutations in two interesting places. One mutation was on the birds’ AGT gene, which has been associated with dietary flexibility in other species. The other was on the MAPT gene, which codes for tau proteins that relate to feeding behavior.

Tau proteins help stabilize tiny structures inside the brain. However, the accumulation of too many tau proteins can be harmful. Traumatic brain injuries and Alzheimer’s disease in humans have been associated with a buildup of tau. 

“I learned a lot about tau protein when I was the concussion manager of my son’s hockey team,” said Hackett. “I started to wonder, why don’t kingfishers die because their brains turn to mush? There’s gotta be something they’re doing that protects them from the negative influences of repeatedly landing on their heads on the water’s surface.”

The team suspects that these tau proteins may be a mixed-bag for the brain. The same genes that keep the neurons in the brain organized are the same ones that fail from repeated concussions or if someone has Alzheimer’s.

“My guess is there’s some sort of strong selective pressure on those proteins to protect the birds’ brains in some way,” Hackett said. 

Some next steps for this research now that the correlated genomic variations have been identified include looking to see what these mutations do and to the proteins that are being produced. They’re also interested in what is going to compensate in a brain for all of the concussive forces and see how it can be applied to human brains.

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Bumblebees carbo-load on the fly https://www.popsci.com/environment/bumblebees-calories/ Tue, 24 Oct 2023 15:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=582503
A fuzzy yellow and black bumblebee foraging on a green plant.
Bumblebees make decisions about nectar sources “on the fly.”. Deposit Photos

They use their sesame seed-sized brains to prioritize getting the most calories as quickly as possible.

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A fuzzy yellow and black bumblebee foraging on a green plant.
Bumblebees make decisions about nectar sources “on the fly.”. Deposit Photos

When foraging, bumblebees often have a choice to make. Do they go for the nectar that is the easiest to get, or should they work harder to get nectar with a higher sugar content? A new study found that the priority for the bumblebees is getting the most calories in the shortest amount of time, even at the expense of using up more energy. This trade-off ensures an immediate energy boost for the bumblebee colony, according to a study published October 24 in the journal iScience.

[Related: Female honeybees may pass down ‘altruistic’ genes.]

The study looked at a common species in the United Kingdom called Bombus terrestris or the buff-tailed bumblebee. Bumblebees will drink nectar from flowers and regurgitate it into their nest for other bees to use. They only store a small amount of nectar in their nests, so they must make the most of every opportunity to forage. 

To make these choices, bumblebees appear to trade off the time that they spend collecting nectar with the energy content of that nectar. If the sugar content is worth it, the bees will work to collect it despite being more difficult to access. By comparison, honeybees make their foraging decisions by optimizing the amount of energy they are expelling for any nectar, likely to prolong a honeybee’s working life.  

Drinking while hovering takes more time and energy, while landing and being still is quicker and requires much less effort. The bumblebee tries to drink from the vertical flower. If the nectar reward on the vertical flowers is not worth spending the extra time to collect, bumblebees will give up and forage from the horizontal flowers instead. CREDIT: Hamish Symington.

“Bumblebees can make decisions ‘on the fly’ about which nectar sources are the most energetically economical,” study co-author and University of Oxford bee biologist Jonathan Pattrick said in a statement. “By training bumblebees to visit artificial slippery flowers and using different ‘nectars’ with high, medium or low amounts of sugar, we found that they could make a trade-off between the energy content of the nectar and how difficult it was to access.”

For the study, Patrick and a team of biologists made 60,000 observations of the bumblebee’s behavior over six months. This allowed them to precisely estimate bumblebee foraging energetics and each bumblebee in the study was observed for up to eight hours a day without a break. The team used artificial flowers that were positioned vertically and horizontally and had slippery surfaces that made it difficult for the bees to grip. 

A computer program measured the split-second timing as the bees flew between the fake flowers and foraged for nectar to see how much energy the bumblebees spent flying and how much they collected while drinking. They then identified how the bees decided whether to spend extra time and energy collecting high-sugar nectar from the slippery flowers, or take the easier option of collecting lower-sugar nectar from flowers they could land on.

Each bumblebee was then given one of three tests.

In test one, the nectar on both the vertical and horizontal artificial flowers contained the same amount of sugar. The bumblebees chose to forage from the horizontal flowers instead of spending the extra time and energy hovering around the vertical flowers.

In test two, the vertical flowers had much more sugary nectar than the horizontal flowers and the bumblebees chose to drink almost exclusively from the vertical flowers.

[Related: Bee brains could teach robots to make split-second decisions.]

In test three, the vertical flowers had slightly more sugary nectar than the horizontal flowers. This created a situation where the bumblebees had to make a tradeoff between the time and energy they spent foraging and the energy content in the nectar they were drinking. They ended up feeding from the horizontal flowers.

Based on these test results, the authors conclude that the bumblebees can choose to spend additional time and energy foraging from the more hard-to-access nectar sources, but only if the eventual reward is really worth it. Understanding how this works can help make predictions about what types of flowers the bumblebees are likely to visit and inform choices of the kinds of flowers planted to make fields more bumblebee friendly.

“It’s amazing that even with a brain smaller than a sesame seed, bumblebees can make such complex decisions,” study co-author and University of Cambridge biochemist Hamish Symington said in a statement. “It’s clear that bumblebee foraging isn’t based on a simple idea that ‘the more sugar there is in nectar, the better’ – it’s much more subtle than that. And it highlights that there’s still so much to learn about insect behavior.”

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Chicken feather fibers could help make less toxic hydrogen fuel cells https://www.popsci.com/technology/chicken-feathers-hydrogen-fuel-cells/ Tue, 24 Oct 2023 14:10:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=582786
Chicken feathers are a major pollution byproduct in the poultry industry.
Chicken feathers are a major pollution byproduct in the poultry industry. DepositPhotos

Chicken feathers are a major source of food industry waste, but their keratin may be an alternative to hydrogen fuel cells' 'forever chemicals.'

The post Chicken feather fibers could help make less toxic hydrogen fuel cells appeared first on Popular Science.

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Chicken feathers are a major pollution byproduct in the poultry industry.
Chicken feathers are a major pollution byproduct in the poultry industry. DepositPhotos

Chicken feathers, much like human hair and fingernails, are composed mostly of a tough protein called keratin. And like with your own hair and nails, the birds produce a lot of feathers over the course of their lives. Generally speaking, this isn’t a big issue—but it’s another matter for the food industry. Each year, approximately 40 million metric tons of chicken feathers are incinerated during the poultry production process, releasing harmful fumes like carbon and sulfur dioxide.

Finding a new use for all those feathers could dramatically cut down on food waste and pollution, and a team of researchers may have figured out what to do with them: turn feathers into a vital component of green hydrogen fuel cells.

[Related: Why you should build a swing for your chickens.]

As detailed in a new paper published via ACS Applied Materials & Sciences, scientists from ETH Zurich and Nanyang Technological University Singapore (NTU) have developed a method to extract feathers’ keratin and spin it into thin fibers called amyloid fibrils. From there, these fibrils can be installed as a hydrogen fuel cell’s vital semipermeable membrane. Traditionally composed of highly poisonous “forever chemicals,” these membranes allow protons to pass through while excluding electrons. The blocked electrons are then forced to travel via an external circuit from negative anodes to positive cathode, thus creating electricity.

“Our latest development closes a cycle: [we took] a substance that releases CO2 and toxic gasses when burned, and used it in a different setting,” Raffaele Mezzenga, a professor of food and soft materials at ETH Zurich, said in a recent university profile. “With our new technology, it not only replaces toxic substances, but also prevents the release of CO2, decreasing the overall carbon footprint cycle.”

According to researchers, the keratin-derived membranes are already cheaper to produce in a lab setting than existing synthetic hydrogen fuel cell membranes, and hope similar savings will translate to mass production. The team has applied for a joint patent, and is now looking for partners and investors to make the product publicly available. Still, a number of hurdles remain for the fuel cells to become truly viable renewable energy sources. While hydrogen cells’ only emissions are heat and water, the power that actually helps generate their electricity still largely stems from natural gas sources like methane. Such a reliance arguably undercuts hydrogen fuel cells’ promise of green energy.

But even there, chicken feathers could once again come to the rescue. The keratin membranes reportedly also show promise in the electrolysis portion of hydrogen energy production, when direct current travels through water to split the molecules into oxygen and hydrogen.

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Is de-extinction only a pipette dream? This startup has a big, expensive plan to find out. https://www.popsci.com/environment/colossal-de-extinction/ Tue, 24 Oct 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=582552
a collection of woolly mammoth figurines on petri dishes on a blue background to represent Colossal's de-extinction project
A long-time mammoth quest may finally be coming to fruition. Megan Madden for Popular Science

Colossal is promising to turn long-dead mammoths, dodos, and thylacines into living hybrids that can be returned to nature. Critics want to see the results.

The post Is de-extinction only a pipette dream? This startup has a big, expensive plan to find out. appeared first on Popular Science.

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a collection of woolly mammoth figurines on petri dishes on a blue background to represent Colossal's de-extinction project
A long-time mammoth quest may finally be coming to fruition. Megan Madden for Popular Science

ON A COMPUTER MONITOR, in a laboratory half the size of a galley kitchen, I’m taking a look at the future. But the grainy object on the screen isn’t all that remarkable. It’s just a horse egg in a petri dish, blown up to the point where I can see the outline of its outer membrane. That’s when a white-coated scientist directs my attention to the device at my right: a high-powered microscope projecting the image of the horse egg, with two metal spikes the size of syringes angled at each side of the plate. Beneath me on the floor is an orange pedal I’m instructed to press with my foot. Suddenly, on the screen, I see a laser beam carve an incision into the membrane of the horse egg, like a hot knife going through butter.

In a few more years, the same laser-guided system will be used to punch a hole into an egg taken from an Asian elephant, remove the nucleus of that cell, and insert a nucleus containing edited genes required for surviving arctic temperatures, such as fuzzy hair and extra fat—all in the pursuit of creating the closest animal to a woolly mammoth to walk the Earth in many millennia.

The lab is one stop on my tour of the bioengineering facility of Colossal Biosciences. Co-founded in 2021 by Harvard geneticist George Church and serial entrepreneur Ben Lamm, Colossal is the world’s first de-extinction company. Its purpose? To rewild lost species. In June, I traveled to Dallas to get an in-person look at the 26,000-square-foot research facility where the startup’s innovative might is brought to bear. 

Colossal’s plan is to design a hybrid of a prehistoric woolly mammoth—which Church has described as “the cuddly version of a velociraptor”—as well as the thylacine, a marsupial from Australia and Papua New Guinea that died out in 1936, and the quintessential symbol of human-made extinction, the dodo, the last of which was snuffed out on its native island of Mauritius in 1662. 

Scientist in white coat looks into eyepiece as nearby video screen shows closeup of embryo in Colossal's lab
Colossal senior scientist Anna Keyte checks the progress of growing avian embryos in the company’s lab in Austin, Texas. John Davidson

De-extinction as an idea is not new. Church has discussed engineering a new lineage of woolly mammoths from frozen genetic material since 2008. The nonprofit organization Revive & Restore harbors aspirations of returning the extinct passenger pigeon to the skies. Scientists at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance hope to make gametes from cryopreserved skin cells of northern white rhinoceroses, a subspecies down to its last two members. What makes Colossal unique is its unicorn status: It has raised $225 million in investment capital in just two years and is now valued at $1.45 billion. Peter Thiel, Chris and Liam Hemsworth, the Winklevoss twins, Paris Hilton, and even the not-for-profit partner of the Central Intelligence Agency have all chipped in. (So has Matt Sechrest, co-founder of Recurrent Ventures, which owns Popular Science.)

Which raises a thorny question: What happens when you venture-fund nature?

Lamm, an energetic 41-year-old with a shoulder-length mop of dark hair, is well versed in this space. He comes from the tech world and has founded six different companies in his native Texas. (One of them, an artificial intelligence defense platform that counts the US Space Force and NASA as customers, was just acquired by a Texas-based private equity firm in August.) But the focus on money and investors belies the larger point. De-extinction, Lamm says, is a way to return keystone species to degraded ecosystems while developing the techniques to support future conservation projects. If we can genetically engineer a dodo, for example, what’s to stop us from breeding a more disease-resistant offshoot of Hawaiian honeycreepers, who are currently being decimated by avian malaria?

“[Some of] the technology advances that are going to be necessitated to de-extinct a creature are exactly the same technologies that will be necessary to help creatures not fall over the brink,” says Kenneth Lacovara, a paleontologist and geologist at Rowan University who agrees with Colossal’s mission.

computer-generated x-ray-type model of internal bones and organs of extinct thylacine
A computer model of the internal organs and skeletal structure of a young thylacine specimen could help with engineering future marsupial hybrids. Colossal Biosciences

Critics, meanwhile, say it’s misguided to scrape the natural world for genetic material to fulfill scientific whims. Why de-extinct obsolete species when there are more than 1,300 endangered and threatened ones in the United States alone that need protection? Observers also argue that introducing the genetic traits of dead creatures into modern analogs is not a means to conservation when the habitats of still-living endangered animals are continually under threat.

“We should protect species and do what we can,” says Lamm. “But that current model of just putting our arms around it, protecting it, just doesn’t work at the same speed at which we are destroying environments.”

The pioneering work Lamm speaks of will take decades. The company expects to birth a mammoth-like calf in about five years and then build up to a whole herd of woolly proxies. But in Colossal’s vision, the reintroduction of lost species is not only a way to right the wrongs of humanity but also a way to generate significant scientific know-how—so we can sustain species currently at risk in an increasingly inhospitable world, lest they perish forever.

THAT AN EARTHBOUND CREATURE like a woolly mammoth could vanish was once utterly unbelievable. French naturalist Georges Cuvier eventually delivered the sobering truth. He made his bones in 1790s Paris studying elephant fossils. Concluding that the remains were too distinct to be directly related to modern-day elephants, Cuvier posited the notion of espèces perdues, “lost species.” It was clear to him that the skeletons belonged to another megafauna that had vanished. Voilà: Extinction became a dilemma for modern science to solve.

Lamm’s fascination began with an introductory call to Church in 2019. His business acumen lay in using artificial intelligence for satellite software systems, and he wondered if the machines could also help with synthetic biology—the practice of building living systems from DNA and other small molecules. At the end of the call, after he idly asked Church what else he was working on, the mammoth comeback came up. “I was like, ‘Wait, what?’ I stayed up all night reading” everything Church had written about his quest, recalls Lamm. Soon he teamed up with the geneticist to form Colossal, where he is now CEO. In September 2021, the company launched with $15 million in seed funding and announced its plan to revive a version of the woolly mammoth.

Colossal widened its focus to the thylacine after Lamm was introduced to Andrew Pask at the University of Melbourne, who had already been conducting research on the marsupial and now consults on the company’s project on the species. More money came in, at which point investors asked the obvious question: What can we do for extinction’s mascot, the dodo? Beth Shapiro, who co-directs the Paleogenomics Lab at the University of California at Santa Cruz and has studied the flightless bird’s genome for almost two decades, advises Colossal’s avian genomics work. A few years ago, she and collaborators from other institutions had assembled the first complete genome of the dodo.

To any expert in this field, the tools in Colossal’s Texas labs aren’t unfamiliar. There are desktop gene sequencers and centrifuges. Hooded substations in a tissue culture lab for manipulating bits of animals. Computers that peer into sequenced DNA and analyze nucleotide bases. The laser-guided microscope I saw in the embryology lab is a proprietary device Colossal invented. In a company of 116 people, more than 60 are cell engineers and geneticists using these tools daily.

What’s important to understand, however, is that despite its talk of de-extinction, not to mention the graphics peppering its website, Colossal will never resurrect an animal. There’s no way to truly reanimate an extinct species by synthesizing its DNA from scratch—even with cutting-edge technology and living cells from an organism, and there are no such cells of a mammoth, dodo, or thylacine. 

“It’s still not possible to bring an extinct species back to life if what you mean is an exact copy,” says Shapiro. “What we’re working to do is to create proxies for these extinct species using some of their traits.”

scientist extracts DNA sample from woolly mammoth specimen
Eriona Hysolli, head of biological sciences at Colossal, samples DNA from a frozen woolly mammoth in Siberia. Colossal Biosciences

Colossal’s real aim is to take existing species closely related to extinct animals, modify their DNA to give them traits similar to the company’s de-extinction targets, and place them in ecological settings that are as similar as possible to where previously extinct species once lived. For the dodo, it may be the Nicobar pigeon, a living cousin that inhabits islands in southeast Asia. For the thylacine, it’s the fat-tailed dunnart, a marsupial that resembles a rat. Modern-day elephants are also in the mix: Although the woolly mammoth has been gone for anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000 years, it has a close relative in the Asian elephant—so close, in fact, that more than 99 percent of the animals’ genomes are identical.

“A mammoth to an Asian elephant is more closely related than an African elephant is to an Asian elephant,” says Eriona Hysolli, Colossal’s head of biological sciences, who works closely with Church out of his lab in Boston and supervises the mammoth work.

What Colossal scientists are trying to do is understand links between genotype and phenotype: how the sequence of letters in DNA code translates to how an animal looks and behaves. Hysolli says they are targeting about 65 sequences in the mammoth genome that confer various cold-adaptive traits, like subcutaneous fat, woolly hair, and dome-shaped craniums. In the genome engineering lab, computers compare the ancient DNA of the mammoth to that of the Asian elephant to identify areas of the elephant genome that must be modified in a future hybrid to express extinct characteristics. 

“Are all the phenotypes there? Are all the ecological functions there? That is, for us, what we’re saying is de-extinction,” says Matt James, a former director of animal care at the Dallas Zoo, now chief animal officer at Colossal. “We de-extincted critical genes for these species.”

To do that, Colossal is trying out pluripotent stem cells, which are capable of turning into any adult cell type. Those are created inside the company’s tissue culture lab from Asian elephant cells donated from various sources. (Colossal partners with 11 zoos across the US.) This is where genome engineering and cell manipulation will eventually intersect. There are two ways to insert mammoth genes into an elephant cell: use the ever-popular CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing tool to insert enzymes that make changes to nucleotide bases along the Asian elephant’s genome, or make multiple sequence changes at once, a process known as multiplexing, with the help of other molecular tools. 

close-up of stem cell genes from fat-tailed dunnart appear in bright colors
Researchers can customize a long-tailed dunnart’s embryonic stem cell by altering the SOX2 genes (seen here in fluorescent colors). Colossal Biosciences

Finally, to complete the mammothification of an Asian elephant, a nucleus from a regular elephant egg would be swapped with the nucleus from a cell modified with snippets of the mammoth genome—something they are planning for by early 2026 so Colossal can meet its projected date of 2028. Known as somatic cell nuclear transfer, it’s the same technique scientists used to make the famous clone Dolly the sheep in 1996. Colossal’s scientists are already practicing with gametes from animals like cows and horses. 

Once the hybrid egg develops into an embryo, it will be implanted into a female Asian elephant. The gestation period for a mammoth is the same as for an Asian elephant: around 22 months. And if that fetus survives long enough to be born, it should, hypothetically, be adapted to cold weather because it possesses mammoth traits. It probably won’t have massive tusks, but it will be 200 pounds of flesh, fat, and protective fur.  

James is confident that Colossal will be able to produce a mammoth by implanting a modified embryo into a surrogate. To increase its chances, though, he says the team will develop multiple eggs and work with a couple of female elephants. Even so, the first generation of mammoth hybrids won’t go anywhere near the wild. “They will be in what we would call a managed care facility,” says James, which means a sanctuary or some other facility where their anatomy, physiology, and behavior can be studied regularly. The mammoths will have to prove they have the skills to live and thrive independently in the wild. 

Skeptics might say the means, in this case, don’t justify the end. “It’s not necessarily accurate to say that the animals will benefit more by being brought back to life rather than just staying dead,” says Zohar Lederman, a physician and bioethicist at the University of Hong Kong. 

Others are much more strident. “It seems like a terrible idea to me,” says Karl Flessa, a geosciences professor at the University of Arizona who centers his research work on conservation biology and habitat and species restoration. “Why are you bringing back a Pleistocene animal as the world continues to warm and all of the habitats that were once available for mammoths are pretty much gone? Why would you want to do that?”

IN AN OP-ED for Rolling Stone in July, Colossal CEO Lamm argued that the company’s efforts are absolutely essential to sustaining the biodiversity of the planet. “I came to the conclusion,” he wrote, “that the question is no longer should we practice de-extinction science but how long do we have to get it right.”

Global authorities continually point out that Earth is currently in the middle of an extinction crisis. In 2019, the United Nations published a landmark report stating that one million animal and plant species are close to dying out, which is more than ever before in our history. A subsequent report issued in 2020 by the World Wildlife Fund found that wildlife populations had decreased by two-thirds in the last half-century alone, mainly due to human activities like deforestation, insecticide use, and poaching. In May, four researchers published a study in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution linking climate change to another mass extinction. They evaluated almost 36,000 species on land and in the ocean and used climate models to show that 15 percent of those organisms will experience dangerous and potentially fatal temperatures if the planet warms by 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2100.

Asian elephant walks through grass; illustration of woolly mammoth stepping across stream
The Asian elephant (left) has the most genetic overlap with the woolly mammoth (right) of any living species. From left: AB Apana / Getty Images; Colossal Biosciences

Lamm, Church, and the rest of Colossal’s corporate chain contend that those sorts of numbers animate the underlying principle of the company: that their lab-made proxies aren’t just some well-funded science project—they can legitimately be used to build resilience in species by pushing them toward the right adaptations in a changing world. The mammoth-elephant hybrid is the classic example. Asian elephants are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Merging snippets of woolly mammoth genome with the Asian elephant might give the big mammal a chance to inhabit a place like Pleistocene Park, a large tract of tundra in Russian Siberia that’s free from our interference.

“People say we should be working on endangered species. That’s exactly what we’re working on,” Church told me via video call the day after I toured Colossal’s lab. “One of the advantages of making a hybrid starting from an endangered species is that you give that endangered species a whole new place to live, which is much larger and less encumbered by human conflict than their current location.”

At the same time, the genomic sequencing Colossal currently leads is being put toward the development of a vaccine for a herpesvirus—the primary cause of death of young Asian elephants in zoos in North America.

But geneticist Stephan Schuster remains incredulous. Schuster was part of the Pennsylvania State University team that, in 2008, was the first to sequence nearly a full genome of an extinct animal when it assembled 2.9 billion base pairs from the genome of an 18,000-year-old woolly mammoth found in Siberia. “If there is a single person on the planet that I would trust to get the project accomplished, it is George Church,” he says. But, he adds, talk of resurrecting a mammoth has gone on for a decade, without much to show for it.

Schuster has a long list of queries about Colossal’s methodology. Will changes made to Asian elephant DNA lead to unpredictable mutations elsewhere on the genome? How many elephant pregnancies must happen to create one transgenic animal? How do you implant a mammoth-hybrid embryo into the uterus of an Asian elephant, which is deep inside the animal? “Just show success,” says Schuster. “All the rest, it’s just blah, blah, blah, blah.”

Another one of the scientific community’s main criticisms of Colossal is money versus impact. A $225 million capital fund for species restoration is nothing to sneeze at. Meanwhile, based on an analysis by the Center for Biological Diversity and other conservation groups, the US Fish and Wildlife Service requires a total of $841 million to fully fund all recovery efforts under the Endangered Species Act. The agency’s 2023 budget for protection efforts is just $331 million.

Nicobar pigeon sits on rock; dodo illustration
The Nicobar pigeon (left) has a modern island lifestyle that could meld well with unique attributes of the dodo (right). From left: Tambako the Jaguar / Getty Images; Colossal Biosciences

Colossal retains the exclusive license to commercialize any biotechnology that emerges from its de-extinction projects. Lamm assures me that anything that might be applicable to human healthcare—for gene therapy and the like—will be strictly proprietary. The one exception is how the instruments, like its laser-guided embryo-editing tool, are employed for various species preservation projects. “We may open-source some of the technology for its application to conservation,” he says.

The proxies themselves, once born, are also likely to be wholly owned by Colossal, at least for a while. Early hybrids will live in a vast fenced-in area like a nature preserve. Once there are enough members of each de-extincted target that can live and survive in the wild, they will start being released. And that’s when, Colossal says, ownership transfers to the natural world.

“They would become more of a natural resource for the area where they’ve been rewilded,” says chief animal officer James. It would be similar to how we might view elephants already existing in the wild. A specific country doesn’t own an African elephant—although it might be argued that those countries do have a responsibility to protect wildlife. (One location that Colossal is considering for future mammoths is North Dakota; the state development fund invested $3 million in the company earlier this year.)

Skeptics of Colossal’s overall strategy also wonder what will happen should de-extinction efforts prove successful. Creatures that have been gone for tens, hundreds, and thousands of years would suddenly emerge into a vastly different world—one that, by the very metrics Colossal cites, is already far too dangerous for the organisms that are still alive.

“Having mammoths isn’t going to solve any of those problems,” says Ronald Sandler, director of the Ethics Institute at Northeastern University. “It’s not going to reduce habitat loss. It’s not going to reduce carbon emissions. It’s not going to help us prevent a currently extant species from going extinct.”

Take the infamous flightless dodo, which could be an inspiration for shoring up vanishing populations of endemic island pigeons. The scientific process for creating its replacement is different from those for the mammoth and thylacine proxies. Currently, there’s no way to genetically edit a living bird. Scientists can manipulate the egg cell of a mammal when it’s ready to be fertilized because its nucleus is easy to get to—but the yolk of a bird egg makes that impossible. Instead, Colossal plans to create primordial germ cells, which can become sperm or egg cells, and inject them into developing embryos of a living bird. One prime candidate is the Nicobar pigeon. A male and female Nicobar would each then grow up with gametes containing the edits required to birth offspring with the characteristics that so distinguished the dodo, like its flightlessness, S-shaped body, and hooked beak. Say that works multiple times over, enough to generate a population of dodo proxies. What good does that do if its historic home of Mauritius is filled with invasive predators and may be flooded in 100 years?

Fat-tailed dunnart sits on wooden stick in grassy area; rendering of thylacine in swampy, rocky area
The fat-tailed dunnart (left) is being studied for “assisted reproductive technologies” to aid the thylacine (right) de-extinction project. From left: Auscape International Pty Ltd / Alamy; Colossal Biosciences

“I’m critical of de-extinction, but I also do think it has a role to play,” says Tom Gilbert, a paleogenomics researcher at the University of Copenhagen. He also worked with Shapiro to produce the dodo genome and is a member of Colossal’s scientific advisory board. In his eyes, releasing “a bad mutant mismatch of something else not adapted to the environment” doesn’t strike him as an effective means of ecosystem restoration. “But if you can excite a generation of young people using crazy de-extinction projects to love nature and get into science, that is going to save the world,” he adds. “If it requires a mutant mammoth-elephant hybrid to get the people excited, that is a valid reason to do it.”

THE BIGGEST OPEN QUESTION is whether Colossal can and will use the bioengineering toolkit it’s developing for the greater conservation good. The startup certainly claims it will: It recently joined forces with Thomas Hildebrandt, another member of its scientific advisory board, who currently leads BioResponse, an international consortium attempting to create a new population of northern white rhinoceroses. Colossal’s supporting role will be to gather DNA from museum specimens of the near-extinct species, analyze the data, and then use its gene-editing tools to help create more diverse northern white rhino embryos. The genetic variation should, in theory, help protect the rare mammals from disease in captive-breeding programs and, eventually, in the wild.

Still, there is no hybrid mammoth, thylacine, or dodo to point to at the moment. For Lamm, generating those ancient species is the priority. “If Colossal does nothing else in conservation or de-extinction, and we cure elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus and are responsible for saving elephants, that was a pretty good day,” he tells me just after our walk-through of the lab. “But fundamentally…if we aren’t successful in our de-extinction efforts, I will personally not see it as success.” 

Yet there is a danger in pursuing ghosts and still-fictional creatures. Mammothlike elephants or big-beaked pigeons or fiercer dunnarts could overshadow wildlife teetering on the precipice of oblivion right now. After all, who cares, really, about the orangefoot pimpleback, an endangered freshwater mussel, or the Oahu tree snail?

When I present paleontologist Kenneth Lacovara with that conundrum, he deems it a false choice. “Yes, we have to do everything we can to conserve species that are on the brink,” he says. “And yes, we should try to bring back species that have gone extinct that were pushed into extinction by humans. I think that’s justice. Those two things are not at odds with each other.”

Maybe not. Could the return of a mammoth-like beast backed by millions of dollars in capital funds stabilize an ancient Arctic ecosystem that traditionally helped trap greenhouse gases deep inside the frozen tundra? “When a species is introduced to a landscape, you can’t always predict what every one of the consequences is going to be,” says Shapiro.

“If we aren’t successful in our de-extinction efforts, I will personally not see it as success.”

Ben Lamm, CEO of Colossal Biosciences

But we certainly know what happens when a species is removed from where it belongs, be that the fault of overzealous humans or larger environmental degradation. Consider the reintroduction of gray wolf packs to Yellowstone National Park, perhaps the preeminent example of the positive ecological effects born from restoring fauna in their native habitats. As one of the top predators in the region, wolves helped bring other wildlife and natural cycles back into balance. 

We don’t know what will happen if a woolly mammoth hybrid makes its debut in the 21st century. But the future that Colossal envisions is one in which the act of protecting the animal kingdom goes beyond building fences, zoos, or preserves—one in which humans invest in and invent tools that could prime species for survival, including those that haven’t been dead for thousands of years. 

Read more PopSci+ stories.

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This Jurassic-era ‘sea murderer’ was among the first of its kind https://www.popsci.com/environment/lorrainosaurus/ Mon, 23 Oct 2023 19:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=582558
A life-sized reconstruction of the head and jaws of the oldest megapredatory pliosaur called Lorrainosaurus. The reptile is long and torpedo shaped, with closed jaws and sharp exposed teeth.
A life-sized reconstruction of the head and jaws of the oldest megapredatory pliosaur called Lorrainosaurus. Model By 10 Tons

Lorrainosaurus stalked the seas that cover present-day Europe and were the ecological equivalents of today’s killer whales.

The post This Jurassic-era ‘sea murderer’ was among the first of its kind appeared first on Popular Science.

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A life-sized reconstruction of the head and jaws of the oldest megapredatory pliosaur called Lorrainosaurus. The reptile is long and torpedo shaped, with closed jaws and sharp exposed teeth.
A life-sized reconstruction of the head and jaws of the oldest megapredatory pliosaur called Lorrainosaurus. Model By 10 Tons

With its 19 feet-long torpedo-shaped body and long teeth the newly-described Lorrainosaurus was a fearsome mega predator. The fossilized remains of a 170-million-year-old marine reptile is the oldest-known pliosaur and dates back to the Jurassic era. The discovery is described in a study published October 16 in the journal Scientific Reports.

[Related: Millions of years ago, marine reptiles may have used Nevada as a birthing ground.]

Pliosaurs were members of a group of ocean-dwelling reptiles that are closely related to the more famous long-necked plesiosaurs. Unlike their cousins, these pliosaurs had short necks and massive skulls. From snout to tail, it was likely about 19 feet long and very little is known about the plesiosaurs from this time.

“Famous examples, such as Pliosaurus and Kronosaurus–some of the world’s largest pliosaurs–were absolutely enormous with body-lengths exceeding 10m [32 feet]. They were ecological equivalents of today’s killer whales and would have eaten a range of prey including squid-like cephalopods, large fish and other marine reptiles. These have all been found as preserved gut contents,” study co-author and Uppsala University paleontologist Benjamin Kear said in a statement.

An illustration of tje oldest megapredatory pliosaur, Lorrainosaurus, in the sea that covered what is now northern France 170 million years ago. The reptile has large jaws that are open, bearing two rows of very sharp teeth and four pectoral fins.
The oldest megapredatory pliosaur, Lorrainosaurus, in the sea that covered what is now northern France 170 million years ago. CREDIT: Joschua Knüppe

Pliosaurs first emerged over 200 million years ago and remained relatively small players in marine ecosystems. Following a landmark restructuring of the marine predator ecosystem in the early to middle Jurassic era (about 175 to 171 million years ago) they reached apex predator status.

“This event profoundly affected many marine reptile groups and brought mega predatory pliosaurids to dominance over ‘fish-like’ ichthyosaurs, ancient marine crocodile relatives, and other large-bodied predatory plesiosaurs,” study co-author and paleobiologist at the Institute of Paleobiology of the Polish Academy of Sciences Daniel Madzia said in a statement.

The fossils in this study were originally found in 1983 in northeastern France, but were recently analyzed by an international team of paleontologists who identified this new pliosaur genus called Lorrainosaurus. The teeth and bones represent what was once a complete skeleton that decomposed and was spread along the ancient seafloor by scavengers and ocean currents. 

[Related: The planet’s first filter feeder could be this extinct marine reptile.]

Lorrainosaurus was one of the first truly huge pliosaurs. It gave rise to a dynasty of marine reptile mega-predators that ruled the oceans for around 80 million years,” Sven Sachs, a study co-author and paleontologist from the Naturkunde-Museum Bielefeld in Germany, said in a statement.

Other than a short report published in 1994, these fossils remained obscure until the team reevaluated the specimens. Finding Lorrainosaurus’ remains indicates that the reign of gigantic mega-predatory pliosaurs likely began earlier than paleontologists previously thought. These giants were also locally responsive to the major ecological changes in the marine environments that covered present day Europe during the early Middle Jurassic.

Lorrainosaurus is thus a critical addition to our knowledge of ancient marine reptiles from a time in the Age of Dinosaurs that has as yet been incompletely understood,” said Kear.

The post This Jurassic-era ‘sea murderer’ was among the first of its kind appeared first on Popular Science.

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How did mummified mice end up on volcanoes in the Atacama Desert? https://www.popsci.com/environment/mummified-mice-volcanoes/ Mon, 23 Oct 2023 15:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=582199
A view from the summit of Volcán Salín, one of three Andean volcanoes where researchers uncovered the mummified cadavers of mice. Analyses of the mummies, combined with the capture of live specimens, suggest that the rodents scaled the Mars-like peaks on their own — and are somehow managing to live on them.
A view from the summit of Volcán Salín, one of three Andean volcanoes where researchers uncovered the mummified cadavers of mice. Analyses of the mummies, combined with the capture of live specimens, suggest that the rodents scaled the Mars-like peaks on their own — and are somehow managing to live on them. Jay Storz/University of Nebraska,Lincoln

It’s still a mystery how the leaf-eared mouse survives these Mars-like conditions.

The post How did mummified mice end up on volcanoes in the Atacama Desert? appeared first on Popular Science.

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A view from the summit of Volcán Salín, one of three Andean volcanoes where researchers uncovered the mummified cadavers of mice. Analyses of the mummies, combined with the capture of live specimens, suggest that the rodents scaled the Mars-like peaks on their own — and are somehow managing to live on them.
A view from the summit of Volcán Salín, one of three Andean volcanoes where researchers uncovered the mummified cadavers of mice. Analyses of the mummies, combined with the capture of live specimens, suggest that the rodents scaled the Mars-like peaks on their own — and are somehow managing to live on them. Jay Storz/University of Nebraska,Lincoln

It’s a little slice of Mars right here on Earth. The volcanoes of the dry and arid Atacama desert in Argentina and Chile climb roughly 20,000 feet above sea level, with blistering winds, parched conditions, and freezing temperatures. However, a team of biologists who discovered a living two ounce leaf-eared mouse three years ago, have now found multiple mummified mice in these extreme conditions. The findings are described in a study published October 23 in the journal Current Biology.

[Related: Male mice are utterly terrified of bananas.]

“The most surprising thing about our discovery is that mammals could be living on the summits of volcanoes in such an inhospitable, Mars-like environment,” study co-author and University of Nebraska, Lincoln evolutionary biologist Jay Storz said in a statement. “Well-trained mountain climbers can tolerate such extreme elevations during a one-day summit attempt, but the fact that mice are actually living at such elevations demonstrates that we have underestimated the physiological tolerances of small mammals.”

Finding freeze-dried mummy mice

As far back as the 1970s and 1980s, archaeologists reported seeing mouse cadavers at these extreme heights. The assumption was that they naturally must have hitched a ride up the summit with the Incas. These sites are considered sacred to the Inca and the belief was that they could have been brought up along with firewood up the slopes or potentially were offered up as sacrifices.

“You can’t fault the archaeologists for thinking this way, because what other explanation is there?” said Storz. “Nothing could be living up there, so they had to have been brought there.”

Inadvertently, doubts on the mice as hitchhikers theory were cast early in 2020. Storz and his friend and fellow mountaineer Mario Pérez Mamani, captured a live specimen of leaf-eared mouse atop the 22,000-foot peak of Llullaillaco, a volcano on Chile-Argentina border. 

Along with the discovery of more live mice, they’ve now found 13 mouse mummies on the summits of three neighboring volcanoes—Salín, Púlar, and Copiapo—all close to four miles above sea level.

“These are basically freeze-dried, mummified mice,” Storz said.

It’s all relative

The frozen in time state also helped preserve their DNA and crucial genetic information. Alongside collaborators from the University of Montana, Storz compared the genetic variation among the leaf-eared mice collected in the lowlands, midlands, and highlands of Atacama Desert. This cross-habitat zone analysis can help trace the evolutionary history of animal populations that are separated by physical barriers, distance, or altitude.

[Related: 1,000-year-old mummy with full head of hair and intact jaw found in Peru.]

The team questioned whether the mummified mice living on top of the Andes Mountains may be a different subpopulation of the leaf-eared rodent that has a colonization history that differs from their more low-land dwelling peers. According to Storz, they found that the mice from the summits and those from the flanks or the base of the volcanoes in the surrounding desert are “one big happy family.”

A leaf-eared mouse called Phyllotis vaccarum in a gloved hand. CREDIT: Marcial Quiroga-Carmona.
A species of leaf-eared mouse called Phyllotis vaccarum. CREDIT: Marcial Quiroga-Carmona.

Two pairs of the leaf-eared mummies found on Salín were also closely related, possibly siblings or parents and offspring. Along with the discovery of the live mouse burrows, the equal ratio of males to females found among the mummies, also points to the leaf-eared mouse living in and not just touring these summits. 

‘How in God’s name is anything living up there?’

Puna de Atacama is among Earth’s most inhospitable places and NASA has visited the Atacama to practice for future missions on Mars. Its less than 0.6 inches of annual rainfall make it a good analogue for the Red Planet and a rovers designed to dig in Martian soil to search for microbial life have been tested here. 

“Even at the base of the volcanoes, the mice are living in an extreme, Martian environment. And then, on the summits of the volcanoes, it’s even more so. It feels like outer space,” said Storz. “It just boggles the mind that any kind of animal, let alone a warm-blooded mammal, could be surviving and functioning in that environment. When you experience it all firsthand, it even further impresses upon you: How in God’s name is anything living up there?”

To learn more, Storz and team have established laboratory colonies of leaf-eared mice that were collected from various altitudes. They acclimated each group to conditions that simulate the Puna de Atacama, hoping to pinpoint the physiological adaptations that the rodents cope with life at the extreme. They’re are also continuing mountaineering surveys of small mammals living on high Andean peaks in Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile.

They believe it possible that avoiding predators such as birds of prey, foxes, mountain lions, and smaller cats could be what’s driving the mice to live here. 

“But why they’re ascending to these extreme elevations is still a mystery,” Stoz said.

The post How did mummified mice end up on volcanoes in the Atacama Desert? appeared first on Popular Science.

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You can now track NYC subway rats in this popular transit app https://www.popsci.com/technology/transit-app-rat-detector/ Sat, 21 Oct 2023 11:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=581832
a rat in a new york city subway station under the benches
Ludovic Bertron / Wikimedia

New York's hottest club (for rats) is off the A line.

The post You can now track NYC subway rats in this popular transit app appeared first on Popular Science.

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a rat in a new york city subway station under the benches
Ludovic Bertron / Wikimedia

As cities sprout up in native ecosystems, keeping track of how our urban cohabitants are adapting to them has been a work in progress for scientists. An initiative from The Daily Telegraph and other crowdsourced efforts have been underway in the UK to count the foxes spotted in urban areas, for example. And Microsoft has been using AI to gather information about the growing population of urban monkeys in India. 

And in the biggest city in the United States, residents know that the true New Yorkers are the rats. Rats, with their complex community dynamics and resourcefulness, have taken over the town, and forced the city to come up with creative ways to fight back against them, including recently anointing a “rat czar” to head off the problem. As much as people hate to admit it, rats, though jarring whenever they appear, are a part of the urban ecosystem. Like other city dwellers, they’ve learned the ins and outs of city life, and have made the most of it. 

In its efforts to understand its rat residents, the city of New York has taken measures to collect rat stats. One project to come out of this data-gathering effort is the rat map, which indicates hot spot gatherings for rodent group hangs. Another app called Transit is taking a more citizen science approach to see where the most popular rat hubs are. Transit uses open transit data provided by city agencies to help riders visualize train and bus times in their area (it works in cities like New York, Boston, and Los Angeles). It aims to help commuters find the best and fastest way to get to their destination. Beyond ingesting schedules, the app also relies on crowdsourced information about alerts or other unexpected events. 

[Related: Open data is a blessing for science—but it comes with its own curses]

Recently, the app launched a new feature called the NYC Subway Rat Detector, which tells users how busy a certain subway station is in terms of recorded rat activity. By asking users to report rat levels at a given subway station through an in-app questionnaire called “Rate-my-ride,” Transit can garner real-time insights at the station from its 1.2 million New York users, as the developers explained in a newsletter they sent out earlier this month. This data doesn’t just get shared with fellow riders and app users, but with the app’s transit agency partners, too. 

Will it lead to change? Maybe. The last time Transit riders were asked to tattle on the state of their stations, some of the dirtiest Big Blue Bus stops in Santa Monica, California got a much needed clean-up

The rat dashboard addition certainly did not go unnoticed. Many TikTok users have since highlighted this update. One such video posted by user @smokulani received more than 1 million views. 

“The results are in. And the rats? They’re everywhere,” Transit noted on a web post explaining the feature. Through their research, they found that Manhattan boasts the most rat sightings out of all the boroughs, and the rattiest station in New York is the Grant Av A stop, followed by the Harlem 1 2 3 stop, and the Woodhaven Blvd E F M R stop. They’ve also ranked stops with the highest frequency or number of rat occurrences.

The post You can now track NYC subway rats in this popular transit app appeared first on Popular Science.

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The best bird feeder cameras in 2023 https://www.popsci.com/gear/best-bird-feeder-cameras/ Fri, 20 Oct 2023 20:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=580793
four of the best bird feeder cameras sliced together against a white background
Abby Ferguson

Bird feeder cameras allow you to see your feathered friends in new ways.

The post The best bird feeder cameras in 2023 appeared first on Popular Science.

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four of the best bird feeder cameras sliced together against a white background
Abby Ferguson

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more ›

Best overall A blue Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder filled with seed against a white background with a gray gradient. Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder
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The Bird Buddy offers stylish design, quality images, and a fun app with real-time notifications.

Best for hummingbirds A blue BirdDock Hummingbird Feeder Camera against a white background with a grey gradient. BirdDock Hummingbird Feeder Camera
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The nectar attachment of this feeder can be swapped out to hold seed as well.

Best budget A white WYZE Cam v3 against a white background with a gray gradient. WYZE Cam v3
SEE IT

This budget option lets you see the birds without any extras.

Bird feeder cameras make documenting our feathered friends fun and easy, but they aren’t created equally. Some are best for bird-watching in your own backyard, while others are better suited to remote locations. More expensive models have features like solar panels, video options, and smart bird identification, while basic, budget models make feeder photography accessible for just about everyone. No matter what you are looking for, the best bird feeder cameras will allow you to capture quality images of the birds who call your area home. 

How we chose the best bird feeder cameras

There are dozens of bird feeder cameras on the market. Though many of them have the same basic features, they don’t all offer the same level of important features like durability, battery life, and accuracy of species detection. 

To arrive at our top picks, we relied on our own assessment of each device, including hands-on experience with multiple models. Because bird feeder cameras must be durable, weatherproof, and offer long-lasting performance, we also leaned heavily on user experiences and favored well-reviewed products. 

Features like accurate bird identification, solar panel availability, and useful accessories also helped push some models into the limelight. Other options like real-time notification and color night vision were nice to have but not essentials. Still, they didn’t tend to figure into our final decision simply because of their somewhat limited value for bird photography. 

The best bird feeder cameras: Reviews & Recommendations

Choosing a bird feeder camera can be tough. There are dozens of available models, and the prices can range from less than $50 all the way up to $400 or more. The key to finding the right bird feeder camera is not necessarily shopping by price but knowing which features are must-haves and which are not. Not everyone will benefit from AI, for example. You may even prefer to use your own knowledge to identify the birds in your photographs. Below are our favorite options, suitable for a range of situations and users. 

Best overall: Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder

Abby Ferguson

SEE IT

Specs

  • AI: Yes, identifies more than 1,000 bird species 
  • App compatibility: Android and iOS
  • Resolution: 5-megapixel photos, 720p video
  • Battery: 4000 mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery, optional solar panel

Pros

  • Sharp images with a 120-degree field of view
  • Weatherproof from -5°F to 120°F
  • The smartphone app allows you to see feeders all over the world
  • Compatible with an optional solar panel and lots of accessories
  • Three mounting options

Cons

  • No local storage, so it can’t be used without Wi-Fi
  • Video resolution is lower than some competitors

The Bird Buddy bird feeder camera is relatively new, but it has much to offer, so it earns our top spot. The bird feeder is attractively designed, so it will look nice in your yard or on your deck with some solar lights, which is an important feature for many. It’s available in blue or vibrant yellow, so you can choose an option that fits your style best. I really enjoy the look of the blue Bird Buddy on the side of my porch, which is a big plus. 

The camera module is removable, which is important when it comes time to clean the feeder. It can take five-megapixel photos or offers 720p live-streamed video. The image quality won’t be that of your dedicated mirrorless or DSLR camera, but it is nicely detailed and properly exposed even in backlit situations. And being able to tune in to watch live as a bird chows down is pretty neat. 

The camera’s 120-degree field of view is wide enough to capture birds hanging out on the feeder’s side. You can also buy multiple accessories through Bird Buddy to extend the perch or feed different species. With the solar roof (the model we thoroughly tested and reviewed), you’ll never need to think about charging the camera. Without the solar roof, you’ll need to charge the camera every 5 to 15 days.

The Bird Buddy relies on AI to automatically recognize over 1,000 species of birds. The Bird Buddy app notifies you when you have new visitors to your feeder, which is always exciting. You can even browse other Bird Buddy devices all over the world to see species that you wouldn’t otherwise encounter. Plus, the images from your device contribute to migration information for conservation databases. You’ll be helping science progress while getting fun images of your feathered friends. 

Best trail camera: TECHNAXX Full HD Birdcam TX-165 

TECHNAXX

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Specs

  • AI: None
  • App compatibility: N/A, no app available
  • Resolution: 8-megapixel photos, full HD 1080p video
  • Battery: 4 AA batteries give it a working time of up to 6 months

Pros

  • Sturdy trail-cam style feeder
  • 6-month battery life
  • Removable water basin means it can be a feeder or a birdbath
  • Captures slow-motion video

Cons

  • No smartphone app or bird identification features
  • Memory card storage is less convenient than Wi-Fi or Bluetooth

This hybrid bird feeder camera is as tough as any trail camera. However, unlike most trail cameras, it can focus as close as 2 to 6 inches and offers a 100-degree field of view. This means you’ll get much better images of visiting birds than you would with a typical trail cam. The TX-165 takes standard AA batteries but has a working time of up to 6 months. You can leave it in a secure, remote location for a long time without worrying about the battery going flat.

The TX-165 also has a few features you won’t find on other bird feeder cameras. You can fill it with birdseed or fill the removable basin with water and turn it into a birdbath camera. It also takes impressive eight-megapixel images and full HD 1080p video. It’s also capable of 25 frames per second for slow-motion videos. 

Best for bird boxes: Hawk Eye HD Nature Cam

Hawk Eye

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Specs

  • AI: None
  • App compatibility: N/A, no app available
  • Resolution: 700 tvl (television lines)
  • Battery: None (includes a 75-foot power cable)

Pros

  • Compact, so you can hide it almost anywhere
  • Night vision lets you capture clear images in poor light 
  • Durable and temperature-tolerant to between 35°F and 105°F

Cons

  • Only shoots video 
  • Not waterproof
  • Needs to be plugged into a power supply

Birds do a lot more than just eat birdseed, so at some point, you might want to step up to a birdhouse camera. Because the Hawk Eye Nature Cam isn’t built into a feeder, it’s much more flexible than most bird cams. Its small size means you can put it anywhere—on treetops, fence posts, or even in animal burrows (though please exercise caution when putting it down a snake hole). Or it can be wired discreetly into a bird box for a 24/7 look at growing bird families, from egg to fledgling. 

The Hawk Eye Nature Cam is meant for live-streaming to your television set. The video resolution is clear and sharp, with 700 tvl (television lines) and 10 infrared diodes. This lets you view clear video even in the darkened environment of a typical bird box. Note, however, that you will need an RCA to USB adapter if you have a modern TV. 

The Hawk Eye does have a few drawbacks. It has no battery, so you’ll have to mess with a long extension cord to get it set up. It also isn’t waterproof. If you want to attach it to an unsheltered location, you’ll have to build waterproof housing or limit your use to dry weather. Finally, you can connect the camera to your PC and use additional software to grab photos and video segments from the live stream, but it’s not designed to capture high-resolution stills.

Best for hummingbirds: BirdDock Hummingbird Feeder Camera

BirdDock

SEE IT

Specs

  • AI: Yes, identifies species and alerts you when birds approach 
  • App compatibility: Android and iOS
  • Resolution: 2-megapixel photos, full HD 1080p video
  • Battery: 6400 mAh rechargeable batteries provide 20 to 30 days of operating time 

Pros

  • AI can recognize around 5,000 different species, including hummingbirds
  • Rechargeable batteries provide 20 to 30 days of use
  • Hummingbird attachment is removable

Con:

  • Still photos are much lower resolution than those shot by similar feeders 
  • The app is clunky and difficult to use

The BirdDock is a flexible bird feeder camera that isn’t limited to just capturing photos of seed-eaters. It also offers a removable hummingbird attachment featuring five flower-shaped feeding ports with 0.16-inch holes to keep bees and other insects out.  When you want to switch to photographing songbirds, you can remove the hummingbird feeder and fill the device with seeds. 

Like other AI feeders, the BirdDock will identify species and alert you when one is approaching the feeder. It has night vision, too, which could help you identify other critters that visit your feeder overnight. This bird feeder camera features a 160-degree field of view and can be used with or without an SD memory card. It provides an impressive battery life of up to 30 days. You can also purchase a separate solar panel to keep the device charged in sunny weather.

The BirdDock has two primary drawbacks: It captures still photos at a relatively low resolution of only two megapixels (though it does also capture full HD 1080p video). It also doesn’t have an especially user-friendly app. Some users complain that the bird identification feature isn’t accurate and that the app frequently disconnects from the camera.

Best for bird identification: Netvue Birdfy Pro

Netvue

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Specs

  • AI: Yes, identifies more than 6,000 different species 
  • App compatibility: Android and iOS
  • Resolution: Full HD 1080p video
  • Battery: 5000 mAh rechargeable batteries 

Pros

  • Can identify more than 6,000 different species 
  • Long battery life (the manufacturer claims up to six months of use)
  • Extra features like squirrel recognition and color night vision

Cons

  • The bird identification service costs extra
  • Storing photos on the cloud requires a subscription

The Netvue Birdfy rivals the Bird Buddy with features like ease of use, durability, and photo quality. It has an impressive array of extra features like color night vision. The AI can recognize squirrels, and the built-in microphone lets you yell at them when they’re caught robbing the feeder. You can also upgrade your feeder with add-ons like a solar panel, hummingbird feeder, and perch extension.

The Birdfy has the same features as most other feeders, including automatic capture/motion detection and real-time notification. It takes clear video at close range, provides a 135-degree field of view, and even offers 8x magnification if you want to study the fine details.

Birdfy has an impressive database of 6,000 species, though reviewers note that it isn’t always accurate. When it does misidentify a bird, you have the option to submit a report via the app. This is evidence that Netvue is constantly working to improve its software. 

The primary drawback of the Netvue bird feeder camera is you may have to pay for various subscriptions depending on what features you want access to. For example, if you want to take advantage of the bird identification feature, you must pay for a subscription. Likewise, a subscription is required if you want to store photos on the Netvue Cloud for longer than 30 days. 

Best budget: WYZE Cam v3

WYZE

SEE IT

Specs

  • AI: No species identification
  • App compatibility: Android and iOS
  • Resolution: 1080p full HD video
  • Battery: No battery

Pros

  • Affordable
  • Weatherproof 
  • Compact for easy mounting

Cons

  • Minimum focus distance is around 12 inches
  • No battery; needs to be plugged into a power supply

Bird feeder cameras with all the bells and whistles can be expensive. A $200 feeder might be outside your budget, or you may not need all the features that expensive bird feeder cameras offer. The WYZE Cam v3 is essentially an outdoor security camera. You won’t be able to fill it with birdseed or attach a hummingbird accessory. But you can mount this sturdy little camera next to any commercial bird feeder or install it close to a high-traffic part of your backyard. 

The WYZE Cam v3 offers all the basic features you need in a bird cam. It’s weatherproof with an IP65 rating. It takes photos when it senses motion, and it has an app so you can see what’s happening outside in real-time. 

The WYZE Cam does have a few drawbacks. One of these is the focus distance. While most dedicated bird cams can focus on subjects as close as a few inches, the WYZE Cam isn’t designed for closeups. You’ll have to mount it at least a foot away from your feeder, meaning you won’t see a lot of detail in your photos. 

The WYZE Cam is also wired. It comes with a weatherproof six-foot USB cable, so you’ll have to install it close to your home. On the plus side, once installed, you won’t have to worry about changing or recharging the battery or losing your video stream on a cloudy day.

Things to consider before buying a bird feeder camera

If you love bird watching but don’t want to sit waiting with your binoculars, a bird feeder camera will allow you to capture photos and videos of birds even when you aren’t around.

A bird feeder camera is meant for permanent outdoor use. This means it needs features you probably don’t consider when shopping for other photography gear. Here are some of the most important things you’ll want to think about when shopping for a bird feeder camera.

Durability

Bird feeder cameras can be subject to some serious abuse. The sun’s UV rays and hot temperatures can degrade plastic casings over time. These devices must also withstand storms and sprinklers, remaining waterproof from season to season. Of course, they should also be tough enough to handle the beaks and claws of visiting critters—not just the birds they’re intended for but other potential visitors like squirrels and mice.

Image quality

The image quality of bird feeder cameras is dependent on a few things. Resolution is the first thing most think of, and indeed, it is important with these devices. If you want clear, sharp images, look for bird feeder cameras with higher resolution. These compact cameras won’t offer numbers you may be used to in smartphones or mirrorless cameras, though. Five to eight megapixels for stills and 1080p for video tend to be the highest available at the moment.  However, if you aren’t concerned with high levels of detail, you could save some money and opt for a device with a less impressive resolution. 

The second factor of image quality is close focusing distance. The majority of shots taken by a bird feeder camera will be up-close. As a result, look for a device capable of getting clear photos at a very short distance. Even as close as a few inches is ideal.  Finally, birds don’t tend to sit still for long. Because of this, the camera should be able to freeze action, even in low light conditions like early morning or cloudy days. 

WiFi connectivity

WiFi isn’t necessarily a critical feature, but it’s something to consider if you’re going to keep your feeder close to your house. Most people don’t want to trek outside daily to download photos or swap out a memory card. A WiFi connection will let you see what your camera captured at any time of day in any weather. Treating it like a smart-home device will save you from having to venture into the cold, heat, or rain unless you need to change the battery or add birdseed.

Pay attention to the range of the device, too. Shy birds won’t approach your device if it is too close to your home. If it’s too far away, you won’t be able to view your photos without exiting your home.

Mounting options

Each bird feeder camera will have somewhat different requirements for how you install them. Some require a pole, some can be mounted to a fence post, and others can be hung. Depending on where you want the feeder and what tools you have available for installation, some of these options may be better than others for your particular needs.

Battery life

Some bird feeder cameras take basic replaceable AA batteries; others rely on solar panels to power internal rechargeable batteries. Either way, you’ll want to pick a camera that isn’t power-hungry. A good battery will ensure you aren’t constantly changing batteries or missing photos because your camera goes dark on a cloudy day. 

Choosing a camera with motion detection is a good place to start. These cameras only activate when there’s something to take a photo of, which helps the battery last longer.

FAQs

Q: How do bird feeder cameras work?

Most bird feeder cameras are triggered by motion. When a bird visits the feeder, the camera will capture a still photo or record video, depending on its design. Some smart bird feeder cameras can also identify species by comparing photos to thousands of stored images of each individual bird species.

Q: What color bird feeder attracts more birds?

A 2017 study found that green or silver bird feeders tend to attract the most visitors, but color preference also seems to be species-specific. Robins in the study, for example, preferred black feeders, while greenfinches and starlings didn’t seem to care about color at all. 

Q: Where should I put a bird feeder camera?

Bird feeders should be placed in open spaces but not too far from potential cover. The Humane Society recommends placing feeders 12 feet from brush and trees. This prevents predators from hiding near the feeder and gives the birds cover to fly to if they feel threatened.

Q: Do infrared cameras bother birds?

Infrared light is invisible to birds, so a camera inside a bird box will give you clear pictures while the bird remains in darkness. 

Final thoughts on the best bird feeder cameras

Once limited to nature photographers with long telephoto lenses and lots of patience, bird feeder cameras have made bird photography nearly effortless and available to almost anyone. That doesn’t necessarily mean any camera will do, though. Thinking about what you want to get out of your investment is an important first step in choosing a feeder. If you’re hoping to get up-close, detailed shots, pay attention to the example shots provided by the manufacturer and uploaded by users. Consider how important good battery life is to you, and ask yourself if you really need a camera that will identify already familiar local birds.

Why trust us

Popular Science started writing about technology more than 150 years ago. There was no such thing as “gadget writing” when we published our first issue in 1872, but if there was, our mission to demystify the world of innovation for everyday readers means we would have been all over it. Here in the present, PopSci is fully committed to helping readers navigate the increasingly intimidating array of devices on the market right now.

Our writers and editors have combined decades of experience covering and reviewing consumer electronics. We each have our own obsessive specialties—from high-end audio to video games to cameras and beyond—but when we’re reviewing devices outside of our immediate wheelhouses, we do our best to seek out trustworthy voices and opinions to help guide people to the very best recommendations. We know we don’t know everything, but we’re excited to live through the analysis paralysis that internet shopping can spur so readers don’t have to.

The post The best bird feeder cameras in 2023 appeared first on Popular Science.

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Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder review: A camera that’s not just for the birds https://www.popsci.com/gear/bird-buddy-smart-bird-feeder-review/ Fri, 20 Oct 2023 17:55:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=581017
A blue Bird Buddy is mounted on a post in front of a house.
Abby Ferguson

You'll be able to capture quality photos and videos of your avian neighbors with the Bird Buddy.

The post Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder review: A camera that’s not just for the birds appeared first on Popular Science.

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A blue Bird Buddy is mounted on a post in front of a house.
Abby Ferguson

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Bird watching seems like one of those rites of passage as you get older. You reach a certain age and boom—you suddenly like studying our avian amigos. I have, apparently, reached that age. But I don’t always have time to tromp through fields with binoculars to catch fleeting feathers. Luckily, bird watching these days is extremely easy thanks to the arrival of bird feeder cameras. These devices are built with compact, weather-resistant cameras that typically detect motion to snap photos and videos when a bird comes to feast. They provide close-up views of the snacking species that wouldn’t be possible any other way.

One of the more popular bird feeder cameras—Bird Buddy—was launched as a Kickstarter and has taken the world of bird feeder cameras by storm. It offers an attractive yet practical design and pairs with an easy- and fun-to-use app. The Bird Buddy camera allows you to capture high-quality photos and videos of birds that visit your feeder, and AI even identifies them for you. I’ve had one up for a few months to put it through its paces and have been impressed with the device.

Abby Ferguson

SEE IT

Overview

  • The Bird Buddy is a modern-looking bird feeder with a removable camera that automatically snaps photos and videos of birds that come to snack. 
  • The easy-to-use app notifies you when you have a visitor and automatically identifies over 1,000 species of birds.
  • The feeder holds 3.5 cups of birdseed and comes with a scoop.
  • It comes with a few different ways to mount the feeder. Additional accessories are available for purchase separately.
  • A Bird Buddy Pro membership unlocks certain app features and higher video quality and costs $2.50 monthly for an annual membership or $2.99 for a monthly plan. 
  • The base-level Bird Buddy costs $239, but we suggest upgrading to the version with a solar roof for unlimited battery life for $299.

Pros

  • Attractive, modern design
  • Very little assembly required
  • Lots of accessories available
  • App is easy and fun to use
  • AI features automatically identify birds and other critters
  • Livestream is available
  • Records quality, highly-detailed photos and videos
  • Holds plenty of birdseed
  • Camera is removable for easy washing
  • Optional solar roof does away with charging the battery
  • Bird Buddy provides frequent updates

Cons

  • Requires a WiFi connection
  • Water pools in the bird feeder, resulting in moldy birdseed
  • Some features are locked behind a subscription paywall

Verdict

The Bird Buddy is one of the best bird feeder cameras available thanks to its excellent app usability, advanced AI, and high-quality images and videos. The sleek design is easy to install, clean, and fill, and the removable camera is a nice addition. The reliance on WiFi won’t work for everyone, but smart-home devices are increasingly common, and it allows for immediate access to your camera’s feed.

A Bird Buddy bird feeder camera is mounted on a post with a green forest in the background.
You can install the Bird Buddy in a few different ways, including mounting to a wall or fence. I went with a third-party wall mount since Bird Buddy’s version was out of stock when I was looking for one, but it has started to sag over time. Abby Ferguson

Bird Buddy setup

Setting up the Bird Buddy involves two parts: Connecting to a WiFi router along with the app and physically installing the bird feeder. The Bird Buddy doesn’t offer any onboard storage, so you’ll need access to a WiFi connection to use the camera and AI features. It uses an 802.11 b/g/n connection at 2.4 GHz plus Bluetooth for connection to the app. You’ll want to install the Bird Buddy app and pair your camera to the app before installing the bird feeder in your yard. 

I had substantial issues pairing my Bird Buddy to my WiFi and connecting it to the app, and had to call customer support for assistance. Luckily, the customer support team was incredibly helpful and patient in working through the troubleshooting, and we eventually got it all set up. It is worth noting that I had an early model, so Bird Buddy has likely solved some of those issues to make the pairing process smoother.

Physical installation is simple, depending on how and where you place your bird feeder. You can hang it, mount it to a one-inch pole with the included bottom mount, or purchase a separate wall mount for attaching to fences or walls. The camera slots right into the designated slot, and it’s easy to plug it into the solar roof (if you opt for that). 

A Bird Buddy bird feeder, filled with birdseed, is mounted on a post with a yard in the background.
The little bird prints for traction are a cute touch. Abby Ferguson

Bird Buddy design & build quality

The Bird Buddy bird feeder features a sleek, modern design with smooth curves. Though looks are subjective, I think it looks much more polished than other bird feeder cameras. It’s available in blue or vibrant yellow. Bird Buddy says it features a “bird-friendly design,” though it doesn’t specify what exactly that means. The perch features a raised bird footprint pattern, providing some grip for talons. 

The birdseed compartment—which holds 3.8 cups—is enclosed by clear plastic on both sides, allowing you and the birds to see the seed level inside. A back door at the top opens to fill the bird feeder up, though it requires careful maneuvering to get the seed inside and not spill it everywhere since it is a rather small opening. The entire back also comes off for easier cleaning. 

Bird feeders and bird feeder cameras are, naturally, outdoor items. As a result, they need to be durable, rugged, and built to withstand the elements. The Bird Buddy ticks those marks nicely. It is made of new and recycled BPA-free plastic and feels solid and sturdy. I have had it up for a handful of months, and after a quick cleaning, it looks brand new. That’s even despite the intense Florida sun constantly beating down on it.

The bottom of a blue Bird Buddy bird feeder with drainage holes and a mounting plate.
There are tiny drainage holes, but I still had issues with the seed molding after we had rain. Abby Ferguson

Water issues

My main frustration with the design of the Bird Buddy is regarding keeping rain out. There are holes in the bottom that drain water in the event of rain, but they are extremely tiny. Of course, that keeps the small seeds from falling out. Butt hose same seeds can clog the holes, preventing thorough draining. Also, the protective roof helps keep some rain out but doesn’t extend beyond the feeder very much. If there is any wind blowing the rain, it will end up in the feeder. As a result, I had issues with water saturating the birdseed and mold forming. 

Granted, this may be a function of where I reside in Florida—a state where strong thunderstorms are a near-daily occurrence in the summer and humidity levels are intense. I had to change the birdseed every week because of the molding. Birds do not like moldy seeds, so I don’t get as many visitors. That’s especially true if I don’t stay on top of cleaning things out. It also means that I’m dumping out seed regularly and cleaning the feeder frequently. Neither of these is ideal and keeps birds away for longer. It may be less of an issue with different birdseed mixes or locations, but it has severely limited the number of birds I attract. 

The camera module of the Bird Buddy rests in front of the bird feeder on a table.
The camera module pops out, which makes cleaning much easier. Abby Ferguson

Camera module details

The Bird Buddy’s camera is housed inside a plastic case. It is weather-resistant, though Bird Buddy doesn’t provide an IP rating. It does say that it can operate in temperatures between -5°F and 120°F. As a result, it will work in most locations throughout the year. The camera module measures 5.1 x 2 x 1.5 inches and fits securely in the bird feeder with the help of a magnet in the back.

The camera takes five-megapixel photos and 720p HD live-streamed video. It is capable of 1080p video clips, though you’ll need to pay for a Bird Buddy Pro membership ($2.50 per month for an annual membership or $2.99 per month for a monthly plan). The 120-degree field of view is wide enough to capture birds hanging out on the side of the feeder. There’s also a built-in microphone for recording bird songs as well, which is a fun addition.

Motion detection

Bird Buddy also built a laser motion detector into the camera. This senses movement on the perch and triggers the camera to take photos or videos when a visitor is present (much like a wireless security camera). I don’t have my bird feeder in a location where I can easily keep watch to test how well the motion detection works. But every time I heard a bird making noise, I received a “postcard” (Bird Buddy’s way of telling you a bird was at your feeder), so it seemed just sensitive enough.

You can switch to Power Saver Mode in the app settings if you want fewer notifications or conserve battery. Or turn on Frenzy Mode to see anything and everything, though you’ll have to pay for a Pro membership. 

Power

For power, the Bird Buddy camera utilizes a 4000 mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Bird Buddy says it will last between five and 15 days. Of course, that depends on how many photos it takes, how much you stream live video, and the weather. When it needs a charge, it uses a USB-C cable. I was using the solar roof, which results in infinite battery life. If you want to save some money and don’t opt for the solar roof, the camera is fully removable. That means you won’t need to bring the entire bird feeder (along with any tiny creatures or germs) inside for charging.

The live stream view and gallery view of the Bird Buddy app.
The Bird Buddy app is very easy to use. It offers a live video stream and even provides information about the birds that visit your feeder. Abby Ferguson

Bird Buddy app

I’ve been very impressed with the Bird Buddy app during my testing. It is well-designed in design and usability, with many playful components. It is intuitive to use and easy to find what you need very quickly, even as you are getting used to it. It’s clean and minimal, without too many extra things going on.

The app uses AI to automatically identify over 1,000 species, which includes squirrels and rare birds. Unfortunately, I have only had Red-Winged Blackbirds at my feeder, so I haven’t been able to test how accurate the AI identification is beyond that single species. But it always got the Red-Winged Blackbird right, so there’s that. 

When a bird visits your feeder, the app notifies you with a “postcard.” These postcards are then saved to your gallery so you can pull them back up anytime. They can even show multiple photos or videos of the same bird if they stick around for a bit. Should there be photos in a set that aren’t worth saving, you can discard them to keep your gallery from getting too cluttered.

Your gallery is sorted by bird type. Tapping on each lets you open all photos and videos the camera has captured over time of that particular species. The page for each bird species will also provide information on that bird so that you can learn more. That includes personality type, what they eat, where they are typically found, how big they are, and what they sound like. For example, the Red-Winged Blackbird page tells me that they are brawlers, open lovebirds, and social butterflies who like to eat insects and seeds and are as big as a slice of pizza.

Two screenshots of the community video and photo feeds in the Bird Buddy app.
The community features are a fun way to see birds beyond your own backyard. Abby Ferguson

Community features

Beyond content from your feeder, you can see photos and videos from feeders worldwide in a few different ways. First, you can add some to your list of feeders and receive postcards from them like it is your own feeder. However, if you want to add more than one feeder for more than 72 hours, you’ll need a Pro membership.

If you don’t want to add a feeder, you can still scroll through photos and videos from the community. It’s like social media just for bird content. Birdbuddy TV is a video feed of publicly shared videos from Bird Buddy users. Or you can scroll through photos from the community, applauding people’s results. You can even help identify species by tapping the Wingbuddy link at the top of the Community page. 

A Red-Winged Blackbird sits in a bird feeder eating seed.
I was impressed with how sharp the images from the Bird Buddy were and how it handled really high-contrast scenes. Abby Ferguson

Image & video quality

A bird feeder camera doesn’t do much good if the photos aren’t clear enough so you can actually see your avian visitors. The five-megapixel resolution may not seem very impressive, especially compared to smartphones and dedicated cameras. While you won’t be able to print these images to poster size by any means, the camera does offer plenty of quality for viewing on your phone. 

The images are clear and sharp, especially when the bird hangs out on the perch. The camera can’t focus much closer than that, though. My main visitor liked to sit right in the birdseed, so it was frequently out of focus, but even still, I could see good amounts of detail with vibrant colors. The auto exposure overall does great, even in extremely high-contrast lighting situations. There were times that the bird was blurry from moving during the exposure, but that wasn’t the norm. 

The Bird Buddy video quality is also really good. The footage is clear and well-exposed. If you want higher-quality video, you can upgrade to a Bird Buddy Pro membership, though I have not tested it, so I can’t comment on how much better that video looks. 

A blue Bird Buddy bird feeder mounted to a post on a front porch.
Abby Ferguson

So, who should buy the Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder? 

Bird feeder cameras are becoming more and more popular, with new options seeming to pop up regularly. Spending $299 (for the solar roof version) may seem pricey for a bird feeder camera. But the Bird Buddy is priced similarly to other devices, including its closest competitor, the Netvue Birdfy Pro. So, what makes the Bird Buddy stand out? 

The Bird Buddy includes a durable yet attractive build, an integrated solar panel for infinite battery life, multiple mounting options, and an easy-to-clean design with a removable camera, which gives it the edge for most users. It’s also remarkably easy to install, with essentially no assembly beyond popping the camera into the feeder. Add to that the easy-to-use and fun app with minimal features behind a paywall, and it takes a clear lead. It’s a connected device that makes you feel a bit more connected with the natural world. If you are interested in keeping an eye on the bird species in your area, it’s hard to beat Bird Buddy. 

The post Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder review: A camera that’s not just for the birds appeared first on Popular Science.

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Prehistoric shark called Kentucky home 337 million years ago https://www.popsci.com/science/new-shark-kentucky/ Fri, 20 Oct 2023 15:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=581547
An illustration of a newly discovered shark species called Strigilodus tollesonae. The shark looks somewhat like a stingray, with outstretched wings, fan-like top fins, and a long tail with black spots.
An artist’s illustration of Strigilodus tollesonae. The new species is more closely related to modern ratfish than to other modern sharks and rays. Benji Paysnoe/NPS

Newly discovered Strigilodus tollesonae had petal-shaped teeth.

The post Prehistoric shark called Kentucky home 337 million years ago appeared first on Popular Science.

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An illustration of a newly discovered shark species called Strigilodus tollesonae. The shark looks somewhat like a stingray, with outstretched wings, fan-like top fins, and a long tail with black spots.
An artist’s illustration of Strigilodus tollesonae. The new species is more closely related to modern ratfish than to other modern sharks and rays. Benji Paysnoe/NPS

A group of paleontologists, park rangers, and geologists have discovered a new species of ancient shark in the rock layers of Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. It was uncovered in a large fossil deposit that includes at least 40 different species of shark and their relatives, and even well-preserved skeletal cartilage. 

[Related: Megalodons were likely warm-blooded, despite being stone-cold killers.]

The new species is named Strigilodus tollesonae and is a petalodont shark. These extinct  sharks had petal-shaped teeth and lived about 337 million years ago. According to the National Park Service, it is more closely related to present day ratfish than sharks or rays and it was identified from teeth found in the cave’s walls. Strigilodus tollesonae likely had teeth that included one rounded cusp used for clipping and a long, ridge inert side that crushed prey the way molars do. Paleontologists believe that it likely lived like modern day skates and fed on worms, bivalves, and small fish. 

Strigilodus tollesonae translates to “Tolleson’s Scraper Tooth” and it is named after Mammoth Cave National park guide Kelli Tolleson for her work in the paleontological study that uncovered the new species. 

The limestone caves that make up the 400-mile long Mammoth Cave System were formed about 325-million-years ago during the Late Paleozoic. Geologists call this time period the Mississippian Period, when shallow seas covered much of North America including where Mammoth Cave is today. 

In 2019, the park began a major paleontological resources inventory to identify the numerous types of fossils associated with the rock layers. Mammoth Cave park staff reported a few fossil shark teeth that were exposed in the cave walls of Ste. Genevieve Limestone in several locations. Shark fossils can be difficult to come by, since shark skeletons are made of cartilage instead of bone. Cartilage is not as tough as bone, so it is generally not well-preserved in the fossil record. 

An artist’s illustration of an ancient sea that covered much of North America during the Mississippian age. A decaying shark lies on the bottom of the sea, with three live sharks and other fish swimming nearby.
The Mississippian age ancient sea and marine life preserved at Mammoth Cave National Park. CREDIT: Julius Csotonyi/NPS.

The team then brought in shark fossil specialist John-Paul Hodnett of the Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission to help identify the shark fossils. Hodnett and park rangers discovered and identified multiple different species of primitive sharks from the shark teeth and fine spine specimens in the rocks lining the cave passages.

“I am absolutely amazed at the diversity of sharks we see while exploring the passages that make up Mammoth Cave,” Hodnett said in a statement. “We can hardly move more than a couple of feet as another tooth or spine is spotted in the cave ceiling or wall. We are seeing a range of different species of chondrichthyans [cartilaginous fish] that fill a variety of ecological niches, from large predators to tiny little sharks that lived amongst the crinoid [sea lily] forest on the seafloor that was their habitat.”

[Related: This whale fossil could reveal evidence of a 15-million-year-old megalodon attack.]

In addition to Strigilodus tollesonae, the team have identified more than 40 different species of sharks and their relatives from Mammoth Cave specimens in the past 10 months. There appear to be at least six fossil shark species that are new to science. According to the team, those species will be described and named in an upcoming scientific publication.

The majority of the shark fossils have been discovered in areas of the park that are inaccessible to the public, so photographs, illustrations, and three-dimensional models have been made to display the discovery. The park also plans to celebrate the new shark fossils with multiple presentations and exhibits on Monday October 23

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Finally, a smart home for chickens https://www.popsci.com/technology/smart-home-for-chickens-coop/ Thu, 19 Oct 2023 22:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=581394
rendering of coop structure in grass
Coop

This startup uses an "AI guardian" named Albert Eggstein to count eggs and keep an eye on nearby predators.

The post Finally, a smart home for chickens appeared first on Popular Science.

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rendering of coop structure in grass
Coop

For most Americans, eggs matter a lot. In a year, an average American is estimated to eat almost 300 eggs (that’s either in the form of eggs by themselves or in egg-utilizing products like baked goods). We truly are living in what some researchers have called the Age of the Chicken—at least geologically, the humble poultry will be one of our civilization’s most notable leftovers.

Food systems in the US are fairly centralized. That means small disruptions can ratchet up to become large disturbances. Just take the exorbitant egg prices from earlier this year as one example. 

To push back against supply chain issues, some households have taken the idea of farm to table a step further. Demand for backyard chickens rose both during the pandemic, and at the start of the year in response to inflation. But raising a flock can come with many unseen challenges and hassles. A new startup, Coop, is hatching at exactly the right time. 

[Related: 6 things to know before deciding to raise backyard chickens]

Coop was founded by AJ Forsythe and Jordan Barnes in 2021, and it packages all of the software essentials of a smart home into a backyard chicken coop. 

Agriculture photo
Coop

Barnes says that she can’t resist an opportunity to use a chicken pun; it’s peppered into the copy on their website, as well as the name for their products, and is even baked into her title at the company (CMO, she notes, stands for chief marketing officer, but also chicken marketing officer). She and co-founder Forsythe invited Popular Science to a rooftop patio on the Upper East side to see a fully set up Coop and have a “chick-chat” about the company’s tech. 

In addition to spending the time to get to know the chickens, they’ve spent 10,000 plus hours on the design of the Coop. Fred Bould, who had previously worked on Google’s Nest products, helped them conceptualize the Coop of the future

The company’s headquarters in Austin has around 30 chickens, and both Barnes and Forsythe keep chickens at home, too. In the time that they’ve spent with the birds, they’ve learned a lot about them, and have both become “chicken people.” 

An average chicken will lay about five eggs a week, based on weather conditions and their ranking in the pecking order. The top of the pecking order gets more food, so they tend to lay more eggs. “They won’t break rank on anything. Pecking order is set,” says Barnes. 

Besides laying eggs, chickens can be used for composting dinner scraps. “Our chickens eat like queens. They’re having sushi, Thai food, gourmet pizza,” Barnes adds.  

Agriculture photo
Coop

For the first generation smart Coop, which comes with a chicken house, a wire fence, lights that can be controlled remotely, and a set of cameras, all a potential owner needs to get things running on the ground are Wifi and about 100 square feet of grass. “Chickens tend to stick together. You want them to roam around and graze a little bit, but they don’t need sprawling plains to have amazing lives,” says Barnes. “We put a lot of thought into the hardware design and the ethos of the design. But it’s all infused with a very high level of chicken knowledge—the circumference of the roosting bars, the height of everything, the ventilation, how air flows through it.” 

[Related: Artificial intelligence is helping scientists decode animal languages]

They spent four weeks designing a compostable, custom-fit poop tray because they learned through market research that cleaning the coop was one of the big barriers for people who wanted chickens but decided against getting them. And right before the Coop was supposed to go into production a few months ago, they halted it because they realized that the lower level bars on the wire cage were wide enough for a desperate raccoon to sneak their tiny paws through. They redesigned the bars with a much closer spacing. 

The goal of the company is to create a tech ecosystem that makes raising chickens easy for the beginners and the “chicken-curious.” And currently, 56 percent of their customers have never raised chickens before, they say.

Agriculture photo
Coop

Key to the offering of Coop is its brain: an AI software named Albert Eggstein that can detect both the chickens and any potential predators that might be lurking around. “This is what makes the company valuable,” says Barnes. Not only can the camera pick up that there’s four chickens in the frame, but it can tell the chickens apart from one another. It uses these learnings to provide insights through an accompanying app, almost like what Amazon’s Ring does. 

[Related: Do all geese look the same to you? Not to this facial recognition software.]

As seasoned chicken owners will tell newbies, being aware of predators is the name of the game. And Coop’s software can categorize nearby predators from muskrats to hawks to dogs with a 98-percent accuracy. 

“We developed a ton of software on the cameras, we’re doing a bunch of computer vision work and machine learning on remote health monitoring and predator detection,” Forsythe says. “We can say, hey, raccoons detected outside, the automatic door is closed, all four chickens are safe.”

Agriculture photo
Coop

The system runs off of two cameras, one stationed outside in the run, and one stationed inside the roost. In the morning, the door to the roost is raised automatically 20 minutes after sunrise, and at night, a feature called nest mode can tell owners if all their chickens have come home to roost. The computer vision software is trained through a database of about 7 million images. There is also a sound detection software, which can infer chicken moods and behaviors through the pitch and pattern of their clucks, chirps, and alerts.

[Related: This startup wants to farm shrimp in computer-controlled cargo containers]

It can also condense the activity into weekly summary sheets, sending a note to chicken owners telling them that a raccoon has been a frequent visitor for the past three nights, for example. It can also alert owners to social events, like when eggs are ready to be collected.  

A feature that the team created called “Cluck talk,” can measure the decibels of chicken sounds to make a general assessment about whether they are hungry, happy, broody (which is when they just want to sit on their eggs), or in danger. 

Agriculture photo
Coop

There’s a lot of chicken-specific behaviors that they can build models around. “Probably in about 6 to 12 months we’re going to roll out remote health monitoring. So it’ll say, chicken Henrietta hasn’t drank water in the last six hours and is a little lethargic,” Forsythe explains. That will be part of a plan to develop and flesh out a telehealth offering that could connect owners with vets that they can communicate and share videos with. 

The company started full-scale production of their first generation Coops last week. They’re manufacturing the structures in Ohio through a specialized process called rotomolding, which is similar to how Yeti coolers are made. They have 50 beta customers who have signed up to get Coops, and are offering an early-bird pricing of $1,995. Like Peloton and Nest, customers will also have to pay a monthly subscription fee of $19.95 for the app features like the AI tools. In addition to the Coops, the company also offers services like chicken-sitting (aptly named chicken Tenders). 

For the second generation Coops, Forsythe and Barnes have been toying with new ideas. They’re definitely considering making a bigger version (the one right now can hold four to six chickens), or maybe one that comes with a water gun for deterring looming hawks. The chickens are sold separately.

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It’s not too late to stop a bass invasion in the Colorado River https://www.popsci.com/environment/grand-canyon-bass-invasion/ Thu, 19 Oct 2023 10:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=580758
Smallmouth bass.
Smallmouth bass. Brett Billings/USFWS

As Lake Powell shrinks, smallmouth bass threaten the Grand Canyon’s native fishes.

The post It’s not too late to stop a bass invasion in the Colorado River appeared first on Popular Science.

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Smallmouth bass.
Smallmouth bass. Brett Billings/USFWS

This article was originally featured on High Country News.

On July 1, 2022, a National Park Service biologist named Jeff Arnold was hauling nets through a slough off the Colorado River, several miles downstream from Glen Canyon Dam, when he captured three greenish fish lined with vertical black stripes. He texted photos of his catch to colleagues, who confirmed his fears: The fish were smallmouth bass, voracious predators that have invaded waters around the West. Worse, they were juveniles. Smallmouth weren’t just living below the dam—they’d likely begun to breed. 

It was a grim discovery. Smallmouth bass, whose native range encompasses rivers and lakes in much of the Eastern United States and Great Lakes, have long plagued the Colorado River. State agencies and anglers probably began stocking them in the watershed in the mid-1900s, and they’ve since conquered much of the basin, including Lake Powell, the reservoir that sloshes above Glen Canyon Dam. Downriver from the dam, however, lies the Grand Canyon, whose sandstone depths have historically provided a bass-free haven for native fish—most of all, the humpback chub, a federally threatened species endowed with an odd dorsal bulge. Now, biologists realized, neither the canyon nor its chub were safe.

Scientists have long dreaded this development. As Lake Powell has shrunk over the past two decades, drained by overallocation and chronic drought, its diminishment has created prime conditions for bass to infiltrate the Grand Canyon. But Brian Healy, a postdoctoral researcher at the U.S. Geological Survey and Grand Canyon National Park’s former fish biologist, said that even though he and his colleagues expected the species to eventually become a problem, “we didn’t realize it would be an issue so quickly.”

Preventing a bass takeover won’t be simple, biologically or politically. The Colorado’s users expect it to simultaneously serve as a pipeline for water conveyance, a source of cheap electrons, a recreational playground, and, not least, suitable habitat for native fish. For decades, the river’s human managers have uneasily balanced these often contradictory purposes—and now they must also work to exclude smallmouth bass, an immense challenge that may well compete with the river’s many other functions. “The best way to think about this is that everything in the Colorado River is connected to everything else,” said Jack Schmidt, a watershed scientist and emeritus professor at Utah State University’s Center for Colorado River Studies. “Everything has a ramification.” 


FORTY MILLION PEOPLE rely on the Colorado River’s largesse, from Wyoming ranchers to the residents of sprawling Arizona subdivisions to the lettuce farmers in California’s Imperial Valley. Less visibly, the river is also a lifeline for 14 native species of fish. They are rarely seen by humans—the river they inhabit is as turbid as coffee and they’re rarely fished for sport—yet they require a healthy Colorado as much as any Angeleno or Tucsonan. 

“We didn’t realize it would be an issue so quickly.”

Today, however, four of those fish—the humpback chub, the Colorado pikeminnow, the razorback sucker and the bonytail—are federally listed as threatened or endangered. Lake Powell commandeered the Colorado’s payloads of silt and stymied natural floods, erasing channels and backwaters where chubs and suckers once spawned and reared. And smallmouth bass and other invasive species devastated native fish in tributaries like the Yampa River. (“Smallmouth” is a misnomer: Bass have maws so cavernous they can gulp down prey more than half their own size.) Bass arrived in Lake Powell in 1982, courtesy of a hatchery manager who, on a lark, dumped 500 spare smallmouth into the reservoir. The bass, he crowed decades later, “performed magnificently,” adding, “Anglers have caught millions of smallmouth bass over the past 30 years.”

Through it all, the Grand Canyon remained a bass-less sanctuary—thanks, paradoxically, to Glen Canyon Dam. Although smallmouth teemed in Lake Powell, they stayed in the reservoir’s warm, sunlit upper strata, well above Glen Canyon Dam’s penstocks, the massive tubes that convey water through its hydropower turbines and thence downriver. Bass never reached the Grand Canyon because they never swam deep enough to pass through the dam.

As Lake Powell withered, however, so did the Grand Canyon’s defenses. By the spring of 2022, two decades of climate change-fueled drought had lowered the lake’s surface by more than 150 feet, drawing its tepid, bass-filled top layer ever closer to the penstocks. At the same time, the warmer water flowing through the dam and downstream made the Grand Canyon more hospitable to bass. “The temperature was ideal for them,” said Charles Yackulic, a research statistician at the U.S. Geological Survey.

Last summer, after bass swam through Glen Canyon Dam’s penstocks, slipped past its whirling turbines, and apparently reproduced, managers hastened to control the incipient invasion, netting off the slough where Arnold discovered the juveniles as though it were a crime scene. The Park Service also doused the backwater with a fish-killing poison. When biologists electroshocked the river that fall and the following spring, though, they found hundreds more juveniles. The slough wasn’t an isolated beachhead; it was merely a battleground in a broader invasion.

If there is a saving grace, it is that the bass remain concentrated above the cold, clear stretch of river known as Lees Ferry. Humpback chub, by contrast, have their stronghold deep in the Grand Canyon, some 75 miles downriver from the dam, where bass haven’t shown up—at least not yet. “The worry is that you got them in Lees Ferry and they’re reproducing,” Yackulic said. “And then suddenly, you’ve just got all these babies dispersing downstream.”


THE COLORADO RIVER is at once in a state of crisis and rebirth. The decline of Lake Powell has revealed Glen Canyon, the gorgeous red-rock labyrinth that the reservoir drowned in the 1960s. Ironically, the forces behind this restoration are also imperiling native fish. “Last year was the closest we’ve had to a natural thermal regime in more than 50 years,” Yackulic noted. But for the humpback chub, it was a catastrophe.

By the spring of 2022, two decades of climate change-fueled drought had lowered the lake’s surface by more than 150 feet.

River managers thus face a conundrum: How do you preserve native species in a broken ecosystem? In February 2023, the Bureau of Reclamation, the federal agency that controls Glen Canyon Dam, released a draft environmental assessment evaluating four options for manipulating river flows to deter smallmouth bass. The plans are variations on a theme: When the Colorado gets dangerously warm, the agency  releases cold water to lower its temperature below the threshold where bass spawn. Two options—favored by conservation groups like the Center for Biological Diversity—include high-intensity “flow spikes” designed to freeze bass out of sloughs and backwaters. “We need flows that are cold enough for long enough that it prevents smallmouth bass from spawning,” said Taylor McKinnon, the center’s Southwest director. “Not disrupt reproduction—prevent reproduction.”

Managing the Colorado River to thwart bass, however, could conflict with Reclamation’s other goals. For one thing, all four options would release water through Glen Canyon Dam’s “bypass tubes,” outlets closer to Lake Powell’s frigid bottom. But the bypass tubes, as their name suggests, don’t pump water through the dam’s hydroelectric turbines — which, as the agency acknowledges, could lead to “a reduction in the revenue generated from power proceeds.” That possibility doesn’t thrill the Colorado River Energy Distributors Association, which represents electric utilities and co-ops and has warned of “measurable financial impacts” to ratepayers.

Some environmentalists may find themselves at odds with bass deterrence, too. For years, the Glen Canyon Institute has called on river managers to “Fill Mead First,” letting Lake Powell shrivel while sending Colorado’s water downstream to Lake Mead, the river’s other massive reservoir. As scientists pointed out in a 2020 paper, however, this strategy could “lead to warmer water temperatures throughout Grand Canyon” and render invasive fish control “especially problematic.” Indeed, if your sole goal were to protect humpback chub in the immediate term, Lake Powell—whose deep, chilly waters staved off bass for 40 years—might be the first reservoir you’d fill. “The decisions of where you store water in the system are going to determine the fate of native fish,” said Utah State’s Schmidt.

Although last winter’s strong snowpack should ultimately raise Lake Powell’s surface by around 70 feet, the invasion continues. Scientists have so far pulled 667 bass from the slough this year, along with thousands of carp and sunfish, two other warm-water nonnatives. The Park Service poisoned the slough again in late August, but that fix is clearly neither complete nor lasting. In February 2023, a group of researchers convened to study the bass problem by the Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Geological Survey recommended outfitting Glen Canyon Dam with “fish exclusionary devices”—basically fancy nets—to keep bass from swimming through the penstocks. That’s hardly a new idea—biologists first recommended that the Bureau “pursue means” of preventing invasive fish from passing through the dam in 2016 —but, at an August meeting of federal managers and researchers, one Reclamation official claimed that an effective screen design is still at least five years away.

Ultimately, staving off the bass crisis may call for even more ambitious fixes. In one paper, Schmidt and his colleagues raised the idea of drilling colossal diversion tunnels that would funnel water and sediment around Glen Canyon Dam and thus restore the silty, flood-prone conditions that favor native fish. Re-engineering the Colorado would be neither simple nor cheap, but, in recent comments to the Bureau, McKinnon and other conservationists claimed that the “climate-inevitable obsolescence” of Glen Canyon Dam calls for drastic measures. If bass take over an ever-warmer river, McKinnon said, “it’s game over.”

Ben Goldfarb is a High Country News correspondent and the author of Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter. His next book, on the science of road ecology, will be published by W.W. Norton in 2023.

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Female honeybees may pass down ‘altruistic’ genes https://www.popsci.com/environment/honeybees-altruism/ Wed, 18 Oct 2023 17:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=580768
A group of worker bees surround the queen bee on a honeycomb. All worker honeybees are female and they can go to extreme lengths to serve their queen even shedding their own ovaries.
All worker honeybees are female and they can go to extreme lengths to serve their queen even shedding their own ovaries. Deposit Photos

Honeybee genes might make workers serve the queen above themselves.

The post Female honeybees may pass down ‘altruistic’ genes appeared first on Popular Science.

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A group of worker bees surround the queen bee on a honeycomb. All worker honeybees are female and they can go to extreme lengths to serve their queen even shedding their own ovaries.
All worker honeybees are female and they can go to extreme lengths to serve their queen even shedding their own ovaries. Deposit Photos

Honeybees are a model of teamwork in nature, with their complex society and hives that generate enough energy to create an electrical charge. They also appear to be some of the rare animals that display a unique trait of altruism, which is genetically inherited. The findings were described in a study published September 25 in the journal Molecular Ecology.

[Related: Bee brains could teach robots to make split-second decisions.]

Giving it all for the queen bee

According to the American Psychological Association, humans display altruism through behaviors that benefit another individual at a cost to oneself. Some psychologists consider it a uniquely human trait and studying it in animals requires a different framework for understanding. Animals experience a different level of cognition, so what drives humans to be altruistic might be different than what influences animals like honeybees to act in ways that appear to be altruistic.

In this new study, the researchers first looked at the genetics behind retinue behavior in worker honeybees. Retinue behavior is the actions of worker bees taking care of the queen, like feeding or grooming her. It’s believed to be triggered by specific pheromones and worker bees are always female. 

After the worker bees are exposed to the queen’s mandibular pheromone (QMP), they deactivate their own ovaries. They then help spread the QMP around to the other worker bees and they only take care of the eggs that the queen bee produces. Entomologists consider this behavior ‘altruistic’ because it benefits the queen’s ability to produce offspring, while the worker bees remain sterile. 

The queen is also typically the mother of all or mostly all of the honeybees in the hive. The genes that make worker bees more receptive to the queen’s pheromone and retinue behavior can be passed down from either female or male parent. However, the genes only result in altruistic behavior when they are passed down from the female bee parent.

“People often think about different phenotypes being the result of differences in gene sequences or the environment. But what this study shows is it’s not just differences in the gene itself—it’s which parent the gene is inherited from,” study co-author and Penn State University doctoral candidate Sean Bresnahan said in a statement. “By the very nature of the insect getting the gene from its mom, regardless of what the gene sequence is, it’s possibly going to behave differently than the copy of the gene from the dad.”

A battle of genetics 

The study supports a theory called the Kinship Theory of Intragenomic Conflict. It suggests that a mothers’ and fathers’ genes are in a conflict over what behaviors to support and not support. Previous studies have shown that genes from males can support selfish behavior in mammals, plants, and honeybees. This new study is the first known research that shows females can pass altruistic behavior onto their offspring in their genes. 

[Really: What busy bees’ brains can teach us about human evolution.]

Worker bees generally have the same mother but different fathers, since the queen mates with multiple male bees. This means that the worker bees share more of their mother’s genes with each other. 

“This is why the Kinship Theory of Intragenomic Conflict predicts that genes inherited from the mother will support altruistic behavior in honeybees,” Breshnahan said. “A worker bee benefits more from helping, rather than competing with, her mother and sisters—who carry more copies of the worker’s genes than she could ever reproduce on her own. In contrast, in species where the female mates only once, it is instead the father’s genes that are predicted to support altruistic behavior.”

Pinpointing conflict networks

To look closer, the team crossbred six different lineages of honeybees. Bresnahan says that this is relatively easy to do in mammals or plants, but more difficult in insects. They used honeybee breeding expertise from co-author Juliana Rangel from Texas A&M University and Robyn Underwood at Penn State Extension to create these populations.

Once the bee populations were successfully crossed and the offspring were old enough, the team assessed the worker bees’ responsiveness to the pheromone that triggers the retinue behavior. 

A female lab technician wearing a protective covering to keep her safe from bee stings points to a bee hive on a rooftop lab.
Penn State Grozinger lab technician Kate Anton inspectS a hive on the rooftop of Millennium Science Complex at Penn State University. CREDIT: Brennan Dincher

“So, we could develop personalized genomes for the parents, and then map back the workers’ gene expression to each parent and find out which parent’s copy of that gene is being expressed,” Bresnahan said.

The team identified the gene regulatory networks that have this intragenomic conflict, finding that more genes that have a parental bias were expressed. These networks consisted of genes that previous research showed were related to the retinue behavior.

“Observing intragenomic conflict is very difficult, and so there are very few studies examining the role it plays in creating variation in behavior and other traits,” study co-author and Penn State entomologist Christina Grozinger said in a statement. “The fact that this is the third behavior where we have found evidence that intragenomic conflict contributes to variation in honeybees suggests that intragenomic conflict might shape many types of traits in bees and other species.”

The team hopes that this research will help provide a blueprint for more studies into intragenomic conflict in other animals and plants.

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12-million-year-old ape skull bares its fangs in virtual reconstruction https://www.popsci.com/science/12-million-year-old-ape-skull/ Mon, 16 Oct 2023 19:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=579915
Three stage of digital reconstruction. From left, the Pierolapithecus cranium shortly after discovery, after initial preparation, and after virtual reconstruction.
From left, the Pierolapithecus cranium shortly after discovery, after initial preparation, and after virtual reconstruction. David Alba (left)/Salvador Moyà-Solà (middle)/Kelsey Pugh (right)

Now extinct, Pierolapithecus catalaunicus could be one of the earliest known members of the great ape and human family.

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Three stage of digital reconstruction. From left, the Pierolapithecus cranium shortly after discovery, after initial preparation, and after virtual reconstruction.
From left, the Pierolapithecus cranium shortly after discovery, after initial preparation, and after virtual reconstruction. David Alba (left)/Salvador Moyà-Solà (middle)/Kelsey Pugh (right)

A team of scientists from Spain and the United States reconstructed the skull of an extinct great ape species from a set of well-preserved, but damaged skeletal remains. The bones belonged to Pierolapithecus catalaunicus who lived roughly 12 million years ago. Studying its facial features could help us better understand human and ape evolution and the findings are described in a study published October 16 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

[Related: This 7th-century teen was buried with serious bling—and we now know what she may have looked like.]

First described in 2004, Pierolapithecus was a member of a diverse group of extinct ape species that lived during the Miocene Epoch (about 15 to 7 million years ago) in Europe. During this time, horses were beginning to evolve in North America and the first dogs and bears also began to appear. The Miocene was also a critical time period for primate evolution.

In the study, the team used CT scans to virtually reconstruct Pierolapithecus’ cranium. They then used a process called principal components analysis and compared their digital reconstruction of the face with other primate species. They then modeled the changes occurring to some key features of ape facial structure. They found that Pierolapithecus shares similarities in its overall face shape and size with fossilized and living great apes. 

However, it also has distinct facial features that have not been found in other apes from the Middle Miocene. According to the authors, these results are consistent with the idea that Pierolapithecus represents one of the earliest members of the great ape and human family. 

“An interesting output of the evolutionary modeling in the study is that the cranium of Pierolapithecus is closer in shape and size to the ancestor from which living great apes and humans evolved,” study co-author and AMNH paleoanthropologist Sergio Almécija said in a statement. “On the other hand, gibbons and siamangs (the ‘lesser apes’) seem to be secondarily derived in relation to size reduction.”

Studying the physiology of extinct animals like Pierolapithecus can help us understand how other species evolved. This particular primate species is important because the team used a cranium and partial skeleton that belonged to the same individual ape, which is a rarity in the fossil record. 

[Related: Our tree-climbing ancestors evolved our abilities to throw far and reach high.]

“Features of the skull and teeth are extremely important in resolving the evolutionary relationships of fossil species, and when we find this material in association with bones of the rest of the skeleton, it gives us the opportunity to not only accurately place the species on the hominid family tree, but also to learn more about the biology of the animal in terms of, for example, how it was moving around its environment,” study co-author Kelsey Pugh said in a statement. Pugh is a primate palaeontologist with the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York and Brooklyn College.

Earlier studies on Pierolapithecus suggest that it could have stood upright and had multiple adaptations that allowed these hominids to hang from tree branches and move throughout them. However, Pierolapithecus’ evolutionary position is still debated, partially due to the damage to the specimen’s cranium.  

“One of the persistent issues in studies of ape and human evolution is that the fossil record is fragmentary, and many specimens are incompletely preserved and distorted,” study-coauthor and AMNH biological anthropologist Ashley Hammond said in a statement. “This makes it difficult to reach a consensus on the evolutionary relationships of key fossil apes that are essential to understanding ape and human evolution.”

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Wildlife exits on Texas roads could help endangered ocelots https://www.popsci.com/environment/wildlife-exit-ocelots/ Mon, 16 Oct 2023 13:30:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=579895
An endangered Texas ocelot in the vicinity of the highway.
An endangered Texas ocelot in the vicinity of the highway. Kline Lab/University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Specially designed crossings keep animals from getting hit by cars.

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An endangered Texas ocelot in the vicinity of the highway.
An endangered Texas ocelot in the vicinity of the highway. Kline Lab/University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

The endangered Texas ocelot is in serious trouble due to a combination of over-hunting, habitat loss, inbreeding, and getting hit by cars. Only two populations of these bobcat sized spotted and striped carnivores remain in Texas and they’re isolated from a larger population living in northwestern Mexico by highways and buildings. 

[Related: Watch bobcats, bears, and even birds use fallen logs as bridges.]

One conservation measure to help endangered ocelots and other animals near busy roads are special wildlife exits. A study published October 13 in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution found that 10 mammal species use these special structures, which could help prevent more collisions with traffic.

Chain-link fencing along Texas highways has been used to reduce wildlife mortality from colliding with cars and trucks. However, this fencing can trap animals that get on the highway if they jump over or burrow under the fencing. In 2018, the Texas Department of Transportation built 10 exits for the endangered ocelots in an effort to keep the animals from getting trapped. The openings in the fencing are about 18 inches across and 23 inches wide and are funnel shaped to encourage the ocelots to move away from the highway and into the surrounding habitat. 

This new study tested if these wildlife exits are used by medium-sized carnivores in Texas. Two automatic cameras were installed at each of the 10 wildlife exits along a 7.3-mile stretch of State Highway 100 between Los Fresnos and Laguna Vista. The cameras were inspected every month between February 2019 and November 2020 and a team of scientists downloaded the images and sorted them into species. 

They found that the wildlife exits were used by 10 mammal species to get off the highway. The species ranged from the smaller black-tailed jackrabbits and Virginia opossums up to bobcats and coyotes. For the coyotes and bobcats, their activity peaked around 10 PM and then again between midnight and dawn.

Endangered Species photo
Two coyotes using a wildlife exit to leave the road. CREDIT: Kline Lab/University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

“Here we show that a range of species, including middle-sized carnivores such as bobcats and coyotes, successfully use wildlife exits, a new type of mitigation structure specifically designed for the US endangered ocelot,” study co-author and former University of Texas Rio Grande Valley graduate student said in a statement

While the ocelots themselves were not photographed using the exits due to their small numbers, other automatic cameras near the highway saw them. About 43 percent of bobcats, a surrogate species for the ocelot, used the exits. According to the team, observing bobcats and coyotes using the exits implies that the endangered ocelots are likely to do so as well. 

[Related: Grizzlies are getting killed by roads, but the risks are bigger than roadkill.]

“We anticipated that the extreme rarity of ocelots would limit the amount of data collected on that species,” study co-author and conservation biologist  at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Kevin Ryer said in a statement. “For this reason, we also focused on more common bobcats and coyotes, as they have similar habitats, diets, body sizes, and behaviors as ocelots, with overlapping home ranges between them.”

The largest local species including white-tailed deer, nilgai, and javelina, could not use the narrow wildlife exits. Tunnels and crossing girds are the best methods for helping these bigger animals avoid traffic collisions. 

While the exits appear to function as designed, additional research could create improvements that prevent wildlife from going in the wrong direction. These wildlife exits also have the potential to be a valuable conservation measure on Texas highways.

“Wildlife collision mitigation is less expensive to implement during the construction phase of highways than retrofitting mitigation after construction,” study co-author and University of Texas Rio Grande Valley biologist Richard Kline said in a statement. “Although the entire wildlife community near the highway should be considered when planning mitigation, endangered species should be the focus.”

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Galapagos giant tortoises are restoring their own ecosystem https://www.popsci.com/environment/galapagos-giant-tortoises-ecosystem-conservation/ Sun, 15 Oct 2023 22:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=579488
A captive breeding program has seen the return of Galapagos giant tortoises to Española in the Galapagos Islands. As the tortoise population rebounds, the island ecosystem is in the process of transforming.
A captive breeding program has seen the return of Galapagos giant tortoises to Española in the Galapagos Islands. As the tortoise population rebounds, the island ecosystem is in the process of transforming. DepositPhotos

A decades-long project to reintroduce Galapagos giant tortoises is changing the face of the island of Española.

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A captive breeding program has seen the return of Galapagos giant tortoises to Española in the Galapagos Islands. As the tortoise population rebounds, the island ecosystem is in the process of transforming.
A captive breeding program has seen the return of Galapagos giant tortoises to Española in the Galapagos Islands. As the tortoise population rebounds, the island ecosystem is in the process of transforming. DepositPhotos

This article was originally featured on Hakai Magazine, an online publication about science and society in coastal ecosystems. Read more stories like this at hakaimagazine.com.

In the late 19th century, whalers, settlers, and pirates changed the ecology of the Galapagos Islands by poaching some native species—like Galapagos giant tortoises—and introducing others, like goats and rats. The latter species became pests and severely destabilized the island ecosystems. Goats overgrazed the fruits and plants the tortoises ate while rats preyed on their eggs. Over time, the tortoise population plummeted. On Española, an island in the southeast of the archipelago, the tortoise count fell from over 10,000 to just 14. Along the way, with goats eating all the plants they could, Española—once akin to a savanna—turned barren.

A century later, conservationists set out to restore the Galapagos giant tortoise on Española—and the island ecosystem. They began eradicating the introduced species and capturing Española’s remaining tortoises and breeding them in captivity. With the goats wiped out and the tortoises in cages, the ecosystem transformed once again. This time, the overgrazed terrain became overgrown with densely packed trees and woody bushes. Española’s full recovery to its savanna-like state would have to wait for the tortoises’ return.

From the time those 14 tortoises were taken into captivity between 1963 and 1974 until they were finally released in 2020, conservationists with the NGO Galápagos Conservancy and the Galapagos National Park Directorate reintroduced nearly 2,000 captive-bred Galapagos giant tortoises to Española. Since then, the tortoises have continued to breed in the wild, causing the population to blossom to an estimated 3,000. They’ve also seen the ecology of Española transform once more as the tortoises are reducing the extent of woody plants, expanding the grasslands, and spreading the seeds of a key species.

Not only that, but the tortoises’ return has also helped the critically endangered waved albatross—a species that breeds exclusively on Española. During the island’s woody era, Maud Quinzin, a conservation geneticist who has previously worked with Galapagos tortoises, says that people had to repeatedly clear the areas the seabirds use as runways to take off and land. Now, if the landing strips are getting overgrown, they’ll move tortoises into the area to take care of it for them.

The secret to this success is that—much like beavers, brown bears, and elephants—giant tortoises are ecological architects. As they browse, poop, and plod about, they alter the landscape. They trample young trees and bushes before they can grow big enough to block the albatrosses’ way. The giant tortoises likewise have a potent impact on the giant species of prickly pear cactuses that call Española home—one of the tortoises’ favorite foods and an essential resource for the island’s other inhabitants.

When the tortoises graze the cactus’s fallen leaves, they prevent the paddle-shaped pads from taking root and competing with their parents. And, after they eat the cactus’s fruit, they drop the seeds across the island in balls of dung that offer a protective shell of fertilizer.

The extent of these and other ecological effects of the tortoise are documented in a new study by James Gibbs, a conservation scientist and the president of the Galápagos Conservancy, and Washington Tapia Aguilera, the director of the giant tortoise restoration program at the Galápagos Conservancy.

To study these impacts up close, they fenced off some of the island’s cactuses, which gave them a way to assess how the landscapes evolve when they’re either exposed to or free from the tortoises’ influences. They also studied satellite imagery of the island captured between 2006 and 2020 and found that while parts of the island are still seeing an increase in the density of bushes and trees, places where the tortoises have rebounded are more open and savanna-like.

As few as one or two tortoises per hectare, the scientists write, is enough to trigger a shift in the landscape.

Dennis Hansen, a conservation ecologist who has worked with the tortoises native to the Aldabra atoll in the Indian Ocean, says that while the findings line up with what conservationists expected, it was nice to have their suspicions confirmed. The results bode well for other rewilding projects that include giant tortoise restoration as a keystone of their efforts, he says, such as those underway on other islands in the Galapagos archipelago and on the Mascarene Islands in the Indian Ocean.

But on Española itself, though the tortoises have been busy stomping shoots and spreading seeds, they have more work to do. In 2020, 78 percent of Española was still dominated by woody vegetation. Gibbs says it may take another couple of centuries for Española’s giant tortoises to reestablish something like the ratio of grasses, trees, and bushes that existed before Europeans landed in the archipelago. But that long transformation is at least underway.

This article first appeared in Hakai Magazine and is republished here with permission.

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The best dog nail grinders of 2023 https://www.popsci.com/reviews/best-dog-nail-grinder/ Sat, 07 Aug 2021 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=387213
Dogs photo

Give your pooch a pedicure with the perfect dog nail grinder for their size.

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Dogs photo

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Best overall The Dremel 7300-PT is the best dog nail grinder overall. Dremel 7350-PET
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A top-tier nail grinder that can handle any breed

Best for large dogs The Casfuy Dog Nail Grinder is the best dog nail grinder with multiple ports. Casfuy Dog Nail Grinder
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Multiple speed settings and grinding ports make for a super solid nail grinder.

Best with safety guard The Oster Gentle Paws Premium Nail Grinder is the nest mess-free dog nail grinder. Oster Gentle Paws Premium Nail Grinder
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A gentle grind that’s easy to see without any additional mess

Being a proud pet owner means going above and beyond to ensure your furry friend is happy and healthy, and a dog nail grinder is part of that equation. You take them for walks, fill up their water dish, give them belly rubs, and so much more. Granted, some things are easier said than done when caring for your dog, like keeping their paws properly maintained. Whether you’re between trips to the local pet spa or ready to fly solo when it comes to trims, the best dog nail grinder will make an at-home manicure quick and easy.

How we chose the best dog nail grinders

There are a few things you should think about before buying a new dog nail grinder. First, ensure you understand when and how you should use this helpful tool for dog grooming. Understanding the ins and outs of caring for your pup’s nails will help you narrow down the right dog nail trimmer for you. You’ll also want to consider your dog’s age, temperament, and nail type as you consider one of these dog essentials. These are just some factors we considered when researching the best options for giving your best friend an at-home spa treatment. We combined this research with critical recommendations and user reviews to narrow down our selection.

The best dog nail grinders: Reviews & Recommendations

One of the most important things to be aware of is their individual grooming needs, including nail length. That’s why a dog nail grinder is one of the essential dog products you’ll need if you want to take care of grooming yourself.

Best overall: Dremel 7350-PET

Dremel

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Why it made the cut: Made by a trusted name in tools, this nail grinder is cordless and comes with a 60-grit sanding drum and two rotation speeds for easier trimming.

Specs

  • Power: Nickel-cadmium battery
  • Speeds: One
  • Good for: All dogs

Pros

  • Made by a well-known tool company
  • Designed with two rotation speeds 
  • Cordless and battery-powered

Cons

  • May run out of power
  • Will need to buy replacement discs

The Dremel 7350-PET is one of the best dog nail grinders on the market. A 60-grit sanding drum and one rotation speed (12,000 rotations per minute) bring enough power to file down tough nails on large dogs or gently sand down your tiny dog’s talons. The rechargeable battery can last about an hour and a half, and each unit comes with a charging stand equipped with an LED indicator light. It also comes with five sanding disks, so you’ll start your journey stocked up on replacements.

Best for large dogs: Casfuy Dog Nail Grinder

Casfuy

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Why it made the cut: This nail grinder is designed with three settings to customize grooming for large dogs and small dogs.

Specs

  • Power: Rechargeable AAA batteries
  • Speeds: Two
  • Good for: Multiple breeds

Pros

  • Works for range of dogs
  • Quiet
  • Comes with diamond-built grinder for thick nails

Cons

  • Slower speeds

The Casfuy nail grinder promises a gentle yet powerful grind with minimal vibration and noise to keep your pup calm during upkeep. The built-in battery is USB rechargeable and lasts up to two hours. This trimmer has two speed settings and three ports. The first port, a notch in the included protective sleeve, is designed for small pets, the second port for medium-sized dogs, and the unprotected diamond-bit nail grinder is perfect for big dogs with thick nails.

Best with safety guard: Oster Gentle Paws Premium Nail Grinder

Oster

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Why it made the cut: The grinder comes with a safety guard and is designed for small to medium-sized dogs and cats. 

Specs

  • Power: Rechargeable AA battery
  • Speeds: Two
  • Good for: Small to medium dogs, some cats

Pros

  • Comes with safety guard
  • Collects nail filings
  • Quiet

Cons

  • Not the best for large dogs

The Oster Gentle Paws nail grinder has a two-speed design and includes one fine and two coarse sanding bands. An adjustable safety guard will help you feel confident and protect your pet from any accidental nicks. Best of all, the removable safety guard will collect the nail filings, so all you need to do is remove the cap over the trash, and clean-up is complete. This nail grinder is best for small to medium-sized dogs, and Oster says it can even be used on some very patient cats.

Best with a guide light: Casfuy Dog Nail Grinder with 2 LED Light

Casfuy

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Why it made the cut: For skittish pups, this nail grinder comes with a guide light and has three rotation speeds for better customization.

Specs

  • Power: Rechargeable lithium-ion battery (USB)
  • Speeds: Three
  • Good for: Small, medium, and large dogs

Pros

  • LED light helps you see what you’re doing
  • Diamond bit allows for more powerful grinding
  • Quiet

Cons

  • Grinding process can take a while

This dog nail grinder from GHG features a diamond bit, a rechargeable battery, and a quiet motor that produces under 40 decibels of sound. It has three rotation speed settings and three grinding ports to suit your pet’s size and nail thickness. A LED light located under the grinder shines directly on your pet’s paw, brightly illuminating the quick, so you know where to cut. Turn the light on and off at will, depending on which pup you’re trimming or the natural light in the room.

Best nail clipper-and-grinder set: Boshel Dog Nail Clippers and Grinder  

BOSHEL

SEE IT

Why it made the cut: This set comes with a grinder and clippers, a diamond bit for tough nails, and a nail file for rough edges.

Specs

  • Power: Rechargeable battery (USB)
  • Speeds: Two
  • Good for: Dogs and cats of all sizes

Pros

  • Comprehensive kit
  • Features three ports for range of dog sizes
  • Comes with nail file

Cons

  • Just two speeds

While grinding your dog’s nail can be safer than clipping, sometimes it’s helpful to keep both tools on hand. This Boshel set is suitable for cats and dogs, with sharp blades and a safety stop on the clippers. The diamond bit grinder has a two-speed motor with a rechargeable battery and three ports suitable for any size dog. This pet nail grinder set also includes a mini nail file to round out any sharp or uneven edges when you’re trimming dog claws.

What to consider when searching for the best dog nail grinders

Why is it important to cut my dog’s nails?

A domesticated dog needs assistance when it comes to taking care of health and hygiene. Just like we need to bathe, cut our hair, and trim our nails to keep up not just our appearance but maintain our overall well-being, dogs rely on the same routine for the exact same reasons. While frequent walks on pavement or concrete can help naturally file down a dog’s nail, dedicated filing or clipping is critical. If your dog’s nails get too long, that can start to affect their gait and stress their joints. Beyond that, if their nails continue to grow, they can puncture their footpads or injure themselves when scratching. While the best thing you can do is regularly take your dog to a professional groomer, an at-home nail grinder means you can keep them in tip-top shape, even if the pet spa is all booked up. 

How do I even use a nail grinder?

A nail grinder uses a high-speed rotating head with a textured bit, much like sandpaper, to gently file down canine nails. While they take longer to complete the task than trimmers, a doggie nail file can be a safer alternative, especially for sensitive dogs. All you need to do is hold the grinder up to your dog’s nails and gently move the tool back and forth. Your nail grinder should be light, easy to grip, and either come with a power cord or long-lasting batteries that are rechargeable or replaceable, so you don’t need to stop mid-trim. It’s a good idea to acclimate your pup to the sound of the grinder before taking it to their nails, and it’s never a bad idea to prepare treats for them post-pedicure.

A grinder results in smooth nail ends, eliminates cracking, and gives ample time to assess how close you are to the quick. The quick is the pink part of the nail that delivers blood. While you want to ensure you don’t grind this area down, regular nail trimming will naturally cause it to recede, which is beneficial! If you’re feeling particularly nervous about over-trimming, look for a grinder that comes with a guard, which will put a physical barrier between you and a sensitive part of the nail.

What size dog do you have?

Generally, the size of your dog will tell you about their nail thickness. Small dogs typically have thinner nails that don’t need a super coarse grinding bit or multiple speeds. Larger dogs have thicker nails that need a little more power behind the grind. Multiple grinding speeds can help whittle down tough areas, and a diamond or stainless-steel sanding drum will increase efficiency. A really powerful grinder has the potential to heat nails to an uncomfortable degree, so it’s a good idea to work in quick bursts and pay attention to any intense heat coming off of their nails. Age and breed can also impact your dog’s nail density. Before purchasing, we recommend palming your dog’s paws and scoping out the tool’s specs to double-check the grinding gear can handle the trim.

Does your dog have dark fur and/or dark nails?

Trimming your dog’s nails on your own can be anxiety-provoking, especially if you have difficulty distinguishing the nail from the fur. If Fido is rocking a dark nail-dark fur combination, consider investing in a nail grinder equipped with an automatic LED light. This guiding light will illuminate everything you need to see to protect your puppy from any inaccuracies. 

Related: Give your pet a treat after the trimming with the best dog puzzles

FAQs

Q: How much does a dog nail grinder cost?

The dog nail grinders on this list start at around $23, with our final topping out at over $35. The combo kit tops the list but comes with a nail grinder, clippers, and nail file.

Q: What happens if you never cut your dog’s nails?

Just like human nails, dog nails will continue to grow until they are filed or cut down. Dog’s nails can receive free filing from frequent walks on rough surfaces, like sidewalks or rocky terrain, but that’s typically not enough. You’ll want to trim your puppy’s nails regularly to prevent them from growing too long and getting in the way of their walk, or worse, scraping and puncturing their foot pads. 

Q: How often should you grind your dog’s nails?

On average, you should be cutting dog nails every one or two months, depending on how fast they grow. If they go on frequent walks across concrete, this time might be extended. Generally, when you can clearly hear your dog’s nails scratching against the floor when they run up to greet you, they could probably use a trim. 

Q: Does grinding a dog’s nails hurt them?

No, grinding a dog’s nails should never hurt them. Just ensure you have proper control over the grinder and a good handle on your canine’s paw. Trimming and grinding do not hurt or irritate your dog, but the vibration and noise of the machine can scare some dogs. If possible, start grinding down their nails when they are a puppy, or, if you’re well past that stage, let them get used to the noise before starting on their paws. 

Final thoughts on the best dog nail grinders

Just like us, dogs need a certain amount of upkeep to ensure they are looking and feeling their best. The best dog nail grinder will make it easy to take care of your pup from the comfort of your home. A particularly useful tool for older dogs, you can ensure their happiness and safety in between trips to the groomer. Just make sure you grab a grinder suitable for your dog’s size and temperament before setting up a spa day and pampering your pooch. We’re sure your furry friend will thank you later in the form of slobbery kisses and tail wags.

Why trust us

Popular Science started writing about technology more than 150 years ago. There was no such thing as “gadget writing” when we published our first issue in 1872, but if there was, our mission to demystify the world of innovation for everyday readers means we would have been all over it. Here in the present, PopSci is fully committed to helping readers navigate the increasingly intimidating array of devices on the market right now.

Our writers and editors have combined decades of experience covering and reviewing consumer electronics. We each have our own obsessive specialties—from high-end audio to video games to cameras and beyond—but when we’re reviewing devices outside of our immediate wheelhouses, we do our best to seek out trustworthy voices and opinions to help guide people to the very best recommendations. We know we don’t know everything, but we’re excited to live through the analysis paralysis that internet shopping can spur so readers don’t have to.

Related: Learn more about your canine’s genetics with the best dog DNA test

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Female frogs appear to play dead to avoid mating https://www.popsci.com/environment/female-frog-mating-play-dead/ Thu, 12 Oct 2023 16:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=579103
Two frogs mating in a body of water.
The behavior could also be a way to test a male frog's strength and endurance. Deposit Photos

Other animals tend to 'play possum' to avoid being eaten.

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Two frogs mating in a body of water.
The behavior could also be a way to test a male frog's strength and endurance. Deposit Photos

To avoid the amphibian pile-up that often comes with mating, some female frogs take drastic measures. According to research published October 11 in the journal Royal Society Open Science, female European common frogs will lay completely still and play dead to fend off potential mates. 

[Related: Check out some of the weirdest warty frogs in North America.]

In the study, a team from the Natural History Museum of Berlin in Germany placed a male frog in a box with one large female and one small female and recorded the mating behavior. They observed 54 instances of female frogs being clutched by the males and 83 percent of females tried rotating their body when gripped. About 48 percent of clasped females emitted “release calls” like squeaks and grunts and all of these vocal frogs rotated their bodies. 

Thirty-three percent of the frogs clasped by male expressed tonic immobility. This is when a frog stiffens its outstretched arms and legs to appear dead. The immobility tended to occur alongside both rotating and calling. Smaller females more frequently used all three tactics together than the bigger frogs. 

Interestingly, this unusual behavior had actually been seen centuries before. “I found a book written in 1758 by Rösel von Rosenhoff describing this behavior, which was never mentioned again,” study co-author Carolin Dittrich told The Guardian. “It was previously thought that females were unable to choose or defend themselves against this male coercion. Females in these dense breeding aggregations are not passive as previously thought.”

The team acknowledges that this behavior could also be a way to test a male’s strength and endurance, as those traits could boost their survival chances. They also point out that a larger sample size is needed to see if smaller females are more successful at escaping. 

This playing tactic is also used by other animals as a way to avoid being eaten.

The phrase “playing possum”  refers to a tactic deployed by the North American opossum found in the United States and Canada. When this marsupial is threatened by a predator, it will throw itself onto its back, bare its teeth, drool, and excrete a very bad smelling liquid out of its anal glands to get out of danger. 

North American wood ducks and colorful mallard ducks can immediately collapse when confronted with predators. In a 1975 experiment, 29 out of 50 different wild ducks played dead when they were exposed to captive red foxes. The ducks would also stay still long enough to be brought back to the fox’s den and wait until later to escape. The veteran foxes quickly learned that they needed to quickly deal a fatal injury to ducks that appeared dead.

[Related: Why some tiny frogs have tarantulas as bodyguards.]

Despite being apex predators, multiple species of sharks and rays also exhibit tonic immobility. Lemon sharks will turn onto their back and exhibit labored breathing and an occasional tremor when facing danger. Zebra sharks will also do this and will even stay immobile when being transported. 

Male nuptial gift-giving spiders will display a different death feigning behavior called thanatosis. It’s part of a courtship ritual that begins before mating with potentially cannibalistic female spiders. In a 2006 experiment, the males would “drop dead” when a female approached with interest. When entering thanatosis, the males would collapse and remain completely still, while retaining a gift of prey the male has already caught and wrapped in silk The male only cautiously begins to move when the female ate the gifts and initiated copulation.

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This tell-tail sign means your cat likes you https://www.popsci.com/environment/cat-tail-up-position/ Thu, 12 Oct 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=578218
Tail of black cat on red, star-specked background forms a heart shape. Illustration.
Isabel Seliger for Popular Science

As they grew tamer over time, cats forged an unlikely friendship using their tails.

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Tail of black cat on red, star-specked background forms a heart shape. Illustration.
Isabel Seliger for Popular Science

How well do you know your pets? Pet Psychic takes some of the musings you’ve had about your BFFs (beast friends forever) and connects them to hard research and results from modern science.

WHAT DOES THE PHRASE cat communication make you think of? Probably a meow—or a hiss, if you’ve ever crossed a kitty’s boundaries. Yet much of what cats “say” to each other and to humans isn’t expressed out loud. Rather, it’s conveyed by their tails.

There’s the side-to-side swish when they’re agitated; the straight-down, puffed-out position of fright; the horizontal line for neutrality; and many more back-end gestures shared among the feline family. But one movement is largely confined to adult domestic cats: tail-up, whereby the articulate appendage is held perpendicular to the cat’s back, with the tip pointed forward at an approaching individual.

“You look at all the other wild cats in the world and they all have very similar mannerisms and behaviors. [The tail-up signal] is specific to domestic cats and to lions,” says Sarah Brown, a cat behavior specialist and author of The Hidden Language of Cats. “I think that’s just amazing.”

In the early 1990s, Brown tracked the behaviors and relationships of a free-living cat colony in Southampton, England. She observed that the tail-up position preceded amicable interactions, with cats often affectionately rubbing heads and sometimes sitting together afterward. Subsequent studies by researchers elsewhere bore those observations out. In tests where cats were presented with images of felines whose tails pointed up or down, the tail-up pictures elicited friendlier responses.

It’s also been demonstrated that cats use the tail-up cue in a similar manner with their humans—attentive kitty keepers may have already come to this conclusion. But it’s less evident where the expression came from. How did our lap-loving, couch-climbing companions end up sharing a behavior with the so-called king of the jungle? 

Black cat walks down hallway with tail up. Red filter on photo.
Charlie models the tail-up position in the company of his doting humans. Julie Blindauer

Even Felis lybica, the African wildcat from whom domestic cats evolved, makes the tail-up gesture in kittenhood. That’s a telltale sign of an origin in their domestic history, which is thought to have started about 10,000 years ago as wild cats congregated to hunt rodents around the fields and storehouses of Mesopotamian farmers. There they lived in closer proximity to one another than ever before.

Suddenly, cats had a pressing need to negotiate social interactions. Having an easy-to-read pose that quickly conveyed approachability and ease would help them avoid unnecessary conflict. Natural selection would “favor this behavior because it improves the cohesion of that social group,” says Eugenia Natoli, an evolutionary biologist who has studied the behaviors of free-living cats in Rome. “The reproductive success of individuals who cooperate would be higher than the success of individuals who don’t cooperate. It would then move on to the next generation, and so on.”

Some scientists have even suggested that tail-up evolved in captive-bred colonies of ancient Egypt, where cats were sacred and also sacrificed in mind-boggling numbers—an estimated 385,000 feline mummies were buried in a single temple. These large-scale rearing facilities would likely have been a crucible for new adaptations to communal living.

Whether this body language started on farms or in cat mills, we may never know, but both possibilities dovetail with its presence in lions, who typically live in prides with up to several dozen individuals. Other cat species are mostly solitary: They may have consistent relationships—mountain lions, for example, belong to complex hierarchical societies—but they’re not spending much time together.

Only domestic cats and lions share that life history. However, if sociality can explain the evolution of the tail-up signal, here’s a question: How did cats settle on that rather than some other behavior to convey good vibes?

At some point, cats took the small leap to pointing their tails at their favorite humans.

There are three possible answers so far, summarized by Brown in her book. According to one, tail-up was a riff off the crouching, haunches-raised sexual displays of female cats. The second idea is that it originated from the tail position that cats use when spraying urine to mark their territory or send a message to neighbors. The last hypothesis suggests that it comes from the movements kittens reflexively make when approaching their mothers.

“As soon as they become mobile and Mum’s coming toward them, that little tail goes up,” says Brown. “They all do it.” Precisely why is another mystery. Natoli thinks it’s a biologically hard-wired way of helping mothers identify kittens by smell—cats have scent glands on their flanks and tails, and by lifting their tails, they make these easier to sniff. But both she and Brown think the third explanation for the tail-up origin is most likely.

“Perhaps [solitary wild cats] didn’t meet many other cats once they left their mother. They got out of the habit of putting their tail up. But [domestic] cats today are so constantly surrounded by other cats or people, they just carry on doing it,” says Brown.

That would make tail-up a neotenic behavior—one that is performed early in life and continues during adulthood. Kneading—when nursing kittens and snuggling mature cats flex their paws—is another neotenic behavior. (This one may be shared across felines.) Tail-up has positive emotional associations for a little one who’s happy to see Mom, and it could retain those associations for grown-ups.

At some point, cats took the small leap to pointing their tails at their favorite humans. Over a 10,000-year history, we became members of their group. They chose to befriend us—and they remind us of that every time that tail forms a furry thumbs-up.

Read more PopSci+ stories.

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Fierce mama Grazer takes 2023’s Fat Bear Week crown https://www.popsci.com/environment/fat-bear-week-winner-2023/ Wed, 11 Oct 2023 12:30:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=578638
Grazer looking chunky and getting ready for winter on September 14, 2023. The bear is in the river intensely staring for salmon.
Grazer looking chunky and getting ready for winter on September 14, 2023. NPS Photo/F. Jimenez

'It was the year of the sow.'

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Grazer looking chunky and getting ready for winter on September 14, 2023. The bear is in the river intensely staring for salmon.
Grazer looking chunky and getting ready for winter on September 14, 2023. NPS Photo/F. Jimenez

Bear enthusiasts of the world have spoken—128 Grazer was just crowned the winner of Fat Bear Week 2023. This is Grazer’s first time wearing the crown, and she beat out runner up 32 Chunk in the fierce Fat Bear Tuesday final by over 85,000 votes.

[Related: It’s Fat Bear season again! This is the best feed to keep up with these hairy giants.]

According to the National Park Service, Grazer is a large adult female, boasting a long straight muzzle, light brown summer fur, and blond ears. During late summer and fall, she is often one of the fattest bears to feed on the plentiful salmon in the Brooks River in Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve.

She is also a particularly defensive mother bear who has raised two litters of cubs. Grazer is known for preemptively confronting and attacking much larger bears—even the large and dominant adult males—to keep her cubs safe. One of Katmai’s adult males named 151 Walker even avoids her, even though she did not have any cubs to protect this season. 

An Instagram post from Katmai National Park and Preserve of the Fat Bear Week 2023 bracket, with bear 128 Grazer in the center.

Grazer is the third female bear, or sow, to win the tournament. In 2019, 435 Holly was dubbed fattest bear and 409 Beadnose wore the prestigious crown in 2018. Beadnose is believed to have died in the five years since. 

“The girls did really well this year,” media ranger at Katmai National Park and Preserve Naomi Boak told The Washington Post. “It was the year of the sow.”

Like any competition, this year’s voting was packed with twists and turns. Four-time Fat Bear Week Champion 480 Otis was ousted on Friday October 6. Otis is the oldest and among the park’s most famous bears. This year, he arrived at Brooks River very skinny, but transformed into a thick bear. Otis was beaten by bear 901, a new mom and the 2022 runner up. 

On Saturday October 7, the 2022 winner bear 747 was defeated by Grazer, who went on to beat 901, Holly, and Chunk in the Final Four. 

[Related: How scientists try to weigh some of the fattest bears on Earth.]

First launched by the National Park Service in 2014 as Fat Bear Tuesday, Fat Bear Week is an annual tournament-style bracket competition where the public votes for their favorite chubby bear. Its goal is to celebrate the Brooks River brown bears at Katmai in southern Alaska and its remarkable ecosystem. It was expanded Fat Bear Week in 2015, following the first year’s success. In 2022, over one million votes were cast all around the world. 

At Katmai, bears are drawn to the large number of salmon readily available from late June through September. Salmon have long since been the lifeblood of the area, supporting Katmai’s people, bears and other animals. Fat bears exemplify the richness of this area, a wild region that is home to more brown bears than people along with the largest, healthiest runs of sockeye salmon left on the planet. The daily lives of the Brooks River bears can be followed via eight live-streaming cameras on explore.org from June through October. 

The winners, and all the bears, now get six months of restful solitude as winter approaches. 

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New neon-yellow snail from the Florida Keys gets a happy hour-ready name https://www.popsci.com/environment/margarita-snail/ Tue, 10 Oct 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=578159
An underwater closeup of Cayo margarita (a new species) in the coral reef of the Florida Keys. Note the two long tentacles, used by the snail to spread the mucus net for feeding.
An underwater closeup of Cayo margarita (a new species) in the coral reef of the Florida Keys. Note the two long tentacles, used by the snail to spread the mucus net for feeding. Rüdiger Bieler

Wastin’ away again with a margarita snail.

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An underwater closeup of Cayo margarita (a new species) in the coral reef of the Florida Keys. Note the two long tentacles, used by the snail to spread the mucus net for feeding.
An underwater closeup of Cayo margarita (a new species) in the coral reef of the Florida Keys. Note the two long tentacles, used by the snail to spread the mucus net for feeding. Rüdiger Bieler

A new marine snail that would make the late great Jimmy Buffet proud has been discovered in the Florida Keys. The lemon-colored snail is named Cayo margarita after the Spanish word for “small, low island” and the tropical drink Buffet sings about in one of his biggest hits. The new and real resident of the fictional Margaritaville is described in a study published October 9 in the journal PeerJ.

[Related: This cone snail’s deadly venom could hold the key to better pain meds.]

Marine smells are distantly related to the land-dwelling gastropods in gardens around the world. The margarita snails come from a group nicknamed worm snails, since they spend many of their lives living in one place. Worm snails also do not have a protective covering found in other snails called an operculum. This body part allows the snails to retreat further inside their shell and keep their bodies moist.

“Worm snails are just so different from pretty much any other regular snail,” study co-author Rüdiger Bieler tells PopSci. “These guys are sitting in the middle of the coral reef where everybody is out trying to eat them. And they’ve given up that protection and just advertise with their bright colors.”

Bieler is a marine biologist and curator of invertebrates at the Field Museum in Chicago who has spent 40 years studying the Western Atlantic’s invertebrates. Even after decades studying the region, these worm snails were hiding in plain sight during dive trips, largely because these snails are kind of the ultimate introverts.

Look closely. A margarita snail in the middle of a dead section of a large brain coral. CREDIT: R. Bieler.
Look closely. A margarita snail in the middle of a dead section of a large brain coral. CREDIT: R. Bieler.

Once juvenile worm snails find a spot to hunker down and they cement their shell to a hard surface never really move again. “Their shell continues to grow as an irregular tube around the snail’s body, and the animal hunts by laying out a mucus web to trap plankton and bits of detritus,” Bieler explains

Bieler and the rest of the international team of researchers came across the lemon-yellow snails in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and a similar lime-colored snail in Belize. Within the same species of snails, it is possible to get many different colors. There can also be color variations in a single population or even cluster of snails. Bieler believes that they may do this to confuse some of the coral reef fish that can see color so that they do not have a clear target. Some may use their hue as a warning color.  

The team initially believed that the lime-green and lemon-yellow snails were different species, but DNA sequencing revealed just how unique they are. This new yellow species belongs to the same family of marine snails as the invasive snail nicknamed the “Spider-Man” snail. This same team found these snails in 2017 on the Vandenberg shipwreck off the Florida Keys.

[Related: Invasive snails are chomping through Florida, and no one can stop them.]

The snails in this new Cayo genus also share a key trait in common with another worm snail genus called Thylacodes. The species Thylacodes bermudensis is found near Bermuda, and while only distantly related to their Floridaian and Belizean cousins, they have small colored heads and mucus that pop out of tubular shells. This might work as a deterrent to keep corals, anemones, and other reef fish from getting too close. The mucus has some nasty metabolites in it which might explain why these snails risk exposing their heads. 

The study and the new snails described in it help illuminate the stunning biodiversity of the world’s coral reefs, which are under serious threat due to climate change and the record warm ocean temperatures this summer

“These little snails are kind of beacons for biodiversity that need to be protected because many of them are dying out before we even get a chance to study them,” says Biler. 

It is also an important lesson in always looking right under your nose for discovery.

“I’ve been doing this for decades. We still find new species and previously unknown morphologies right under our feet,” says Biler. “This [discovery] was at snorkeling depth and in one of the most heavily touristed areas in the United States. When you look closely, there are still new things.”

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4 capybara facts you’ll love, and 1 you’d like to forget https://www.popsci.com/environment/capybara-facts/ Mon, 09 Oct 2023 22:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=577276
A capybara standing on a riverbank. Capybaras are semi-aquatic rodents that can weigh up to 174 pounds.
Capybaras are semi-aquatic rodents that can weigh up to 174 pounds. Deposit Photos

It's the cabybara's world, we're just living in it.

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A capybara standing on a riverbank. Capybaras are semi-aquatic rodents that can weigh up to 174 pounds.
Capybaras are semi-aquatic rodents that can weigh up to 174 pounds. Deposit Photos

The internet has recently fallen in love with South America’s charismatic rodents called Capybaras. From catchy songs to memes, it’s hard not to see the chunky charmers in your feed these days. Here are some fun facts about these captivating creatures to inform your scrolling.

[Related: Capybara spent a month on the lam after escape from Toronto Zoo.]

Where can I see a capybara in the wild?

Capybaras are the largest rodent in the world can be found east of the Andes Mountains and the riverbanks in Central and South America from Panama to Argentina. Since they are semi-aquatic like beavers and hippos, capybaras typically live beside ponds, swamps, marshes, or wherever standing water is available. They are also called “water hogs” or “capys” and can even stay under water for more than five minutes to escape from predators like anacondas and jaguars. 

They have been known to encroach further into human territory as their habitat is dwindling. Since 2020, hundreds of capybaras have taken over Nordelta, a private and gated neighborhood outside of Buenos Aires. The rodents had always been around, but remained hidden. The lockdowns triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic enabled the furry capys to spread and flourish in the posh neighborhood’s parks. 

Multiple zoos in the United States, including the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden (also home to some famous hippos), Southwick’s Zoo in Massachusetts, and the Cape May County Park and Zoo in New Jersey, are home to a handful of adorable specimens as well. 

CREDIT: Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden.

Do capybaras really eat their own poop?

Yes, among other things. They eat their poop for beneficial bacteria that helps their stomach break down the thick fiber from their other food sources such as reeds and grains, according to the San Diego Zoo

Like other rodents, capybaras have ever-growing front teeth. They use their sharp and long chompers to graze on grass and water plants. When fresh grasses and water plants dry up during the dry season, they eat squashes, melons, reeds, and grains. An adult can eat about six to eight pounds of grasses per day. 

How big are capys?

There are two known species of capybara: Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris and Hydrochoerus isthmius.  Of the two, H.hydrochaeris is the largest living rodent in the world. It can grow up to 4.3 feet long and weigh a whopping 174 pounds. H. isthmius is a bit smaller. It can grow to about 3 feet long and weigh closer to 62 pounds.

[Related: These prehistoric rodents were social butterflies.]

Can I own a capybara as a pet in the United States?

It depends what state you call home. They are currently legal with restrictions in some states including Texas, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, and Georgia. California and New York have more stringent rules, including that the animals can only be obtained by those with an approved scientific or educational reason. While ownership may be legal at the state, it may be illegal at the city level. 

Yahoo Finance estimates that the initial cost to buy a capy on the exotic animal market is about $1,000 per animal, while other estimates place the cost at $8,000. Vet bills can easily stretch between $600 to $1,000 each year?? and owners need to keep in mind the six to eight pounds of food that they can eat per day. Capybaras are also social animals, so owners need to be prepared to take in more than one for their pet to thrive. 

What are capys all over my feed?

Basically, capybaras are kind of the new Baby Shark. The song Capybara from Russian artist Сто-Личный Она-Нас went viral on TikTok earlier this year. Listen at your own risk, as it is a textbook earworm that will be stuck in your head for days.

Popular videos include a capybara sparring with a platypus and jumping into above ground pools. They are also the stars of pop culture memes, including one celebrating the billion dollar hit movie Barbie. 

A meme that reads "this Barbie is pulling up," with a photo of a capybara and the Barbie logo.
CREDIT: Capyverse via Instragram

They are also known for being some of the friendliest critters in the animal kingdom. They are very social and live together in herds of 10 to 20 animals. They spend time together cuddling, playing, socializing, and grooming one another. They have even been known to try to use alligators to hitch a ride

It also doesn’t hurt that they are really cute. In an era of doom scrolling, sometimes it’s just nice to look at their hippo-like eyes and ears as they look above the water. 

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This nuclear byproduct is fueling debate over Fukushima’s seafood https://www.popsci.com/environment/fukushima-water-releases-tritium/ Sat, 07 Oct 2023 19:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=577435
Blue bins of fish and other seafood caught near the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan
Fishery workers sort out seafood caught in Japan's Fukushima prefecture about a week after the country began discharging treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. STR/JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images

Is disposing water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean safe for marine life? Scientists say it's complicated.

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Blue bins of fish and other seafood caught near the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan
Fishery workers sort out seafood caught in Japan's Fukushima prefecture about a week after the country began discharging treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. STR/JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images

On October 5, operators of Japan’s derelict Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant resumed pumping out wastewater held in the facility for the past 12 years. Over the following two-and-a-half weeks, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) plans to release around 7,800 tons of treated water into the Pacific Ocean.

This is TEPCO’s second round of discharging nuclear plant wastewater, following an initial release in September. Plans call for the process, which was approved by and is being overseen by the Japanese government, to go on intermittently for some 30 years. But the approach has been controversial: Polls suggest that around 40 percent of the Japanese public opposes it, and it has sparked backlash from ecological activists, local fishermen, South Korean citizens, and the Chinese government, who fear that radiation will harm Pacific ecosystems and contaminate seafood.

Globally, some scientists argue there is no cause for concern. “The doses [or radiation] really are incredibly low,” says Jim Smith, an environmental scientist at the University of Portsmouth in the UK. “It’s less than a dental X-ray, even if you’re consuming seafood from that area.”

Smith vouches for the water release’s safety in an opinion article published on October 5 in the journal Science. The International Atomic Energy Agency has endorsed TEPCO’s process and also vouched for its safety. But experts in other fields have strong reservations about continuing with the pumping.

“There are hundreds of clear examples showing that, where radioactivity levels are high, there are deleterious consequences,” says Timothy Mousseau, a biologist at the University of South Carolina.

[Related: Nuclear war inspired peacetime ‘gamma gardens’ for growing mutant plants]

After a tsunami struck the Fukushima nuclear power plant in 2011, TEPCO started frantically shunting water into the six reactors to stop them from overheating and causing an even greater catastrophe. They stored the resulting 1.25 million tons of radioactive wastewater in tanks on-site. TEPCO and the Japanese government say that if Fukushima Daiichi is ever to be decommissioned, that water will have to go elsewhere.

In the past decade, TEPCO says it’s been able to treat the wastewater with a series of chemical reactions and cleanse most of the contaminant radioisotopes, including iodine-131, cesium-134, and cesium-137. But much of the current controversy swirls around one isotope the treatment couldn’t remove: tritium.

Tritium is a hydrogen isotope that has two extra neutrons. A byproduct of nuclear fission, it is radioactive with a half-life of around 12 years. Because tritium shares many properties with hydrogen, its atoms can infiltrate water molecules and create a radioactive liquid that looks and behaves almost identically to what we drink.

This makes separating it from nuclear wastewater challenging—in fact, no existing technology can treat tritium in the sheer volume of water contained at Fukushima. Some of the plan’s opponents argue that authorities should postpone any releases until scientists develop a system that could cleanse tritium from large amounts of water.

But TEPCO argues they’re running out of room to keep the wastewater. As a result, they have chosen to heavily dilute it—100 parts “clean” water for every 1 part of tritium water—and pipe it into the Pacific.

“There is no option for Fukushima or TEPCO but to release the water,” says Awadhesh Jha, an environmental toxicologist at the University of Plymouth in the UK. “This is an area which is prone to earthquakes and tsunamis. They can’t store it—they have to deal with it.”

Smith believes the same properties that allow tritium to hide in water molecules means it doesn’t build up in marine life, citing environmental research by him and his colleagues. For decades, they’ve been studying fish and insects in lakes, pools, and ponds downstream from the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl. “We haven’t really found significant impacts of radiation on the ecosystem,” Smith says.

[Related: Ultra-powerful X-rays are helping physicists understand Chernobyl]

What’s more, Japanese officials testing seawater during the initial release did not find recordable levels of tritium, which Smith attributes to the wastewater’s dilution.

But the first release barely scratches the surface of Fukushima’s wastewater, and Jha warns that the scientific evidence regarding tritium’s effect in the sea is mixed. There are still a lot of questions about how potent tritium effects are on different biological systems and different parts of the food chain. Some results do suggest that the isotope can damage fish chromosomes as effectively as higher-energy X-rays or gamma rays, leading to negative health outcomes later in life.

Additionally, experts have found tritium can bind to organic matter in various ecosystems and persist there for decades. “These things have not been addressed adequately,” Jha says.

Smith argues that there’s less tritium in this release than in natural sources, like cosmic rays that strike the upper atmosphere and create tritium rain from above. Furthermore, he says that damage to fish DNA does not necessarily correlate to adverse effects for wildlife or people. “We know that radiation, even at low doses, can damage DNA, but that’s not sufficient to damage how the organism reproduces, how it lives, and how it develops,” he says.

“We don’t know that the effects of the water release will be negligible, because we don’t really know for sure how much radioactive material actually will be released in the future,” Mousseau counters. He adds that independent oversight of the process could quell some of the environmental and health concerns.

Smith and other proponents of TEPCO’s plan point out that it’s actually common practice in the nuclear industry. Power plants use water to naturally cool their reactors, leaving them with tons of tritium-laced waste to dispose. Because tritium is, again, close to impossible to remove from large quantities of H20 with current technology, power plants (including ones in China) dump it back into bodies of water at concentrations that exceed those in the Fukushima releases.

“That doesn’t justify that we should keep discharging,” Jha says. “We need to do more work on what it does.”

If tritium levels stay as low as TEPCO and Smith assure they will, then the seafood from the region may very well be safe to eat. But plenty of experts like Mousseau and Jha don’t think there is enough scientific evidence to say that with certainty.

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Disease plagues Tasmanian devils—except for on one island https://www.popsci.com/environment/tasmanian-devil-cancer/ Fri, 06 Oct 2023 22:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=577030
The Tasmanian devils that live on Maria Island in Tasmania, Australia, are the hope of the entire species.
The Tasmanian devils that live on Maria Island in Tasmania, Australia, are the hope of the entire species. DepositPhotos

There are three known wild contagious cancers in vertebrates, and Tasmanian devils have two of them. What does that mean for the endangered marsupials?

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The Tasmanian devils that live on Maria Island in Tasmania, Australia, are the hope of the entire species.
The Tasmanian devils that live on Maria Island in Tasmania, Australia, are the hope of the entire species. DepositPhotos

This article was originally featured on Hakai Magazine, an online publication about science and society in coastal ecosystems. Read more stories like this at hakaimagazine.com.

Eight years ago, I first met with researchers from the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program (STDP) in Tasmania, Australia, to learn about their work to protect the endangered marsupials. Since then, I’ve continued to follow this story, including tracking how the Forestier Peninsula devils—the focus of my original article published in late 2015—fared in their “new life.”

Contagious cancers like devil facial tumor disease (DFTD) are virtually unheard of in vertebrates, yet understanding how they’re transmitted and how they evade immune systems has implications for both conservation and oncology. For that research to take place, there needs to be a healthy population of Tasmanian devils. That’s why in late 2015 and early 2016, the STDP released 49 devils bred in captivity on the isolated Forestier Peninsula, to join the estimated 30 wild devils already living on the adjacent Tasman Peninsula. Establishing a new, managed, disease-free population of devils (with another already existing on Maria Island, located just off the east coast of Tasmania) would buy researchers more time to develop a vaccine.

Their release should have been a moment of hope for the endangered species, but it was marred by a discovery some 50 kilometers west, across the sea, on another Tasmanian peninsula. A local spotted a devil with a large facial tumor: the calling card of DFTD.

Routine tests returned an unsettling result—it was a new cancer.

Called DFT2, the new disease is genetically distinct from DFT1 (the original cancer). Its method of transmission and symptoms are the same, and it poses a severe additional threat to the species.

The discovery of DFT2, however, provides a critical clue to the cancer’s puzzle. Devils, it turns out, aren’t victims of bad luck—they are particularly prone to DFTD. There are three known wild infectious cancers in vertebrates in the world, and Tasmanian devils have two of them.

“It was a big surprise. We thought that transmissible cancers were really rare—like lightning striking—and that devils were just a very unfortunate species,” says Elizabeth Murchison, who researches genetic and transmissible cancers at the University of Cambridge in England. It’s likely that DFT1 and DFT2 weren’t the first cancers to emerge in devils and are unlikely to be the last.

The habit the devils have of biting each other helps spread the disease, and their low genetic diversity creates ideal conditions for the cancers to evade the marsupial’s immune system. Another factor in the devils’ inability to fight the infections could be an issue with their peripheral nervous systems, where both DFT1 and DFT2 seem to originate. What’s likely not to blame, however, is environmental pollutants as suggested in my original article. According to Murchison, the imprint mutations left on devil DNA indicate the two cancers are natural occurrences. “There’s nothing to suggest any external exposure to a chemical or radiation or anything like that,” she says.

Fortunately, the discovery of the second cancer hasn’t slowed vaccine development. Andrew Flies—a senior research fellow at the University of Tasmania’s Menzies Institute for Medical Research—says the cancers have similarities that will make it easier for his team to develop a vaccine for both. In 2024, tests on an experimental DFT1 vaccine will begin, with the development of a vaccine that targets both cancers already underway. To reach devils, officials will distribute bait drops containing the vaccine through Tasmania’s vast wilderness.

Rollout is still several years away, but devils no longer appear to be at imminent risk of extinction. Exact numbers are unknown, but thanks in part to pilot projects to improve genetic diversity through the release of healthy devils, their population is holding strong in many areas—at least for now.

“Disease doesn’t really make a species go extinct. Diseases push the species to the very edge, and then everything else just comes along and takes them out,” says Carolyn Hogg, a researcher at the University of Sydney, who has been working with threatened species in Australia, including Tasmanian devils, for over 25 years.

For devils, “everything else” includes low genetic diversity, loss of habitat, and road fatalities. The nocturnal scavengers can’t resist the lure of rotting roadside carcasses, easy pickings in the roadkill capital of the world. In 2021, motorists killed more than 100 devils on just one 25-kilometer stretch of road in northwest Tasmania.

“If you’ve only got five breeding females in a small population and two get hit by cars on the road, you’ve lost 40 percent of your breeding population in one event,” says Hogg.

That’s exactly what happened to the Forestier Peninsula devils I wrote about in my original article. Drivers killed 16 of the 49 individuals within six weeks of their release. Through subsequent tracking, Hogg and her team discovered that devils raised in captive facilities for generations were more likely to use roadways than wild devils.

“You can’t release them anywhere near any major road systems, because behaviorally they’re used to the sound of vehicles,” says Hogg.

Since then, the STDP has done 11 more releases of healthy Tasmanian devils throughout the state to improve genetic diversity of existing wild populations. What’s changed is that instead of releasing devils bred in captivity, it now relies on the wild offspring of the disease-free population on Maria Island. A national park where there are no cars (save for those used by park rangers), Maria Island has wild devils that aren’t habituated to the sound of traffic and are more likely to survive.

Relying on Maria Island’s wild devils is the best option for building up a population of wild devils until a vaccine is developed. But the introduction of the marsupials to the island—which was devil-free until 2012—still has critics, much as it did back in 2015. In 2021, BirdLife Tasmania reported that over a decade, the introduced devils wiped out the island’s 3,000 breeding pairs of little penguins. Little penguins are found in abundance in the wild: Tasmania has hundreds of offshore islands, with an estimated 110,000 to 190,000 breeding pairs.

“We knew that was going to happen,” says Hogg. A risk assessment, she says, determined that the benefits of having a place to breed wild devils disease-free and improve their genetic diversity was “greater than the loss of the birds.”

The news, however, is not all bad. Researchers believe that introducing the carnivore has allowed Maria’s population of eastern barred bandicoots—listed as an endangered species on the mainland—to thrive, by pushing predatory possums up into trees. Cape Barren geese—which dropped in numbers following the marsupial’s introduction—have also learned to coexist with devils. As for the population of little penguins? The Maria Island population began to decline around the same time as one on a neighboring island, suggesting additional environmental factors were likely at play.

Yet, the conservation of endemic species and how to best manage them—from little penguins to Tasmanian devils—remains both a controversial and emotional topic in Australia. It’s rumored that conservation “vigilantes” are covertly rewilding Australia’s mainland with devils smuggled from Tasmania. But Hogg says any mainland devils are just as likely to develop a new cancer, given how susceptible they are to the disease. And without the protection of natural barriers that isolate populations of devils—like the narrow isthmuses on the Forestier and Tasman Peninsulas or the waters around Maria Island—preventing the cancer from spreading is impossible.

For now—until a vaccine is deployed—Maria Island’s disease-free population will be what stands between the devils and extinction.

This article first appeared in Hakai Magazine and is republished here with permission.

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USDA bans French poultry imports over avian influenza vaccine https://www.popsci.com/health/usda-france-avian-influenza-vaccine/ Fri, 06 Oct 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=577489
A pair of chickens at a poultry farm. Bird flu has been detected in at least 67 countries.
Bird flu has been detected in at least 67 countries. Deposit Photos

The ban comes after France begins Europe’s only mass-vaccination campaign against bird flu.

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A pair of chickens at a poultry farm. Bird flu has been detected in at least 67 countries.
Bird flu has been detected in at least 67 countries. Deposit Photos

The threat of avian influenza (H5N1) continues to be a serious health and economic issue. As of September, almost 60 million birds have been affected in the United States since the latest outbreak began in January 2022. There are currently 839 known H5N1 outbreaks around the world.

[Related: Thriving baby California condor is a ray of hope for the unique species.]

Earlier this month, France began Europe’s only mass-vaccination campaign against avian influenza. The country plans to vaccinate roughly 64 million ducks at 2,700 farms over the next year as an effort to end mass culls. Drastic actions like the culls cost the poultry industry millions of dollars every year. 

“Vaccination should mean we only face individual cases, avoiding the tidal waves sweeping through farms,” poultry chief at the SNGTV farm vets’ association Jocelyn Marguerie told DW News

To reduce the risk of more Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) spreading in the US, the Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has barred poultry imports from France and its European Union trading partners including Iceland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. The ban covers live ducks, duck eggs, and unmitigated/untreated duck products in addition to poultry products and is due to their recent vaccination campaign. 

According to a press release, the agency is concerned that the vaccines may mask that the virus is already circulating in poultry, as the vaccinated birds may not show any signs of infection and could lead to the contaminated animals being brought into the US. 

In France, the vaccine will be given in two doses and is obligatory for ducklings as young as 10 days old being raised on farms that have more than 250 birds. It will cost close to 100 million euros ($105 million) and 85 percent of the cost will reportedly be financed by the French government.

“Typically, animal vaccines in the US take approximately 3 years to develop and get FDA approval. Even though vaccination reduces mortality significantly, there is still concern that vaccinated birds can become infected and shed the virus,” Michelle Hawkins, an ABVP certified veterinarian at the University of California, Davis and the director of the California Raptor Center tells PopSci. “This is the main concern regarding France authorizing a vaccine. Ducks often carry avian influenza viruses without showing any clinical signs when infected.”

Hawkins also cited a concern about how quickly HPAI can mutate which could potentially reduce the vaccine’s efficacy.

[Related: One way to fight off bird flu: extra-CRISPRed chicken.]

Recently, commercial flocks have been culled in South Africa to stop the spread and the virus which has been detected in at least 67 countries. It has also been found in domestic cats in Poland and has even jumped from wild birds into seals on the East and West Coasts of the US. 

While vaccination is not enough to completely stop the disease yet, the jabs are a tool in fighting it. The Department of Agriculture began evaluating four HPAI vaccine candidates for animals and began some trials in April 2023. Other countries including Egypt, China, Mexico, and Vietnam have been vaccinating flocks for years. 

Currently, the risk of avian flu to humans is low, with only one reported human case of this virus in the US. There are trials underway of vaccines for humans if the virus mutates to become more of a threat to people. Researchers in the United Kingdom have also isolated a gene called BTN3A3 that could keep the virus from infecting humans. 

In the meantime, vigilance from bird owners and other protective measures including avoiding contact with wild birds and reporting dead birds to the proper authorities remain crucial. 

“It is critical that bird owners look at what they can do immediately to protect their flocks– now,” says Hawkins. 

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Humans are now the African savannah’s top predator https://www.popsci.com/environment/african-savannah-lion-human-predator/ Thu, 05 Oct 2023 15:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=577199
A lioness bears her teeth. Mammals in a new study were twice as likely to abandon a waterhole when hearing human voices than the sounds of a lion.
Mammals in a new study were twice as likely to abandon a waterhole when hearing human voices than the sounds of a lion. Deposit Photos

Giraffes, leopards, elephants, and rhinoceroses all were more scared of human voices than lion roars.

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A lioness bears her teeth. Mammals in a new study were twice as likely to abandon a waterhole when hearing human voices than the sounds of a lion.
Mammals in a new study were twice as likely to abandon a waterhole when hearing human voices than the sounds of a lion. Deposit Photos

Lions are often incorrectly called the “king of the jungle,” and not just because most live in plains and grasslands or because lionesses do most of the hunting. These days, the giant cats are not feared as much as another “super predator”—the animals living in an ecological park in South Africa now fear humans more than lions, according to a study published October 5 in the journal Current Biology. Roughly 95 percent of the mammals living among lions are more afraid of human voices than the big cats or hunting sounds. 

[Related: The rare case of a lioness with a mane.]

The study focused on Greater Kruger National Park in South Africa. It’s a protected area of about 1,328 square miles and is home to one of the world’s largest remaining roaming lion populations. African lions have been considered endangered since 2015, but lions are still among the biggest group-hunting land predators on Earth. However, humans are battling their supremacy, as multiple studies have shown that humans kill prey at higher rates than lions do. This new research compares the fear animals have of humans versus lions to see which species causes more fear.

In the study, a team of biologists observed how 19 mammal species reacted to a series of recordings. The sounds included human voices, lion vocalizations to signal the presence of a top non-human predator, and barking dogs and gunshots associated with hunting. The clips of human voices were played at a more conversational volume, came from radio or TV recordings, and included four of the most commonly used languages in the region (Tsonga, Northern Sotho, English, and Afrikaans). 

“The key thing is that the lion vocalizations are of them snarling and growling, in ‘conversation’ as it were, not roaring at each other,” Western University conservation biologist Michael Clinchy said in a statement. “That way the lion vocalizations are directly comparable to those of the humans speaking conversationally.”

The team used a waterproof camera system that had enough battery life to record day and night over the course of several months and captured 15,000 videos. The observations were also taken during the dry season and the team put the systems at waterholes to get recordings of all the animals coming by to drink. 

Giraffe, leopard, hyena, zebra, kudu, warthog, and impala running in response to hearing humans. CREDIT:Liana Zanette/Western University.

“One night, the lion recording made this elephant so angry that it charged and just smashed the whole thing,” study co- author and Western University conservation biologist Liana Y. Zanette said in a statement

When the animals heard human sounds, they were twice as likely to run and ditch the waterhole than they were when lions or hunting noises were played. About 95 percent of species, including giraffes, leopards, hyenas, warthog, impala, elephants, and rhinoceroses, ran more often or abandoned waterholes more quickly in response to human sounds than lions.  

“There’s this idea that the animals are going to habituate to humans if they’re not hunted. But we’ve shown that this isn’t the case,” said Clinchy. “The fear of humans is ingrained and pervasive, so this is something that we need to start thinking about seriously for conservation purposes.”

[Related: How a 19-year-old lion fathered 35 cubs in 18 months.]

The team is now looking into whether their sound systems could be used to steer endangered species like the Southern white rhino away from poaching areas in South Africa. Efforts to keep rhinos away from certain areas through the use of human voices have seen success in some early studies.

“I think the pervasiveness of the fear throughout the savannah mammal community is a real testament to the environmental impact that humans have,” says Zanette. “Not just through habitat loss and climate change and species extinction, which is all important stuff. But just having us out there on that landscape is enough of a danger signal that they respond really strongly. They are scared to death of humans, way more than any other predator.”

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Do all geese look the same to you? Not to this facial recognition software. https://www.popsci.com/technology/facial-recognition-geese/ Wed, 04 Oct 2023 18:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=577107
greylag goose
S Kleindorfer / Konrad Lorenz Research Centre for Behaviour and Cognition, University of Vienna

Here's how scientists are using this tech on animal research.

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greylag goose
S Kleindorfer / Konrad Lorenz Research Centre for Behaviour and Cognition, University of Vienna

Even though we can’t tell a flock of birds apart without examining them closely, the birds in the group know who’s who. And that’s because they have certain physical marks that help distinguish them. 

Just like how individual humans might have distinct moles, or other unique physical characteristics, Greylag geese have unique grooves on their beaks. To prove that Greylag geese do indeed have distinctive facial features, a team of scientists from Flinders University in Australia and University of Vienna in Austria developed facial recognition software that can assign a goose face to a goose ID within a database with around 97 percent accuracy. 

“Results from the facial recognition software showed that identification of individual geese using images of their bill was possible and validated the idea that geese are visually unique,” the researchers wrote in a paper they published last month in the Journal of Ornithology.

[Related: What’s life like for a fruit fly? AI offers a peek.]

But of course a computer accuracy test can only prove so much. To test if geese can recognize each other by their faces (and not by some other feature such as smell or sound), scientists took photos of individuals within a group of Greylag geese and tested how other members of the flock reacted to the 2D-printed images. 

As part of their experiment, the researchers blew up these photos into life-size portrayals that they then put in front of the real geese. When presented with a photo of themselves, their partner, and a flock mate, these geese gravitated towards the photos of their partner, and actually hissed at photos of themselves. (Because geese don’t own mirrors, they don’t know what they look like, and therefore when they see themselves for the first time, they register it as an unfamiliar goose.) 

[Related: Artificial intelligence is helping scientists decode animal languages]

Facial recognition is a complicated technology in the human world. It doesn’t help that it’s getting more commonplace. While it can be more convenient than typing in a passcode on your phone, or keeping track of a key, mistakes happen, privacy problems arise, and the technology itself is still fairly unreliable.

But in the animal world, it has the potential to help. Petco, for example, is using facial recognition for pets as the backbone of its lost pets database. Owners can upload photos, and the software will scan for image matches at nearby shelters. 

For natural scientists and conservationists, this type of software can help them keep track of individual animals by seeing who’s passing by what trail cams or camera traps. Different animals have different tells. For tigers, the differentiator is their stripes. For other animals like bears or pumas, researchers may have to rely more on body markings. And for farm animals like sheep, cows, and pigs, scientists want to use the technology to monitor their daily behaviors and overall well-being. But in that case, questions remain on who the data is really for: the animals or the humans?

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Mammals may use same-sex sexual behavior for conflict resolution, bonding, and more https://www.popsci.com/environment/mammals-same-sex-behavior-evolution/ Wed, 04 Oct 2023 16:45:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=577090
Two chimpanzees share a meal. A new study found that same-sex sexual behavior helps establish and maintain positive social relationships in animals including chimpanzees, bighorn sheep, lions, and wolves.
A new study found that same-sex sexual behavior helps establish and maintain positive social relationships in animals including chimpanzees, bighorn sheep, lions, and wolves. Deposit Photos

It's been observed in at least 51 species of non-human primates.

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Two chimpanzees share a meal. A new study found that same-sex sexual behavior helps establish and maintain positive social relationships in animals including chimpanzees, bighorn sheep, lions, and wolves.
A new study found that same-sex sexual behavior helps establish and maintain positive social relationships in animals including chimpanzees, bighorn sheep, lions, and wolves. Deposit Photos

Over 1,500 animal species, from bonobos to sea urchins to penguins are known to engage same-sex sexual behavior. Still, scientists don’t understand exactly how it came to be or why it happens. While some say the behavior might have existed since the animal kingdom first arose more than half a billion years ago, it may have actually evolved repeatedly in mammals. A study published October 3 in the journal Nature Communications suggests that the behavior possibly plays an adaptive role in social bonding and reducing conflict, and evolved multiple times.

[Related: A massive study confirms no one ‘gay gene’ controls sexual preference.]

The behavior is particularly prevalent in nonhuman primates. It has been observed in at least 51 species from small lemurs up to bigger apes. For one population of male macaques, same-sex sexual behavior may even be a common feature of reproduction and is related to establishing dominance within groups, handling a shortage of different-sex partners, or even reducing tension following aggressive behavior. 

In this new study, the team from institutions in Spain surveyed the available scientific literature to create a database of records of same-sex sexual behavior in mammals. They traced the behavior’s evolution across mammals and tested for any evolutionary relationships with other behaviors. 

The team found that same-sex sexual behavior is widespread across mammal species, occurs in similar frequency in both males and females, and likely has multiple independent origin points. This analysis found that the behavior helps establish and maintain positive social relationships in animals including chimpanzees, bighorn sheep, lions, and wolves.

“It may contribute to establishing and maintaining positive social relationships,” study co-author José Gómez told The New York Times. “With the current data available, it seems that it has evolved multiple times.” Gómez is an evolutionary biologist at the Experimental Station of Arid Zones in Almería, Spain. 

Importantly, they caution that the study should not be used to explain the evolution of sexual orientation in humans. This research focused on same-sex sexual behavior defined as short-term courtship or mating interactions, instead of a more permanent sexual preference. 

Additionally, male same-sex sexual behavior was likely evolved in species with high rates of male adulticide–-when adult animals kill other adults. The team believes that this suggests the behavior may be an adaptation meant to mitigate the risks of violent conflict between males.

Harvard University primatologist Christine Webb, who did not participate in the study, told The Washington Post that the findings add to other research and widen the scope of what it means for a behavior to be considered adaptive.

[Related: Same-sex mounting in male macaques can help them reproduce more successfully.]

“This general question of evolutionary function—that behavior must aid in survival and reproduction—what this paper is arguing is that reaffirming social bonds, resolving conflicts, managing social tensions, to the extent that same-sex sexual behavior preserves those functions—it’s also adaptive,” Webb said. 

Webb also added that it makes sense that other animals would have sex for a variety of reasons the way that humans do.

The authors caution that these associations could also be driven by other evolutionary factors. Same-sex sexual behavior has also only been carefully studied in a minority of mammal species, so our understanding of the evolution of same-sex sexual behavior may continue to change as more mammalian species are studied.

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How we can help the most endangered class of animals survive climate change https://www.popsci.com/environment/amphibians-climate-change-conservation/ Wed, 04 Oct 2023 15:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=577023
The Morona-Santiago stubfoot toad (Atelopus halihelos) in Ecuador is listed as critically endangered.
The Morona-Santiago stubfoot toad (Atelopus halihelos) in Ecuador is listed as critically endangered. Jaime Culebras/Photo Wildlife Tours

Two out of five amphibians are currently threatened with extinction.

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The Morona-Santiago stubfoot toad (Atelopus halihelos) in Ecuador is listed as critically endangered.
The Morona-Santiago stubfoot toad (Atelopus halihelos) in Ecuador is listed as critically endangered. Jaime Culebras/Photo Wildlife Tours

Earth’s amphibians are in serious trouble, but there is still time to save this unique class of animals. A study published October 4 in the journal Nature finds that two out of five amphibians are threatened with extinction and they continue to be the most threatened class of vertebrates. However, the new research also found that since 1980, the extinction risk of 63 species has been reduced due to conservation interventions.

[Related: Why you can’t put a price on biodiversity.]

“This proves that conservation works and it’s not all bad news,” Jennifer Luedtke, a study co-author and the manager of IUCN Red List Assessments at conservation organization Re:wild, said during a press conference. “We found that habitat protection alone is not sufficient. We need to mitigate the threats of disease and climate change.”

A check-up for amphibians

The findings are part of Global Amphibian Assessment II, an international series of conservation analyses based on evaluations of the 8,011 amphibian species listed on the IUCN Red List. The first Global Amphibian Assessment was published in 2004 and found that amphibians are Earth’s most threatened class of vertebrates. This second report confirms that the smooth-skinned animals are still more threatened than birds or mammals.

In the study, the team found that 118 species have been driven to extinction between 2004 and 2022. About 40 percent of the species studied are still categorized as threatened. This study also covers about 94 percent of the known amphibian species in 2022. According to Luedtke, about 155 new amphibian species are discovered every year, so there will likely be more species to add to the next Global Amphibian Assessment. 

Climate change and associated habitat loss are the primary driver of these declines. The team estimates that current and projected climate change effects are responsible for 39 percent of status deteriorations since 2004. Habitat loss has affected roughly 37 percent of species in the same period. 

Why amphibians are so vulnerable to climate change

Amphibians’ unique skin puts them in more danger in the face of a changing planet, since they use their skin to breathe. Increased frequency and intensity of storms, floods, droughts, changes in moisture levels and temperature, and sea level rise can all affect their very important breathing sites.

“They don’t have any protection in their skin like feathers, hair, or scales. They have a high tendency to lose water and heat through their skin,” Patricia Burrowes, a study co-author and herpetologist formerly with the University of Puerto Rico, said during a press conference. “The majority of frogs are nocturnal, and if it’s very hot, they will not come out because they will have lost so much water even in their retreat sites that they don’t have the energy to go out to feed. They won’t grow and won’t have energy to reproduce. And that can have demographic impacts.”

[Related: Hellbender salamanders may look scary, but the real fright is extinction.]

Extinctions have continued to increase with 37 documented in 2022. By comparison 23 species were reported extinct by 1980 and 33 in 2004. According to the report, the most recent species to go extinct were the frogs Atelopus chiriquiensis from Costa Rica and western Panama and Taudactylus acutirostris from Australia.

“Amphibians are essential parts of the ecosystem in a variety of ways, one of them being their role in the food web,” Kelsey Neam, study co-author and Re:wild’s Species Priorities and Metrics Coordinator, said during a press conference. “Amphibians are prey for many species and without amphibians, those animals lose a major source of their food and they are preying upon other animals like insects and other invertebrates. Without them to fulfill that niche, we will see a collapse of the food web.”

Amphibian pandemics

The most heavily affected amphibians were salamanders and newts, with three out of five salamander species at risk for extinction. While habitat loss is also the primary threat to salamanders, they are also particularly vulnerable to a disease called chytridiomycosis. It is caused by a fungal pathogen caused by the chytrid fungus that disrupts amphibian’s skin and physiological functions. When infected, amphibians can’t rehydrate properly, which creates an electrolyte imbalance that causes fatal heart attacks.

The Hickory Nut Gorge green salamander (Aneides caryaensis) is found in North Carolina, and is listed as critically endangered.
The Hickory Nut Gorge green salamander (Aneides caryaensis) is found in North Carolina, and is listed as critically endangered. CREDIT: Todd W. Pierson

“Droughts exacerbate the infection intensity,” said Burrowes. “When the frogs have the potential to present some kind of defense mechanism, that defense mechanism is monitored by changes in precipitation and temperature.”

North America is home to the world’s most biodiverse community of salamanders, including a group of lungless salamanders in the Appalachian Mountains. This has conservationists concerned about what would happen if another deadly fungal disease called Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, or B.sal, arrives in the Americas from Asia or Europe.

‘We know what to do’

The report highlights that the time to help these critical animals is now. The authors point to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted by 190+ signatory countries at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference in December 2022. The signing nations committed to halting all human induced extinctions, reversing and reducing the extinction risk of species tenfold, and to recovering populations to a healthy level.

“We know what to do. It’s time to really commit the resources to actually achieving the change that we say we want,” said Luedtke. “Amphibians will be the better for it and so will we.”

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This robot trio mimics the life cycle of a frog https://www.popsci.com/environment/frog-robot-trio-video/ Wed, 04 Oct 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=577051
Four legged robot inspired by frog
The robots are inspired by frogs' multiple life stages. Colorado State University

Search-and-rescue operations could one day feature a fleet of frog-bots to help save the day.

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Four legged robot inspired by frog
The robots are inspired by frogs' multiple life stages. Colorado State University

New quadrupedal robots, based on years of research alongside some amphibian inspiration, could one day crawl and shimmy their way into search-and-rescue operations. As detailed in a new paper recently published in Nature Communications, the robotic trio developed by a team at Colorado State University can swim, walk, and crawl depending on their environments’ obstacles—thanks in large part to lightweight artificial muscles that don’t require heavy onboard power sources.

[Related: Four-legged dog robots could one day explore the moon.]

The new systems, which have been in development since 2017, were designed by a team led by CSU Department of Mechanical Engineering professor Jianguo Zhao, and rely on materials that change rigidity depending on temperature.

“Our embedded morphing scheme uses a lightweight artificial muscle similar to a human muscle, and it contracts when electricity is applied,” Zhao explained in the project’s October 2 announcement. “By embedding these artificial muscles in the spine of the robot or in its skin, we can achieve a variety of shape-types. Altogether, this approach offers a promising path towards developing robots that can navigate and work in difficult environments.”

Aside from the electrical properties, the robots owe their movements in large part to frogs—or, rather, frogs’ multiple life stages. “They start as tadpoles with tails for swimming before developing legs that let them jump, crawl or swim,” Zhao continued. “We take inspiration from those transformations, but achieving animal-like embedded shape morphing in robots remains challenging and is something we hope this work will continue to address.”

Judging from the video montage, it’s easy to see the frog analogy. Depending on its surroundings and terrain, the robots can curve their limbs to “swim,” then adjust them accordingly to scale a rocky hurdle that mimics a shoreline. On dry land, Zhao’s robots can “hop” along by repeatedly rotating their limbs 360 degrees to push forward. A third version of the robot can flatten itself to skitter through small openings, as well as hang onto a ledge to help transition across gaps.

For now, however, the robots require remote control, but future iterations could rely on sensor- and camera-based analysis of their environments for navigation, and even morph as needed to handle their surroundings.

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No two parakeets sound exactly the same https://www.popsci.com/environment/parakeet-voice-print/ Tue, 03 Oct 2023 23:15:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=576816
A green monk parakeet standing in dirt. Parrots could have a unique tone of voice just like humans do.
Monk parakeets could have a unique tone of voice just like humans do. Deposit Photos

The unique 'voice prints' could help the chatty birds pick one another out in a flock, according to new research.

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A green monk parakeet standing in dirt. Parrots could have a unique tone of voice just like humans do.
Monk parakeets could have a unique tone of voice just like humans do. Deposit Photos

Parrots are the chatterboxes of the animal kingdom. These famously social birds can learn new sounds throughout their lives and even produce calls that can be individually recognized by other members of their flock. A new study of monk parakeets found that individual birds have a unique tone of voice similar to humans called a “voice print.” The findings are described in a study published October 3 in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

[Related: The next frontier in saving the world’s heaviest parrots: genome sequencing.]

“It makes sense for monk parakeets to have an underlying voice print,” Simeon Smeele, a co-author of the study and biologist studying parrot social and vocal complexity at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, said in a statement. “It’s an elegant solution for a bird that dynamically changes its calls but still needs to be known in a very noisy flock.”

In humans, our voice print leaves a unique signature in the tone of our voice across every word we say. These voice prints remain even though humans have a very complex and flexible vocal repertoire. Other social animals also use similar cues to recognize one another. Individual dolphins, bats, and birds have a “signature call” that makes them identifiable to other members of their groups. However, signature calls encode identity in only one call type, and there hasn’t been much evidence that suggests animals have unique signatures that last throughout their entire repertoire of calls. 

Parrots use their tongue and mouth to modulate calls similar to the way humans speak. According to Smeele, “their grunts and shrieks sound much more human than a songbird’s clean whistle.” 

Parrots also live in large groups with fluid membership where multiple birds vocalize at the same time. Members need a way to keep track of which individual is making what sound. The question became if the right physical anatomy coupled with the need to navigate complex social lives, helped parrots evolve a voice print. 

In the study, Smeele and his team traveled to Barcelona, Spain—home to the largest population of individually marked parrots in the wild. The parakeets are considered an invasive species and they swarm Barcelona’s parks in flocks with hundreds of members. The Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona has been marking the parakeets for 20 years and have individually identified 3,000 birds.

The team used microphones to record the calls of hundreds of individuals and collected over 5,000 vocalizations in total. They also re-recorded the same individuals over a period of two years, which revealed the stability of the calls over time.

Using a set of computer models, they detected how recognizable individual birds were within each of the five main call types given by this species (contact, tja, trrup, alarm, and growl). They found high variability in the “contact call” that birds use to broadcast their identity. According to the team, this overturned a long-held assumption that contact calls contain a stable individual signal. The new findings suggested that the parakeets are actually using something else for individual recognition.

[Related: These clever cockatoos carry around toolkits to get to food faster.]

To investigate if voice prints were at play, the team used a machine learning model widely used in human voice recognition. The model detects the identity of the speaker using the quality, or timbre, of their voice. The team trained the model to recognize calls of individual birds that were categorized as “tonal” in sound. They then tested to see if the model could detect the same individual from a separate set of calls that were classified as “growling” in sound. The model was able to identify the individual parrots three times better than expected, providing evidence that monk parakeets do actually have a recognizable, individual voice print. 

While exciting, the authors caution that this evidence is still preliminary. Future experiments and analyses could use the parrot tagging work from the team in Barcelona. The GPS devices could help determine how much individuals overlap in their roaming areas.

“This can provide insight into the species’ remarkable ability to discriminate between calls from different individuals,” study co-author and ecologist from Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona Juan Carlos Senar said in a statement.

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Robotic ‘Super Monster Wolves’ are guarding Japanese towns against bears https://www.popsci.com/technology/robot-wolves-guard-bear/ Tue, 03 Oct 2023 21:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=576879
Animal deterring robotic wolf sentry
It may not look like a real wolf to you, but it does the trick against boars and bears. Wolf Kamuy

First introduced to combat invasive wild boars, experts now believe the robo-wolf could deter wandering black and brown bears.

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Animal deterring robotic wolf sentry
It may not look like a real wolf to you, but it does the trick against boars and bears. Wolf Kamuy

Stories about solar-powered robotic wolves first surfaced back in 2017 after Japanese researchers began testing prototypes to combat wild boars’ devastating encroachment into farmlands. Since then, a company called Wolf Kamuy expanded sales of its sentry products featuring menacing fangs, fur, flashing red LED “eyes,” and a head capable of shaking side-to-side while emitting a 90 decibel howl. But boars aren’t the only problem plaguing rural Japanese communities. According to recent reports, Wolf Kamuy is now offering many of its faux-wolves as bear deterrence.

[Related: How to watch Alaska’s fat bears.]

It turns out the “Super Monster Wolf” isn’t just effective at protecting farmers’ crops—it’s also pretty good at protecting the farmers themselves. As reported October 1 via the BBC, bears are an increasingly difficult, sometimes even deadly nuisance in many areas of Japan thanks to a combination of serious factors, including climate change, deforestation,and urban expansion. What’s more, bear populations in regions such as Hokkaido appear to be actually increasing as Japan faces an aging population and declining birth rates. According to the BBC, some researchers estimate a total of over 22,000 bears located around Hokkaido. Because of all this, the region recorded at least 150 bear attacks over the past six decades—with four fatalities in 2021 alone. Meanwhile, bears continue to wander into more crowded towns and cities bordering wildlife areas.

Enter: the Super Monster Wolf. By installing the guard bots in urban locales, experts hope to deter bears from wandering into populated areas to potentially harm both humans and themselves. Researchers previously estimated that a robo-wolf’s howls effectively deterred bears from encroaching within approximately 1-square-km (about 0.38 square mi) of its installation—arguably better than many electric fence perimeters. With strategic placement, Super Monster Wolves could help elderly communities, and protect the bears.

Of course, humanity cannot solely rely on an army of robot wolves to protect us from bear attacks. Bears (not to mention countless other species) face immense existential threats in the face of ongoing climate change calamities, and it’s not the bears’ fault they are increasingly desperate to find food sources. The best remedy, therefore, is to continue focusing on climate solutions like conservation, renewable energy, and sustainable urban planning, rather than stopgaps like the (admittedly rad) Super Monster Wolf.

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4 reasons dinosaurs never really ruled the Earth https://www.popsci.com/science/age-of-the-dinosaurs-facts/ Tue, 03 Oct 2023 17:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=576210
T. rex model, T. rex skull, and Triceratops skull at dinosaur display in the Museum of Natural History in Vienna
(Clockwise from top) A T. rex model, T. rex skull, and Triceratops skull on display at the Museum of Natural History in Vienna, Austria. DepositPhotos

The 'terrible lizards' can reign supreme in the movies, but there's something seriously wrong about the way we've hyped up their history.

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T. rex model, T. rex skull, and Triceratops skull at dinosaur display in the Museum of Natural History in Vienna
(Clockwise from top) A T. rex model, T. rex skull, and Triceratops skull on display at the Museum of Natural History in Vienna, Austria. DepositPhotos

We all know the line: For more than 150 million years, dinosaurs ruled the Earth. We imagine bloodthirsty tyrannosaurs ripping into screaming duckbills, gigantic sauropods shaking the ground with their thunderous footfalls, and spiky stegosaurs swinging their tails in a reign of reptiles so magnificent, it took the unexpected strike of a six-mile-wide asteroid to end it. The ensuing catastrophe handed the world to the mammals, our ancestors and relatives, so that 66 million years later we can claim to have taken over what the terrible lizards left behind. It’s a dramatic retelling of history that is fundamentally wrong on several counts. Let’s talk about some of the worst rumors and what really happened in the so-called “Age of Dinosaurs.”

Myth: Dinosaurs dominated the planet from their origin.

Fact: Dinosaurs started as cute pipsqueaks.

The oldest dinosaurs we know about are around 235 million years old, from the middle part of the Triassic Period. Those reptiles didn’t rule anything. From recent finds in Africa, South America, and Europe, we know that they were no bigger than a medium-sized dog and were lanky, omnivorous creatures that munched on leaves and beetles. Ancient relatives of crocodiles, by contrast, were much more abundant and diverse. Among the Triassic crocodile cousins were sharp-toothed carnivores that chased after large prey on two legs, “armadillodiles” covered in bony scutes and spikes, and beaked, almost ostrich-like creatures that gobbled up ferns.

Even as early dinosaurs began to evolve into the main lineages that would thrive during the rest of the Mesozoic, most were small and rare compared to the crocodile cousins. The first big herbivorous dinosaurs, which reached about 27 feet in length, didn’t evolve until near the end of the Triassic, around 214 million years ago. But everything changed at the end of the Triassic. Intense volcanic eruptions in the middle of Pangaea altered the global climate; the gases released into the air caused the world to swing between hot and cold phases. By then, dinosaurs had evolved warm-blooded metabolisms and insulating coats of feathers, leaving them relatively unfazed through the crisis, while many other forms of reptiles perished. Had this mass extinction not transpired, we might have had more of an “Age of Crocodiles”—or at least a very different history with a much broader cast of reptilian characters. The only reason the so-called Age of Dinosaurs came to be is because they got lucky in the face of global extinction.

Prehistoric predators fighting underwater. Illustration.
The biggest predators in the Cretaceous oceans were non-dinosaur reptiles and sharks. De Agostini via Getty Images

Myth: Dinosaurs spanned the entire planet.

Fact: Dinosaurs never evolved to live at sea.

It’s strange to talk about dinosaurs “dominating” an ocean world. While sea levels have risen and fallen over time, the seas make up about 71 percent of Earth’s surface and contain more than 330 million cubic miles of water. The claim that dinosaurs, as diverse as they were, were the dominant form of life on Earth only makes sense if we ignore that three-quarters of our planet is ocean.

Even though some dinosaurs swam, leaving scratches and swim tracks in ancient shallows, none have ever evolved to live their entire lives in the oceans. Even penguins—living dinosaurs—have not evolved the ability to remain at sea like many marine mammals have and must return to land to nest. If we were to emphasize prehistoric oceans, then there were marine reptiles of various shapes and sizes ruling over the watery kingdom. Fish-shaped ichthyosaurs, long-necked and four-flippered plesiosaurs, giant Komodo dragon relatives called mosasaurs, and many more non-dinosaur reptiles thrived in the seas for millions of years, many feeding on the even more abundant coil-shelled cephalopods called ammonites.

Of course, these ecosystems were built on a foundation of plankton. Without disc-shaped algae called coccoliths, the rest of the charismatic swimmers of the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous wouldn’t have thrived. It’s the abundant, small forms of life that let charismatic creatures like marine reptiles prosper—a further reminder that the animals that impress us on land or sea wouldn’t exist without various tiny organisms that set the foundations of food webs. What we might see as dominance, in any ecosystem, is really a consequence of many relationships and interactions that often go unnoticed.

Two mesonyx, a prehistoric mammal species, standing near a dead animal. Illustration.
Mammals flourished during and after the time of the dinosaurs. The wolf-life Mesonyx emerged in the Eocene, not long after the dinosaurs’ demise. De Agostini via Getty Images

Myth: Dinosaurs suppressed the evolution of mammals.

Fact: Mammals thrived throughout the Age of Dinosaurs.

The classic example of dinosaur dominance is a twitchy little mammal chasing an insect through the Cretaceous night. Dinosaurs would gobble up any beast that got too big or was foolish enough to wander out in the daylight, the argument went, so mammals evolved to be small and nocturnal until the asteroid allowed our ancestors and relatives to emerge from the shadows. The small size and insect-hunting adaptations of some Mesozoic mammals were taken as indicators that mammals were constrained by the success of the dinosaurs, preventing them from becoming larger or opening new niches.

In the past 20 years, however, paleontologists have rewritten the classic story to show that mammals and their relatives thrived alongside the dinosaurs. Throughout the Mesozoic there were furry beasts that swam, dug, glided between the trees, and even ate little dinosaurs. Ancient equivalents of squirrels, raccoons, otters, beavers, sugar gliders, aardvarks, and more evolved through the Jurassic and Cretaceous, including early primates that scampered through the trees over the heads of T. rexes. While it’s true that all the Mesozoic mammals we presently know of were small—the largest was about the size of an American badger— researchers have realized that the way our ancient ancestors interacted with each other was much more important to shaping their evolution than the dinosaurs were. In fact, even with the dinosaurs gone, most new mammal species stuck to being small. We get so hung up on size that we’ve missed the real story, closer to the ground.

Two pterosaurs fighting over prey in flight. Illustration.
Pterosaurs weren’t dinosaurs, but their aerial capabilities gave them an upper hand in the Late Triassic. De Agostini via Getty Images

Myth: Dinosaurs dominated the planet for millions of years.

Fact: No single species can dominate a planet.

Our fixation on a prehistoric hierarchy says more about us than the actual geological record. In our imaginations, we’ve turned dinosaurs into creatures that took over the planet and held on until a cosmic accident wiped them out. Dinosaurs of the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous lived on every major landmass for more than 150 million years. Often, their supposed reign is compared to what we think of as ours—a paltry 300,000 years that Homo sapiens has been around.  

But the comparison isn’t one-to-one. Dinosaurs were not a single species, but an entire group of organisms. More fundamentally, no species truly stands alone: Even the most long-lived and widespread organisms rely on others. Gigantic, plant-eating dinosaurs had to eat a Mesozoic salad bar of ginkgoes, horsetails, conifers, and other plants—food that required them to have specialized bacteria in their guts for digestion. Even the great T. rex was an ecosystem by itself, preying on herbivores that in turn, ate plants that fostered relationships with fungi and microorganisms in the soil. To look at such an image of life and focus on dominance is looking in the wrong place, dividing the history of life into winners and losers and missing the connections and community required for diverse creatures to thrive. Perhaps dinosaurs can reign supreme in the movies, where we have a perpetual fixation with putting ourselves in the way of their toothy maws. But the real lesson of Triceratops and kin is in how evolution flowers—not who rules the Earth.

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The best outdoor bug zappers of 2023 https://www.popsci.com/reviews/best-outdoor-bug-zapper/ Wed, 14 Jul 2021 07:59:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=374553
The best outdoor bug zappers will help keep inspects at bay.

Fight the bite and keep away the insects that would like to bug you with these outdoor bug zappers.

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The best outdoor bug zappers will help keep inspects at bay.

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more ›

Best overall The Black+Decker Bug Zapper is the best outdoor bug zapper overall. BLACK+DECKER Bug Zapper
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The BLACK+DECKER is large, sturdy, and powerful.

Best budget The Ninonly Bug Zapper Light Bulb is the best outdoor bug zapper at a budget-friendly price. Ninonly Bug Zapper Light Bulb
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Ninonly provides one of the best bug-zapping light bulbs that you can find.

Best handheld The Anne Diary Bug Zapper is the best outdoor bug zapper that's handheld. Anne Diary Electric Bug Zapper Racket
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With the ability to swivel the killing racket head, you can effectively cover the target insect on any surface.

When you’re ready to head outside, the last thing you want to do is get bitten or swarmed by insects, so having an outdoor bug zapper is a good idea. They make your insect-fearing companions feel more at ease and can give your uncovered food and drink a standing chance against buzzing bugs. But there are many styles to choose from that, and it can be hard to pick out which bug zapper best suits your needs. To do our part, we compiled this list of the best outdoor bug zappers.

How we selected the best outdoor bug zappers

Bugs aren’t just pesky; they can sometimes be dangerous. When it comes to outdoor bug zappers, you want something that works, but you also want ingenuity. The location of the zapper, its shape, and its functional style all matter. And, despite being weapons of death against our exoskeleton-having foes, the best outdoor bug zappers don’t look like death themselves. As a result, the following list of the best outdoor bug zappers represents a variety of styles and forms of zappers that also happen to be attractive to the eye.

The best outdoor bug zappers: Reviews & Recommendations

Purchasing one of the following outdoor bug zappers should make your yard less insect-friendly. As most have lights, these insect repellents should also improve the visibility of your porch or patio a bit. However, we still recommend these solar deck lights for a brighter, more sustainable option for that purpose. Be sure to check over the whole list to find a style that suits your needs.

Best overall: BLACK+DECKER Bug Zapper

BLACK+DECKER

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Why it made the cut: With a large size and tough exterior, this will get the job done easily.

Specs

  • Form: Lantern
  • Size: 32 x 12 x 32 inches
  • Target species: Fly, moth, mosquito, gnat, wasp

Pros

  • Can choose between hanging or putting on table
  • Cleaning-free option
  • Tough, waterproof exterior

Cons

  • Dead bugs sometimes stick to zapping element

For a quick-killing machine with a hard, weather-resistant exterior, the BLACK+DECKER is a great choice. It can hang on your patio or sit on a table. This choice is important, too, because it’ll change how you choose to use the zapper. While on a table, you’ll want the collection tray placed in. However, if you hang the BLACK+DECKER over grass, you can leave the bottom collection tray off so bugs will fall to the ground directly, reducing cleaning. However, this is a powerful zapper, so sometimes a bug will burn directly on the element, meaning you’ll have to do a little cleaning (with the supplied brush) periodically.

Best cordless: BURLAN Solar Bug Zapper

Burlan

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Why it made the cut: You’ll never need a cord if you let the sun do most of the work.

Specs

  • Form: Lantern
  • Size: 9.4 x 5.1 x 5.1 inches
  • Target species: Fly, mosquito

Pros

  • Charges via solar power or USB plug-in
  • Bright lamp on top adds to the ambiance
  • Quiet, 25dB zaps
  • IP66 water and dustproof

Cons

  • Needs consistent sun exposure

If plugging something in and dealing with cords bothers you, turn to the power of the sun. This is the best outdoor bug zapper with a solar charging panel that we could find. On a full charge—which can be achieved in 12 hours of direct sunlight—the top lantern, lighting, and mosquito killer can work for between 4 and 12 hours, depending on mode of operation.

Best for mosquitoes: Elechome Bug Zapper

Elechome

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Why it made the cut: This machine puts out a ton of special mosquito-attracting light.

Specs

  • Form: Lantern
  • Size: 5.35 x 5.35 x 11.6 inches
  • Target species: Mosquito, gnat, fly, moth, wasp, spider

Pros

  • Scientifically designed for mosquito attraction
  • Large killing area
  • IP66 dust and water resistant

Cons

  • Must USB-C charge

According to Pfizer, mosquitos kill more than 700,000 people each year. While we’re waiting for advanced mosquito control to deactivate their reproductive process, there are other things to try. While some are washing up with a soap mosquito repellent, others are turning to special wavelengths that attract mosquitos, which the Elechome Bug Zapper puts out in extreme degree. It’s also got a larger killing area than most lantern types, with its top exposed, allowing for more bug killing.

Best for patio: Endbug Bug Zapper

Endbug

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Why it made the cut: The bottom-facing light on this zapper is a plus for any patio.

Specs

  • Form: Lantern
  • Size: 5.7 x 5.7 x 10.6 inches
  • Target species: Mosquito, gnat, fly, moth, wasp, etc.

Pros

  • Includes a bright light on the bottom to light your patio
  • Is IPX6 waterproof to ward off rain issues
  • Excellent bug attraction ability

Cons

  • Loud

The Endbug Bug Zapper is the best outdoor bug zapper for your porch or patio, as it provides excellent lighting for you and powerful killing for bugs. It’s a powerful 4,200V, so it kills quite effectively but is rather loud. Our advice is to hang it up high near the middle of your porch or patio area so you can get the maximum benefit from the provided light. However, if you do choose to put it closer to the edges, it’ll still be safe in the rain as it has IPX6 water resistance.

Best handheld: Anne Diary Electric Bug Zapper Racket

Anne Diary

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Why it made the cut: The racket head swivels, letting you cover the scariest bugs safely.

Specs

  • Form: Racket
  • Size: 17.5 x 9.7 x 1.5 inches
  • Target species: Wasp, bee, fly, mosquito

Pros

  • Long handle keeps you away from dangerous pests
  • Auto zap mode while in stand
  • Swivel head provides maximum safety
  • Simple USB-C charging

Cons

  • Auto zap mode depletes battery in 5 hours

If you have really scary insects like bees, wasps, or hornets, you’ll want to be more proactive in your killing. Waiting for the bug to mosey into a light just won’t cut it. That’s why you should try out the best bug-zapping racket, this one from Anne Diary. You can swivel the zapping head to be parallel with the surface the offending insect has lit on, then cover it. This method keeps you safe and gives the insect no escape. When not in active use, you can turn on a passive zapping mode as well, but we only recommend this if the Anne Diary is plugged in, as the power drains after about five hours.

Best indoor/outdoor: PRODCA Bug Zapper

Prodca

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Why it made the cut: The small size of this bug zapper makes it great to tuck into a kitchen or bedroom corner, too.

Specs

  • Form: Lantern
  • Size: 3.8 x 3.8 x 5.5
  • Target species: Mosquito, fly, gnat, bee, moth, etc.

Pros

  • Small size fits anywhere
  • Can be made to be discreet
  • Lamp light for better outdoor vision
  • IP66 water- and dust-resistant

Cons

  • Not great for all indoor pests (such as fruit flies)

Though a lot of the best outdoor bug zappers could technically be used indoors, you wouldn’t necessarily want them to be there. They’re big, can’t be placed just anywhere, and scream to others that you have an insect problem. As a result, we like the more discreet nature and size of the PRODCA, which can do great work on the porch, but also be tucked away in a kitchen corner when you want it to be.

Best budget: Ninonly Bug Zapper Light Bulb

Ninonly

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Why it made the cut: This is the best bug-zapping light bulb you can get.

Specs

  • Form: Light bulb
  • Size: 3.14 x 3.14 x 6.3 inches
  • Target species: Fly, mosquito

Pros

  • Small, convenient form
  • Sloping trap stays clean
  • Multiple modes
  • Long lifespan

Cons

  • Must be put into a lamp

Most of the best outdoor bug zappers cost between $35 and $60 apiece, depending on current deals available. That can be frustrating if you want many of them or aren’t ready to spend a lot on bug zapping. Light bulb-style bug zappers, then, are a great option, though they tend to have worse functionality. The Ninonly has high-quality zapping, multiple lighting modes, and a sloping inside that helps bugs fall out after death. As a result, it is one of the best cheap outdoor bug zappers… if you have a lamp available.

What to consider before buying outdoor bug zappers

Outdoor bug zappers might seem relatively straightforward, and they are, but there are still some things to consider before buying one. The most important thing to consider is the form of the zapper.

  • Lantern styles are the most popular as they can be hung or placed on tables, add light and ambiance to the area, and are good passive killers that work well on porches and while camping.
  • Handheld “electric fly swatters” are another style, great for targeted killing, but suffer in that they typically are made for consistent pest removal.
  • Finally, light-bulb bug zappers are cheaper and simple to install, but these mini zappers typically don’t have as much killing power as the other styles.

You should also consider how easy the zapper will be to clean. The best outdoor bug zappers typically have at least one mode or feature that allows bugs to fall out of the zapping area, reducing cleaning. Powerful bug zappers may also burn insects directly to the zapping element, requiring you to clean it directly. It is highly recommended to review real customer experiences with cleaning if this is a concern for you.

FAQs

Q: How much does an outdoor bug zapper cost?

An outdoor bug zapper will cost anywhere from $20 to $65. You should expect to pay about $35 on average for the best outdoor bug zappers if you are willing to wait for a sale and about $55 otherwise.

Q: Can I leave a bug zapper on all night?

You can leave a bug zapper on all night in most cases. Typically, they are made to be used for the whole night. Please read the instructions of your bug zapper to double-check your specific case, however. You may also wish to bring your bug zapper inside at night when it is storming if yours does not have high-quality weather resistance.

Q: How long does a bug zapper last on average?

A bug zapper should last five or more years on average. Obviously, the quality of the build, the environmental conditions of where it is placed, and usage frequency will affect the overall lifetime of the product. Most bug zappers also have replaceable bulbs, which will extend the lifetime of the product.

Final thoughts on the best outdoor bug zappers

The best outdoor bug zappers all have one thing in common; they will remove pests from your environment eventually. Whether you go for a powerful light source that attracts insects quickly or a handheld racket that lets you seek them out, you should feel more secure in your outdoor environment with one of the above products.

Why trust us

Popular Science started writing about technology more than 150 years ago. There was no such thing as “gadget writing” when we published our first issue in 1872, but if there was, our mission to demystify the world of innovation for everyday readers means we would have been all over it. Here in the present, PopSci is fully committed to helping readers navigate the increasingly intimidating array of devices on the market right now.

Our writers and editors have combined decades of experience covering and reviewing consumer electronics. We each have our own obsessive specialties—from high-end audio to video games to cameras and beyond—but when we’re reviewing devices outside of our immediate wheelhouses, we do our best to seek out trustworthy voices and opinions to help guide people to the very best recommendations. We know we don’t know everything, but we’re excited to live through the analysis paralysis that internet shopping can spur so readers don’t have to.

The post The best outdoor bug zappers of 2023 appeared first on Popular Science.

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This fluffy anteater could be a new species https://www.popsci.com/environment/fluffy-anteater-species/ Mon, 02 Oct 2023 21:30:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=576411

A silky anteater, small enough to sit comfortably in your palm, rests in the canopy of a mangrove forest in Brazil’s Parnaíba Delta.
A silky anteater, small enough to sit comfortably in your palm, rests in the canopy of a mangrove forest in Brazil’s Parnaíba Delta. Photo courtesy of João Marcos Rosa

Thousands of kilometers from their nearest relatives, these silky anteaters eke out a living in a pocket of mangroves on Brazil’s Atlantic coast.

The post This fluffy anteater could be a new species appeared first on Popular Science.

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A silky anteater, small enough to sit comfortably in your palm, rests in the canopy of a mangrove forest in Brazil’s Parnaíba Delta.
A silky anteater, small enough to sit comfortably in your palm, rests in the canopy of a mangrove forest in Brazil’s Parnaíba Delta. Photo courtesy of João Marcos Rosa

This article was originally featured on Hakai Magazine, an online publication about science and society in coastal ecosystems. Read more stories like this at hakaimagazine.com.

Hiking through dense vegetation in Brazil’s Parnaíba Delta, Flávia Miranda stops suddenly and plucks a wheat-colored ball of fur from the tangle of mangrove branches. Startled from its slumber, the tennis ball–sized silky anteater raises its forepaws defensively like a boxer. Miranda, a researcher in conservation medicine at the State University of Santa Cruz in Brazil, carefully takes samples of blood and fur, then releases the elusive animal back into the forest.

Silky anteaters are the smallest anteaters and were the first to evolve, between 30 and 40 million years ago. Largely solitary and nocturnal, these fluffy little canopy dwellers inhabit low-altitude rainforests and mangroves from southern Mexico to northern Bolivia. When they’re not gorging on ants and termites, they spend much of their two-year life span sleeping.

Until recently, scientists believed that all silky anteaters belonged to the same species. But in 2017, Miranda published an analysis of silky anteater DNA from across the Americas, revealing seven distinct species.

“I always had this feeling that there was more than one species,” says Miranda, who has studied Brazil’s sloths, anteaters, and armadillos for 30 years. “I’d noticed differences in the fur color of populations in different regions.”

Now, Miranda is investigating the possibility that the sleepy animal she sampled in the Parnaíba Delta, roughly 280 kilometers east of São Luís, is a member of an eighth species.

The delta’s silky anteaters are isolated, living thousands of kilometers from their nearest known kin in the Amazon Basin, to the northwest, and a swath of tropical rainforest to the southeast, along Brazil’s Atlantic coast. This population, Miranda says, may be a relic left over from 11,000 years ago, when the Amazon rainforest stretched to the Parnaíba Delta.

So far, Miranda’s genetic analysis indicates that the delta population has been diverging from other silky anteater species for roughly two million years. However, the DNA tests need to be corroborated with physical characteristics to confirm that the delta’s anteaters form a new species. That’s why Miranda and her field assistant Alexandre Martins are continuing to collect blood samples and take measurements of animals that they find in the mangroves. “At the very least, we’re certain that this population is evolutionarily distinct and in the process of becoming [a separate species],” she says.

Wildlife photo
Scientists don’t know how many silky anteaters live in Brazil’s Parnaíba Delta. Densely vegetated mangroves make it difficult to count the elusive animals. Photo courtesy of Karina Molina

Mariella Superina, who chairs the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s group of anteater experts, describes Miranda’s research as groundbreaking. “Silky anteaters are the most understudied of all the [sloths, anteaters, and armadillos],” she says.

The Parnaíba Delta’s dense mangroves make it almost impossible for Miranda and her colleagues to count how many delta anteaters there might be. But since Miranda first visited in 2009, it has become clear that the delta is not a safe refuge for anteaters. Local people harvest the mangroves for fencing, housing, and boats. Farmers also let their cows and pigs range freely in the delta, where the livestock overgraze and trample young trees.

In 2011, Miranda began recruiting the community to reforest the mangroves. Locals started growing propagules, or mangrove seedlings, in a nursery for replanting in the delta and fenced these areas off from livestock. Quickly, the forest began to grow back. Although residents are mostly focused on protecting mangroves, their ongoing efforts are also benefitting the silky anteater and other wildlife.

“Our community’s survival is threatened by climate change, rising sea levels, and storms,” says Paulinho Morro do Meio, a fisherman, tour guide, and one of Miranda’s collaborators. “[The mangroves] are our best defense, and we work hard to restore them.”

For Miranda, though, the delta has sparked a bigger interest in yet-undiscovered silky anteaters, perhaps occupying the dry forests between the Parnaíba Delta and the distant rainforests. “I’ve got a feeling there are more ‘missing link’ populations,” she says.

This article first appeared in Hakai Magazine and is republished here with permission.

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Why are these orcas harassing porpoises? Scientists have 3 theories. https://www.popsci.com/environment/orcas-harass-porpoises/ Fri, 29 Sep 2023 15:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=576067
A killer whale in the Salish Sea is observed harassing a porpoise, a behavior that has long perplexed scientists.
A killer whale in the Salish Sea is observed harassing a porpoise, a behavior that has long perplexed scientists. Wild Orca

The Southern Resident orcas only eat fish, particularly Chinook salmon.

The post Why are these orcas harassing porpoises? Scientists have 3 theories. appeared first on Popular Science.

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A killer whale in the Salish Sea is observed harassing a porpoise, a behavior that has long perplexed scientists.
A killer whale in the Salish Sea is observed harassing a porpoise, a behavior that has long perplexed scientists. Wild Orca

Despite only eating fish, the Southern Resident orcas of the Pacific Northwest’s Salish Sea are known for a perplexing behavior. They harass and even kill porpoises without eating them and scientists are not really sure why. A study published September 28 in the journal Marine Mammal Science looked at over 60 years of data to try and solve this ongoing mystery.

[Related: Raising male offspring comes at a high price for orca mothers.]

While their relatives called transient killer whales eat other organisms including squid, shark, and porpoises, the Southern Resident orcas exclusively eat fish, particularly Chinook salmon. The strange porpoise-harassing behavior was first scientifically documented in 1962. The new study analyzed 78 documented incidents and found three plausible explanations.

Orcas at play

The behavior may be a form of social play for orcas. Like many intelligent species including dogs, elephants, and kangaroos, these whales sometimes engage in playful activities as a way to bond, communicate, or just simply enjoy themselves. Going after porpoises might benefit their group coordination and teamwork.

This theory may be reminiscent of the orcas who became famous for sinking boats in Spain and Portugal. While the Southern Resident killer whales and the whales from the Iberian Peninsula are two different populations with distinct cultures, their affinity for play could be something both populations share, according to the authors of the study

Hunting practice

Going after a larger animal like porpoises might help these whales hone their critical salmon-hunting skills. They may view porpoises as moving targets to practice their hunting techniques, even if a meal is not the end result.

Mismothering behavior

The orcas may be attempting to provide care for porpoises that they perceive as either sick or weak. This could be a behavioral manifestation of their natural inclination to help others within their pod. Female orcas have been observed carrying their deceased calves and have been observed carrying porpoises in a similar manner.  

Scientists also call mismothering behavior displaced epimeletic behavior. It could be due to their limited opportunities to care for their young, according to study co-author and science and research director at Wild Orca Deborah Giles. 

“Our research has shown that due to malnutrition, nearly 70 percent of Southern Resident killer whale pregnancies have resulted in miscarriages or calves that died right away after birth,” Giles said in a statement.

An endangered group

Southern Resident killer whales are considered an endangered population. Currently, only 75 individuals exist and their survival is essentially tied to Chinook salmon. A 2022 study found that these orcas have been in a food deficit for over 40 years and another study found that the older and fatter fish are also becoming more scarce in several populations.

“I am frequently asked, why don’t the Southern Residents just eat seals or porpoises instead?” said Giles. “It’s because fish-eating killer whales have a completely different ecology and culture from orcas that eat marine mammals—even though the two populations live in the same waters. So we must conclude that their interactions with porpoises serve a different purpose, but this purpose has only been speculation until now.”

Even with these three theories for the behavior, the team acknowledges that the exact reason behind porpoise harassment may always remain a mystery. What is clear is that porpoises are not a part of the Southern Resident killer whale diet, so eating them is highly unlikely. 

“Killer whales are incredibly complex and intelligent animals. We found that porpoise-harassing behavior has been passed on through generations and across social groupings. It’s an amazing example of killer whale culture,” Sarah Teman, a study co-author and marine mammal biologist with the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine’s SeaDoc Society, said in a statement. “Still, we don’t expect the Southern Resident killer whales to start eating porpoises. The culture of eating salmon is deeply ingrained in Southern Resident society. These whales need healthy salmon populations to survive.”

However, this research does underscore the importance of salmon conservation in the Salish Sea and the Southern Resident’s entire range. They generally stay near southern Vancouver Island and Washington State, but their range can extend as far as the central California coast and southeastern Alaska.  Maintaining an adequate salmon supply will be vital to their survival and well-being of the Salish Sea ecosystem as a whole.

The post Why are these orcas harassing porpoises? Scientists have 3 theories. appeared first on Popular Science.

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This 6-million-year-old turtle shell still has some DNA https://www.popsci.com/environment/6-million-year-old-turtle-dna/ Fri, 29 Sep 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=575977
The researchers found preserved bone cells in the carapace, which exhibited structures like the nucleus of a cell, where DNA traces were found.
The researchers found preserved bone cells in the carapace, which exhibited structures like the nucleus of a cell, where DNA traces were found. Edwin Cadena/Universidad del Rosario/Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama

The extracted material could redefine how long DNA and protein can survive in the fossil record.

The post This 6-million-year-old turtle shell still has some DNA appeared first on Popular Science.

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The researchers found preserved bone cells in the carapace, which exhibited structures like the nucleus of a cell, where DNA traces were found.
The researchers found preserved bone cells in the carapace, which exhibited structures like the nucleus of a cell, where DNA traces were found. Edwin Cadena/Universidad del Rosario/Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama

Sea turtles have been around for at least 110 million years, yet relatively little is known about their evolution. Two of the most common sea turtles on Earth are olive ridley and Kemp’s ridley turtles that belong to a genus called Lepidochelys that could help fill in some of the gaps of sea turtle biology and evolution. A team of paleontologists not only discovered the oldest known fossil of turtle from the Lepidochelys genus, but also found some traces of ancient turtle DNA. The findings are detailed in a study published September 28 in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

[Related: 150 million-year-old turtle ‘pancake’ found in Germany.]

The DNA comes from the remains of a turtle shell first uncovered in 2015 in the Chagres Formation on Panama’s Caribbean coast. It represents the oldest known fossil evidence of Lepidochelys turtles. The turtle lived approximately 6 million years ago, curing the upper Miocene Epoch. At this time, present day Panama’s climate was getting cooler and drier, sea ice was accumulating at Earth’s poles, rainfall was decreasing, sea levels were falling.

“The fossil was not complete, but it had enough features to identify it as a member of the Lepidochelys genus,” study co-author and Universidad del Rosario in Bogotá, Colombia paleontologist Edwin Cadena tells PopSci. Cadena is also a research associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama.

The team detected preserved bone cells called osteocytes. These bone cells are the most abundant cells in vertebrates and they have nucleus-like structures. The team used a solution called DAPI to test the osteocytes for genetic material.

“In some of them [the osteocytes], the nuclei were preserved and reacted to DAPI, a solution that allowed us to recognize remains of DNA. This is the first time we have documented DNA remains in a fossilized turtle millions of years old,” says Cadena.

According to the study, fossils like this one from vertebrates preserved in this part of Panama are important for our understanding of the biodiversity that was present when the Isthmus of Panama first emerged roughly 3 million years ago. This narrow strip of land divided the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean and joined North and South America. It created a land bridge that made it easier for some animals and plants to migrate between the two continents.

[Related: Hungry green sea turtles have eaten in the same seagrass meadows for about 3,000 years.]

This specimen could also have important implications for the emerging field of molecular paleontology. Scientists in this field study ancient and prehistoric biomatter including proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and DNA that can sometimes be extracted from fossils. 

Molecular paleontology aims to determine if scientists can use this type of evidence to determine more about the organisms than their physical shape, which is typically what is preserved in most fossils. Extracting this tiny material from bones was critical in sequencing the Neanderthal genome, which earned Swedish scientist Svante Pääbo the 2022 Nobel prize in physiology or medicine.

“Many generations have grown up with the idea of extracting and bringing back to life extinct organisms,” says Cadena. “However, that is not the real purpose of molecular paleontology. Instead, its goal is to trace, document, and understand how complex biomolecules such as DNA and proteins can be preserved in fossils.”

This new turtle specimen could help other molecular paleontologists better understand how soft tissues can be preserved over time. It could also shift the idea that original biomolecules like proteins or DNA have a specific timeline for preservation in fossils and encourage re-examining older specimens for traces of biomolecules. 

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The best vacuums for pet hair of 2023 https://www.popsci.com/story/reviews/best-vacuum-for-pet-hair/ Fri, 28 May 2021 13:35:00 +0000 https://stg.popsci.com/uncategorized/best-vacuum-for-pet-hair/
A lineup of the best pet vacuums on a white background
Amanda Reed

Everyone loves their furry friends — but not everyone loves the fur covering every surface in the house, and that’s where a vacuum for pet hair come in.

The post The best vacuums for pet hair of 2023 appeared first on Popular Science.

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A lineup of the best pet vacuums on a white background
Amanda Reed

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more ›

Best lightweight Dyson V11 Animal Cordless Vacuum Cleaner Dyson V11 Torque Drive Cordless Vacuum Cleaner
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Despite being only eight pounds, this pick still has intelligent tech that adjusts settings as you move across surfaces.

Best with HEPA filter The HEPA Hoover vacuum is the best vacuum for pet hair Hoover MAXLife Pro Pet Swivel HEPA Media Vacuum Cleaner
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This high-efficiency filter captures 99 percent of dust and allergens for a truly complete clean.

Best robot Roomba i4+ evo robot vacuum for pet hair iRobot Roomba i4+ EVO (4552) Self Emptying Robot Vacuum
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This robotic vacuum cleans thoroughly and in straight lines to keep it effective and unintrusive.

Pet hair is one of the only downsides to owning a pet. Whether it’s dust bunnies on hard surfaces, stray hairs on soft furnishings, or a layer of fluff on pretty much everything you own, there are very few dogs and cats that don’t shed hair at all. And while there are various solutions—from restricting the areas of the house that they’re allowed in, to using a damp cloth on fabrics to de-fuzz them, the quickest and easiest solution is a vacuum cleaner. But not just any vacuum cleaner. It’s tempting to think that a super-powerful vacuum is the solution. And while power is definitely important, the best vacuum for pet hair won’t rely on power alone. You also need to bear in mind other factors, such as the filter, the brush roll, the weight of the machine, and whether you need a vacuum that can double as a mop and be used wet as well as dry.

Vacuums can be expensive purchases, so to help you avoid making costly mistakes, here’s our guide to a few things you might want to consider when choosing the best pet vacuum.

The best vacuums for pet hair: Reviews & Recommendations

From the floofiest of doggos to the silkiest of cats, one of our picks should help annihilate the pet hair in your home.

Best overall: Bissel ICONpet Turbo Edge vacuum

Bissell

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Specs

  • Power source: Battery
  • Weight: 8 pounds
  • Compatible surfaces: Carpet, hardwood, drapes, pretty much anything

Pros

  • Relatively light considering its power
  • Fast charging
  • Powerful rotating brush
  • Versatile modular design
  • Wall-mounted charging station included

Cons

  • Dirt storage chamber could be bigger

This 8-pound vacuum boasts a surprisingly powerful electric motor that gets up to 50 minutes of runtime off of a single battery charge. It conveniently mounts to the wall during charging so it’s out of the way, but its wheels also lock in place if you want to simply lean it somewhere without worrying about it tipping over.

Engaging Turbo Boost mode reduces overall battery performance, but considerably increases suction power, which is important if you’re trying to pull pet hair out of a serious carpet. The head has a powerful rotating brush to pick up the hair, and it’s not prone to getting jammed up during our testing. Dirt and hair end up in an easy-to-remove chamber that could be a little bigger. Still, emptying the vacuum is easy, even if you have to do it frequently.

The modular attachment system allows it to work as a stick vacuum, as we as a smaller handheld sucker. The high-reach attachment could also be useful to you if you have vents, alcoves, ceiling fans, or other spots that are particularly hard to clean. Considering the price and the performance, we found this to be the best option for people with pets at the moment.

Best suction power: Kenmore Elite Pet Friendly Lightweight Bagged Upright Beltless Vacuum

Kenmore

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Specs

  • Power source: Cord
  • Weight: 19 pounds
  • Compatible surfaces: Carpet, hard floor, hardwoods, ceramic tile, laminate, bare floor, carpet, hard floor, hardwoods, ceramic tile, laminate

Pros

  • Powerful suction
  • Corded performance means you don’t have to worry about dead batteries
  • Roomy dust bin
  • Air-driven turbine pulls pet hair off of surfaces and out of materials
  • Three included attachments for versatility

Cons

  • Loud
  • Heavy

Two motors in the nozzle and a double-walled design join together for effective suction. Designed to be used on multiple floor surfaces, this Kenmore pet hair vacuum includes a handheld head specially designed for hair and dander, plus a flexible hose and extension wand to get to hard-to-reach areas.

Best lightweight: Dyson V11 Torque Drive Cordless Vacuum Cleaner

Dyson

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Specs

  • Power source: Battery
  • Weight: 6.7 pounds
  • Compatible surfaces: All floor, Carpet, Hard Floor, Upholstery

Pros

  • Light
  • Powerful
  • Quick to charge
  • Up to 60 minutes of runtime on a charge
  • Most advanced filtration on the list

Cons

  • Expensive, even on-sale

At about $600, the price might be a sticking point—but you get a lot of bang for your buck in this Dyson vacuum that weighs less than 8 pounds. According to the manufacturers, it still boasts twice the suction of any cordless vacuum. Intelligent sensors adjust power as you move across different surfaces and it comes with a mini motorized tool for removing pet hair from upholstery.

Best with tangle-free brush roll: BISSELL ICONpet Turbo Vacuum

Bissell

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Specs

  • Power source: Battery
  • Weight: 7 pounds
  • Compatible surfaces: Carpet, hard floor

Pros

  • Powerful suction
  • Sturdy spinning brush
  • Converts into a high-reach or hand vac
  • Pleasing aesthetics

Cons

  • Loud

This lightweight, cordless BISSELL vacuum can be converted to a hand-held for easy access to more areas. Plus, it comes with a motorized brush specifically for pet hair. Although it packs less power (and a lower price) than the Dyson, the large brush roll has specially engineered bristles and powerful suction to ensure pet hair stays off the brush roll and goes straight into the tank.

Best with HEPA filter: Hoover MAXLife Pro Pet Swivel HEPA Media Vacuum Cleaner

Hoover

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Specs

  • Power source: Cord
  • Weight: 17 pounds
  • Compatible surfaces: Hard Floor, upholstery, all floors, carpet

Pros

  • Powerful suction
  • Several attachments
  • Corded power means no dead batteries
  • Pleasant to look at

Cons

  • You’ll have to plug it in

With a powered brush especially for pet hair and dander, you can be sure you’re picking up as much as you can. The sealed allergen system and HEPA filter trap 99% of dust and allergens inside this Hoover vacuum, so once you’ve vacuumed it up, it’s not going anywhere. A crevice tool also lets you reach behind the couch and up against the baseboards.

Best robot: iRobot Roomba i4+ Evo

iRobot

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Specs

  • Power source: Battery
  • Weight: 8 pounds
  • Compatible surfaces: Carpet, hard floor

Pros

  • Smart mapping makes for efficient cleaning
  • Large battery lets it clean more than other Roombas on one charge
  • Self emptying design only needs you to clean the bin once every two months or so
  • Three-stage cleaning process pulls up tough pet hair
  • Cleans in straight lines rather than random patterns

Cons

  • Your dog is going to hate the robot itself

If you’d rather spend time sitting on the couch with your pet than cleaning up dust bunnies, the Roomba i4+ Evo is the pick for you. Smart mapping makes for more efficient cleaning, meaning no more standoffs with ledges and area runs, and its large battery covers more area on one charge. A self-emptying design means you only need to clean the bin once a month, and a three-stage cleaning process wrangles all the dust bunnies. However, your pet might hate the noise and presence of a robot vacuum. But then again, they already hate the one you’re using now.

Best budget: BISSELL 2252 CleanView

Bissell

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Specs

  • Power source: Cord
  • Weight: 12.5 pounds
  • Compatible surfaces: Hard floor, upholstery, carpet

Pros

  • Light compared to similar models
  • Swivel steering makes it easy to maneuver
  • Advanced brush roller for pulling up hair
  • Brush goes close to the edges of the head so there are no uncleaned gaps

Cons

  • Needs to be plugged in

This lightweight vacuum is made to save your back and your budget. Swivel steering lets you clean easily around furniture and other obstacles, and a triple-action brush roll gets even the deepest pet hair embedded in the carpet. It includes specialized pet tools like a Pet TurboEraser to clean stairs and upholstery. An easy-empty tank makes for mess-free dirt disposal. You’ll have to unplug and replug it as you clean around your home. If that’s not a dealbreaker, you’ll love all the savings and power you’ll get from this cheap pet vacuum.

Things to consider when shopping for the best vacuums for pet hair

Not all pets—and not all homes—are the same, so the best vacuum for pet hair for you will depend on you, your pets, and your living situation. We’re going to examine some of the vacuum features that should play a role in your decision-making process, from power and versatility to filter and brush roll, but ultimately how much weight (oh yep, that’s another consideration!) you give each will depend entirely on your specific needs.

How much suction power will you need?

When we’re talking about power in vacuum cleaners, it’s all too easy to look at the wattage— how much electrical power the vacuum cleaner needs to function. But that doesn’t really tell the whole story. The power you really care about in a vacuum cleaner, especially when you’re talking about the ability to pick up pet hair, is suction power. You’ll get the most suction power from your vacuum cleaner when the distance between the dirt and the machine is minimized (once you start adding long hoses and attachments, you’ll find that the suction drops). And, if you’ve got a high-grade filter on your vacuum, that will take more power to move the air through it than a basic filter so that can impact the suction too.

At the moment, while there are various ways in which suction can be measured, there is no agreed standard across the industry so, for example, you’ll find some pet vacuums boasting 2000Pa (or Pascals, which is a unit of pressure), while others will talk about how many RPM the motor does or their wattage. Annoyingly there’s no easy way to measure one against the other, so your best bet is to scour consumer reviews or rely on a site that’s done the hard work for you.

How lightweight do you need it to be?

Does the weight of your vacuum cleaner matter to you? If the answer is no, you’re probably able-bodied and live on a single-story with no stairs to clean, in which case, you can roll any old tank of a vacuum cleaner right out of the cleaning closet and get to work without a second thought. However, if you have stairs, like to use your vacuum cleaner to clean your car, or don’t want to enter any weightlifting competitions, then the weight of your device is going to be a consideration, especially if you’ve got a pet, and need to be constantly cleaning up after it.

So how do you choose a pet vacuum cleaner that’s handy and easy to use? The answer is to switch out your upright for a cordless vacuum cleaner that has a wall-mounted charging station so it’s always close at hand. Look for a model that can be used as a handheld device too.

The challenge with cordless vacuums—especially when it comes to pet hair—is getting enough battery power into them so that they can maintain the level of suction that they need to clean the whole house without requiring a recharge. And that’s a bit of a balancing act. Batteries can be heavy so you need to strike a happy medium between battery power and weight.

What brush roll is best?

If you’ve ever spent what feels like days of your life trying to untangle or snip off snakes of hair from a vacuum roller that’s ground to a halt after being slowly strangled by a build-up of fibers, you won’t need any convincing of the benefits of a tangle-free brush roll.

The problem is that most vacuums have a roller with bristles on it that are important for helping dislodge the hair from the carpet, but if you’re not careful, once dislodged, the hair can become caught in the bristles and wrapped around the roller, eventually causing it to clog and even stop turning. A vacuum with good suction is going to be less prone to this, but manufacturers have developed other tricks that work alongside suction to prevent this from happening.

Different brands have different names for the technology: Shark calls their version of it Zero-M and uses a bristle guard to separate hair from the brush roll until an integrated comb can actively remove the hair from the bristles. Dyson has a tangle-free turbine tool that has counter-rotating brushes rather than a roller, while Bissel’s tangle-free brush roll uses specially engineered bristles and powerful suction to ensure hair stays off the brush roll and goes straight into the tank.

What is the best vacuum for pet hair if you have allergies?

While there are some pets that are ideal if you suffer from allergies (remember Bo, the Obamas’ hypoallergenic Portuguese Water Dog?), you’ll still want to minimize the likelihood of triggering an attack by making sure that your vacuum cleaner can really blitz your home free of dander, dust, and pet hair. While most vacuum cleaners will suction up pretty much everything that’s in their path, it doesn’t necessarily follow that once it’s been sucked up it stays in the tank of the vacuum.

In fact, with a lot of vacuum cleaners, very small particles are actually recirculated into the air, so you’ll get the fur balls and crumbs in the tank, but minute fibers may just end up in the air, waiting to be breathed in and cause a reaction. The best vacuum for pet hair will have a HEPA (or high-efficiency particulate air) filter. This very high-spec filter can trap these tiny particles. HEPA filters are so effective that they can filter out 99.97 percent of particles that are 0.3 micron (a human hair is around 100 microns in diameter, so that’s pretty small!). And, the good news is that many types of HEPA filters can be washed (consult the manual of your device).

Need a constant cleaning companion?

For those who feel that they’re constantly vacuuming and mopping up after their pets, a robot vacuum could be a far less stressful solution than constantly getting your vacuum cleaner and bucket out—and far less costly than employing a housekeeper!

So how do they work? You’ve probably come across robot vacuums in the past. The early iterations weren’t particularly sophisticated; they basically ambled around a room turning around when they bumped into something, and accidentally falling down steps. But technology has moved on and the newest ones not only work with household assistants, such as Amazon’s Alexa, but also have sensors to help them map out a room so that they don’t clean the same area twice. They also “know” when their battery is getting low and can get themselves back to the charging station to juice up before starting again where they left off. Some also come with an app that you can use to instruct them to clean a particular area of a room, so if there’s a spillage, you don’t even have to get off the sofa to clear it up. The best part: They can continually pick up pet hair each time they run, so you don’t have to worry about doing a marathon cleaning session.

The dream? Well, kind of. A robot won’t do the stairs for you, so if you have staircases, they’ll need manual attention, they’re pricey, and while some do come with a mop function, most don’t allow you to use much more than water, so it’s pretty perfunctory.

FAQs

Q: What is the best vacuum cleaner for pets?

Though the “best” vacuum for pet hair will largely depend on what kind of dander you’re trying to tackle, there are a few key components that make some vacuums better able to handle the mess. Generally, these types of vacuums should have from 10 to 12 amps of power to collect all dirt and debris, and be equipped with special designs like brush patterns and wider openings to reduce the risk of hair tangles. The best pet vacuums are also designed with a beater brush, which works to rotate under the vacuum and bring up hair trapped inside carpeting.

Q: Do pet vacuums really work?

When it comes to vacuums specifically designed for pet hair, the consensus is that your regular run-of-the-mill vacuum won’t cut it. The specific designs are far more functional to clean floors and furniture of pesky pet hair, so we recommend investing in one if you’re serious about keeping your home hair-free.

Q: Is Shark better than Dyson?

If you can’t decide between a Shark and Dyson vacuum for your pet hair-cleaning needs, look no further. While Dyson vacuums boast a higher suction power, they are overall heavier and more expensive. Sharks may not collect pet hair with as much power as the Dyson option, but also are considerably more budget-friendly and might be easier to maneuver due to their lighter weight. If you’re searching for a high-powered pick, Dyson is the safest bet, but don’t count Shark out if you want a cheaper alternative.

Q: How much does a pet vacuum cost?

A pet vacuum can run you between $100-$500, depending on features and brand.

A final word on the best vacuums for pet hair

In an ideal world, you’d be able to get a featherlight cordless vacuum cleaner that had as much power as a corded model and could go for days on a single charge, but you might have to wait a few more years until one of those is invented. Until then, if you want the best vacuum for pet hair, powerful suction is a must, ideally combined with a special attachment for soft furnishings and a roller that won’t get in a tangle. When it comes to the nice-to-have extras, like a cordless, lightweight model with a high-quality filtration system, focus on your personal circumstances and needs to decide what’s best.

Why trust us

Popular Science started writing about technology more than 150 years ago. There was no such thing as “gadget writing” when we published our first issue in 1872, but if there was, our mission to demystify the world of innovation for everyday readers means we would have been all over it. Here in the present, PopSci is fully committed to helping readers navigate the increasingly intimidating array of devices on the market right now.

Our writers and editors have combined decades of experience covering and reviewing consumer electronics. We each have our own obsessive specialties—from high-end audio to video games to cameras and beyond—but when we’re reviewing devices outside of our immediate wheelhouses, we do our best to seek out trustworthy voices and opinions to help guide people to the very best recommendations. We know we don’t know everything, but we’re excited to live through the analysis paralysis that internet shopping can spur so readers don’t have to.

The post The best vacuums for pet hair of 2023 appeared first on Popular Science.

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A boiling hot supercontinent could kill all mammals in 250 million years https://www.popsci.com/science/mammals-extinction-volcano-supercontinent/ Thu, 28 Sep 2023 18:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=575587
A volcano spews lava and ash. In roughly 250 million years, massive tectonic activity could push together all of our current landmasses into a supercontinent like Pangea and make the climate inhospitable to humans and other mammals.
In roughly 250 million years, tectonic activity could push together all of our current landmasses into a supercontinent like Pangea and make the climate inhospitable to humans and other mammals. Deposit Photos

The history and future of mass extinctions.

The post A boiling hot supercontinent could kill all mammals in 250 million years appeared first on Popular Science.

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A volcano spews lava and ash. In roughly 250 million years, massive tectonic activity could push together all of our current landmasses into a supercontinent like Pangea and make the climate inhospitable to humans and other mammals.
In roughly 250 million years, tectonic activity could push together all of our current landmasses into a supercontinent like Pangea and make the climate inhospitable to humans and other mammals. Deposit Photos

Despite having the critical and even miraculous ingredients to sustain life from microscopic viruses up to big blue whales, planet Earth likely has a future that spells some doom for most, if not all, species of mammals—including humans. A study published September 25 in the journal Nature Geosciences made the bold prediction that in about 250 million years, all of Earth’s major land masses will join together as one. When they do, it could make our planet one extremely hot and almost completely uninhabitable for mammals.

[Related: Mixing volcanic ash with meteorites may have jump-started life on Earth.]

“Widespread temperatures of between 40 to 50 degrees Celsius [104 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit], and even greater daily extremes, compounded by high levels of humidity would ultimately seal our fate,” study co-author and University of Bristol paleoclimatologist Alexander Farnsworth said in a statement. “Humans—along with many other species—would expire due to their inability to shed this heat through sweat, cooling their bodies.”

The models in this study predict that CO2 levels would rise to between 410 parts per million and 816 parts per million in a few million years This is roughly the same as today’s level, which is already pushing the planet into dangerously hot water, or up to twice as high.

“They do explain quite nicely that it’s a combination of both those factors, kind of a double whammy situation,” geophysicist Ross Mitchell of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who was not involved in the study, told Science magazine. “If there’s any disagreement I have with this paper, it’s that they’re more right than they thought they were.”

This prediction aligns well with Earth’s past periods of mass extinction and the volatile history of our planet. Here are some other times that mammalian and human life on Earth was almost completely wiped out.

The Pleistocene Ancestral Bottleneck

About 800,000 to 900,000 years ago, the population of human ancestors drastically dropped. A study published in August estimates that there were only about 1,280 breeding individuals alive during this transition between the early and middle Pleistocene. About 98.7 percent of the ancestral population was lost at the beginning of this ancestral bottleneck that lasted for roughly 117,000 years.

During this time, modern humans spread outside of the African continents and other early human species like Neanderthals began to go extinct. The Australian continent and the Americas also saw humans for the first time and the climate was generally cold. 

Some of the potential reasons behind this population drop are mostly related to extremes in climate. Temperatures changed, severe droughts persisted, and food sources may have dwindled as animals like mammoths, mastodons, and giant sloths went extinct. According to the study, an estimated 65.85 percent of current genetic diversity may have been lost due to this bottleneck.

[Related: We’re one step closer to identifying the first-ever mammals.]

The Great Dying

About 250 million years ago, massive volcanic eruptions triggered catastrophic climate changes that killed 80 to 90 percent of species on Earth. The Permian-Triassic mass extinction, or the “Great Dying,” paved the way for dinosaurs to dominate Earth, but was even worse than the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.

According to a study published in May, saber-toothed creature called Inostrancevia filled a gap in southern Pangea’s ecosystem, when it was already devoid of top predators. Eventually, Inostrancevia also went extinct about 252 million years ago, as Earth’s species fought to gain a foothold on a changing planet. 

This example of how the past is prologue also bears a warning for our future, since the team says The Great Dying is the historical event that most closely parallels Earth’s current environmental crisis.

“Both involve global warming related to the release of greenhouse gasses, driven by volcanoes in the Permian and human actions currently,” study co-author museum curator and paleontologist Christian Kammerer told PopSci in May. “[They] represent a very rare case of rapid shifts between icehouse and hothouse Earth. So, the turmoil we observe in late Permian ecosystems, with whole sections of the food web being lost, represents a preview for our world if we don’t change things fast.”

The Ultimate Mammalian Survivor

Despite Earth constantly trying to kill us, life finds a way. Some of our very early ancestors potentially even shared a brief moment with Titanosaurs and the iconic Triceratops. These distant mammalian relatives also survived the Earth’s most famous mass extinction event: the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction that wiped out non-avian dinosaurs on a spring day about 66 million years ago.

[Related: This badger-like mammal may have died while trying to eat a dinosaur.]

A study published in June revealed that a Cretaceous origin for placental mammals, the diverse group that includes humans, dogs, and bats, briefly co-existed with dinosaurs. After an asteroid struck the Earth near Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, the devastation in its wake wiped out all of the non-avian dinosaurs and many mammals, such as a Madagascan rodent-looking animal named Vintana sertichi  that weighed up to 20 pounds Scientists have long debated if placental mammals were present with the dinosaurs before the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction, or if they only evolved after the dinosaurs died out. 

This study used statistical analysis that showed groups that include primates, rabbits and hares (Lagomorpha), and dogs and cats (Carnivora) evolved just before the K-Pg mass extinction and the impact that the modern lines of today’s placental mammals started to take shape after the asteroid hit. As with other mammals, they likely began to diversify once the dinosaurs were out of the picture.

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How many ancient humans does it take to fight off a giant hyena? https://www.popsci.com/science/human-hyena-scavenger-pleistocene/ Thu, 28 Sep 2023 15:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=575558
A hyenea shows its jaws. Giant hyenas went extinct about 500,000 years ago, but were roughly 240 pounds and skilled scavengers like their modern counterparts.
Giant hyenas went extinct about 500,000 years ago, but were roughly 240 pounds and skilled scavengers like their modern counterparts. Deposit Photos

During the Pleistocene, competition was tough even for scraps.

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A hyenea shows its jaws. Giant hyenas went extinct about 500,000 years ago, but were roughly 240 pounds and skilled scavengers like their modern counterparts.
Giant hyenas went extinct about 500,000 years ago, but were roughly 240 pounds and skilled scavengers like their modern counterparts. Deposit Photos

One of the most enduring mysteries about our earliest ancestors and extinct human relatives is how they ate and procured enough food to sustain themselves millions of years ago. We believe that archery first arrived in Europe about 54,000 years ago and Neanderthals were cooking and eating crab about 90,000 years ago, but scavenging was likely necessary to get a truly hearty meal. A modeling study published September 28 in the journal Scientific Reports found that groups of hominins roughly 1.2 to 0.8 million years ago in southern Europe may have been able to compete with giant hyenas for carcasses of animals abandoned by larger predators like saber-toothed cats.

[Related: An ‘ancestral bottleneck’ took out nearly 99 percent of the human population 800,000 years ago.]

Earlier research has theorized that the number of carcasses abandoned by saber-toothed cats may have been enough to sustain some of southern Europe’s early hominin populations. However, it’s been unclear if competition from giant hyenas (Pachycrocuta brevirostris) would have limited hominin access to this food source. These extinct mongoose relatives were about 240 pounds–roughly the size of a lioness–and went extinct about 500,000 years ago. 

“There is a hot scientific debate about the role of scavenging as a relevant food procurement strategy for early humans,” paleontologist and study co-author Jesús Rodríguez from the National Research Center On Human Evolution (CENIEH) in Burgos, Spain tells PopSci. “Most of the debate is based on the interpretation of the scarce and fragmentary evidence provided by the archaeological record. Without denying that the archaeological evidence should be considered the strongest argument to solve the question, our intention was to provide elements to the debate from a different perspective.”

For this study, Rodríguez and co-author Ana Mateos looked at the Iberian Peninsula in the late-early Pleistocene era. They ran computer simulations to model competition for carrion–the flesh of dead animals–between hominins and giant hyenas in what is now Spain and Portugal. They simulated whether saber-toothed cats and the European jaguar could have left enough carrion behind to support both hyena and hominin populations—and how this may have been affected by the size of scavenging groups of hominins. 

They found that when hominins scavenged in groups of five or more, these groups could have been large enough to chase away giant hyenas. The hominin populations also exceeded giant hyena populations by the end of these simulations. However, when the hominins scavenged in very small groups, they could only survive to the end of the simulation when the predator density was high, which resulted in more carcasses to scavenge.  

[Related: Mysterious skull points to a possible new branch on human family tree.]

According to their simulations, the potential optimum group size for scavenging hominins was just over 10 individuals. This size was large enough to chase away saber-toothed cats and jaguars. However, groups of more than 13 individuals would have likely required more carcasses to sustain their energy expenditure. The authors caution that their simulations couldn’t specify this exact “just right” group size, since the numbers of hominins needed to chase away hyenas, saber-toothed cats, and jaguars were pre-determined and arbitrarily assigned.

“The simulations may not determine the exact value of the optimum, but show that it exists and depends on the number of hominins necessary to chase away the hyenas and of the size of the carcasses,” says Rodríguez.

Scavenged remains may have been an important source of meat and fat for hominins, especially in winter when plant resources were scarce. This team is working on simulating the opportunities hominins had for scavenging in different ecological scenarios in an effort to change a view that scavenging is marginal and that hunting is a more “advanced” and more “human” behavior than scavenging. 

“The word for scavenger in Spanish is ‘carroñero.’ It has a negative connotation, and is frequently used as an insult. We do not share that view,” says Rodríguez. “Scavengers play a very important role in ecosystems, as evidenced by the ecological literature in the last decades. We view scavenging as a product of the behavioral flexibility and cooperative abilities of the early hominins.”

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To protect wild bumblebees, people have to find them first https://www.popsci.com/environment/to-protect-wild-bumblebees-people-have-to-find-them-first/ Thu, 28 Sep 2023 10:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=575186
A quarter of North America’s almost 50 bumblebee species are at risk of extinction due to human-caused habitat loss and climate change.
A quarter of North America’s almost 50 bumblebee species are at risk of extinction due to human-caused habitat loss and climate change. Deposit Photos

For six years, hundreds of volunteers have counted bumblebees across the Northwest. Their data is shaping pollinator conservation nationwide.

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A quarter of North America’s almost 50 bumblebee species are at risk of extinction due to human-caused habitat loss and climate change.
A quarter of North America’s almost 50 bumblebee species are at risk of extinction due to human-caused habitat loss and climate change. Deposit Photos

This article was originally featured on High Country News.

In a sunny meadow just beyond Portland, Oregon’s western sprawl, mounds of white lupine buzzed in the late June heat. From bloom to bloom, bumblebees moved up and around the stalks of fading petals. A yellow-faced bumblebee—Bombus vosnesenskii, or “voz” for short—hugged the edges of one slipper-shaped bloom and bumped pollen dust onto its belly. On a nearby stalk, a giant B. nevadensis did the same. The B-52 bomber of bumbles—its yellow and black body half the size of a human thumb—rose and dropped on the breeze. 

Kevin Schafer swung at the bomber, tenting his insect net over the lupine. On his bucket hat and vest pocket, two enamel bumblebee pins glinted in the sun. In his net, two real bees crawled upward. He looked closely at the hint of a rust-colored patch on one, and said, excited, “I think it’s a brown-belted!” It would be the only Bombus griseocollis he’d caught all morning; they’re not common in this area. He nudged each bee and a lupine bloom into a plastic tube, and dropped them, buzzing, into his pocket. “Let’s ask the maestro.”

For six summers, Schafer—a retired photographer—and hundreds of volunteers like him have wandered through meadows and mountains across the Northwest, documenting wild bumblebees and the plants they’re foraging for the Pacific Northwest Bumble Bee Atlas. A quarter of North America’s almost 50 bumblebee species are at risk of extinction due to human-caused habitat loss and climate change, and most of them live in the Northwest. Unlike honeybees, they buzz when they pollinate plants — a pollen-releasing method that some plants require, making it essential for whole ecosystems to function. Beyond that, scientists know very little about them.

“The data that we had prior to this project, it’s basically just a bunch of collectors that have gone out and collected insects, killed them, and put them on pins,” said Rich Hatfield, Schafer’s bee “maestro” and the biologist who started the Atlas program at the nonprofit Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Dead specimens reveal few of the details that matter for conservation: What do they eat? Where do queens spend the winter? Why is this meadow full of voz and nevadensis, and yet the once-ubiquitous Western bumblebee—Bombus occidentalis—hasn’t been seen here in two decades? There aren’t enough scientists to capture the data, Hatfield said. Volunteers like Schafer help fill the gaps.

A quarter of North America’s almost 50 bumblebee species are at risk of extinction due to human-caused habitat loss and climate change, and most of them live in the Northwest.

This year, the Atlas program hit a milestone: Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife used its data to adopt a conservation strategy covering eight at-risk species in the state, including occidentalis, which many expect the federal government will add to the U.S. endangered species list next year. Washington is one of the few states that can prioritize wild bees: Unlike most, the state’s laws allow officials to manage insects as wildlife, not just as pests.

“We collectively saw (those species) as a shared priority and wanted to identify things we could do,” said Taylor Cotten, who manages conservation assessments for the state wildlife department and partnered with the Xerces Society and federal agencies to develop the strategy. The resulting document outlines regions of high priority for conservation—a horseshoe around the Columbia Plateau; the swath of lowlands from Portland to Puget Sound. It also outlines protective measures, like timing mowing and prescribed burns around nesting periods and planting the specific flowers that bees need.

Julie Combs, a state wildlife employee whose job is to prevent pollinator extinction, called the new conservation plan foundational. “I can’t emphasize enough how many questions I get about: OK, now we know where the bees are, we know they’re in decline, but what do we do?”

This year, when state officials sit down to hash out plans for burning and planting vegetation at any of their conservation sites, she’ll come armed with more than 200 pages of best practices to help bees.

“OK, now we know where the bees are, we know they’re in decline, but what do we do?”

At the edge of the meadow, Hatfield unzipped a cooler half full of ice. He and Schafer pulled tubes from every bulging pocket, then pushed each into the ice to daze the bees, waiting until they were still enough to handle. Then, one by one, Hatfield gently prodded and photographed each motionless bee, examining its fur pattern and jaw length to confirm its ID while Schafer scratched tally marks and plant names onto a worksheet.

Voz on spirea, nevadensis on lupine, voz on wild rose: Between the two men, they’d netted 31 bees, including, Hatfield confirmed, Schafer’s single griseocollis. Carefully placed on the table beside petal fragments and other dazed bees, the griseocollis slowly shivered back to life. For Hatfield, this program is about more than just the data. “We’re building a community of people that now see these animals in a totally different way,” he said: As beautiful, important, fragile.

The bee bobbed its rust-belted abdomen up and down, up and down, then stretched its wings, rubbed its pollen-laden legs against its body, and flew away.

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The best dry dog foods of 2023 https://www.popsci.com/reviews/best-dry-dog-food/ Fri, 11 Jun 2021 14:33:54 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=370174
A German short-haired pointer is ready for the best dry dog food after its game of fetch.
Stan Horaczek

Dry dog food provides the proper nutrition for your dog’s age, size, and medical conditions.

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A German short-haired pointer is ready for the best dry dog food after its game of fetch.
Stan Horaczek

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more ›

Best for senior dogs Chicken and brown rice flavored dry dog food on a blue and and light color package Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Natural Senior Dry Dog Food
SEE IT

Formulated with glucosamine, chondroitin, and essential proteins to support joints and mobility for your senior pooch.

Best for puppies Taste of the Wild dry dog food grain free with roasted bison and roasted venison Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy Recipe
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This pick is nutrient-rich and high protein to support bones, joints, and muscles. Real meat is also the first ingredient, so you can be sure your pup is getting only the best.

Best for sensitive stomachs Salmon and sweet potato flavored, grain free dry dog food Canidae PURE Grain Free
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For pups with sensitive stomachs, this hypoallergenic, grain-free option made with real meat and whole ingredients prevents any discomfort.

Dry dog food really runs the gamut from nutritious chunks to true garbage. Not only must dogs get exercise and grooming, but as beloved family members, they deserve the best nutrition available. The best dry dog foods contain all the nutrients a dog needs for his age, size, and health conditions. Dogs are carnivores, so the number one ingredient in any dry dog food should be a natural protein source. They also need a mix of fats and fiber to keep their coat, eyes, and joints healthy and happy. Dry dog foods are often the most economical choice. Plus, they store well and are easy to transport. We’ve created a list of some of the best dog food on the market, including formulas balanced for optimum nutrition, from puppy to senior recipes.

The best dry dog foods: Our picks

You’ll notice that there isn’t one “best overall” pick in this list because it doesn’t really apply here. Every breed is different and each pooch has their own problems and personalities. All of that should factor into your dry food choice so peruse the entire list before you buy your furry pal a big sack of kibble.

Best for small dogs: Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws

Hill’s Science Diet

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Specs

  • Flavors: Chicken Meal & Rice, and Lamb Meal & Brown Rice
  • Price: $3.35 per pound

Pros

  • Easy for small dogs to eat
  • Formulated with the proper nutrition for little animals
  • No strong smell
  • Affordable
  • Pleasant flavors

Cons

  • No large bag options

Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws starts with high-quality chicken as the main protein source. With 24.9-percent crude protein, it’s heavy on the nutrients small dogs need. Kibble size and calorie density target the higher metabolism of small breeds. Hill’s Science Diet includes a special antioxidant blend designed specifically for the challenges of being a petite pup. This best dry dog food for small dogs is also rich in omega-6 fatty acids and vitamin E to support skin and coat health. 

Best for senior dogs: Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Natural Senior Dry Dog Food 

Blue Buffalo

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Specs

  • Flavors: Chicken and Brown Rice
  • Price: $2.15 per pound

Pros

  • High in protein for supporting muscles
  • Easy-to-chew chunks
  • Additional compounds for joint support like glucosamine
  • Omega fatty acids

Cons

  • May take some time to transition from regular food

Blue Buffalo’s Life Protection Formula Natural Senior Dry Dog Food contains the 18-percent protein senior dogs need, along with a whole lot more. The recipe includes extra glucosamine, a compound found in the body’s connective tissues, and chondroitin sulfate, which maintains and rebuilds joint cartilage. Add to that natural sources of omega fatty acids and DHA to support the brain and eyes. The extra nutrients address areas that begin to decline in a dog’s later years. 

Best for sensitive stomachs: Canidae PURE Grain Free

CANIDAE

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Specs

  • Flavors: Duck & Sweet Potato, Lamb & Pea, Salmon & Sweet Potato
  • Price: $2.88 per pound

Pros

  • Familiar, natural ingredients
  • Easy to transition to from typical food
  • Omega fatty acids
  • Allergy friendly
  • Mild smell

Cons

  • Expensive

Canidae PURE Grain Free comes in many flavors, each with a single protein source, including familiar options like chicken or duck and the less common wild boar or salmon. A greater variety of options helps those trying to narrow down a dog’s source of allergies or the reason for an upset stomach. Canidae also lists the very short ingredient list, eight in total, on the front of the package. It’s simple yet contains essential nutrients, such as the omega fatty acids needed for optimum skin and coat health. 

Best for puppies: Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy Recipe 

Taste of the Wild

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Specs

  • Flavors: Bison & Venison
  • Price: $2.14 per pound

Pros

  • Extremely high protein content
  • High meat content
  • Easy to chew
  • Relatively affordable
  • Probiotics for digestion

Cons

  • Strong smell

Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy Recipe gives puppies nutrients they need like DHA for their developing brain and eyes. Small kibble is easier for pint-sized mouths to chew, yet it’s crunchy to keep puppy teeth clean. The addition of probiotics in the best puppy food promotes digestive health by balancing the gut biome. The top two ingredients—water buffalo and lamb—are protein sources rich in essential amino acids for healthy growth and development. This recipe leaves out grains because they are a common source of allergies, but always check with a veterinarian to be sure grain-free is right for your junior dog.

Best budget: Wag Dry Dog/Puppy Food

WAG

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Specs

  • Flavors: Beef & Sweet Potato, Chicken & Sweet Potato, Salmon & Sweet Potato
  • Price: $2.50 per pound

Pros

  • Available on subscribe and save for an extra discount
  • High protein content
  • DHA for brain development
  • Several flavors
  • Easy to chew

Cons

  • Not as affordable as you might expect from an Amazon brand

Wag Dry Dog/Puppy Food contains nutrients for adults and puppies in a single recipe. A high 35-percent protein content brings high levels of omega fatty acids and essential amino acids. Because it’s designed for puppies, it also contains DHA to feed brain and eye development and health. Wag comes in five flavors, each with a protein as the first and most plentiful ingredient on the list. Medium-sized kibble works for adults and isn’t too big for puppies.

What to consider when shopping for the best dry dog foods

Dog foods aren’t created with equal nutritive value. The ingredients’ quality, nutrient content, and kibble size all play a role in which one is right for your dog. Breeds of different sizes also have different nutritional needs. A food that’s tailored to your dog’s individual traits and circumstances will ensure he has the energy for all of your adventures together.

Dog age and food requirements

Like humans, a dog’s nutritional needs change throughout his life. Dogs need calorie-dense food with omega fatty acids and DHA for brain and vision development during the puppy years. They also need foods with a balanced calcium to phosphorus ratio for adequate bone development. Additionally, puppy foods often have smaller or softer kibble for little jaws that don’t function at full strength. 

Depending on the breed, dogs l mature from puppyhood between one and two years old. In their adult years, they don’t need the extra calories found in puppy chow. Adult dogs who eat puppy food may gain too much weight. A high-quality dry dog food designed for adult dogs works well during this stage of life. 

Dogs enter their senior years around age seven, but that can vary by breed. For example, small breeds tend to live longer than large breeds, while a large breed may begin showing signs of aging around five years old. 

Senior dogs need the same nutrients as younger adult dogs. However, they tend to slow down and live a more sedentary lifestyle. Consequently, many senior dog foods have fewer calories or may be labeled as diet food. Some senior foods include extra vitamin E, beta-carotene, glucosamine, or other nutrients that support the immune system or joint health. Plus, many diets are even supplemented with specific dog vitamins.

Dog size and type of kibble

Size matters. Large dog breeds have slower metabolisms, burning only about 20 calories per pound. Small breeds burn around 40 calories per pound. The best dry dog food for small dogs usually has a higher caloric density than a recipe designed for larger dogs. Additionally, small dogs, especially toy breeds, may not have the jaw strength to eat the large kibble found in regular dry dog food.

Dog medical history and diet

Dogs can suffer from many of the same medical conditions found among humans, like food allergies, diabetes, and obesity. And as with people, a dog’s diet can help control some common health issues. For example, LID foods are usually made with a single (possibly two) protein source and a limited list of ingredients. They’re also made of less common protein sources like venison or buffalo instead of chicken or beef, to which more dogs are allergic. If your dog has stomach or digestive problems, the veterinarian may recommend an LID (Limited Ingredient Diet) food to help identify the specific allergy. Many manufacturers also make a grain-free version of their adult dog foods to accommodate canines with sensitive stomachs or allergies. 

Find high-quality sources of protein, healthy fats, and digestible carbohydrates in dog food

As carnivores, dogs have different nutritional needs than humans. They require a dry dog food made of at least 18-percent protein, no less than 5-percent fat, and around 5-percent fiber. Many dry dog foods have a label with a breakdown of the protein, fiber, fat, and carbohydrate percentages and content. 

Check for high-quality ingredients like natural sources of protein and whole vegetables and fruits. Ingredients are listed with the most abundant ingredient first. The first ingredient on the list should be an animal protein source like fish, chicken, or beef because they naturally contain the right balance of essential amino acids that dogs need. Some of the less expensive dog foods will contain meat by-products, which aren’t as high quality, nor do they contain everything your dog needs. They shouldn’t be the only protein source in the food. 

Related: Best dog treats of 2023

FAQs

Q: Which dry dog food brand is the best?

There are several fantastic dry dog food brands worth considering. Blue Buffalo, Canidae, Hill’s Science Diet, and Taste of the Wild, all of which made our list, are some of the best brands on the market. They source high-quality ingredients and create recipes designed to meet the different stages of a dog’s life.

Q: What is the highest quality dog food?

The highest quality dog food has whole ingredients sourced from reputable farms and providers. As far as dry dog food goes, Taste of the Wild stands out for its focus on ingredients native to a wild dog’s diet, such as sorghum, millet, and water buffalo. These sources still meet the nutritional needs of the modern dog but are less likely to trigger allergies compared to some contemporary canine food sources. 

Q: Should dogs eat grain-free?

Dogs don’t have to eat grain-free. Some dogs have gluten or other food allergies that stem from grains. In that case, a grain-free diet makes sense. However, for dogs without allergies or other health conditions which grain could affect, grains provide vital nutrients for a balanced diet. 

Related: Best wet dog foods of 2023

The final word on shopping for the best dry dog foods

Your dog deserves the best dry dog food for his age, size, and medical needs. Many dry dog foods are budget-friendly and nutritionally sound. Whether your dog’s in need of the best puppy food, the best senior dog food, or somewhere in between, dry dog food can keep him fueled, healthy, and ready to live life with his favorite person (you). 

The post The best dry dog foods of 2023 appeared first on Popular Science.

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A fossilized trilobite stomach can show us clues to Cambrian cuisine https://www.popsci.com/environment/trilobite-fossil-stomach/ Wed, 27 Sep 2023 15:30:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=575001
An illustration of Bohemolichas feeding on the seafloor, moments before it is engulfed, buried, and preserved by an underwater mud flow.
An illustration of Bohemolichas feeding on the seafloor, moments before it is engulfed, buried, and preserved by an underwater mud flow. Jiri Svoboda

The 465-million-year-old gut contents reveal similarities between the ancient arthropod and modern crabs.

The post A fossilized trilobite stomach can show us clues to Cambrian cuisine appeared first on Popular Science.

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An illustration of Bohemolichas feeding on the seafloor, moments before it is engulfed, buried, and preserved by an underwater mud flow.
An illustration of Bohemolichas feeding on the seafloor, moments before it is engulfed, buried, and preserved by an underwater mud flow. Jiri Svoboda

About 465 million years ago, a now extinct arthropod called a trilobite was eating its way across the present day Czech Republic. After it died, the passage of time actually preserved the plentiful contents of this specimen’s prehistoric guts. A team of paleontologists is using this full fossilized belly to learn more about the feeding habits and lifestyle of these common fossilized arthropods. The findings are detailed in a study published September 27 in the journal Nature.

[Related: Trilobites may have jousted with head ‘tridents’ to win mates.]

More than 20,000 species of trilobite lived during the early Cambrian to the end-Permian period roughly 541 to 252 million years ago. They are some of the most common fossil specimens from this time period, yet paleontologists do not know much about their feeding habits since gut contents usually disappear over time, and until recently there were no known fossil specimens with them intact.

In the study, a team from institutions in Sweden and the Czech Republic examined a fossil specimen of Bohemolichas incola first uncovered near Prague over 100 years ago. Study co-author and paleontologist Petr Kraft from Charles University in Prague had long suspected that this specimen may have a gut full of food intact, but did not have a suitable technique to look inside the trilobite’s innards. Study co-authors and paleontologists Valéria Vaskaninova and Per Ahlberg from Uppsala University in Sweden suggested using a synchrotron in one of their fossil scanning sessions. This machine is a large electron accelerator that produces powerful laser-like x-rays to take high-quality scans of the fossil

“The results were fantastic, showing all the gut contents in detail so that we could identify what the trilobite had been eating,” Ahlberg tells PopSci. “Remains of ostracods (small shell-bearing crustaceans, still around today), hyoliths (extinct cone-shaped animals of uncertain affinities) and stylophorans (extinct echinoderms that look like little armor-plated electric guitars). These are all kinds of animals that lived in the local environment.”

The team believes that Bohemolichas incola was likely an opportunistic scavenger. It also was potentially a light crusher and a chance feeder, which means that it ate both dead or living animals, which either disintegrated easily or were actually small enough to be swallowed whole. However, after this particular Bohemolichas incola died, the circle of life continued and the scavenger became the scavenged. Vertical tracks of other scavengers were found on the specimen. These unknown creatures burrowed into this trilobite’s carcass and targeted its soft tissue, but avoided its gut. Staying away from the gut implies that there were some noxious conditions inside Bohemolichas incola’s digestive system and potentially ongoing enzymatic activity.

[Related: These ancient trilobites are forever frozen in a conga line.]

“We were able to draw conclusions about the chemical environment inside the gut of the living trilobite. The shell fragments on the gut have not been etched by stomach acids, and this shows that the gut pH must have been close to neutral, similar to the condition in modern crabs and horseshoe crabs,” says Ahlberg. “This may indeed be a very ancient shared characteristic of trilobites and these modern arthropods.”

Future studies into trilobites could use similar techniques to look for more gut fills. Since this group is a very diverse group of animals, it can’t be assumed that this particular species is representative of the feeding habits for all. 

“This project shows how cutting-edge technology can come together with really old museum specimens. The trilobite was collected in 1908, and has been in a museum ever since, but it is only now that we have the technology to unlock its secrets,” says Ahlberg. “This illustrates not only the rapid technological progress of our time, but also the importance of well-maintained museum collections.”

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Mysterious ‘fairy circles’ may appear on three different continents https://www.popsci.com/science/fairy-circles-desert-ai/ Wed, 27 Sep 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=575087
Aerial view of a hot air balloon over Namib desert. The circular “fairy circles” are derived from any vegetation & surrounded by tall grass.
Aerial view of a hot air balloon over Namib desert. The circular “fairy circles” are derived from any vegetation & surrounded by tall grass. Getty Images

Researchers used AI to comb the world's deserts for the natural phenomena, but debate continues.

The post Mysterious ‘fairy circles’ may appear on three different continents appeared first on Popular Science.

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Aerial view of a hot air balloon over Namib desert. The circular “fairy circles” are derived from any vegetation & surrounded by tall grass.
Aerial view of a hot air balloon over Namib desert. The circular “fairy circles” are derived from any vegetation & surrounded by tall grass. Getty Images

The natural circles that pop up on the soil in the planet’s arid regions are an enduring scientific debate and mystery. These “fairy circles” are circular patterns of bare soil surrounded by plants and vegetation. Until very recently, the unique phenomena have only been described in the vast Namib desert and the Australian outback. While their origins and distribution are hotly debated, a study with satellite imagery published on September 25 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) indicates that fairy circles may be more common than once realized. They are potentially found in 15 countries across three continents and in 263 different sites. 

[Related: A new study explains the origin of mysterious ‘fairy circles’ in the desert.]

These soil shapes occur in arid areas of the Earth, where nutrients and water are generally scarce. Their signature circular pattern and hexagonal shape is believed to be the best way that the plants have found to survive in that landscape. Ecologist Ken Tinsly observed the circles in Namibia in 1971, and the story goes that he borrowed the name fairy circles from a naturally occurring ring of mushrooms that are generally found in Europe.

By 2017, Australian researchers found the debated western desert fairy circles, and proposed that the mechanisms of biological self-organization and pattern formation proposed by mathematician Alan Turing were behind them. In the same year, Aboriginal knowledge linked those fairy circles to a species of termites. This “termite theory” of fairy circle origin continues to be a focus of research—a team from the University of Hamburg in Germany published a study seeming to confirm that termites are behind these circles in July.

In this new study, a team of researchers from Spain used artificial intelligence-based models to look at the fairy circles from Australia and Namibia and directed it to look for similar patterns. The AI scoured the images for months and expanded the areas where these fairy circles could exist. These locations include the circles in Namibia, Western Australia, the western Sahara Desert, the Sahel region that separates the African savanna from the Sahara Desert, the Horn of Africa to the East, the island of Madagascar, southwestern Asia, and Central Australia.

DCIM\101MEDIA\DJI_0021.JPG
Fairy circles on a Namibian plain. CREDIT: Audi Ekandjo.

The team then crossed-checked the results of the AI system with a different AI program trained to study the environments and ecology of arid areas to find out what factors govern the appearance of these circular patterns. 

“Our study provides evidence that fairy-circle[s] are far more common than previously thought, which has allowed us, for the first time, to globally understand the factors affecting their distribution,” study co-author and Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology of Seville soil ecologist Manuel Delgado Baquerizo said in a statement

[Related: The scientific explanation behind underwater ‘Fairy Circles.’]

According to the team, these circles generally appear in arid regions where the soil is mainly sandy, there is water scarcity, annual rainfall is between 4 to 12 inches, and low nutrient continent in the soil.

“Analyzing their effects on the functioning of ecosystems and discovering the environmental factors that determine their distribution is essential to better understand the causes of the formation of these vegetation patterns and their ecological importance,” study co-author and  University of Alicante data scientist Emilio Guirado said in a statement

More research is needed to determine the role of insects like termites in fairy circle formation, but Guirado told El País that “their global importance is low,” and that they may play an important role in local cases like those in Namibia, “but there are other factors that are even more important.”

The images are now included in a global atlas of fairy circles and a database that could help determine if these patterns demonstrate resilience to climate change. 

“We hope that the unpublished data will be useful for those interested in comparing the dynamic behavior of these patterns with others present in arid areas around the world,” said Guirado.

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The best dog training treats of 2023 https://www.popsci.com/gear/best-dog-training-treats/ Wed, 15 Jun 2022 17:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=449313
Best dog training treats composited
Stan Horaczek

These healthy and delicious treats will help your pup enjoy their training.

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Best dog training treats composited
Stan Horaczek

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more ›

Best overall Zuke’s Mini Naturals is the best best dog training treat overall. Zuke’s Mini Naturals
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The variety of flavors is great for picky pups and the small size allows you to train without worrying about overfeeding.

Best organic Full Moon Organic Training Treats are the best organic. Full Moon Organic Training Treats
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The treats are 100% human-grade—savory, soft, and delicious.

Best for puppies Pet Botanics Training Reward are the best training treats for puppies. Pet Botanics Training Reward
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You can choose between mini or regular-sized treats, so you can find the best size for you and your pup.

The pet store can overwhelm well-intentioned dog owners as they peruse the packed aisles searching for dog training treats. You may find yourself standing in an aisle wondering if you should stick with the traditional peanut butter flavor or something more exotic like duck or salmon. Treats play a pivotal role in developing an effective line of communication with your four-legged friend. Training is one of the most important steps in bringing home a new puppy or teaching your beloved dog a new trick. With solid leadership and training, you can communicate effectively with your pup, making life easier and happier for both of you. The best dog training treats provide a delicious reward that will reinforce good behavior while providing solid nutrition that won’t turn your pooch into a couch potato.

How we chose the best dog training treats

We wish we could say that we sampled them all for the benefit of the dogs. However, we left it to the dogs themselves to choose their favorites. After decades of personal experience with dogs, talking with dog trainers, and combing through dog owner reviews, Zuke’s Mini Naturals stood out among the competition as the best overall dog training treat among our sample group. Not only is Zuke’s based in the U.S., but the company originated from a dog owner wanting to provide his best friend with the very best product. However, dogs may have individual preferences, and your vet may provide some valuable insight about what to use, so consult a professional with any questions and explore various categories and dog products until you find the one that matches your pet.

The best dog training treats: Reviews & Recommendations

As you look through our picks for the best dog training treats, remember that every dog will be different, so adjust and modify your dog’s treats as you learn more about what they like. If your dog ends up hating the treats you bought, you may be able to give them away on a local marketplace site. Or, if they’re unopened, animal shelters will often take them. Don’t let them go to waste.

Best overall: Zuke’s Mini Naturals

Zuke’s

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Why it made the cut: Delicious, soft, and small, making it ideal for teaching basic commands or more challenging tasks.

Specs

  • Number of treats: 330 in a 6 oz. bag
  • Calories per treat: 3 calories per treat
  • Special diet: No corn, no wheat, no soy

Pros

  • Great for all breeds and life stages
  • Behavior training
  • Six flavors to choose from

Cons

  • Not recommended for humans

With all-natural ingredients and flavors such as salmon, duck, rabbit, and peanut butter, you’ll likely find something your dog likes, even if they’re particularly picky. Zuke’s Mini Naturals’ best feature is built right into the product’s name. The small size allows you to train with your puppy or dog without worrying about overfeeding. 

Try cutting them in half if you are training a tiny puppy and want to conserve your training treat supply. While the treats may have a robust, savory smell that may be off-putting to owners, your dog will enthusiastically love the tasty treats. In addition, the mini treats are the ideal size to put in your jacket pocket or training pouch while you head outdoors for continued training. 

Best organic: Full Moon Organic Training Treats

Full Moon

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Why it made the cut: Quality, all-natural ingredients with 100% human-grade chicken and duck flavors. 

Specs

  • Number of treats: 175 treats per bag
  • Calorie per treat: 3 calories each
  • Special diet: No glycerin, grains, corn, wheat, and soy

Pros

  • Suitable for all breed sizes
  • 100% human-grade
  • Additional organic jerky treat options

Cons

  • 5-ounce bag
  • Minimal flavor options

Full Moon is proud to offer soft and organic dog treats. In addition, the treats are 100% human-grade. So, while you can chow down on a snack with your pup, you probably won’t want to.

Full Moon dog treats are excellent for any breed or size. Despite the 5-ounce bag size, the treats are savory, soft, and delicious. They eschew glycerin, grains, corn, wheat, and soy; the organic training treats are great for supplemental treats throughout the day. 

A single 6-ounce bag contains about 175 treats. Some sites offer them on a subscription basis, which helps bring the price down.

Best for puppies: Pet Botanics Training Reward

Pet Botanics

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Why it made the cut: The high quantity of treats per bag is the best value for the initial stages of puppy training. 

Specs

  • Number of treats: 500 treats
  • Calorie per treat: 3 calories each
  • Special diet: No BHA, BHT, corn, soy, or artificial flavors and colors

Pros

  • Three options: Mini, Regular, Grain-Free
  • Suitable for all breed sizes
  • Easy to carry in your pocket

Cons

  • Small convenient size can lead to overfeeding

With over 500 treats per bag, you won’t have to keep resupplying your dog treat stash. The Pet Botanics Training Reward treats are great for all breeds and sizes. The small round shape allows you to have complete control of the treat while waiting for your boisterous pup to perform the requested task. In addition, the soft texture is ideal for young and developing puppy mouths. With multiple delicious flavors to offer your puppy, your dog will stay engaged longer and learn new tricks in no time. 

The benefit of Pet Botanics is that you can choose between mini or regular-sized treats. So whether you have a small Bichon or a large Bernese Mountain Dog, you can find the best size for you and your pup. 

Best for protein: Redbarn Protein Puffs

RedBarn

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Why it made the cut: These tiny puffs have the shortest possible ingredient list and that’s a good thing when it comes to dog treats. 

Specs

  • Number of treats: 275
  • Calorie per treat: 0.5 calories per treat
  • Special diet: No artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives

Pros

  • High protein content
  • Less than one calorie per treat
  • Crunchy
  • Subscription available

Cons

  • Only two flavor choices

Typical reward treats check in at around three calories per treat. These savory puffs come in under one calorie, which makes them a great option for high-volume training or for use with dogs that are overweight. 

Each puff contains roughly 75% protein from an ingredient called caseinate common in supplements and food products intended for human consumption. Despite their relatively low calorie count, the puffed treats provide a solid crunch that will appeal to dogs of all sizes. They’re only available in cheese and peanut butter flavors, but Redbarn also sells a version intended for cats if you have a variety of pets in your house. 

Once you’re done training, the puffs can also act as a food topper for adding extra protein to a dog’s diet. 

Best for large dogs: Old Mother Hubbard Dog Treats

Old Mother Hubbard

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Why it made the cut: The various-sized appetizing oven-baked dog treats are perfect for larger breeds.

Specs

  • Number of treats: 150
  • Calories per treat: 3 calories per treat
  • Special diet: No artificial preservatives, natural ingredients

Pros

  • All-natural ingredients
  • Suitable for all breed sizes and life stages
  • A healthy supplemental snack for diet

Cons

  • Intended for intermittent training

With nearly 100 years of experience, Old Mother Hubbard is a staple in the dog treat world. All dogs have different flavor or texture preferences, and for those larger dogs that love a crunchy, oven-baked treat, this is a clear choice. The variety of all-natural ingredients and flavors—such as p-nuttier, savory mix, or bac’n’cheez—will leave your dog wanting more. 

While Old Mother Hubbard treats may not be ideal for extended or repetitive training due to their caloric content, they are perfect for reinforcing positive behavior and overall basic commands. For example, keep a bag by the door to greet strangers or reward basic commands such as shaking, sitting, down, or staying.

Best budget: Buddy Biscuits Training Bites

Buddy Biscuits

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Why it made the cut: Compact, low-calorie treats that include 500 treats per bag, so dog training doesn’t cost a fortune.

Specs

  • Number of treats: 500 treats per bag
  • Calories per treat: 1.5 calories per treat
  • Special diet: No corn, soy, or artificial flavors or colors

Pros

  • Great for repetitive training or dog puzzles
  • Suitable for positive reinforcement training
  • Only 1.5 calories per treats

Cons

  • Only two flavors to choose from

While Buddy Biscuits are limited to either chicken or bacon flavors, they offer 500 small treats per bag. That makes them economical in both a budgetary and calorie sense. Buddy Biscuits Training Bites are great for positive reinforcement and obedience training if you have a brand-new puppy and are in the thick of training. With small bite-sized chewy pieces that resemble the size of a pencil eraser, you can reward your dog with proper timing and consistency. 

Even though they’re small, big dogs may still react positively to the small treats, which is good if you have a dog that’s on the hefty side, which can be the case with rescues or other adopted pooches. 

Things to consider before buying the best dog training treats

Before stocking up on multiple training treats for your new puppy or dog, you’ll want to test a few flavors and textures beforehand. Some dogs may have taste preferences, sensitive stomachs, or simply are not food-driven. Start by finding a similar flavor to their everyday kibble and expand and build taste profiles. From there, keep in mind the following things:

Size & texture

When it comes to training treats, size matters. It is not only more convenient to have multiple small treats in your hand, but it leads to better overall timing and consistency when training. In addition, if you’re training for an extended period, those treat calories add up. So tiny, bite-sized treats are more effective at reinforcing positive behavior than stumbling to find a sizeable bone-shaped treat in your pocket.

Flavor

Fortunately, with the growing popularity of healthy savory treats, you don’t have to settle for traditional peanut butter or bacon flavors anymore. Instead, add a little variety to your dog’s diet and introduce duck, chicken, salmon, or rabbit flavors into their lives. In addition, there are organic or all-natural ingredient options to choose from, so you can give your dog the very best. And just because you have a bigger dog doesn’t necessarily mean you need larger treats.

Cost

Training a new puppy can take anywhere from 6 to 12 months. If you are training regularly, it can become quite costly. While ensuring you pick healthy treats, you should also know the overall cost. During initial training steps, try to find treat bags with a large quantity per bag. Average prices for dog treats range from $5 to $15, depending on the quality and ingredients. Finding the best dog delivery service may be handy as you research costs and treat varieties. Having a regular supply of dog food and treats at your fingertips will come in handy.

FAQs

Q: Do you need treats to train a dog?

When it comes to training a dog, treats are one of the most effective ways to retain attention and reinforce positive behavior and the place to start before you turn to, say, training collars for stubborn dogs. Delicious treats combined with an upbeat demeanor or attitude from the trainer is one of the best ways to see quick results while training. 

Training is all about consistency and communication. By using high-value treats, you can communicate with your dog to let them know what you desire. Training should be fun for both you and your dog, and the best way to do that is by using delicious treats that will sustain their attention and keep them entertained and happy. 

Q: How many training treats can a dog have?

The number of treats will depend on your dog’s age, size, and weight. Overfeeding can lead to a dog becoming obese and, as a result, more susceptible to health issues. While training typically requires a lot of treats, it’s essential to regulate your dog’s overall food intake each day. Fortunately, you can easily monitor your dog’s diet and adjust as needed with the small training treat sizes. During the training process, additional exercise can be beneficial to retain attention and burn off those calories.

If you’re worried about your dog being overfed, a helpful solution is to try cutting the training treats in half. This will help your dog’s daily food intake, but it will make your treats last longer. If you’re ever unsure, the best bet is to ask your vet.

Q: How do I choose dog treats?

Start by purchasing a few different flavors and textures for your dog. You first need to find out what they love the most. For example, once you know they prefer duck over salmon, you can find differently shaped or textured treats with their favorite flavor. Most importantly, you want to match the value of the treat with the value of the command or task you are asking them to perform. Then, during training, make sure not to skimp on the rewards. Or you just might find your dog skimping on conducting a trick or task. 

Q: What is the difference between training treats and regular treats?

Training treats typically are low-calorie, with a convenient small size that encourages the behavior or command you desire. Training treats are intended to be used repetitively and enjoyed multiple times in large quantities during the day. 

In comparison, regular treats are used for intermittent training and reinforce positive behavior. In addition, regular treats can be used periodically throughout the day to supplement your dog’s diet.

Q: What do professional dog trainers use for treats?

Most professional dog trainers prefer to use small, soft, circular training treats. Dog trainers stress that convenience is key. In the initial stages of training, the dog needs to build context for what the trainer or owner is asking. By having small bite-sized treats, a trainer can progress through training faster and help the dog develop the context quickly. 

The benefit of using soft training treats is the ability to cut them in half by simply using your fingernail. This allows professional dog trainers to modify the size of the treat while monitoring behavior instantaneously. Training is a marathon. Experienced trainers know to use convenient, high-quality treats over long periods to reinforce behavior and ultimately see positive results with this commitment in mind.

Q: What are the best dog training treats?

The best dog training treats are of high value to your dog and will grab their attention and keep them returning for more. Typically, the best treats to do just this are flavor-packed, savory, soft chewable treats. Dog owners want to confidently know that they provide the best dog products for their furry loved ones. With our helpful list of the best dog training treats, you can find the brand and style that suits you and your training process.

Final thoughts on the best dog training treats

Training takes time and a whole lot of patience. Some dogs will catch on right away, while others might need a little bit more support. Regardless of your dog’s age or size, training is a great way to build a relationship with your dog and reinforce positive behavior. Our best overall pick to start building trust and a relationship with your dog is using Zuke’s Mini Naturals treats.

Why trust us

Popular Science started writing about technology more than 150 years ago. There was no such thing as “gadget writing” when we published our first issue in 1872, but if there was, our mission to demystify the world of innovation for everyday readers means we would have been all over it. Here in the present, PopSci is fully committed to helping readers navigate the increasingly intimidating array of devices on the market right now.

Our writers and editors have combined decades of experience covering and reviewing consumer electronics. We each have our own obsessive specialties—from high-end audio to video games to cameras and beyond—but when we’re reviewing devices outside of our immediate wheelhouses, we do our best to seek out trustworthy voices and opinions to help guide people to the very best recommendations. We know we don’t know everything, but we’re excited to live through the analysis paralysis that internet shopping can spur so readers don’t have to.

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Meet the first electric blue tarantula known to science https://www.popsci.com/environment/meet-the-first-electric-blue-tarantula-known-to-science/ Tue, 26 Sep 2023 16:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=574604
A tarantula with a mostly black body, but bright blue legs and pincers. Chilobrachys natanicharum is the first tarantula species found in Thailand’s mangrove trees. CREDIT: Yuranan Nanthaisong/ZooKeys.
Chilobrachys natanicharum is the first tarantula species found in Thailand’s mangrove trees. CREDIT: Yuranan Nanthaisong/ZooKeys. Yuranan Nanthaisong/ZooKeys

The new tarantula species, with its extremely rare color, was found in a mangrove tree in Thailand.

The post Meet the first electric blue tarantula known to science appeared first on Popular Science.

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A tarantula with a mostly black body, but bright blue legs and pincers. Chilobrachys natanicharum is the first tarantula species found in Thailand’s mangrove trees. CREDIT: Yuranan Nanthaisong/ZooKeys.
Chilobrachys natanicharum is the first tarantula species found in Thailand’s mangrove trees. CREDIT: Yuranan Nanthaisong/ZooKeys. Yuranan Nanthaisong/ZooKeys

Scientists in Thailand have discovered a new species of tarantula with a very unique blue hue. The tarantula is named Chilobrachys natanicharum and is also called the electric blue tarantula. The findings were described in a study published September 18 in the journal ZooKeys 

[Related: Before spider mites mate, one of them gets their skin removed.]

The new colorful arachnid was discovered in southern Thailand’s Phang-Nga province. It follows the identification of another new species of tarantula called Taksinus bambus, or the bamboo culm tarantula.

“In 2022, the bamboo culm tarantula was discovered, marking the first known instance of a tarantula species living inside bamboo stalks,” study co-author and Khon Kaen University entomologist Narin Chomphuphuang said in a statement. “Thanks to this discovery, we were inspired to rejoin the team for a fantastic expedition, during which we encountered a captivating new species of electric blue tarantula.”

The team that found the first not-so-blue bamboo culm tarantula included a local wildlife YouTuber named JoCho Sippawat. This year, Chomphuphuang joined up with Sippawat for a surveying expedition in the province to learn more about tarantula diversity and distribution. They identified this new species by this very distinctive coloration during the expedition.

“The first specimen we found was on a tree in the mangrove forest. These tarantulas inhabit hollow trees, and the difficulty of catching an electric-blue tarantula lies in the need to climb a tree and lure it out of a complex of hollows amid humid and slippery conditions,” Narin said. “During our expedition, we walked in the evening and at night during low tide, managing to collect only two of them.”

Chilobrachys natanicharum has blue coloring due to the unique structure of its hair and not the presence of blue pigments. CREDIT: Yuranan Nanthaisong
Chilobrachys natanicharum has blue coloring due to the unique structure of its hair and not the presence of blue pigments. CREDIT: Yuranan Nanthaisong

The color blue is very rare in nature. It can even exist in other animals that aren’t usually this color, including the blue lobsters that have recently been found in Massachusetts and France. Some animals also evolved wild colors including blues, yellows, and reds to appear poisonous to try and keep other animals from eating them.  

In order for an organism to appear blue, it must absorb very small amounts of energy while reflecting high-energy blue light. Since penetrating molecules that are capable of absorbing this energy is a complex process, the color blue is less common than other colors in the natural world. 

According to the study, the secret behind the electric blue tarantula’s wild color comes from the unique structure of their hair and not from a presence of blue pigment. Their hair incorporates nanostructures that manipulate the light shining on it to create the blue appearance. Their hair can also display a more violet hue depending on the light, which creates an iridescent effect. 

[Related: Blue-throated macaws are making a slow, but hopeful, comeback.]

This species was previously found on the commercial tarantula market, but there hadn’t been any documentation describing its natural habitat or unique features. 

“The electric blue tarantula demonstrates remarkable adaptability. These tarantulas can thrive in arboreal as well as terrestrial burrows in evergreen forests,” Narin said. “However, when it comes to mangrove forests, their habitat is restricted to residing inside tree hollows due to the influence of tides.”

To name the new species, the authors conducted an auction campaign and the scientific name of Chilobrachys natanicharum was selected. It is named after executives Natakorn and Nichada Changrew of Nichada Properties Co., Ltd., Thailand and the proceeds of the auction were donated to support the education of Indigenous Lahu children in Thailand and for cancer patients in need of money for treatment.

CREDIT: JoCho Sippawat/Pensoft Publishers.

The authors say that this discovery points to the continued importance of taxonomy as a basic aspect of research and conservation. It also highlights the need to protect mangrove forests from continued deforestation, as the electric blue tarantula is also one of the world’s rarest tarantulas. 

“This raises a critical question: Are we unintentionally contributing to the destruction of their natural habitats, pushing these unique creatures out of their homes?” the researchers ask in their conclusion.

The post Meet the first electric blue tarantula known to science appeared first on Popular Science.

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The best dog leashes of 2023 https://www.popsci.com/reviews/best-dog-leash/ Fri, 10 Dec 2021 16:59:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=364478
A dog walking down a wooden bridge on one of the best dog leashes.
Stan Horaczek

The best dog leash will set you free to enjoy a great walk, or run, with your loyal companion

The post The best dog leashes of 2023 appeared first on Popular Science.

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A dog walking down a wooden bridge on one of the best dog leashes.
Stan Horaczek

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Best retractable tug retractable dog leash and a dog on a sidewalk best overall retractable dog leash TUG 360° Heavy-Duty Retractable Dog Leash 
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Best hands-free Light blue hands free dog leash with wrist strap Fable Running Leash
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Best for two dogs Gray double dog leash for two dogs iYoShop Dual Dog Leash
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The right dog leash can mean the difference between a calm adventure with your pup and a total catastrophe. Leashes in different lengths, materials and even colors affect how they function, and many pet parents need more than one. A reflective leash for evening walks, a long leash for training or a hands-free leash for runs could easily make life with your dog easier. 

Leashes also come in various designs, like double leashes and slip leads that function as a collar and leash. If you live where it’s wet or your dog loves water, you may need a waterproof leash, while those with a dog that pulls may need a model with a cushioned handle. The dog’s age, breed, and size will factor into the decision, too. For example, small breeds don’t need a thick, heavy leash, and puppies may need the leash training help offered by a long dog leash. The best dog leash has the durability, length, and extra features that you need to maintain control and keep your dog safe. 

Use the best dog leashes to maintain control and enjoy walks with your dog

Leashes are an absolute necessity for most dog owners to safely exercise their dog, take the pup to the vet, and maintain control in public places. The best dog leash for you and your dog depends on the activities you do together and the dog’s personality and size. Designs vary from embossable leather models to retractable leashes that provide extra freedom for dogs to sniff and explore. 

The dog’s size affects the best leash thickness and length. Large breeds may need a heavy, long option for added durability. However, small toy breeds could get weighed down by a 10 -foot-long, heavy leash. Nylon is the most common material for leashes because it’s inexpensive, durable, and comes in various colors. They’re made in flat or round/rope designs. However, depending on the nylon’s quality, it might not be strong enough for heavy pullers or chewers. Dogs who can’t help but chew probably need a leather one. Leather stands up to the wear and tear of a rambunctious dog who chews or pulls better than nylon, but you’ll pay a little extra. 

Some leashes have extra handles and extra clips for extra configuration options or to help you keep control when crossing the street. Options with extra D-rings or clips also offer a means to connect storage for other dog supplies like poop bags or treats. 

Related: Best dog collar for every pup

The best dog leashes: Reviews & Recommendations

Best overall: TUG 360° Heavy-Duty Retractable Dog Leash  

Billy Cadden

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The TUG 360° Heavy Duty Retractable Dog Leash comes in four sizes and six colors. The different sizes work for dogs under 26 pounds and up to 110 pounds. Dogs get 16 feet to explore, while owners get a comfortable hand grip with an easy sliding push-button lock/unlock thumb control. A specially designed opening on the housing prevents the leash from tangling and gives 360 degrees of control. 

Best for two dogs: iYoShop Dual Dog Leash

iYoShop

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The iYoShop Dual Dog Leash takes the double dog leash into heavy-duty territory. The padded handle keeps the grip comfortable, while the double ones attach with a 360-degree swivel and are made of bungee cord to offer some tension and pressure relief for active dogs. This 35-inch leash comes in two sizes and six colors. 

Best hands-free: Fable Running Leash 

fable

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The Fable Running Leash’s versatile design includes adjustable length with clips and stoppers that transform it from a traditional leash to a hands-free option that attaches to the waist or wrist. Depending on the configuration and which of the two sizes are used, this leash reaches 40 to 80 inches and comes in six colors. 

Best reflective: Bark Reflective Leash 

BarkShop

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The Bark Reflective Leash features a durable, flat nylon surface with reflective material on both sides of the leash. It’s bright and visible, but the locking hook and neoprene handle offer extra security for the dog and comfort for the owner. Both of the two sizes are 60 inches long and include a D-ring on the handle to hold dog supplies like poop bags or a dog-treat pouch. 

Best budget: BAAPET Strong Dog Leash 

BAAPET

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The BAAPET Strong Dog Leash comes in nine colors and three sizes, with nylon rope widths ranging from ⅓ to ½ inch and lengths of 4, 5, or 6 feet. With reflective threads weaved into the rope, it’s visible and durable. For the owner’s comfort, a cushy foam covers the handle. 

Best leather: Fairwin Leather Dog Leash

Fairwin

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The Fairwin Leather Dog Leash comes in four widths—½ inch, 5/8 inch, ¾ inch, and 1 inch—to accommodate dogs of different sizes and strengths. The leather thickness varies from ⅙ of an inch to ⅕-inch thick. A high-tensile copper clasp and heavy-duty buckle keep the dog secure. This leather option also includes a 60-day unconditional return policy. 

Things to consider when buying the best dog leashes

Give your dog extra freedom to explore with a retractable dog leash

Retractable leashes offer adjustable lengths that range from 5 to 30 feet. They have plastic housings with an ergonomic handgrip that protects the retracted nylon leash. Your thumb usually controls a locking mechanism that releases or stops retraction, putting easy control within your hands.  

However, retractable models tend to be a polarizing topic among dog owners—either you love them or you hate them. For some pet parents, they’re the perfect solution to balance the dog’s need to explore with the owner’s need to keep their pet safe. 

Retractable leashes are a great choice if you walk your dog in an area where he’s not likely to run into traffic or other dangerous obstacles. It’s also a good solution for dogs who like to explore. The dog’s personality matters with a retractable leash. A dog who will pull no matter the leash length might be too out of control for a retractable model. However, if your dog gets frustrated because he wants to sniff off of the walking trail where you’d prefer to stay, a retractable leash becomes a compromise that keeps you both happy.

Double the trouble, double the fun with two dogs on one double dog leash

The more dogs you have, the more leashes you have to untangle. A double leash offers a simple solution for well-behaved dogs. These leashes feature a single handle connected to two leashes. Sometimes the handle has a single cord that extends 2 or 3 feet, then splits or has a D-ring that connects to two short leads, so you can walk two pups with one leash. 

If you’re walking two dogs with separate leads, they inevitably get tangled. Double leashes can prevent a tangle of feet, fur, and leash. However, like other designs, you have to know your dogs. If they wrestle and nip each other when they’re in close proximity, a double leash might not be the best choice. They work well for leash-trained pups who are relatively calm and get along with one another.  

Walk, run, or skip with your dog on a hands-free leash

Hands-free picks grant you extra freedom while your dog stays close by. These leashes have extra length, clips, and connectors that allow you to wear them as a belt, on your wrist, or as a traditional leash. When you’re hands-free, you’re not managing a leash while scooping poop, holding hands with young children, or balancing your way up a mountain trail.

They’re an excellent choice for active pet owners who want to take their dogs on outdoor adventures. You may need your hands-on steep trails to drink water or stay balanced when you’re pushing your own physical limits. It also can make simple evening walks more pleasant for you. If you’re going hands-free, however, the dog should be well trained. A dog that chases squirrels or becomes distracted by every passerby can pull you off your feet. However, if your pet stays by your side and loves to be with you, one of these types will give you freedom and safety to enjoy a wide range of activities together. 

Now you see it, now you…still see it with a reflective dog leash

Many models have some reflective properties built into the design, like a reflective thread woven through the nylon or tapes on the handle. Visibility is an important safety issue for walking dogs at dawn and dusk. Drivers, bikers, and other pedestrians may see you and not the dog or vice versa. Reflective leashes increase visibility for both of you. Volume matters when it comes to visibility. The more reflective material on the leash, the easier it is to see. However, these leashes need regular cleaning. Dirt and mud can cover the reflective material, reducing visibility. 

Ready to save some cash on your dog products?

Budget leashes are usually made of nylon but lower-quality nylon than more expensive models. The hardware on these leashes may be plastic or low-grade stainless steel. Cheap leashes are a great option when you’re on a tight budget or for an extra leash in the car. They’ll last longer with dogs who are well-leashed trained, don’t pull, and don’t chew. These leashes will also last longer in a dry climate, where water exposure stays to a minimum. Inexpensive leashes may be flat or round/rope designs. Thicker ropes tend to last longer, whether they’re used with a small or large breed. 

Also consider …

Dogs who chew or pull excessively can go through fabric leashes in a matter of weeks if not days. Leather options offer better, tougher durability for dogs that are hard on leashes. That doesn’t mean leather won’t get worn out with chewing and pulling, but it will last longer. And leather leashes don’t cost that much more than a high-quality fabric one but will last longer with pups who love to test their limits. 

FAQs

Q: What is the D-ring on a dog leash for? 

Some leashes have a D-ring on or near the handle. The ring can hold extra dog supplies like a poop-bag dispenser or a dog-treat pouch. You can buy a poop bag holder with a carabiner on it that clips directly to a D-ring. These designs make it easy to head out the door with everything you need to walk the dog. 

Q: Can a dog escape a slip lead?

Dogs can escape slip leads. These leashes have a ring on the end instead of a hook or clip. The handle then slides through the ring, creating a loop that secures around the dog’s neck and acts as a collar. For a dog that’s been well trained on a lead, a slip lead stays comfortably loose. However, if the dog pulls or tries to run away, the loop tightens on their neck, potentially choking them if they (or you) don’t stop pulling. A dog can escape a slip lead by staying close to the person holding the leash, causing the loop to loosen. The dog could then slip its head out. Slips leads are somewhat controversial and should only be used on dogs with plenty of obedience and leash training.

Q: What age can you leash train a puppy? 

Basic obedience and leash training can start around eight weeks old. At this age, pups begin to become more aware and have the ability to understand basic commands. Before starting, remember to be patient, keep training sessions short, and always end on a positive note.

Related: Best dog DNA kits

The final word on the best dog leashes

Different dogs and owners will find that different options work better for them than others. As you’re choosing the best for your pup, whether it’s a long leash or a hands-free leash, consider how and where you want to use the leash and the dog’s size and temperament. If you’re willing to pay a little extra for a leash with aluminum or high-quality stainless steel hardware and thick nylon, chances are it will last longer and provide a better bang for your buck. 

Why trust us

Popular Science started writing about technology more than 150 years ago. There was no such thing as “gadget writing” when we published our first issue in 1872, but if there was, our mission to demystify the world of innovation for everyday readers means we would have been all over it. Here in the present, PopSci is fully committed to helping readers navigate the increasingly intimidating array of devices on the market right now.

Our writers and editors have combined decades of experience covering and reviewing consumer electronics. We each have our own obsessive specialties—from high-end audio to video games to cameras and beyond—but when we’re reviewing devices outside of our immediate wheelhouses, we do our best to seek out trustworthy voices and opinions to help guide people to the very best recommendations. We know we don’t know everything, but we’re excited to live through the analysis paralysis that internet shopping can spur so readers don’t have to.

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South Africa’s Missing sharks have been found https://www.popsci.com/environment/missing-sharks-found/ Tue, 26 Sep 2023 10:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=574456
Great white sharks were once abundant in South Africa’s False Bay and Gansbaai regions. But
now, they appear to have ventured to safer waters elsewhere.
Great white sharks were once abundant in South Africa’s False Bay and Gansbaai regions. But now, they appear to have ventured to safer waters elsewhere. Morne Hardenberg Courtesy Hakai Magazine

A spate of killer whale attacks spooked South Africa’s great white sharks.

The post South Africa’s Missing sharks have been found appeared first on Popular Science.

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Great white sharks were once abundant in South Africa’s False Bay and Gansbaai regions. But
now, they appear to have ventured to safer waters elsewhere.
Great white sharks were once abundant in South Africa’s False Bay and Gansbaai regions. But now, they appear to have ventured to safer waters elsewhere. Morne Hardenberg Courtesy Hakai Magazine

This article was originally featured on Hakai Magazine, an online publication about science and society in coastal ecosystems. Read more stories like this at hakaimagazine.com.

To see a great white shark breach the waves, its powerful jaws clasping a shock-struck seal, is to see the very pinnacle of predatory prowess. Or so we thought. Several years ago, in South Africa, the world was reminded that even great white sharks have something to fear: killer whales.

Long before they started chomping on yachts, killer whales were making headlines for a rash of attacks on South African great white sharks. The killings were as gruesome as they were impressive. The killer whales were showing a deliberate sense of culinary preference, consuming the sharks’ oily, nutrient-rich livers but leaving the rest of the shark to sink or wash up on a nearby beach.

From the initial news of the attacks, the situation only got weirder. Great white sharks started disappearing from some of their best-known habitat around South Africa’s False Bay and Gansbaai regions, in the country’s southwest.

“The decline of white sharks was so dramatic, so fast, so unheard of that lots of theories began to circulate,” says Michelle Jewell, an ecologist at Michigan State University Museum. In the absence of explanation, pet theories abounded. Some proposed that overfishing of the sharks’ prey to feed Australia’s fish and chips market led to the shark’s declines. Other activists misinterpreted that idea and went on to campaign against what they thought was the recent inclusion of great white shark meat as a surprise ingredient in Australian fish and chips. That idea was, fortunately, thoroughly debunked.

Others thought the disappearance was directly caused by the killer whales. Perhaps they were killing all the sharks?

“Any time you see large population declines in local areas, it’s cause for conservation concern,” says Heather Bowlby, a shark expert with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. “In a place where animals used to be seen very regularly, and suddenly they’re not there anymore, some were concerned that they all died.”

Now, though, scientists finally know what happened. In a recent paper, Bowlby and her colleagues show that the sharks’ disappearance was, actually, caused by the killer whales. But the sharks aren’t dead. They just moved. Across South Africa, the scientists found, the white shark population has taken a pronounced eastward shift.

To Jewell, who wasn’t involved in the research, this makes sense. “We know that predators have a huge influence on the movement and habitat use of their prey, so this isn’t really surprising,” she says. “The issue is that lots of people weren’t used to thinking of great white sharks as prey.”

Alison Kock, a marine biologist with South African National Parks and a coauthor of the study, says they cracked the mystery after reports started flowing in from sites farther east that white sharks were showing up unexpectedly. “As False Bay and Gansbaai had major declines, other places reported huge increases in white shark populations,” she says. “Too rapid to be related to reproduction, since they don’t reproduce that fast.”

“It had to be redistribution,” she says, adding: “The white sharks moved east.” Places like Algoa Bay and the KwaZulu-Natal coastline had seen great white sharks before but not anywhere near this many.

In the white sharks’ absence, South Africa’s west coast is changing. New species like bronze whalers and sevengill sharks have moved into False Bay. For the tour operators who ran shark dives in the area, however, the shift has been difficult. Some have survived by switching to offering kelp forest dives—driven in part by the popularity of the documentary My Octopus Teacher. Many, though, have gone under.

But what of the great white sharks’ new home farther east? No one quite knows how these regions are adapting to a sudden influx of apex predators, but scientists expect some significant ecological changes. They’re also warning of the potential for increased shark bites, since people living in the white shark’s new homes are not as used to shark-human interactions.

We may never know exactly how many white sharks died in killer whale attacks. The prized, presumably tasty, livers targeted by the killer whales help white sharks float, which means many dead white sharks may have sunk uncounted. Overall, though, Kock is glad to see the mystery solved.

“This has been very worrying for me, and it was good to see evidence that they hadn’t all died,” says Kock. “But it’s still unbelievable to me that I can go to [False Bay’s] Seal Island and not see any white sharks. It’s something I never expected, and I miss them a lot.”

This article first appeared in Hakai Magazine and is republished here with permission.

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The best training collars for stubborn dogs in 2023 https://www.popsci.com/gear/best-training-collars-for-stubborn-dogs/ Thu, 30 Jun 2022 15:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=453296
training collars for stubborn dogs sliced header image
Stan Horaczek

These safe training collars will make educational adventures with your four-legged friend more fun for both of you.

The post The best training collars for stubborn dogs in 2023 appeared first on Popular Science.

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training collars for stubborn dogs sliced header image
Stan Horaczek

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more ›

Best overall SportDOG Brand 425X Remote Trainers SportDOG Brand 425X Remote Trainers
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A well-rounded training collar that offers numerous desired features to curb stubborn dog behavior.

Best for barking PATPET Dog Training Collar PATPET Dog Training Collar
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An accessible and entry-level training e-collar for dogs to target barking or other obedience behavior.

Best for hunting dogs Garmin Sport Pro Garmin Sport Pro
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Explicitly designed for extensive in-field use, the training collar offers up to 10 stimulation levels with the best long range for hunting adventures.

Training collars for stubborn dogs can mean the difference between a happy life and a frustrating existence for your pooch. Unfortunately, most dogs develop challenging traits and behaviors due to a lack of training or socialization. While using a training collar takes additional time and commitment, it is one of the most effective ways to stop negative behavior. With repetitive positive reinforcement, you will have a happy and well-behaved companion by your side. Whether you’re starting the training process with a new best friend or trying to teach an old dog a new trick, we’ve put together a list of the best training collars for stubborn dogs.

How we chose the best training collars for stubborn dogs

You might be surprised to find out how many different styles of dog training collars are on the market. However, we quickly narrowed down the list, combining personal experience, sorting through reviews, and consulting with dog trainers. As a result, some common brands stand out from the competition in the dog-training realm. We’ve provided you with the top training collars so you and your dog can enjoy a long and stubborn-free life together.

The best training collars for stubborn dogs: Reviews & Recommendations

It’s important to note that improper use of these collars can lead to injury and discomfort in your dog. They can also cause aggression and teach bad behaviors if used improperly so we strongly recommend you talk to your vet or a qualified trainer before using any of these devices. Once given the go-ahead, choose from these top picks and start establishing boundaries and good behaviors.

Best overall: SportDOG Brand 425X Remote Trainers

SportDOG Brand

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Why it made the cut: A well-rounded training collar that offers numerous desired features to curb stubborn dog behavior.

Specs

  • Waterproof and submersible to 25 feet using DryTek technology
  • Interchangeable short and long contact points capability

Pros

  • Easy to use
  • Range up to 500 yards
  • Supports training for multiple dogs
  • Fast rechargeable lithium-ion batteries

Cons

  • Expensive

If you are looking to stop nuisance barking, aggressive on-leash behavior, or train for off-leash hiking with your dog, the SportDog FieldTrainer can help solve your problem. Training your stubborn dog doesn’t have to be complicated with the right tools, knowledge, and commitment. 

The seven levels of stimulation allow you to modify the training process to achieve the desired behavior quickly. Stubborn dogs tend to have a mind of their own. With durability and the best waterproof capability, you can feel confident that the training collar will hold up to any unforeseen occurrences. In addition, the interchangeable contact points provide flexibility for breeds with thick fur. While the SportDog collar may have a higher price point, it’s no surprise why it’s the top choice used by dog trainers with such an outstanding balance of desired features. 

Best for barking: PATPET Dog Training Collar

PATPET

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Why it made the cut: An accessible and entry-level training e-collar for dogs to target barking or other obedience behavior. 

Specs

  • Remote range of 1,000 feet 
  • Waterproof receiver rated at IPX7
  • Humane, Safe, and Effective

Pros

  • Three training modes: Beep, Vibration, and Static
  • User-friendly 
  • Inexpensive
  • Wide variety of color options

Cons

  • Weaker vibration and static on dogs with thick fur

While a dog might find barking to be a helpful alert system for strangers or to communicate with other dogs, if perpetual, it can lead to disruptive behavior. The PATPET dog training collar provides dog owners with an affordable solution to stop obnoxious barking and nuisance behavior.

With the three training modes, you can choose the stimulation method that works best for you and your dog. A bonus feature is that you can personalize your dog’s training collar by choosing your favorite color. Obedience training doesn’t have to be boring.

Best for aggressive dogs: PetSafe Remote Dog Training Collar

PetSafe

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Why it made the cut: The fast-charging training collar and durable digital remote allow for training on the go. The PetSafe training collar works best paired with positive reinforcement for medium to large dogs that display aggressive behavior. 

Specs

  • For medium and large dogs
  • Great for behavior training and correction
  • It comes with a complete training manual

Pros

  • Two quick-charging lithium-ion batteries included
  • Additional training accessory options
  • Waterproof and lightweight

Cons

  • Not recommended for dogs under 8 lbs

Taking a walk around the neighborhood with your aggressive dog can be stressful and leave you feeling defeated. However, by using consistent obedience training and the help of the PetSafe Remote Dog Training Collar, you can enjoy long walks or outdoor activities with your dog once again.

In addition to the quick charging handy remote and training collar, you will receive a complete training manual to start the training process off right. With range options between 300 and 900 feet, you can select the targeted collar and range you find most comfortable to tailor your training to your dog’s specific behavior. 

Best for hunting dogs: Garmin Sport Pro

Garmin

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Why it made the cut: Explicitly designed for extensive in-field use, the training collar offers up to 10 stimulation levels with the best long-range for hunting adventures. 

Specs

  • Ergonomically designed
  • Waterproof and rated to IPX7
  • Range up to 1,300 feet or ¾ mile
  • Built-in beacon lights to locate your dog in low-light conditions

Pros

  • Compact and lightweight
  • Ten stimulation levels
  • Interchangeable short and long contact points
  • Customizable colors and accessory options
  • Durable for extensive in-field use

Cons

  • Expensive
  • Requires additional devices to train multiple dogs

If you’re an outdoor enthusiast, you are probably familiar with Garmin. Not only do they make high-quality gear for backcountry exploration, but they have the best shock collar for hunting dogs. 

The experiences you share with your dog while hunting in the field create a unique bond with your dog. However, before heading out into the field, it’s essential to make sure your dog is trained, and the best way to do that is by starting with a training collar. 

The Garmin Sport Pro was designed with hunters and their loved best friends in mind. The compact and lightweight design has a 1,300-feet range to prove that. While most training collars have a range of 500 feet, the Garmin Sport Pro offers additional distance to hunters to retain control over their dogs while out hunting for quarry. 

Best budget: Petrainer PET998DBB Training Collar

Petrainer

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Why it made the cut: An affordable option for dog owners looking to teach basic commands or stop bad behavior.

Specs

  • Basic entry model for beginners
  • 1-year warranty
  • Requires two lithium polymer batteries

Pros

  • Affordable
  • Adjustable sizes for all dogs
  • Range up to 330 yards

Cons

  • Less durable & long-lasting
  • Longer charge

With a lower price point than other dog training collars, the Petrainer collar allows dog owners to take control of their boisterous dog without breaking the bank. The Petrainer dog training collar ranges up to 330 feet, making it an excellent option for initial off-leash obedience training. In addition, the Petrainer is suitable for dogs of all breeds or sizes. 

If you’re looking to explore and use training collars but are unsure of how to start, this is a good starter collar for beginners. It is user-friendly and can be used for all breeds and sizes. In addition, the 330-foot range will allow you to start within a comfortable short-distance range until you’re ready to step up to a higher-quality training collar. 

Things to consider before buying a training collar for a stubborn dog

Data shows that positive reinforcement with treats and other rewards provides the absolute best way to train a dog, but not every pooch responds to that kind of training. While some vets and organizations reject the use of corrective collars, others embrace them as an opportunity to train a stubborn dog and give it a chance to live a more balanced life.

Choosing a suitable dog training collar can be challenging with so many features, stimulation methods, and convenient capabilities. When purchasing a training collar, the first step is to clearly identify what behavior you want to train your dog. Then, you can start narrowing down on features that will enable you to do that. Here are some helpful factors to consider before purchasing a training collar.

Training modes

Each training collar has different training modes. Some may offer static, spray, vibration, or ultrasonic. While each provides different training methods and benefits, the most effective is static. With a static or shock training collar, you can modify and adjust the stimulation levels to suit your dog’s reactivity and behavior. We know shock collars are controversial.

Range

Are you trying to stop your dog from barking in the backyard? Then there’s no need to get a training collar with a 1,000-foot range. A shorter range of 300 feet might be adequate in that situation. However, if you’re looking to train your dog to be off-leash, that range of 1,000 feet or more might come in handy. Choosing the proper range for you and your dog will all depend on that identified behavior you desire.

Size and fit

Most training collars are adjustable to fit small, medium, and large dogs of all breeds. However, you’ll want to check the recommended weight for each collar. Some collars are not recommended for dogs under a weight of 8 lbs. In addition, if your dog has a thick, dense coat, you’ll want a training collar with interchangeable short and long contact points to ensure a proper fit. The training collar will securely fit just above their traditional dog collar. Make sure to find the best dog collars to accompany your training collar.

FAQs

Q: How much does a training collar cost?

Dog training collars tend to vary in price and related features or capabilities. Prices range from $30 to $200 depending on the targeted behavior or activity you are trying to teach. 

If you are a dedicated hunter or outdoor enthusiast, one of the key factors when considering a dog training collar is that it can hold up to the elements. While a $30 training collar may be suitable for curbing destructive or nuisance backyard behavior, it may not hold up to extreme conditions in the field. However, if you are just starting out training a new dog and want a user-friendly beginner model, there’s no need to break the bank. 

Q: Do shock collars work for training stubborn dogs?

Shock collars are controversial and we can’t recommend them without having a serious discussion with your vet or trainer. With a solid foundation of proper training and skills, you and your dog can build a healthy and mutually trusting relationship. Some professionals believe shock collars can be a helpful tool and resource to accomplish this objective. If traditional training is not working and your stubborn dog is not responding to verbal commands, then these may be a viable option.

A shock collar reinforces the behavior by using a minimal amount of pressure. After using static stimulation, the dog will understand that it needs to stop a particular behavior. So whether it is barking, digging, lunging, or off-leash etiquette, a shock collar can improve the desired behavior.

Q: What to do if your dog doesn’t react to shock collar training?

One of the most critical factors that contribute to the success of using a shock collar is that there is some foundation of basic obedience training. Training a dog takes commitment and a lot of patience. Some dogs might catch on right away, while others need more time to connect the dots. With consistent training, the likelihood of stopping a negative behavior increases. If your dog is not reacting to shock collar training, you can take a few options, but this is a complex topic and we recommend listening to your vet or a qualified trainer for this information. 

Another avenue to explore is finding the best dog harness for your dog, this will allow you more control of your dog while training. If none of these work, and you are still having trouble training your dog, it may be time to consult with a dog trainer.

Q: How do you train a stubborn dog with an e-collar?

Start the training process slowly and first familiarize your dog with the e-collar by creating a positive association. The next step is to fit the collar on your dog and find the minimal stimulation level that will grab your dog’s attention. Again, you want to start training on the lowest possible level while ensuring that your dog can feel the vibration or shock. 

Once you feel confident, it’s time for some basic training in a controlled environment. An e-collar is essentially a line of communication with your dog, and it will take some time for them to learn the new method of communication. It’s best to do that in an area where the dog feels comfortable and has minimal distractions.

Whether in your living room, garage, or backyard, start by casually walking around while working on recall training. Next, you will want to use stimulation to grab your dog’s attention and immediately reward them with treats or praise. Over time, your dog will begin to associate the shock with you and a positive reward. Ultimately, you want to reward the dog for paying attention and displaying your desired behavior. 

It may sound easier than it is. However, you can eventually reinforce the behavior you seek and train your stubborn dog to stop undesired behaviors with a commitment to practice.

Q: How do you train hunting dogs with collars?

Hunting with a dog is an opportunity to form a unique bond while working together to achieve a bountiful hunt. Using a shock collar to train a hunting dog is one of the most successful training methods. 

Follow the steps above as you get started in the training process. However, with a hunting dog, the main goal is to ensure the dog’s safety and for the e-collar to take the place of a leash. Therefore, focusing your training on recall and the ‘whoa’ command will be some of the most important steps. 

As your dog shows positive behavior in a controlled environment, it’s time to take what you’ve learned and apply it in the field. Start by keeping your dog on a lead or check cord and follow the same steps as before. With continual practice, you can keep building layers of trust. 

Repetition is key. Monitor your dog’s process and slowly start adding in new training. With time and practice, you and your dog will be roaming the fields and finding quarry in no time.

Final thoughts on the best training collars for stubborn dogs

Your dog is your best friend. The best way to give them a happy and meaningful long life is to have a solid foundation of training that develops into mutual trust and respect. Our best overall pick, the SportDOG Brand 425X Remote Trainers, offers a great balance of range, training modes, and durability to tackle the most stubborn behavior. A reliable and durable training collar can make all the difference in providing a safe, happy, and healthy life for your dog.

Why trust us

Popular Science started writing about technology more than 150 years ago. There was no such thing as “gadget writing” when we published our first issue in 1872, but if there was, our mission to demystify the world of innovation for everyday readers means we would have been all over it. Here in the present, PopSci is fully committed to helping readers navigate the increasingly intimidating array of devices on the market right now.

Our writers and editors have combined decades of experience covering and reviewing consumer electronics. We each have our own obsessive specialties—from high-end audio to video games to cameras and beyond—but when we’re reviewing devices outside of our immediate wheelhouses, we do our best to seek out trustworthy voices and opinions to help guide people to the very best recommendations. We know we don’t know everything, but we’re excited to live through the analysis paralysis that internet shopping can spur so readers don’t have to.

The post The best training collars for stubborn dogs in 2023 appeared first on Popular Science.

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Grizzlies are getting killed by roads, but the risks are bigger than roadkill https://www.popsci.com/environment/mammals-mortalities-roads/ Mon, 25 Sep 2023 22:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=574279
Grizzly bear mom and cubs crossing road in Yellowstone National Park
Roadside encounters with grizzly bears can be dangerous, but not in the way you'd think. DepositPhotos

From highways to scenic routes, America's vast network of roads poses a slew of dangers to bears, mountain lions, and moose.

The post Grizzlies are getting killed by roads, but the risks are bigger than roadkill appeared first on Popular Science.

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Grizzly bear mom and cubs crossing road in Yellowstone National Park
Roadside encounters with grizzly bears can be dangerous, but not in the way you'd think. DepositPhotos

More than 4 million miles of roads crisscross the US. So it’s little surprise that roadkill makes up a big chunk of the country’s animal deaths: By 1998 it had surpassed hunting as “the leading direct human cause of vertebrate mortality on land.” Today, wildlife officials in California are concerned that vehicle collisions are killing mountain lions faster than they can reproduce. Moose keep getting struck on roads in Alaska and even Connecticut. But while hit-and-runs with big mammals are gruesome and significant, they’re just one way roads are detrimental to nature. 

Grizzly deaths

In a paper published on September 20 in the journal Wildlife Monographs, scientists used GPS tracking and DNA data from fur samples collected between 1998 and 2005 to monitor the grizzly bear population in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, and study which variables affect their distribution—and their mortality. They found that the grizzly  population density was 2.6 times higher in areas with less than .37 miles of roads per mile of land. The reason? Roads drive bears away from areas that are filled with perfectly good food sources like huckleberry bushes, and increase the risks of deaths just by putting the creatures closer to people. 

[Related: Watch bobcats, bears, and even birds use fallen logs as bridges]

Southeastern British Columbia largely has dirt roads with low speed limits, says Michael Proctor, an independent research ecologist and lead author of the new paper, but you can still “see that bears get killed around forestry roads in the backcountry for a variety of reasons.” For one, the routes give people access to more wilderness—to the detriment of bears. The vast majority of grizzlies that are killed in the wild (both legally and non-legally) are shot within 1,600 feet of an open backcountry road.

Roadkill patterns

When we move from backcountry roads to more paved roads and highways, that’s when we see more vehicles hitting animals. The resulting collision rates are affected by a whole slew of variables. 

In a 2022 study in the journal Current Biology that included more than 1 million deer killed on roads in the US, researchers found that collisions are most likely to happen within an hour or two after it gets dark. “It’s kind of the coincidence of a period of the day when humans are driving a lot, and a time when animals are moving around a lot,” says co-author Calum Cunningham, a wildlife ecologist and postdoctoral research fellow at The University of Tasmania who studies animal-vehicle collisions in various countries. Ungulates like deer and elk are crepuscular, so they tend to be most active around dawn and dusk. “That’s kind of the perfect storm for creating very high periods of collisions,” Cunningham explains.

In their study, Cunningham and his team also noted that collisions were more common in places located on the eastern side of a time zone, where the sun sets earlier. A strategy like implementing pushing the clock back an hour all year, he says, would not only reduce these accidents, but save about $1.2 billion associated with injury costs, vehicle damage, and insurance. (Researchers say wildlife-vehicle collisions cause more than 9,000 injuries and 440 fatalities among Americans each year.) 

[Related: All the ways daylight saving time screws with you]

In another paper, Cunningham and colleagues found that moose collisions in Alaska, the Yukon Territory, British Columbia, and Alberta ramp up during the winter likely due to low visibility, increased moose activity on roads (which are easier to walk on than snow-laden wilderness), and the difficulties of driving and controlling a car in the winter. More recently, researchers from the University of California, Davis calculated that cars kill about 70 mountain lions a year on California highways alone. That estimate is likely an undercount because it didn’t include incidences on city or county roads, and because many hit-and-runs with mountain lions go unreported.

A prevention plan

Fortunately, some interventions can bring down the number of large mammals dying on or near roads. Underpasses and overpasses have successfully slashed roadkill rates around the US, especially when fenced. And while overpasses can be quite expensive to build, Cunningham says, they are one-off costs that pay for themselves by saving collision costs over time. 

Another strategy includes reduced speed limits, even on a seasonal basis, Cunningham explains.  But that only works if drivers adhere to those limits, which often isn’t the case. More public awareness of the benefits of speed limit for wildlife and people could help increase animal survival, Cunningham says. 

Proctor, the grizzly bear researcher, wants to see more drastic change. “The solution is to close a portion of the roads,” especially in the backcountry where valuable food supplies are, he says. “But that’s a very unpopular idea and is challenging to do.” At the least, in places of especially high conservation concern, we need to be thinking about all the ways roads disturb elements of wildlife behavior, he notes. Though roadkill is a sobering sight, sometimes, the damage is far less visible.

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The best wet dog food of 2023 https://www.popsci.com/reviews/best-wet-dog-food/ Tue, 15 Jun 2021 12:59:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=369252
A dog behind a fence wishing it had some of the best wet dog food
Stan Horaczek

Wet dog foods provide the nutrients dogs need for their size, age, and activity level.

The post The best wet dog food of 2023 appeared first on Popular Science.

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A dog behind a fence wishing it had some of the best wet dog food
Stan Horaczek

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more ›

Best for adult dogs A 12 pack of cans of Blue Buffalo homestyle wet dog food Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipe Natural Wet Dog Food
SEE IT

Made with natural ingredients and added vitamins and minerals.

Best natural A can of Natural Balance LID wet dog food Natural Balance LID Wet Dog Food
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Each 12- to 13-ounce can of food is grain-free and supports healthy skin.

Best subscription service Farmers Dog fresh dog food delivery meal Farmers Dog
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Give your pup exactly what they need with this service, formulated with veterinary nutritionists.

The super market is overloaded with wet dog food options, which can make it hard to choose. You want healthy dog food for your dog, just like you want nutritious food for the rest of your family. The best dog food choices run far and wide. There are limited ingredient recipes, puppy and senior dog recipes, and organic dog food, among the many options. The best wet dog food is the one that meets the dietary needs of your dog based on his age, size, activity level, and medical history. We’ve created a list of some of the healthiest wet dog foods so that you know your dog gets the nutrients he needs for his stage of life. 

The best wet dog food: Our picks

Finding the best wet dog food among the wide range of choices is an overwhelming task. Narrow the field by determining which factors are the most important for your dog—age, size, activity level, and medical conditions. Once you’ve narrowed it down, you can choose organic, pouch, canned, or a subscription service for the freshest meals.

Best for adult dogs: Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipe

Blue Buffalo

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Specs

  • Price: $33 for 12 cans
  • Flavors: Beef, chicken, and Turkey meatloaf

Pros

  • Excellent ingredients
  • Cheaper than some other natural options
  • Easy to find
  • Few recalls against the company

Cons

  • Large cans may be slightly inconvenient if you have a smaller dog

Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipe Natural Wet Dog Food always starts with protein as the first source on the ingredient list. There are six flavors, including one that mixes protein sources. Every recipe in this line is free of corn, wheat, and soy. This Blue Buffalo line is also available in different formulas based on your dog’s age and health needs. For example, there are recipes in this line for dogs of different sizes, weight management, puppies, and senior dogs. This wet dog food also comes in different styles like pate or chunks.

Best natural: Natural Balance LID

Natural Balance

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Specs

  • Price: $45 for 12 cans
  • Flavors: Duck and Potato, Bison and Sweet Potato, Sweet Potato and Fish, Chicken and Sweet Potato, Lamb and Brown Rice, Sweet Potato and Venison

Pros

  • Very simple ingredient list
  • Made from high-quality stuff
  • Easy on pretty much any dog’s digestive system
  • Lots of flavor options

Cons

  • Expensive

Natural Balance’s LID (Limited Ingredient Diets) Wet Dog Food comes in six flavors, each with a single protein source that’s also the main ingredient. There are a few unusual flavors like buffalo and venison to get away from the more common beef and chicken, which are also more common allergens. Protein sources are all paired with complementary carbohydrates, like sweet potatoes or brown rice. Every limited ingredient dog food recipe is designed to support healthy digestion and minimize exposure to allergenic ingredients.

Best for small dogs: Hill’s Science Diet

Hill’s Science Diet

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Specs

  • Price: $30 for 12 cans
  • Flavors: Savory Stew with Beef and Vegetables and Savory Stew with Chicken and Vegetables

Pros

  • Easy to use packaging
  • Solid ingredients
  • Simple flavors
  • Easy to store

Cons

  • Not suitable for big dogs

This wet dog food, hill’s Science Diet Wet Dog Food comes in convenient peel-and-serve trays to keep pint-sized pups well-fueled. They’re designed for breeds under 30 pounds. However, the smallest of breeds may only need a portion of a tray at each meal. The trays come in chicken or beef flavors in a stew-style mix. The small, soft chunks are easier for tiny jaws to chew. A healthy dose of Vitamin E and Omega-6 fatty acids provides nutrients that boost skin and coat health.

Best dog food delivery service: The Farmer’s Dog

The Farmer’s Dog

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Specs

  • Price: $Starts at $3 per day and goes up from there
  • Flavors: Varies

Pros

  • Totally natural ingredients
  • Regular delivery means no running out of food
  • Excellent nutrition
  • Very fresh
  • Lots of options tailored to your specific dog

Cons

  • Needs to be refrigerated

The Farmer’s Dog offers fresh dog food delivery made of human-grade ingredients and tailors the meal plan to each dog’s specific needs. You fill out a profile when you sign up for the service, detailing your dog’s size, age, and any dietary restrictions. Meal plan options are then customized based on your answers. The options range in price from $3 to $12 per day. Meals arrive in preportioned, eco-friendly packets, ready to serve your dog. They’re stored in the freezer or refrigerator until served.

Best budget: Pedigree Homestyle Meals

Pedigree

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Specs

  • Price: $20 for 12 cans
  • Flavors: Prime Rib and Chicken

Pros

  • Very affordable
  • Large cans
  • Solid ingredient list
  • Available in bulk

Cons

  • Not as fresh or natural as others

Pedigree Homestyle Meals Adult Wet Dog Food is a chunk-style canned wet dog food mixed in gravy. It comes in prime rib or chicken flavors. This food is also ready to pair with Pedigree’s dry mixes for a little variety. Real meat and meat byproduct chunks mixed with vegetables give the food its distinct flavor and high protein content. However, the use of meat byproducts is also what brings the price down. They’re less expensive than meat but may require the addition of nutrients into the recipe to make up for what they lack.

What to consider when shopping for the best wet dog food

The best wet dog food for one dog might not be the best choice for another. That’s because dogs have different nutritional needs as they go through different stages of life. The soft dog food that’s right for your puppy doesn’t contain the same nutrients he needs when he enters his senior years. Before you stock up on pouches or canned dog food, make sure you’re getting the best dog food for your dog. 

How old is your dog?

Puppy food often contains additional nutrients like DHA and extra calories to fuel a puppy’s brain development and high growth rate. However, if they’re fed puppy food for too long, they can gain too much weight. 

Toy and small breeds that weigh less than 30 pounds usually mature at nine to 12 months old. Medium-sized dogs that weigh between 30 and 80 pounds at maturity typically reach their full-grown size in 12 to 16 months. Large breeds typically take about 24 months to reach maturity. After that, they’re ready for adult dog food. 

Not all dogs need senior dog food. Senior dogs may have health issues like diabetes or heart disease that benefit from a modified diet. Senior dog foods often have a lower calorie content to help control weight. However, if your senior dog isn’t overweight and doesn’t have additional health problems, he’ll probably get the right nutrition from an adult wet dog food.

How big is your dog?

Dogs of different sizes burn calories at different rates. In general, large breeds burn 20 calories per pound, while small breeds burn 40 calories per pound. Consequently, dogs of different sizes (and breeds) need foods of different caloric densities. Small breeds benefit from foods designed with a higher caloric density for a small dog’s faster metabolism.

How active is your dog?

Does your dog mostly lay around the house, or does he spend his days outside playing? Older dogs or dogs who’d rather nap than play may need a diet dog food to keep their weight at healthy levels. However, puppies and active dogs may need caloric dense food to keep up with calorie burn. 

Talk to your veterinarian about the optimum weight for your dog. If he falls above or below that weight, you’ll quickly get an idea of if his food is meeting his caloric needs.

Does your dog have a medical condition?

Medical conditions like diabetes or allergies may require specialty dog food. For example, obesity or diabetes may require a low-calorie or diet dog food. Food allergies, though, are more universal among dogs. Some of the most common culprits include beef, dairy, wheat, eggs, chicken, lamb/mutton, soy, pork, rabbit, and fish.

Limited ingredient dog foods have a single protein source and a shorter list of ingredients to make it easier to find tolerable food. Other recipes are made without common allergens like wheat, soy, and dairy. If you don’t know what your dog is allergic to, LID foods can help you identify the potential culprit.

Do you want to feed your dog fresh food or stock up?

Wet dog foods come in a wide range of options. There’s the traditional canned, but there are also pouches or meal subscription services that deliver fresh meals weekly. The nutritional value is about the same between the different wet food types. Some people prefer the freshness of a meal service, but, nutritionally speaking, the dog gets the same nutrients. 

For most people, budget and lifestyle determine which wet food type works best. Subscription services deliver prepared meals according to your dog’s nutritional needs. They go in the refrigerator until you’re ready to feed your dog. However, they’re the most expensive option. Pouches are incredibly convenient. You don’t even need a can opener to open them. They’re a great option when you’re traveling or if you’re in a hurry. Canned dog food is the least expensive option and offers the widest variety of options. They’re easy to store and last a long time.  

Related: You fed their belly. Now feed your pup’s mind with the best dog puzzles.

FAQs

Q: How long does wet dog food last if it’s not opened?

How long wet dog food lasts if it’s not opened depends, in part, on the type of wet dog food. Canned wet dog food lasts the longest at approximately two years from the time it was purchased. However, check the can for a “best by” date and abide by that date. Freshly made and packed meals, like those from Farmers Dog, should be eaten within four days if refrigerated or four months if frozen. Pouches fall somewhere in between, so check the “best by” date to make sure it’s still safe to eat. 

Q: What is the best wet dog food recommended by vets?

Many dog food companies consult vets when designing their healthy dog food recipes. For example, Farmers Dog, the subscription service on our list, consults veterinarians to determine the right nutritional mix and portion size based on a dog’s size, activity level, and medical history. Hill’s Science Diet is another one that’s known for working closely with veterinarians to develop digestible, nutritive dog food.

Q: What wet dog food is the best quality?

The best quality wet dog foods are the ones made from fresh ingredients, designed to be eaten a few days after arrival. These meals may not last long (typically about four days after delivery), but they’re packed with nutrients and natural ingredients. However, if they’re not within your budget, pouches and canned foods have similar nutritive value, except the ingredients aren’t quite as fresh. 

Q: Can you mix wet dog food with dry dog food?

Absolutely. In fact, this can be a very effective way to get your dog a complete nutrient selection. It will also likely make your dog enjoy the meal more if they’re currently only eating dry food. If you’re springing for the expensive natural food, you can also supplement with dry food to keep the total cost down until you hit the lottery and spoil your pooch like you want to.

Related: Need some chillout treats? Here are the best CBD treats for dogs.

A final word on food shopping the best wet dog food

The best wet dog food makes your dog’s mouth water while filling him with the vitamins, minerals, and calories he needs to live his best life. Base your choice on your dog’s age, medical history, size, and activity level to make sure he gets healthy dog food with enough calories. Whether you’ve got a puppy or a dog with allergies, there are healthy foods made to make sure he’s strong, healthy, and active. If your pup isn’t into the wet food, then try some of the best dry dog food.

Why trust us

Popular Science started writing about technology more than 150 years ago. There was no such thing as “gadget writing” when we published our first issue in 1872, but if there was, our mission to demystify the world of innovation for everyday readers means we would have been all over it. Here in the present, PopSci is fully committed to helping readers navigate the increasingly intimidating array of devices on the market right now.

Our writers and editors have combined decades of experience covering and reviewing consumer electronics. We each have our own obsessive specialties—from high-end audio to video games to cameras and beyond—but when we’re reviewing devices outside of our immediate wheelhouses, we do our best to seek out trustworthy voices and opinions to help guide people to the very best recommendations. We know we don’t know everything, but we’re excited to live through the analysis paralysis that internet shopping can spur so readers don’t have to.

The post The best wet dog food of 2023 appeared first on Popular Science.

Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made.

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Why some clownfish are growing up too quickly https://www.popsci.com/environment/clownfish-growing/ Sat, 23 Sep 2023 23:00:00 +0000 https://www.popsci.com/?p=573803
Before developing their iconic coloring and entering adulthood, baby clownfish undertake a crucial journey to find the anemone where they will spend the rest of their days.
Before developing their iconic coloring and entering adulthood, baby clownfish undertake a crucial journey to find the anemone where they will spend the rest of their days. Getty Images

As climate change becomes more serious, even fish may be forced to grow up too soon.

The post Why some clownfish are growing up too quickly appeared first on Popular Science.

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Before developing their iconic coloring and entering adulthood, baby clownfish undertake a crucial journey to find the anemone where they will spend the rest of their days.
Before developing their iconic coloring and entering adulthood, baby clownfish undertake a crucial journey to find the anemone where they will spend the rest of their days. Getty Images

This article was originally featured on Hakai Magazine, an online publication about science and society in coastal ecosystems. Read more stories like this at hakaimagazine.com.

For clownfish, life begins with an adventure. In 2003’s Finding Nemo, young Nemo takes a dizzying journey from coral reef to captivity and back again. In real life, it’s a different kind of quest: soon after hatching, tiny translucent clownfish larvae swim for 10 to 15 days, traveling up to 35 kilometers through open ocean. It’s the biggest trip they’ll ever take. After this brief excursion, young clownfish develop their iconic orange and white coloring and settle down on an anemone, where they dwell for the rest of their days.

But recent research suggests that climate change could disrupt this delicate life stage. In laboratory experiments, graduate student Billy Moore at Japan’s Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) and colleagues found that clownfish larvae raised in water 3 °C warmer than normal zoom through early development. After 18 days, fish raised at 31 °C instead of 28 °C had bodies 16 percent longer, on average. The fish raised in warmer water also grew complete fins and pelvic fin spines—a key stage of clownfish development—two days faster than the fish raised under cooler conditions.

Timothy Ravasi, study coauthor and marine scientist at OIST, says that faster growth in a warming world could become a problem for wild clownfish. If climate change causes clownfish larvae to develop too quickly, they might arrive on an anemone when there’s not enough food to go around. Or fish that grow faster might not swim as far—if they settle close to home and mate with nearby fish, clownfish genetic diversity could suffer.

But the fish’s quicker growth could have benefits. Emily Fobert, a marine ecologist at the University of Melbourne in Australia who was not involved in the study, suggests that faster maturing clownfish larvae may spend less time in the open ocean where they are vulnerable to predators.

Either way, clownfish are a prime choice for studying the consequences of climate change because, unlike many coral reef fishes, they are easy to breed in captivity. This gives researchers the chance to study their entire life cycle up close, and probe questions about how warming water might affect wild fish at each stage of their development. Plus, Ravasi jokes, “everyone loves Nemo.”

The clownfish that Moore raised in warmer water also had faster metabolisms, which the scientists determined by measuring how much oxygen the clownfish consumed in a tiny swim tunnel. This squares with previous research on older clownfish, as well as Ravasi’s not-yet-published research on juvenile grouper.

The researchers based the warmer temperature in their study on the projection of future climate change if carbon dioxide emissions double by the year 2100. Although the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts a 3 °C increase in average ocean temperatures by 2100 under that scenario, temperature spikes are already common during ocean heatwaves. This year, ocean temperatures have broken records around the world, with the North Atlantic more than 1 °C warmer than normal, on average. Some spots are seeing even higher temperatures, like the 10 °C jump near coastal Newfoundland in July.

“The temperature is going to increase, marine heatwaves are going to increase, so we do need to understand how these fish will respond,” says Moore.

This article first appeared in Hakai Magazine and is republished here with permission.

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