Fatal Attraction: Scientists Blame Sea Snake Attacks on Sex Drive

Sea snakes aren’t angry when they aggressively swim at divers, scientists say. They’re just confused and looking to mate.

What If You Could Become Invisible to Mosquitoes?

Using Crispr, scientists have taken the first step toward creating a mosquito that is blind to human hosts.

Saved by a Bucket, but Can the Owens Pupfish Survive?

A new refuge in the California desert offers a long imperiled species its first real chance to thrive.

Meet the Giraffe Weevil. It’s Got a Secret Up Its Long Snout.

The insect, found in New Zealand, has an evolutionary trick that supports its bizarre and elongated head.

A Woolly Mammoth’s Tusks Reveal a Map of Where It Roamed in Life

The technique used to reconstruct the animal’s 28-year journey across prehistoric Alaska could solve mysteries about the demise of the elephant-like mammals.

Barry the Owl Brought Us Together. What Will We Do Without Her?

A community formed in Central Park around a barred owl with a charming, people-friendly personality. Saying goodbye isn’t easy.

When Insects Lost Their Homes, Evolution Clipped Their Wings

A study in New Zealand shows how man-made changes to an ecosystem can radically reshape the bodies of insect inhabitants.

Giraffes May Be as Socially Complex as Chimps and Elephants

A review of earlier research shows giraffes have the markings of social creatures, including friendships, day care and grandmothers.

Can the Olympics Take the Heat?

Plus: squirrel acrobats, gecko navigators, hair thieves and other natural overachievers in the Friday edition of the Science Times newsletter.

Sneaky Thieves Steal Hair From Foxes, Raccoons, Dogs, Even You

It’s simple: Mammals have hair or fur. Birds want it.

How a Gecko From Africa Crossed the Atlantic Ocean

The African house gecko, one of the most widely distributed invasive reptiles in the world, may have moved with the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

What Animals See in the Stars, and What They Stand to Lose

Humans aren’t the only species that navigate by starlight. Animals from birds to dung beetles may do it, too — and might become disoriented as our city lights drown out the heavens.

These Could Be the Oldest Animal Fossils Ever Found, or Just Squiggles

Critics challenged a study’s claim that a netlike structure found in rocks in a Canadian mountain range could be an 890-million-year-old sponge fossil.

You Won’t Believe How This Beetle Walks on Water

Scientists observed a beetle walking upside-down on the undersurface of a pool of water.

When Euphemisms (but Never Sharks) Attack

Plus, orphaned grizzlies, baby deer in the shower, hoot-owl restrictions and more in the Friday edition of the Science Times newsletter.

It’s a Grizzly Bear Survival Program. For Grizzly Bears.

In British Columbia, researchers have undertaken a unique challenge: tracking orphan grizzly cubs, reared in a shelter, to see whether they can thrive back in the wild.

Trash Parrots Invent New Skill in Australian Suburbs

Sydney’s clever and adaptable sulfur-crested cockatoos learn how to pry open garbage bins by watching one another.

This Is as Close to a Shark’s Intestines as You’ll Ever Hope to Get

Scientists produced 3-D looks at shark’s guts.

This Butterfly Was the First in North America That People Made Extinct

New research suggests the iconic Xerces blue butterfly may have been its own species.

This Butterfly Was the First in North America That People Made Extinct

New research suggests the iconic Xerces blue butterfly may have been its own species.