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Nature
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As grandiose as we might think our civilizations have become, we are but the latest entry in the long chronicle detailing life on Earth. We humans share this planet with fellow organisms whose vast numbers completely tower over our own. We borrowed this planet from its previous inhabitants from eons ago and whose lives were written on the soil-turned-rock on which they were laid to rest. Modern Sciences urges its readers to contemplate our planetary co-inhabitants, both past and present.
The brain might also have a microbiome – what you need to know
Janosch Heller, Dublin City University The microbes that live in your gut are having their moment in the…
Are we really about to talk to whales?
A humpback whale surfaces for a chat. Jay Ondreicka/Shutterstock Luke Rendell, University of St Andrews The past decade…
Study Reveals Female Sea Otters’ Ingenious Tool Use for Survival
At a Glance A recent study has shed light on the remarkable tool-using behavior of southern sea otters…
Why Do Animals Keep Turning Into Crocodiles?
Crocodiles and their family members share an ancient evolutionary history. What’s usually not known, however, is that nature…
Unravelling life’s origin: five key breakthroughs from the past five years
MisFluffy/Shutterstock Seán Jordan, Dublin City University and Louise Gillet de Chalonge, Dublin City University There is still so…
The Secret to Grasshoppers’ Jumps
Grasshoppers’ legs function like a lever with two tendons and a specialized exoskeleton that acts as a spring,…
Animal behavior research is getting better at keeping observer bias from sneaking in – but there’s still room to improve
What you expect can influence what you think you see. Auscape/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Todd M.…
Collecting live snakes in remote Amazon regions for study is no easy task – here’s how we do it
Paulo Sérgio Bernarde, Universidade Federal do Acre (UFAC) Brazil records an average of 29,000 snakebites a year, leading…
Finding the Largest Animal That Ever Flew
The evolution of powered flight has opened up various possibilities for animal lineages, enabling them to move over…
Why don’t female crickets chirp?
I feel a song coming on … Paul Starosta/Stone via Getty images Floyd W. Shockley, Smithsonian Institution Curious…