The 2-Pound Dinosaur That Rewrote the Rules of Miniaturization
A nearly complete skeleton from Patagonia shows that alvarezsaurs shrank before they specialized, upending a core assumption about how evolution works.
Casey Cooper·
Category
Nature
Latest nature articles and coverage
12 articles
How Parasites Rewire Their Hosts' Brains
From zombie ants to fearless rats, parasites have evolved astonishingly precise methods of neural hijacking that challenge our understanding of free will and behavior.
Casey Cooper·
The Underground Cities Waiting on the Moon and Mars
Lava tubes beneath the lunar and Martian surfaces could be large enough to shelter entire settlements. Robots are already learning to explore them.
Casey Cooper·
How Microplastics Are Weakening the Ocean's Climate Defense
The ocean absorbs billions of tons of CO2 annually, our biggest ally against climate change. New research shows microplastics may be disrupting this critical process.
Casey Cooper·
Rats Are Hunting Bats, and Scientists Are Stunned
In German caves, researchers filmed rats standing upright and snatching bats from the air. It's changing what we know about rodent behavior.
Casey Cooper·
How Bees Think in Numbers
Honeybees have mental number lines, can add and subtract, and understand zero. Their tiny brains are rewriting what we thought cognition required.
Casey Cooper·
Why We're Finding More Species Than Ever Before
We're discovering over 16,000 new species per year, even as biodiversity collapses. This paradox reveals both our growing power to see the natural world and how much remains hidden.
Casey Cooper·
Masters of the Cold: How Animals Survive Winter's Extremes
From antifreeze blood to communal huddling, wildlife has evolved extraordinary strategies to endure conditions that would kill most humans in hours.
Casey Cooper·
Why Crows Remember Faces (And Hold Grudges)
Crows recognize individual human faces and remember who threatened them for years. Their intelligence reveals something unexpected about how minds evolve.
Casey Cooper·
How Trees Communicate Underground
Beneath every forest lies a vast network of fungal threads connecting trees in a biological internet. They use it to share resources and warnings.
Casey Cooper·
16,000 New Species Every Year: We Are Still Discovering Earth
Scientists identify more than 16,000 species new to science annually, revealing that our catalog of life on Earth remains dramatically incomplete.
Casey Cooper·
The Snail That Regrows Its Eyes
Golden apple snails can regenerate a complete, functional eye in just one month. Scientists are decoding the genes behind this remarkable ability.
Casey Cooper·