Stories by Rachel Nuwer

A machine-learning algorithm predicts that more than half of the thousands of species whose conservation status has yet to be assessed are probably in danger of disappearing for good

Their efforts could benefit countless others in need of an end-of-life measure

The numbers of lives lost and dollars spent would have been significantly lower if coverage had been extended to everyone, a new study says

Genetic mutations related to production of the stress hormone cortisol may have played a role in the process of canine domestication

Natural selection propels the giraffe family to absolute extremes—and it is not just about the absurdly long necks

Parasites play an outsize role in balancing ecosystems, and some species may be in danger

An assessment of chimpanzees, gorillas and bonobos reveals that our economic “footprint” is the primary driver of great apes’ fate

Fish species were found deliberately chafing on sharks around the world, though why they do so is not entirely clear

Poaching brings evolutionary pressure for tusklessness

A dig in the Nevada desert finds telltale seeds at the site of a late Paleolithic hearth

Here’s how a flower extract keeps off mosquitoes

The risk of infection increased by up to 30 percent or so among people with observances in the first 10 months of 2020

An online animal catalogue lets you decode communications and other behaviors for everyone’s favorite pachyderm

The impact was clear up and down the coastal food chain

Researchers explore how an amphetamine and a psychedelic help parasitic fungi spread their spores through insects’ doomed mating attempts

Tufted titmice scuffle more vigorously in front of a crowd—even if some of the onlookers are woodpeckers

Fossilized pollen and leaves reveal that the meteorite that caused the extinction of nonavian dinosaurs also reshaped South America’s plant communities to yield the planet’s largest rain forest

Canine distemper threatens a key group of Amur tigers, but an unconventional vaccination program could help

Researchers probe the outer boundaries of what types of sounds human infants tune in to for building cognition

We are really bad at navigating a key transition point during one of the most basic social interactions

Big-brained cephalopods could shine light on the evolution and neurobiology of intelligence, complexity, and more—and inspire medical and technological breakthroughs

An Ebola outbreak and a few false leads slowed a 15-year search for bacteria that attack the nerves and gut

Researchers decode spiders’ web-building behavior for application in future robots

Depictions of pigs found in Indonesia date back at least 45,500 years