Animal

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Animals are a major group of mostly multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and independently. Most animals are also heterotrophs, meaning they must ingest other organisms for sustenance.

Most known animal phyla appeared in the fossil record as marine species during the Cambrian explosion, about 542 million years ago.

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News tagged with animals

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Make your pets a part of your New Year's resolutions

Other Sciences / Other

created 16 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- When drawing up a list of New Year's resolutions, be sure to include your pets, says Lorraine Corriveau, a wellness veterinarian at Purdue University's School of Veterinary Medicine.


New findings show how human movement may have brought Chagas disease to urban Peru

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Dec 15, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

New research shows how the migration and settlement patterns associated with the rapid urbanization of Peru may link to Chagas disease transmission. The study, published December 15 in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tr ...


A picture taken in October 2004 shows Fatu (C) at the Dvur Kralove zoo, East Bohemia

Endangered rhinos return to wild

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Dec 11, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

A Czech zoo is to transfer four endangered Northern White rhinos to a Kenyan reserve in a last-ditch attempt to ensure the survival of the species.


Tree of life

Evolution may take giant leaps

Biology / Evolution

created Dec 11, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (27) | comments 36

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study of thousands of species of plants and animals suggests new species may arise from rare events instead of through an accumulation of small changes made in response to changes in ...


Probing Question: What are wildlife corridors?

Probing Question: What are wildlife corridors?

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 10, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Imagine that an unknown force hacks your city into two chunks. Because of this new barrier, you can’t get from your home to your office or the grocery store. Suddenly, your access to critical resources is ...


Study reveals how Arctic food webs affect mercury in polar bears

Space & Earth / Environment

created Dec 08, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 0

With growing concerns about the effects of global warming on polar bears, it's increasingly important to understand how other environmental threats, such as mercury pollution, are affecting these magnificent Arctic animals.


Ted Turner gets OK for Yellowstone bison on ranch (AP)

Ted Turner gets OK for Yellowstone bison on ranch

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 03, 2009 | popularity 2.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(AP) -- The head of Montana's wildlife agency has given preliminary approval to a plan calling for 74 bison from Yellowstone National Park to go to billionaire Ted Turner's private ranch.


Sweden's wolf population is estimated to be between 182 and 217 animals

Sweden allows first wolf hunt in 45 years

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 02, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Sweden will this winter allow its first wolf hunt in 45 years following a decision by the Scandinavian country's parliament to limit their number, authorities said on Wednesday.


The therapeutic benefits of the human-animal bond

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created Nov 30, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (5) | comments 0

A pet owner knows the enormous joy and comfort that an animal can provide, especially in troubled times. Most pets are considered important members of the family and irreplaceable companions. A growing body of research now ...


Aquatic creatures mix ocean water

Physics / General Physics

created Nov 22, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 1

Understanding mixing in the ocean is of fundamental importance to modeling climate change or predicting the effects of an El Niño on our weather. Modern ocean models primarily incorporate the effects of winds and tides. However, ...


Extinct goat Myotragus balearicus

Extinct goat was cold-blooded

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Nov 18, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (39) | comments 11

(PhysOrg.com) -- An extinct goat that lived on a barren Mediterranean island survived for millions of years by reducing in size and by becoming cold-blooded, which has never before been discovered in mammals.


Bigger not necessarily better, when it comes to brains

Bigger not necessarily better, when it comes to brains

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Nov 17, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (19) | comments 12

(PhysOrg.com) -- Tiny insects could be as intelligent as much bigger animals, despite only having a brain the size of a pinhead, say scientists at Queen Mary, University of London.


Penguins and sea lions help produce new atlas

Penguins and sea lions help produce new atlas

Biology / Ecology

created Nov 16, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Recording hundreds of thousands of individual uplinks from satellite transmitters fitted on penguins, albatrosses, sea lions, and other marine animals, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and BirdLife ...


Warm-blooded dinosaurs worked up a sweat

Warm-blooded dinosaurs worked up a sweat

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Nov 11, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Were dinosaurs endothermic (warm-blooded) like present-day mammals and birds or ectothermic (cold-blooded) like present-day lizards? The implications of this simple-sounding question go beyond ...


Can biodiversity persist in the face of climate change?

Can biodiversity persist in the face of climate change?

Biology / Ecology

created Nov 06, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (8) | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- Predictions made over the last decade about the impacts of climate change on biodiversity may be exaggerated, according to a paper published in the journal Science.