Animals

Bandar, a male tiger, plays with a ball made of tough plastic in the pool to keep cool on a hot day at the National Zoo.

National

How Does A Tiger Keep Cool In This Heat? One Word: Bloodsicles

5:24pm July 25, 2016

by Lee Hale

In the sweltering summer heat of Washington, D.C., the National Zoo gets creative to keep its guests and animals happy. That means things like frozen treats made of cow blood for the big cats.

A typical hoverfly (Spilomyia diophthalma)

Science

The Uppermost Aristocracy of the Hoverfly Society

9:13am July 23, 2016

by Byrd Pinkerton

Fredrik Sjöberg had been hunting for hoverflies for 30 years. But his collection wasn't complete without the rare and beautiful Callicera fly.

Yao honey hunter Orlando Yassene holds a male greater honeyguide temporarily captured for research in the Niassa National Reserve, Mozambique. The birds will flutter in front of people, tweet and fly from tree to tree to guide hunters to bees' nests that

Science

How Wild Birds Team Up With Humans To Guide Them To Honey

12:03pm July 22, 2016

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

It sounds like a fairy tale but it's real. A study shows how wild birds and people communicate to find bees' nests and share the sweet honeycomb. The teamwork may date back thousands of years or more.

Queue Listen Now

Larry, the chief mouser to the Cabinet Office, prowls outside the door of No. 10 Downing St. in London earlier this month.

World News

Larry The Cat Taken To Vet For Injury, Expected To Make Full Recovery

4:56pm July 21, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

Everyone's favorite British civil servant was observed limping on Wednesday. Some political observers suspect rival Palmerston, the Foreign Office cat, is responsible for the prime mouser's wounds.

By hanging a caged chicken near mosquito traps in bedrooms in three Ethiopian villages, researchers hoped to learn how the insects react to the scent of a fowl.

Health & Safety

To Avoid Malaria, Try Sleeping With A Chicken At Your Bedside

10:51am July 21, 2016

by Mark H. Kim

A study finds that the Anopheles arabiensis species of mosquitoes, a major carrier of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, is repelled by the smell of chicken.

Taking The Battle Against Lyme Disease Ticks To The Backyard

4:17pm July 20, 2016

by Carolyn Beans

Scientists have tested all sorts of strategies to keep Lyme disease ticks from biting us. One is to make it less likely you'll cross paths with the critters in your yard. Sawdust mulch, anyone?

Hundreds Of Endangered Toads Released Into Southeast Wyoming

4:54pm July 19, 2016

by Melodie Edwards

More than 900 endangered toads recently hopped onto the arid plains of southeast Wyoming. It's the only place in the world this species — the Wyoming toad — exists. The release is an effort by wildlife officials to bring back one of the most endangered amphibians in North America.

A bumblebee grooms her fur — and her tongue — to get at the pollen grains she vibrated free from the anthers.

WATCH: The Secret Buzz Only Bumblebees Know To Unlock Our Favorite Crops

11:09am July 19, 2016

by Lisa Marie Potter

Some plants will release their pollen only to bees that buzz in just the right way. It's a risky strategy — and it's critical to human agriculture, from tomatoes to blueberries.

Zika virus particles (colored purple in this scan) infecting cells. Each particle is about 40 nanometers in diameter.

A Case Of Zika Apparently Spread From A Patient To A Family Caregiver

6:44pm July 18, 2016

by Rob Stein

Federal and Utah health officials are investigating a case that may be the first instance of Zika spreading from one person to another in ways other than via mosquito bites, sex or the placenta.

Queue Listen Now

Science

New Research Debunks The Dinosaur's Roar

8:52am July 16, 2016

New studies prove that dinosaurs may not have roared in their days on the earth. NPR's Linda Wertheimer talks to paleontologist Julia Clarke about her new discovery — the cooing sounds of dinosaurs.