Animals

Parkinson's disease, smoking, certain head injuries and even normal aging can influence our sense of smell. But certain patterns of loss in the ability to identify odors seem pronounced in Alzheimer's, researchers say.

A Sniff Test For Alzheimer's Checks For The Ability To Identify Odors

4:25pm July 26, 2016

by Jon Hamilton

New research suggests it may be possible to spot people in the early stages of Alzheimer's by testing their ability to recognize fragrances. The goal is a quick and inexpensive screening test.

Larry Is One Lucky Lobster

5:21am July 26, 2016

A lobster was saved from being someone's dinner at a Florida restaurant after news of his nearly 15-pound size blew up on social media. Now, Larry the Lobster is headed to the Maine State Aquarium.

At Ulva Island Bird Sanctuary on Stewart Island, New Zealand, a sign warned visitors in 2008 to check their bags. The fight against invasive predators continues.

World News

Call The Pied Piper: New Zealand Wants To Get Rid Of Its Rats. All Of Them

5:47pm July 25, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

For decades, New Zealand has tried to reduce the populations of destructive, non-native predators. Now the country has a more ambitious goal: eliminating invasive rats, stoats and possums by 2050.

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.