Animals

October 17, 2022

Wax Worms Can Break Down Plastic With Their Saliva

A scientist was tending to her amateur beehives one day when she noticed something strange. She had removed a bunch of wax worms—larvae that live in beehives and feast upon the wax combs—and placed them in a plastic trash bag. Strangely, the bag was now full of holes. “We found it wasn’t only chewing,” Dr. Federica Bertocchini from the Biological Research Centre in Madrid recalls, “it was [chemical breakdown], so that was the beginning of the story.

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October 8, 2022

Feisty Jack Russell Terrier Uses “Ninja Moves” To Save Owner From a Bear Attack

Dogs really are our best friends. And sometimes, they can even save our lives. No one knows this better than Susan Lee, whose brave and feisty Jack Russell terrier stood up to a black bear with some “ninja moves” after the giant creature threatened her while she was out walking. The 61-year-old was on the trails of her property in Stafford, Vermont, with her two dogs, a labradoodle and our hero, a Jack Russell terrier.

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October 6, 2022

Giraffe Delights Everyone at the Zoo by Giving Birth to Her Baby in Front of Visitors

Bringing new life into the world is a wondrous experience that is often an intimate event, but sometimes things go unexpectedly. The Virginia Zoo recently had a birth with an audience that was not expecting it and a baby giraffe was born right in front of their eyes. Imara, a Masai giraffe, gave birth to her brand new baby in September, giving the visitors to the zoo that day a special once-in-a-lifetime experience.

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My Modern Met

Celebrating creativity and promoting a positive culture by spotlighting the best sides of humanity—from the lighthearted and fun to the thought-provoking and enlightening.