How snakes got their fangs
Ever wondered how deadly snakes evolved their fangs? The answer lies in particular microscopic features of their teeth, research led by Flinders University and the South Australian Museum suggests......»»
Deadly Venom From Spiders and Snakes May Cure What Ails You
Efforts to tease apart the vast swarm of proteins in venom -- a field called venomics -- have burgeoned in recent years, leading to important drug discoveries. From a report: In a small room in a building at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, the inve.....»»
The Jurassic rise of squamates as supported by lepidosaur disparity and evolutionary rates
Scientists have found that a key modern group of reptiles that includes lizards and snakes—known as squamates—diverged in the Jurassic period, 50 million years earlier than previously thought......»»
Snakes and lizards evolve minus key T cells
The slow-moving Australian sleepy lizard has raised new questions about vertebrate immunity after the surprise discovery of the evolutionary disappearance of genes needed for some T cell production in squamates......»»
Morbius review: Cold, dead, and desperate
Sony's Morbius wants to sink its fangs into audiences with Marvel's superhero vampire, but falls frustratingly short of getting anyone's blood boiling......»»
How Boa Constrictors Can Breathe Even as They Crush Their Prey
New research shows the snakes activate different sections of their rib cage, using their lungs as bellows to pull in air......»»
How boas save themselves from suffocating when constricting and digesting dinner
The later stages of pregnancy can make life difficult as the fetus presses against the diaphragm, making it hard to breathe. But snakes that constrict their victims before swallowing them whole have to overcome the challenges of breathing while their.....»»
This is why boa constrictors can still breathe while squeezing the life out of prey
Snakes activate different sections of the rib cage, using far end of lungs as a bellows. Enlarge / Brown University biologists X-rayed boa constrictors to determine how they manage to breathe while squeezing prey to death. (credit: Jo.....»»
This is why boa constrictors can breathe while squeezing the life out of prey
Snakes activate different sections of the rib cage, using far end of lungs as a bellows Enlarge / Brown University biologists x-rayed boa constrictors to determine how they manage to breathe while squeezing prey to death. (credit: Joh.....»»
In the market for a security system? This recent Kickstarter hit is already on sale.
TL;DR: As of March 22, you can knock $10 off the regular price of the OLA Smart WiFi Security Camera and get it for $189.99 instead of $200.Since you can’t get a moat of snakes and alligators or hire your own private security detail to monitor.....»»
New study unlocks mystery origin of iconic Aussie snakes
New research led by the University of Adelaide has found the first tangible evidence that the ancestors of some of Australia's most venomous snakes arrived by sea rather than by land—the dispersal route of most other Australian reptiles......»»
Seven reasons Australia is the lucky country when it comes to snakes
Australia has a global reputation as a land full of danger, where seemingly everything is out to kill you. Crocodiles lurk in estuaries, large spiders hide in bathrooms, and we share our suburbs with some of the world's most venomous snakes......»»
Venoms in snakes and salivary protein in mammals share a common origin
Snakes, some lizards and even a few mammals can have a venomous bite. Although these lineages split more than 300 million years ago, their venoms have evolved from the same ancestral salivary protein, reported scientists today in BMC Biology......»»
Horizon Forbidden West teases giant robot snakes and pterodactyls
A new Horizon Forbidden West trailer offers a closer look at some of the sequel's new enemies......»»
Burrowing snakes have far worse eyesight than their ancestors
The ancestor of all living snakes probably had substantially better vision than present-day burrowing snakes, according to new research......»»
Paleontologists debunk fossil thought to be missing link between lizards and first snakes
Filling in the links of the evolutionary chain with a fossil record of a ''snake with four legs" connecting lizards and early snakes would be a dream come true for paleontologists. But a specimen formerly thought to fit the bill is not the missing pi.....»»
Snakes more likely to inbreed and lose ability to adapt due to urbanisation
Curtin University research has found that isolated Perth tiger snake populations, such as those surrounded by urban development or seawater, are more likely to resort to inbreeding than those in less "cut off" communities......»»
Subconscious bias drives negative attitudes toward snakes
Snakes rank among Americans' top animal phobias, and are among the most disliked animals globally. A new study from North Carolina State University finds that the dislike of snakes is subconscious and, to some extent, learned......»»
How the Demise of Dinosaurs Led to the Rise of Snakes
The Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction killed 75 percent of all species—and prompted a snakesplosion of biodiversity......»»
How a mass extinction resulted in the rise of the snakes
The Cretaceous–Paleogene mass extinction saw a snake-splosion of biodiversity. Enlarge / Today's diverse snake populations may trace back to a single ancestral species that survived the dinosaur-killing mass extinction. (credit: Alan.....»»
Two new pit vipers discovered from Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
Two new species of venomous snakes were just added to Asia's fauna—the Nujiang pit viper (Gloydius lipipengi) from Zayu, Tibet, and the Glacier pit viper (G. swild) found west of the Nujiang River and Heishui, Sichuan, east of the Qinghai-Tibet Pla.....»»