These Small Mammals Snort to a Different Tune

Hyraxes, which live in Africa and the Middle East, punctuate their songs with snorts. And the snorts appear to reflect the animals’ emotional state. Jason G. Goldman reports. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com

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Ice Age Temperatures Help Predict Future Warming

Scientists determined that temperatures were 11 degrees cooler during the last ice age—and that finding has implications for modern-day warming. Julia Rosen reports.  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com

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High-Elevation Hummingbirds Evolved a Temperature Trick

Hummingbirds in the Peruvian Andes enter a state of torpor at night to conserve energy, dipping their body temperature to as low as 38 degrees Fahrenheit. Christopher Intagliata reports.  -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com

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Why Pet Pigs Are More like Wolves Than Dogs

Given an impossible task, a dog will ask a human for help, but a wolf will not seek help—and neither will a pet pig. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com

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Bricks Can Be Turned into Batteries

Pumping cheap iron-oxide-rich red bricks with specific vapors that form polymers enables the bricks to become electrical-charge-storage devices. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com

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Leftovers Are a Food-Waste Problem

Researchers found that leftovers are likely to end up in the trash, so they advise cooking smaller meals in the first place to avoid food waste. Christopher Intagliata reports. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com

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Some Dinosaurs Probably Nested in Arctic

The finding of a baby dinosaur fossil in the Arctic implies that some dinos nested in the region, which was milder than today but not toasty. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com

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Star Systems Can Be Born Topsy-Turvy

Astronomers observed an odd triple-star system that offers clues about misaligned planetary orbits. Christopher Intagliata reports. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com

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Death by Lightning Is Common for Tropical Trees

A study estimates that 200 million trees in the tropics are mowed down by lightning annually. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com

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Science Briefs from around the World

Here are some brief reports about science and technology from all over, including one from Antarctica about how there’s something funny about penguin poop. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com

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