Magpie News Collector

animal

Science taught us a few new tricks about our pets in 2025

By Science News | Carly Kay | 12/29/2025 10:00 AM

Are we reading our dog’s moods right? Does TV really comfort them when we’re away? These pet stories were catnip to us this year. ... Read full Story

animal

Have a taste of our favorite food stories from 2025

By Science News | Carly Kay | 12/24/2025 10:00 AM

This year, researchers took a bite out of culinary innovation. Check out some of our favorite food-related stories from 2025. ... Read full Story

animal

These are our favorite animal stories of 2025

By Science News | Carly Kay | 12/22/2025 11:00 AM

From clever cockatoos to vomiting spiders, these cool critters captivated us this year. ... Read full Story

animal

Ancient DNA rewrites the tale of when and how cats left Africa

By Science News | Jake Buehler | 12/16/2025 9:00 AM

Cats were domesticated in North Africa, but spread to Europe only about 2,000 years ago. Earlier reports of “house” cats were wild cats. ... Read full Story

animal

Mosquitos use it to suck blood. Researchers used it to 3-D print

By Science News | Payal Dhar | 12/12/2025 11:00 AM

A mosquito proboscis repurposed as a 3-D printing nozzle can print filaments around 20 micrometers wide, half the width of a fine human hair. ... Read full Story

animal

Bats might be the next bird flu wild card

By Science News | Jane Qiu | 12/10/2025 1:00 PM

Finding that vampire bats along Peru’s coast carried H5N1 antibodies raises concerns that multiple bat species could become reservoirs for the virus. ... Read full Story

animal

Trucked-in honeybees may edge out bigger bumblebee foragers

By Science News | Bethany Brookshire | 12/9/2025 7:01 PM

The finding could guide beekeepers to keep hives out of most vulnerable areas of the Irish heathlands. ... Read full Story

animal

Huge relatives of white sharks lived earlier than thought

By Science News | Jake Buehler | 12/8/2025 3:00 PM

Lamniform sharks such as great whites and tiger sharks are famous for their size. The first such giants evolved 15 million years earlier than thought. ... Read full Story

animal

How male seahorses tap into their mothering side

By Science News | Elizabeth Pennisi | 12/5/2025 9:00 AM

By studying the genes responsible for the seahorse’s brood pouch, researchers uncovered a new route to “motherhood.” ... Read full Story

animal

Ancient DNA reveals China’s first ‘pet’ cat wasn’t the house cat

By Science News | Bethany Brookshire | 12/3/2025 1:00 PM

The modern house cat reached China in the 8th century. Before that, another cat — the leopard cat — hunted the rodents in ancient Chinese settlements. ... Read full Story

animal

Cuddly koalas had a brutal, blade-toothed close cousin

By Science News | Jake Buehler | 11/25/2025 12:00 PM

Ancient collagen preserved in the bones of extinct Australian mammals is revealing their evolutionary relationships, leading to some surprises. ... Read full Story

animal

Rats are snatching bats out of the air and eating them

By Science News | Gennaro Tomma | 11/24/2025 11:00 AM

The grisly infrared camera footage records a never-before-seen hunting tactic. It may have implications for bat conservation. ... Read full Story

animal

Here’s how Rudolph’s light-up nose might be possible

By Science News | Maria Temming | 11/21/2025 8:00 AM

Simple chemistry could give the reindeer his famously bright snout. But physics would make it look different colors from the ground. ... Read full Story

animal

Lions have a second roar that no one noticed until now

By Science News | Elie Dolgin | 11/20/2025 7:01 PM

A machine learning analysis of wild lion audio reveals they have two roar types, not one. This insight might help detect where lions are declining. ... Read full Story

animal

A wolf raided a crab trap. Was it tool use or just canine cunning?

By Science News | Elie Dolgin | 11/17/2025 12:00 PM

Video from the Haíɫzaqv Nation Indigenous community shows a wolf hauling a crab trap ashore. Scientists are split on whether it counts as tool use. ... Read full Story

animal

This parasitic ant tricks workers into committing matricide

By Science News | Erin Garcia de Jesús | 11/17/2025 11:00 AM

Newly mated parasitic queen ants invade colonies and spray their victims with a chemical irritant that provokes the workers to kill their mother. ... Read full Story

animal

40,000-year-old woolly mammoth RNA offers a peek into its last moments

By Science News | Meghan Rosen | 11/14/2025 11:00 AM

Ancient RNA from Yuka, a 40,000-year-old woolly mammoth preserved in permafrost, can offer new biological insights into the Ice Age animal’s life. ... Read full Story

animal

Deep-sea mining might feed plankton a diet of junk food

By Science News | Carolyn Gramling | 11/13/2025 11:00 AM

An analysis of mining plumes in the Pacific Ocean reveals they kick up particles sized similarly to the more nutritious tidbits that plankton eat. ... Read full Story

animal

AI eavesdropped on whale chatter. It may have helped find something new

By Science News | Kathryn Hulick | 11/12/2025 11:00 AM

Some “clicks” made by sperm whales may actually be “clacks,” but marine biologists debate what, if anything, that means. ... Read full Story

animal

This fly’s flesh-eating maggot is making a comeback. Here’s what to know

By Science News | Carly Kay | 11/12/2025 10:00 AM

After a decades-long hiatus, new world screwworm populations have surged in Central America and Mexico — and are inching northward. ... Read full Story

auto

A Future BMW Z4 Replacement Could Make Purists Very Unhappy

by carbuzz.com | Mar 18 2026

beauty

Miley Cyrus' Oscars 2025 Hair Would Have Been Perfect If Not For One Fatal Flaw

by The List | Mar 02 2025

entertainment

Laurie Hernandez Says Her 2016 'Final Five' Olympic Teammates Are Ready for Her '& Juliet' Broadway Debut

by ET Online | Mar 18 2026

exercise

Dua Lipa’s Trainer Just Revealed the Body Part the Pop Star Trains the Hardest

by thehealthy.com | Dec 03 2025

finance

Almost 1 in 3 Americans doesn’t know when — or even if — they can retire

by MarketWatch.com | Mar 19 2026

game

A Mod To Turn Baldur's Gate 3 Into Baldur's Gate 1 Is In The Works, Demo Out Now

by GameSpot | Mar 18 2026

golf

Masashi Ozaki, Japan’s Dominant Golfer Known as ‘Jumbo,’ Dies at 78

by NY Times | Dec 30 2025

long_island

Moriches teen gets 4 to 12 years in DWI crash that killed East Hampton teen

by greaterlongisland.com | Mar 18 2026

new_jersey

Op-Ed: When child care costs more than the rent, we all lose

by NJ Spotlight | Mar 18 2026

odd_fun

21 Cringey Things Celebrities Did At The Beginning Of The Pandemic That Are Weird To Look Back On Now

by BuzzFeed, Inc. | Mar 18 2026

people

Will Taylor Swift make the Country Music Hall of Fame? Here's what experts say

by marca.com | Mar 19 2026

real_estate

Billionaire financier secretly sells $47M Beverly Hill mansion amid investigation into Epstein ties

by NY Post | Mar 18 2026

retirement

BlackRock: As Americans struggle to save for retirement, 71% back this Trump proposal

by Fox News | Feb 11 2026

science

Artemis II: NASA is preparing for a return to the moon, but why is it going back?

by LIVE SCIENCE | Mar 18 2026

wellness

The Unexpected Mental Health Effect of GLP-1 Medications

by Self.com | Mar 18 2026

Word of the Day

nadir

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 19, 2026 is:

nadir • \NAY-deer\ • noun

Nadir refers to the lowest or worst point of something. When used in astronomy, nadir describes the point of the celestial sphere that is directly opposite the zenith and vertically downward from the observer.

// Only once the novel’s protagonist reaches her nadir does she arouse the reader’s empathy, and we root for her to climb back to respectability.

See the entry >

Examples:

“Sacrament dives right into the nadir of the 2020 health crisis, following a group of nurses who have moved into makeshift housing near a California hospital, to isolate from their families during the height of the case surge.” — James Folta, LitHub.com, 1 July 2025

Did you know?

Nadir is part of the galaxy of scientific words that have come to us from Arabic, a language that has made important contributions to the English lexicon especially in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and chemistry. The source of nadir is naḍhīr, meaning “opposite”—the opposite, that is, of the zenith, the highest point of the celestial sphere which is positioned vertically above the observer. (The word zenith itself is a modification of another Arabic word that means “the way over one’s head.”) Though born of the heavens, both words are called upon to refer to earthy things too, especially a significant point or period of time, be it a high point or low one.

Science taught us a few new tricks about our pets in 2025

Have a taste of our favorite food stories from 2025

These are our favorite animal stories of 2025

Ancient DNA rewrites the tale of when and how cats left Africa

Mosquitos use it to suck blood. Researchers used it to 3-D print

Bats might be the next bird flu wild card

Trucked-in honeybees may edge out bigger bumblebee foragers

Huge relatives of white sharks lived earlier than thought

How male seahorses tap into their mothering side

Ancient DNA reveals China’s first ‘pet’ cat wasn’t the house cat

Cuddly koalas had a brutal, blade-toothed close cousin

Rats are snatching bats out of the air and eating them

Here’s how Rudolph’s light-up nose might be possible

Lions have a second roar that no one noticed until now

A wolf raided a crab trap. Was it tool use or just canine cunning?

This parasitic ant tricks workers into committing matricide

40,000-year-old woolly mammoth RNA offers a peek into its last moments

Deep-sea mining might feed plankton a diet of junk food

AI eavesdropped on whale chatter. It may have helped find something new

This fly’s flesh-eating maggot is making a comeback. Here’s what to know

A Future BMW Z4 Replacement Could Make Purists Very Unhappy

Miley Cyrus' Oscars 2025 Hair Would Have Been Perfect If Not For One Fatal Flaw

Laurie Hernandez Says Her 2016 'Final Five' Olympic Teammates Are Ready for Her '& Juliet' Broadway Debut

Dua Lipa’s Trainer Just Revealed the Body Part the Pop Star Trains the Hardest

Almost 1 in 3 Americans doesn’t know when — or even if — they can retire

A Mod To Turn Baldur's Gate 3 Into Baldur's Gate 1 Is In The Works, Demo Out Now

Masashi Ozaki, Japan’s Dominant Golfer Known as ‘Jumbo,’ Dies at 78

Moriches teen gets 4 to 12 years in DWI crash that killed East Hampton teen

Op-Ed: When child care costs more than the rent, we all lose

21 Cringey Things Celebrities Did At The Beginning Of The Pandemic That Are Weird To Look Back On Now

Will Taylor Swift make the Country Music Hall of Fame? Here's what experts say

Billionaire financier secretly sells $47M Beverly Hill mansion amid investigation into Epstein ties

BlackRock: As Americans struggle to save for retirement, 71% back this Trump proposal

Artemis II: NASA is preparing for a return to the moon, but why is it going back?

The Unexpected Mental Health Effect of GLP-1 Medications

Word of the Day

10 Odd & Fun

1.21 Cringey Things Celebrities Did At The Beginning Of The Pandemic That Are Weird To Look Back On Now

2.Watch: Lost cat reunited with Maryland family after 5 years

3.S.C. woman buys four lottery tickets, wins four times

4.Deer trapped on rocks on Maine shore for hours

5.Watch: More than 1,050 people form human shamrock in Dublin, Ohio

6.Watch: Bear emerges behind TV reporter during live broadcast

7.Turkeys on the tracks delay Staten Island trains twice in 2 hours

8.Portable Pubs On Wheels Bring Ireland To New England

9.Syrup spill closes California highway for nearly 9 hours

10.N.C. lottery player wins his second Cash 5 jackpot in 14 years