Magpie News Collector

animal

In a first, orcas and dolphins seen possibly hunting together

By Science News | Gennaro Tomma | 12/31/2025 8:00 AM

New footage shows orcas and dolphins coordinating hunts, hinting at interspecies teamwork to track and catch salmon off British Columbia. ... Read full Story

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

Giant, kraken-like octopuses may have ruled the Cretaceous deep

by Science News | Apr 23 2026

connecticut

Can CT be more affordable without major tax cuts?

by CT Mirror | Apr 30 2026

entertainment

'The Bachelor' Alum Sarah Trott Celebrates Her Upcoming Wedding with a Combined Bachelor and Bachelorette Trip

by ET Online | Apr 27 2026

exercise

Lindsey Vonn Says She Still Feels 29—Here’s What She’s Doing Differently

by thehealthy.com | Apr 15 2026

health

Colorectal, Thyroid Cancer Risk May Be Higher for Males With Infertility

by Healthline.com | Apr 29 2026

how_to

One AirPod Not Working? Here’s How to Fix It

by CNET | Apr 29 2026

knowledge

Here’s Why Spring Air Smells Funkier Than You Remember

by Reader's Digest | Apr 29 2026

lifestyle

10 dinner foods that were beloved in the 1980s but are now banned or heavily restricted

by Hello! Magazine | Apr 30 2026

metro

$600,000 worth of tools taken from Home Depot stores across SoCal

by New York Post | Apr 30 2026

music

Charli xcx Schedules ‘Conversation’ With New York Fans to Talk Songwriting, Creative Process: ‘Would Love to Talk W You’

by Billboard | Apr 30 2026

odd_fun

Watch: 'Zonked out and stuck' bear rescued from tree in Colorado

by United Press International, Inc. | Apr 29 2026

politics

Live updates: Hegseth faces Senate heat; Voting Rights Act ruling sparks midterm worries

by The Hill | Apr 30 2026

real_estate

New Renderings Reveal 467-473 West 165th Street in Washington Heights, Manhattan

by New York YIMBY | Apr 30 2026

travel

Intangible cultural heritage: Fado, Portugal

by Wanderlust | Apr 28 2026

wellness

Want to Live Longer? Start Flossing Your Teeth

by Self.com | Apr 22 2026

Word of the Day

interlocutor

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 30, 2026 is:

interlocutor • \in-ter-LAH-kyuh-ter\ • noun

Interlocutor is a formal word that means “one who takes part in dialogue or conversation.”

// It is crucial in our age of email scams to verify the validity of one’s online interlocutors before sharing sensitive information.

See the entry >

Examples:

“I remember sitting alone on the train platform, and then on the train, with no interlocutor but the poem. I read it once. I read it again. And in the blank spaces between the verses, I started to translate.” — Hannah Kauders, LitHub.com, 3 Dec. 2025

Did you know?

It may not necessarily be grandiloquence to use the word interlocutor in casual speech, but if your interlocutors—that is, the people with whom you are speaking—are using it, your conversation is likely a formal one. Interlocutor is one of many English words that comes from the Latin verb loqui, “to speak,” including loquacious (“talkative”), eloquent (“capable of fluent or vivid speech”), and grandiloquence (“extravagant or pompous speech”). In interlocutor, loqui was joined to inter- forming a Latin word meaning “to speak between” or “to issue an interlocutory decree.” An interlocutory decree is a judicial decision that isn’t final, or that deals with a point other than the principal subject matter of the dispute.

In a first, orcas and dolphins seen possibly hunting together

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

Giant, kraken-like octopuses may have ruled the Cretaceous deep

Can CT be more affordable without major tax cuts?

'The Bachelor' Alum Sarah Trott Celebrates Her Upcoming Wedding with a Combined Bachelor and Bachelorette Trip

Lindsey Vonn Says She Still Feels 29—Here’s What She’s Doing Differently

Colorectal, Thyroid Cancer Risk May Be Higher for Males With Infertility

One AirPod Not Working? Here’s How to Fix It

Here’s Why Spring Air Smells Funkier Than You Remember

10 dinner foods that were beloved in the 1980s but are now banned or heavily restricted

$600,000 worth of tools taken from Home Depot stores across SoCal

Charli xcx Schedules ‘Conversation’ With New York Fans to Talk Songwriting, Creative Process: ‘Would Love to Talk W You’

Watch: 'Zonked out and stuck' bear rescued from tree in Colorado

Live updates: Hegseth faces Senate heat; Voting Rights Act ruling sparks midterm worries

New Renderings Reveal 467-473 West 165th Street in Washington Heights, Manhattan

Intangible cultural heritage: Fado, Portugal

Want to Live Longer? Start Flossing Your Teeth

Word of the Day

10 Odd & Fun

1.Watch: 'Zonked out and stuck' bear rescued from tree in Colorado

2.Family member's zip code delivers $50,000 lottery prize

3.Watch: Deputy responding to animal call finds entire escaped farm

4.Look: Wisconsin recycling center posts 17.3 mph speed limit sign

5.Look: YouTuber breaks Rubik's cube record while skydiving

6.Watch: Dashboard warning lights lead to baby squirrel discovery

7.Watch: Cat lost in California reunited with Georgia family 7 years later

8.Ohio woman wins total $150,000 with three identical lottery tickets

9.Watch: Donkey named Miss Kitty rescued from deep mud in North Carolina

10.Watch: Woman rescued from hole outside Manitoba home