Articles (Zoology)

Mermaids between Myth, Culture, and Fact (2): Encounters and Revelations
(Science in Arts and Culture)

In real life, many of the accounts of mermaid sightings were given by sailors and fishermen. 

Cocoon Makers: From Natural Talent to Genetic Enhancement
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

Commonly known as the queen of textiles, silk is elegant, soft, and durable. Yet, technological advancement never fails to make things better. 


Lighting Up Their Own World
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

Even though humans cannot physically light up, other creatures that we share this Earth with can! While we cannot see in the dark, and therefore rely heavily on artificial light to help us see when night falls, some creatures have eyes that are built to help them see at night, while others have the ability to create their own light.


A Childhood Dream: Can We Talk to Animals Like Dr. Dolittle?
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

Scientists have always sought to decode animal languages; thanks to technological advancements and AI, this dream may become a reality.

From Horseback to Horsepower
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

Horses provided the first means of fast travel and allowed long-range mobility, which helped trade, migration, and cultural interaction to flourish.


Keystone Species and Their Role in Ecosystems
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

Keystone species are those that help maintain the balance and survival of an ecosystem; without them, the ecosystem would drastically change, or it would completely disappear. As the name implies, these species are the keystone the ecosystem is based on; they are particularly important because, if they disappear, no other species can replace them. Keystone species are usually predators, but they might also include fungi and plants.


Galapagos Islands: Threats and Conservation Efforts (3)
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

Over thousands of years, wildlife—plants and animals—formed their own unique ecosystems without any influence of outside forces until the Galapagos Islands underwent many changes, especially since the arrival of humans to the Islands. With the increase of the population, the demand for food also increased, causing an increase in fishing, poaching, hunting, in addition to an increase in the use of wood. 


Plight of the Mighty
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

10 August, World Lion Day, is a celebration of the animal kingdom’s most beautiful and fearsome creature founded by Big Cat Rescue, the world’s largest accredited sanctuary dedicated to big cats. Though a fun and exciting occasion for all, its foundations are based in a very serious matter: lion numbers have dramatically declined to the point where the species needs to be placed on the endangered list.


Galapagos Islands: Endemic Species of the Galapagos (1)
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

If you are an adventurer and a nature lover, you have to add the Galapagos Islands to your bucket list. In addition to the lack of natural predators and friendly wildlife, these Islands are teeming with a diverse array of endemic plants and animals. This means that they are not found elsewhere in the world, thanks to the geographical isolation of the Islands from other places.


Biodiversity: Why Should We Care?
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

Biodiversity is the very heart of our life. It is the extraordinary variety of living creatures and ecological communities growing and interacting with each other all over the world. 

Oh, If I Could Fly
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

Birds are on the move as annual migration is an integral part of the avian life-cycle. They fly tens of thousands of kilometers in search for more convenient ecological conditions, safer habitats, food, and mating grounds. 


The Incredibles
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

Our ecosystems consist of armies of creatures; without their presence the whole ecosystem will collapse.


Youssef and the Biological Clock
(Human Body)

The biological clock is responsible for major changes in our behavior, mood, and body functions; every cell have something similar to a clock.


Life Under Ice Does Not Take a Winter Break
(Earth Sciences)

It has always been understood that life under ice takes the winter season off, but studies have found that life under the ice is very much active.


Mountain Hares and Climate Change
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

Mountain hares suffer an untimely change of their fur color; due to climate change, the hares lost their ability to camouflage and hide from predators.

Athletic by Nature (3): Sharks Are Fast and Furious
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

Sharks can hardly be outswam, which is no wonder given their more than 400-million-year evolutionary history in the ocean.


Athletic by Nature (2): Insects Are Small but Mighty
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

While big animals have big muscles, with smaller bodies, tiny creatures invest most of their muscle power in weightlifting.


Athletic by Nature (1): Cheetahs Are Faster than Ferrari
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

Cheetahs are built for speed, and that speed is the result of some very special aerodynamic physical attributes.

Tampering with Nature and the Rise of Pandemics
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

Diseases have come and gone, but others originated in animals have stayed; our relationship with nature is something that we need to examine.


From the Brink of Extinction: Animals that Made a Comeback
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

While we know that the amount of threatened biodiversity is aplenty, there are some success stories that give us hope and serve as a real evidence of what protecting biodiversity actually looks like.


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SCIplanet is a bilingual edutainment science magazine published by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Planetarium Science Center and developed by the Cultural Outreach Publications Unit ...
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