Rachel Nuwer

Rachel Nuwer

 

Rachel Nuwer is a freelance science writer based in Brooklyn.

A customs officer in Thailand examines specimens from a three ton ivory seizure, estimated to be worth $6 million.

DNA and Databases Help Untangle the Web of the Illegal Wildlife Trade

Two new data-driven approaches help identify key hotspots for poaching and trafficking

Scientists found what appear to be red blood cells in this claw from an unidentified theropod dinosaur.

Dinosaur Soft Tissue Recovered From Eight Cretaceous-Era Fossils

New sampling methods yielded cells and fibers from relatively ordinary fossils, broadening the possibilities for paleontology

The Grevy's zebra (left) and the plains zebra may be tough to tell apart—until you examine their dietary preferences via their poop.

Big African Animals Are Pickier Eaters Than We Imagined

To the surprise of ecologists, plant-eaters manage to coexist on the savanna by each choosing different favorite foods

More exotic items are kept on permanent display.

The Nation’s Stash of Lost Luggage Finds a New Life in This Alabama Town

Buy yourself a new wardrobe, iPad or other oddities at the Unclaimed Baggage Center

Investigating the Case of the Earliest Known Murder Victim

A 430,000-year-old skull discovered in a Spanish cave bears evidence of deliberate, lethal blunt force trauma

Java sparrows are both vocalists and percussionists.

These Sparrows Sing to the Beat of Their Own Drum

Java sparrows amp up their tunes with acoustic beak taps synchronized with chirps

Meet the Prize-Winning Spiders From the British Tarantula Society's Annual Competition

Now in its 30th year, the arachnid-equivalent of the Westminster Dog Show showcases the strange beauty of an eight-legged obsession

A trap-jaw ant opens its massive mandibles.

Watch These Ants Hurl Themselves Out of Death Traps With Their Mouths

At least one trap-jaw ant species has coopted its exceptionally strong mandibles to escape its nemesis, the ferocious antlion

A blood-sucker creeping around on a potential victim's pristine white sheets.

How Our Modern Lives Became Infested With Bed Bugs

After being bitten by the tiny pests, author Brooke Borel set out to learn all she could about her blood-sucking foes

A Diana monkey, perhaps tuning in to the distress calls of fellow primates.

Monkeys Can Hack Each Other’s Grammar

Campbell’s monkeys add suffixes to alarm calls to indicate specific threats, and Diana monkeys tune in for their own benefit

A female specimen of the newly discovered Alto Tambo woodlizard.

New Dwarf Dragons Have Been Found in the Andes

It seems that every time herpetologists wander into the Andean cloud forests, they emerge with colorful lizard species in tow

A moth visits a male cone on Ephedra foeminea and feeds on a pollination droplet.

"Wereplant" Releases Its Pollen By the Light of the Full Moon

An unassuming shrub from the Mediterranean is the first documented case of a plant timing its reproduction to the lunar cycle

A Cape fur seal digs in to a blue shark.

Fur Seals Caught Preying on Sharks Off South Africa

The seals only consume the viscera, though, which may be why this particular type of predation took ecologists by surprise

Members of the Xhosa tribe, like the young initiates seen here in Khayelitsha, are among the South African groups that practice ritual circumcision. The affiliation of the young man who received a transplant is not known.

The Trickiest Part of a Penis Transplant? Finding a Donor

The doctors who announced the first successful procedure last week had a particularly difficult time finding willing organ donors

Geckos have amazingly-structured feet, but new research indicates that the lizards' skin also possesses exceptional properties.

Water Drops Leap Off Gecko Skin Thanks to Tiny Spines

Specialized hydrophobic structures on gecko skin encourage dewdrops to be swept away by the wind or to collide and shoot off one another like pool balls

How Close Are We to Creating a Real-Life Chappie?

Despite the potential danger, some scientists believe it’s only a matter of time before autonomous sentient robots walk among us

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How Praying Mantises Can Jump Faster Than the Blink of an Eye

Stunning slow-mo videos capture juvenile mantises as they corkscrew through the air and precisely land their target

Peanut butter, known to the National Institute of Standards and Technology as SRM 2387.

The Weird World of Standard Reference Materials, From Peanut Butter to Whale Blubber

Get the full story behind a $761 jar of peanut butter and other exorbitantly priced everyday objects used by scientists

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Mark World Pangolin Day With a New Video About the Quirky Creatures

Awareness about this animal underdog is climbing, yet an estimated 10,000 pangolins still fell victim to the illegal wildlife trade last year

Luna moths - arguably the most spectacular moths in North America - deflect bat attacks with their ornate wing tails.

Luna Moths’ Gorgeous Wings Throw Off Bat Attacks

Spinning twin tails at the end of moth wings garble bats’ sonar cries, causing the winged predators to miss the tasty mark

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