Scientists have released another 30,000 male Asian tiger mosquitoes (Aedes albopictus) in Lisbon as part of an experiment to reduce the local mosquito population. The males don’t bite humans because male mosquitoes feed on nectar, not blood. They have also been sterilized. The idea, known as the Sterile Insect Technique, is simple: sterile males compete with wild males to mate with females. When a female mates with a sterile male, she produces no viable offspring. The latest release brings the total released during this stage to 90,000. Researchers are now monitoring how long the mosquitoes survive and how far they spread. A controlled study is planned to determine whether the technique can actually reduce wild mosquito numbers. The target is the Asian tiger mosquito, an invasive species capable of transmitting viruses such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika. Scientists are essentially using mosquitoes to fight mosquitoes.

Millions of bats form a swirling “bat tornado” as they emerge from Cueva de El Volcán de los Murciélagos in Campeche, Mexico. Known as “Bat Volcano,” the site is home to a huge multi-species colony. At dusk, millions of bats stream from the cave and spread into the surrounding forest to feed. The spectacular emergence can continue for more than a hour, creating a living vortex above the cave. The colony includes several bat species, most of them insect-eaters. Their nightly feeding helps regulate insect populations in the surrounding ecosystem.

White lobsters, sometimes called “ghost lobsters,” are among the rarest color variations, with estimates putting the odds at roughly 1 in 100 million. Their striking white appearance is associated with genetic conditions such as albinism or leucism, which affect pigmentation. When fishermen encounter one, they may donate it to aquariums or marine science centers, where it can be studied and displayed rather than ending up in the seafood market.

Brazil has some of the strongest criminal penalties for cruelty against dogs and cats. Since 2020, people convicted of abusing, mistreating, injuring or mutilating a dog or cat can face 2 to 5 years in prison, a fine, and a prohibition on keeping animals under the country’s so-called Lei Sansão. The law was named after Sansão, a pit bull whose brutal abuse drew national attention. In 2025, Brazil strengthened the protections again, banning aesthetic tattoos and piercings on dogs and cats. Anyone who performs or permits them can face the same penalties. The laws reflect a significant shift in how animal cruelty against dogs and cats is treated under Brazilian criminal law.

A tiny piece of a 1,700-year-old copy of Homer’s Odyssey has been identified in a Dutch university library. The parchment fragment is only about 6.6 × 7.7 cm, but it contains Greek writing from Book 12 of the ancient poem. The text describes Odysseus’ men killing and eating the sacred cattle of the sun god Helios, despite being warned not to. Researcher Mark de Kreij identified the fragment while studying an ancient manuscript collection at Utrecht University. It had been part of the collection for decades. Researchers believe it came from a small, portable copy of the complete Odyssey, probably produced in Egypt around 300 CE.

How bees store pollen inside the hive. Those bright yellow pellets along the comb are pollen collected by worker bees from flowers. Forager bees carry pollen home in special structures called pollen baskets on their hind legs. Once inside the hive, they unload it into honeycomb cells, where other worker bees pack it tightly into cells. The bees mix the pollen with nectar and natural secretions, turning it into a nutritious food called bee bread bread. It provides essential proteins and nutrients that help feed developing larvae and support the colony.

This is a melanistic güiña (Leopardus guigna), also known as the kodkod, one of the world’s smallest wild cats, photographed in the wild. Native to the forests of Chile and parts of Argentina, güiñas are tiny, secretive cats that typically have a spotted brown or reddish coat. This unusually dark appearance is called melanism, a genetic variation that causes an excess of dark pigmentation. Melanistic individuals have been documented in wild güiñas, including through camera-trap studies in Chile. 📸emintehess

The isolated Brazilian island home to thousands of snakes.

In November 2023, a miniature dachshund named Valerie disappeared during a family camping trip on Kangaroo Island, off the coast of South Australia. Her family searched for her, but Valerie seemed to vanish into the island’s wilderness. For the next 529 days, search teams kept looking, using cameras, food, traps and familiar scents. But the tiny dog repeatedly managed to stay out of reach, surviving on her own in the bushland. Then, more than a year later, a farmer spotted a small dog in a field. It turned out to be Valerie. Wildlife rescuers launched a careful operation and eventually managed to capture her safely. And somehow, Valerie was doing remarkably well. She was found fit and healthy, and reports said she was about 1.8 kg (4 lbs) heavier than when she vanished. Her owners also noticed that she had become noticeably stockier and could barely fit into her old harness. No one knows exactly how she survived for so long. Rescuers believe she may have hunted small animals, scavenged for food or eaten carrion. After 529 days missing, Valerie was finally reunited with her family. A tiny domestic dog had disappeared into the Australian wilderness and somehow found a way to survive.

Sơn Đoòng in Vietnam, the world’s largest known cave passage, has an underground river, jungle and even clouds forming deep inside. A world beneath the surface.