Scott Travers

Contributor|Science

I am an American evolutionary biologist, based at Rutgers University, where I specialize in biodiversity, evolution, and genomics. Drop me a note, here. Thanks for your readership and support.

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2 hours ago

How Bats And Lizards—From Opposite Ends Of The Earth—Tell The Story Of ‘Parallel Evolution’

Have you ever wondered how seemingly different organisms end up developing strikingly similar traits? Here's the evolutionary explanation.

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36,408 viewsMay 4, 2024

Meet 6 Exquisite Animals Wrongly Declared Extinct—5 Of Them Live On

Faulty declarations of extinctions pose serious problems to conservationists’ last-ditch efforts to save a species. Here are a few examples.

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2,293 viewsMay 3, 2024

A Biologist Explores The Gruesome World Of ‘Mind-Control Parasites’

Ever wondered how mind-control parasites lead their hosts to unwittingly take their own lives?

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1,593 viewsMay 3, 2024

The Story Of How The Giant ‘Terror Skink’ Was Presumed Extinct, Then Rediscovered

Just because a species is thought to be extinct doesn’t mean all hope is lost. Boucort’s terrific skink, also known as the terror skink (pictured here), is one such example.

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3,222 viewsMay 2, 2024

3 Science-Backed Ways To Tell If Your Cat Actually Likes You

With their graceful yet indifferent demeanors, cats often leave their owners second guessing what they’re really thinking.

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1,586 viewsMay 1, 2024

Birds Of A Younger Feather Flock Together, Says Recent Stork Research

White storks, typically solitary except during migration, reveal a preference for flying in groups, particularly among younger birds, as a recent study uncovers their tendencies to choose heavily trafficked aerial routes.

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37,512 viewsApr 28, 2024

The Giant ‘Grey Ghost’ Lizard Went Extinct 100 Years Ago–Or Did It?

A new article offers a ray of hope that the giant Tongan ground skink, nicknamed the “grey ghost,” may still inhabit remote areas of the South Pacific.

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764 viewsApr 27, 2024

What Everyone Gets Wrong About The ‘Offshore Wind–Whale Death’ Connection

As biologists scramble to explain the recent uptick in whale deaths along the east coast, the real answer might come from another scientific field–psychology.

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597 viewsApr 26, 2024

The Bloody-Belly Comb Jelly And Its Mysterious Survival Tactics

Here's how the bloody-belly comb jelly thrives in the ocean's depths with its incredible adaptations.

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701 viewsApr 25, 2024

Is Offshore Wind Surveying Causing Whale Deaths? A Biologist Explains

Many theories have emerged to explain the uptick in whale deaths on the east coast of the United States. Here’s what we know from science.