In Siberian permafrost, researchers found an ancient squirrel burrow stocked with seeds and fruits frozen for about 32,000 years. From fruit tissue of Silene stenophylla, they regenerated whole plants in the lab, which flowered and produced fertile seeds. It remains the oldest plant material ever brought back to life.
In 2022, a young tagged bar-tailed godwit flew from Alaska to Tasmania in about 11 days of nonstop flight, covering 13,560 km without eating, drinking or landing. Before departure, these birds pile on huge fat reserves and shrink their digestive organs, which are useless during the journey.
To escape rivals, a dung beetle rolls its ball of dung in a straight line. At night, it holds its course using the glowing band of the Milky Way. In a planetarium, researchers showed that beetles rolled straight under a starry sky but wandered aimlessly when the galaxy was switched off. It was the first animal known to navigate this way.