NewsPronto

 
Men's Weekly

.

USA Conversation

The Conversation USA

The Conversation USA

Smelling in stereo – the real reason snakes have flicking, forked tongues

  • Written by Kurt Schwenk, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut
imageLong misunderstood, snake tongues have fascinated naturalists for centuries.reptiles4all/iStock via Getty Images Plus

As dinosaurs lumbered through the humid cycad forests of ancient South America 180 million years ago, primeval lizards scurried, unnoticed, beneath their feet. Perhaps to avoid being trampled by their giant kin, some of these early...

Read more: Smelling in stereo – the real reason snakes have flicking, forked tongues

More Articles ...

  1. US bishops set collision course with Vatican over plan to press Biden not to take Communion
  2. Joe Biden, a father’s love and the legacy of 'daddy issues' among presidents
  3. What Greek epics taught me about the special relationship between fathers and sons
  4. Americans gave a record $471 billion to charity in 2020, amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, job losses and racial justice
  5. With Ford's electric F-150 pickup, the EV transition shifts into high gear
  6. It wasn't just politics that led to Netanyahu's ouster – it was fear of his demagoguery
  7. Bringing joy back to the classroom and supporting stressed kids – what summer school looks like in 2021
  8. Sticky baseballs: Explaining the physics of the latest scandal in Major League Baseball
  9. Artisan robots with AI smarts will juggle tasks, choose tools, mix and match recipes and even order materials – all without human help
  10. Teaching kids social responsibility – like how to settle fights and ask for help – can reduce school bullying
  11. Friends are saying 'I do' – but might not understand the legal risks of their platonic marriages
  12. What a Title IX lawsuit might mean for religious universities
  13. Rocky Mountain forests burning more now than any time in the past 2,000 years
  14. Netanyahu may be ousted but his hard-line foreign policies remain
  15. Southern Baptist Convention's focus on mission recalls history of promoting white dominance
  16. Why the Second Amendment protects a 'well-regulated militia' but not a private citizen militia
  17. Property disputes in Israel come with a complicated back story – and tend to end with Palestinian dispossession
  18. Electric heat pumps use much less energy than furnaces, and can cool houses too – here's how they work
  19. 8 ways to manage body image anxiety after lockdown
  20. Summer reading: 5 books for young people that deal with race
  21. NASA is returning to Venus to learn how it became a hot poisonous wasteland – and whether the planet was ever habitable in the past
  22. Opioid overdoses spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, data from Pennsylvania show
  23. New technologies claiming to copy human milk reuse old marketing tactics to sell baby formula and undermine breastfeeding
  24. Why do cats knead with their paws?
  25. What's the G-7? An international economist explains
  26. Shipping is tough on the climate and hard to clean up – these innovations can help cut emissions
  27. Middle-aged Americans in US are stressed and struggle with physical and mental health – other nations do better
  28. Over half of adults unvaccinated for COVID-19 fear needles – here's what's proven to help
  29. From abortion and porn to women and race: How Southern Baptist Convention resolutions have evolved
  30. Why the legacy of Billy Graham continues to endure: 3 essential reads
  31. 'In the Heights' celebrates the resilience Washington Heights has used to fight the COVID-19 pandemic
  32. Sports writers could ditch the 'clown questions' and do better when it comes to press conferences
  33. Historic change: Arab political parties are now legitimate partners in Israel's politics and government
  34. Tribal colleges empower Native students with an affordable, culturally relevant education – but need more funding
  35. What are 'ghost guns,' a target of Biden's anti-crime effort?
  36. Women are as likely as men to accept a gender pay gap if they benefit from it
  37. A new reason Americans are getting leery of billionaire donors
  38. Working with dangerous viruses sounds like trouble – but here's what scientists learn from studying pathogens in secure labs
  39. Parking reform could reenergize downtowns – here's what happened when Buffalo changed its zoning rules
  40. Alcohol companies make $17.5 billion a year off of underage drinking, while prevention efforts are starved for cash
  41. The FDA's big gamble on the new Alzheimer's drug
  42. Here's what I tell teachers about how to teach young students about slavery
  43. Is tax avoidance ethical? Asking on behalf of a few billionaire friends
  44. Senator Warren's wealth tax might prevent billionaires from paying nearly nothing in taxes – but it's probably not constitutional
  45. 535 new fast radio bursts help answer deep questions about the universe and shed light on these mysterious cosmic events
  46. Lack of burial space is changing age-old funeral practices, and in Japan 'tree burials' are gaining in popularity
  47. COVID-19 messages make emergency alerts just another text in the crowd on your home screen
  48. How Joe Biden could increase pressure on Vladimir Putin if their June 16 meeting fails to deter Russia's 'harmful' behavior
  49. A volcanic eruption 39 million years ago buried a forest in Peru – now the petrified trees are revealing South America's primeval history
  50. Protesters marching in Elizabeth City, N.C., over Andrew Brown's killing are walking in the footsteps of centuries of fighters for Black rights