Articles by Cameron Duke, Live Science Contributor

Cameron Duke is a contributing writer for Live Science who mainly covers life sciences. He also writes for New Scientist as well as MinuteEarth and Discovery's Curiosity Daily Podcast. He holds a master's degree in animal behavior from Western Carolina University and is an adjunct instructor at the University of Northern Colorado, teaching biology.

Articles by: Cameron Duke

This Sentinel-1A satellite image shows the C-38 iceberg on March 17, 2022. The iceberg broke off from the Conger Ice Shelf.

Sudden collapse of Antarctic ice shelf could be sign of things to come

By Cameron Duke published 26 March 22

A massive Antarctic ice shelf that covered an area about the size of New York City or Rome just collapsed into the ocean.

Molecular machinery, like this light-harvesting complex from a bacterium, is often strikingly symmetrical.

'Informational simplicity' may explain why nature favors symmetry

By Cameron Duke published 24 March 22

Symmetry is so common in biology because life favors simple structures over complex ones.

King cobras — which may be four distinct species — are the longest venomous snakes in the world.

Surprise! King cobra is actually a royal lineage of 4 species

By Cameron Duke published 22 March 22

The king cobra is not one species, but four independent ones, spread throughout the Asian tropics.

Social spiders in the species Anelosimus eximius live in colonies that may include hundreds of individuals.

Spiders hunt in packs of hundreds to swarm prey

By Cameron Duke published 7 March 22

Pack hunting spiders use web vibrations to coordinate their attacks.

The tick ixodes scapularis, also called black-legged tick or deer tick, can infect people with the potentially fatal Powassan virus.

9 out of 10 ticks in this Pennsylvania park carried a potentially fatal neurological virus

By Cameron Duke published 16 February 22

Pennsylvania officials spotted a worrisome concentration of ticks carrying a severe tick-borne disease in a single park. Is this an anomaly or part of a larger trend?

A Goffin's cockatoo "plays golf" in the Goffin Lab at the Messerli Research Institute in Vienna's University of Veterinary Medicine.

Watch amazing video of cockatoos that learn to play 'golf'

By Cameron Duke published 16 February 22

Goffin's cockatoos play golf in an experiment exploring their ability to combine multiple objects into one tool.

Huablattula hui has larger eyes (left) and fewer antennal sensilla (right, asterisks) compared to modern species of cockroaches. This indicates that they were active in bright and open environments during the daytime

Creepy, big-eyed cockroach discovered trapped in amber from 100 million years ago

By Cameron Duke published 9 February 22

This Cretaceous-era cockroach was active during the day and has eyes to prove it.

Dog vision: What colors can dogs see?

By Natalie Wolchover last updated 22 September 22

Reference How dogs see the world is very different to humans, and can only distinguish between blue and yellow hues.

A bomb cyclone dumped snow across the Northeast in January 2018 as well. Here, a man walks through the streets of Boston as snow falls from the massive winter storm on Jan. 4, 2018 in Boston.

'Bomb cyclone' set to bring blizzards and hurricane-force winds to the Northeast on Friday: Here's why.

By Cameron Duke published 28 January 22

A 'bomb cyclone' is expected to bring strong winds and dump inches of snow on the U.S. Northeast on Friday and Saturday.

Watch a python swallow an impala whole in this jaw-dropping video

By Cameron Duke published 27 January 22

An incredible video shows an African rock python swallowing an impala.

Researchers in the Weddell Sea were surprised to find 60 million icefish nests, each guarded by an adult and each holding an average of 1,700 eggs.

Largest fish nursery discovered beneath Weddell Sea in Antarctica

By Cameron Duke published 13 January 22

Scientists onboard an icebreaker in Antarctica were blown away when they spied a trove of 60 million icefish nests dotting the floor of the Weddell Sea.

A goldfish drives a water-filled, motorized "car."

Wild video shows goldfish 'driving' a water-filled car in weird experiment

By Cameron Duke published 6 January 22

A supremely weird new video shows a goldfish driving a water-filled, motorized "car" to help scientists understand how they navigate on land.

images of bryozoans found deep beneath antarctic ice shelves

Unimaginable diversity of life discovered beneath Antarctic ice shelf

By Cameron Duke published 30 December 21

An artist's illustration of woolly mammoths

Woolly mammoths survived on mainland North America until 5,000 years ago, DNA reveals

By Cameron Duke published 22 December 21

Ancient DNA reveals that woolly mammoths coexisted with humans in North America for 5,000 years longer than previously believed.

Here, a concept image of a futuristic monolith in the desert. This is not an artist's conception of Earth's black box.

Indestructible 'Black Box' will record our planet's demise in minute detail

By Cameron Duke published 18 December 21

The disaster recorder aims to set us on a better path by watching our every move.

Newfound millipede breaks world record for the most legs

By Cameron Duke published 16 December 21

The millipede has over 1,300 legs and was found deep underneath Western Australia.

Two Leafcutter ants transfer food, Guadeloupe National Park, Guadeloupe.

Ants vomit into each other's mouths to form social bonds

By Cameron Duke published 1 December 21

Ants are highly social animals that have social networks, and they exchange info through vomit.

Dog DNA tests: How accurate are they, and what can you learn?

By Cameron Duke published 24 November 21

Reference Of the many dog DNA tests on the market, which one is right for you and your pet? How do they work, are they accurate, and what can you learn?

A lingcod's mouth photographed from a fishing boat. The fish was later released.

This fish has 555 teeth … and it loses 20 every day

By Cameron Duke published 15 November 21

The Pacific lingcod has a mouth full of teeth and sheds up to 20 per day.

A matriarch defends her herd in Gongorosa Park in Mozambique

After rampant ivory poaching, some African elephants lost their tusks — Why?

By Cameron Duke published 22 October 21

For some elephants, survival meant ditching their tusks. Now they are slowly getting them back.

A DNA paternity test with a swab and gloved hand

DNA paternity tests: how they work and how to do one

By Cameron Duke published 15 October 21

REFERENCE Find out how to pick the right DNA paternity test for you and the facts about how genetic paternity testing works

Dark regions of the genome may drive the evolution of new species

By Cameron Duke published 7 September 21

The findings suggest a way to rescue "doomed" animal hybrids.

A Greenland shark swimming in the St. Lawrence River estuary in Canada.

What is the oldest shark?

By Cameron Duke last updated 5 May 23

At nearly 400 years old, the oldest-known living vertebrate crossed the oceans the same time as the Mayflower.

Every year, billions of black ice worms crawl from the ice on Mount Rainier. We have no idea why.

By Cameron Duke published 25 August 21

Every summer, billions of ice worms emerge from the ice. As for what they are doing there, scientists really don't know.

A titmouse eyes a raccoon that is breaking into a bird feeder.

Sneaky birds caught on video while yanking hair from live animals

By Cameron Duke published 4 August 21

YouTube videos show that birds pull animal hair more often than previously thought.