It can break off in an instant but also stay firmly attached. Scientists have figured out the microscopic structures that make this survival skill possible. By Jack Tamisiea When choosing between life ...

Lizards possess a remarkable self-defense mechanism called autotomy, where they detach their tails to evade predators. The detached tail continues to wriggle due to reflexive nerve activity, ...

Lizards are famous for losing their tails, but perhaps the bigger question should be: How do their tails stay on? The answer may lie in the appendage’s internal design. A structure of prongs, ...

Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto. In May ...

It wiggled violently in my hand. I was seven years old and accidentally pulled off the tail of my first pet lizard. I ran into the kitchen where my mother was chopping vegetables. In a calm voice she ...

Comet C/2012 F6 Lemmon photographed on May 15 showing its bluish, ion tail (bottom) beginning to peel away from the comet. The dust tail sticks out to the left. A wispy, new gas tail is already ...

Sometimes, the best way to avoid being eaten is to puzzle your predator. Few animals have come up with such a dramatic way of doing this as certain species of lizards, which can suddenly detach part ...

Graduate students Jonathan DeBoer and Joshua Hallas study a species of lizard known as the Herero girdled lizard in Namibia, and recently published an observation of the lizard exhibiting tail-biting ...

Lizards are remarkable creatures, admired for their agility, vibrant colours, and unique defence strategies. One of their most fascinating abilities is autotomy, the self-amputation of the tail to ...