Snakes that specialize in “sidewinding” – that is, travelling at an angle relative to the direction their head is pointing – have tiny pits on their stomachs that even out the friction they feel as ...

The mesmerizing flow of a sidewinder moving obliquely across desert sands has captivated biologists for centuries and has been variously studied over the years, but questions remained about how the ...

Michelle Starr is CNET's science editor, and she hopes to get you as enthralled with the wonders of the universe as she is. When she's not daydreaming about flying through space, she's daydreaming ...

Snakes are some of the best-known reptiles, with more than 4,000 species across the world. When we think of snakes, we ...

People usually assume that all snakes move with serpentine locomotion, using S-shaped movements to propel themselves. However ...

Sidewinder rattlesnakes wriggling up sand dunes turn out to have a trick of adjusting their curvy moves that’s improving robot design and the understanding of legless motion on sand. In lab tests on ...

The sinuous movement pattern of a desert snake sidewinding its way up a sandy slope is fascinating to watch, but it also presents a physical conundrum. How is it that certain snakes can ascend a dune ...

Why is Christian Science in our name? Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and we’ve always been transparent about that. The church publishes the ...

Watch out, desert-dwellers: this snakelike robot can slither its way sideways up a sand dune. “Sidewinding appears to be a really complicated and an unintuitive way to move on sand, and no one ...

Three years ago, a robotic snake called Elizabeth slithered into Egyptian caves to search for long-hidden ships. The caves lie on Egypt’s east coast, and contained the dismantled remnants of vessels ...