At least eight people in Germany who died of encephalitis likely contracted a rare virus from shrews, a small mole-like animal, that led to the fatal brain-swelling condition.

A recent study of American water shrews has surprised researchers by showing that the animals rapidly elevate body temperature immediately before diving into cold water.

Biologists have shown that independent but similar molecular changes turned a harmless digestive enzyme into a toxin in two unrelated species -- a shrew and a lizard -- giving each a venomous bite.

How does the world's smallest mammalian diver survive icy waters to catch its prey? A recent study of American water shrews to be presented at the Society for Experimental Biology meeting in ...