Biology

That “Drop of Seawater” Photo Was More Than A Bit Misleading

This photo that’s been going around purports to show all the little critters found in a single drop of seawater, magnified 25 times. It’s a beautiful photo, but there’s just one problem: it’s not really a single drop of seawater (though it is probably magnified 25 times). It’s not as if the photographer, David Littschwager,…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

Antiques Roadshow Needs To Stop Appraising Ivory

I’ll say it: I love Antiques Roadshow. The look on the faces of folks who find out on national television that their priceless antiques are really worthless hunks of junk is, well, priceless. There’s just one problem: by appraising ivory the PBS show communicates the idea that elephants are worth more dead than alive. To…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

Gorgeous Photos Show Bears and Wolves Feasting Together on a Dead Whale

When a dead whale washes ashore, it’s a meaty bounty for whatever carnivores happen to find it. Researchers were surprised to find brown bears and wolves, two predators that don’t usually get along, sharing a whale carcass for more than four months. And they have the photos to prove it. On May 5 2010, a…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

Los Angeles’s Celebrity Mountain Lion is Recovering from Rat Poison

Last month we brought you the story of how P-22, the resident mountain lion mascot in LA’s Griffith Park, was treated for a severe case of mange brought about by the ingestion of rat poison. New camera trap photos show he’s recovering well. https://gizmodo.com/stop-using-rat-poison-its-killing-wildlife-1564538434 Miguel Ordeñana, a Natural History Museum and Griffith Park Connectivity Study…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

Go Back In Time With 1950s Footage of the First Gorilla Born at a Zoo

The Columbus Zoo opens its new Heart of Africa exhibit this week, and to mark the occasion, central Ohio’s Channel 10 reached back into its archives to find this footage of the zoo from 1956 and 1957. It includes some absolutely adorable clips of Colo, the first gorilla to ever be born in a zoo.…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

National Aquarium Ponders Moving Dolphins to a Sanctuary

The National Aquarium in Baltimore has invited a panel of experts to discuss whether its eight captive dolphins should be moved to a beachside sanctuary. Captive cetaceans can not simply be released into the wild; the only real solution is to allow these magnificent animals to live out there days in a “sea pen.” While…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

Study of 1.3 Million Kids Reveals Vaccines Aren’t Associated with Autism

A meta-analysis including nearly 1.3 million children posted online last week in the journal Vaccine has demonstrated, once again, that there’s no causal link between vaccines and autism. The paper is an online “uncorrected proof.” That means it has already been through peer review and has been accepted, but there could still be a few…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

Coolest Dad Ever Cooks Pancakes That Look Like Cephalopods

It’s seafood for breakfast in the home of Nathan Shields. Octopuses, squids, cuttlefish, and even a few extinct critters have found their way onto his kids’ breakfast plates. It’s an adventure in taxonomy and cookery, all at once! Shields isn’t the only creator of scientific deliciousness. There are some space pancakes, too. The only question…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

Behold The Most Charmingly Inaccurate Infographic on Sloths

Not a single thing on this graphic is true, but that actually makes it somehow more charming and awesome. Cory Loftis is a Visual Development Artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios, but in his free time he draws other things and posts them on his most excellent tumblr. There are plenty more delightful drawings to…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

Scientists Finally Understand Shark Skin, Thanks to 3D Printers

If you described a shark as a toothy torpedo covered in sandpaper, you wouldn’t be too far off the mark. It’s that rough sandpapery skin that gives sharks their highly efficient swimming abilities, and scientists finally understand why. A shark’s skin is covered in millions of microscopic denticles, rigid tooth-like scales that jut out from…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

Scientists Discover How Octopuses Avoid Tying Themselves In Knots

There are many things that make the octopus a strange creature, but one of them is that each of its eight arms has an essentially infinite number of positions, and yet each arm operates independently. How does an octopus keep from tying itself in knots? A group of Israeli and American researchers think they’ve discovered…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

5 Real Life Mouth Weapons More Terrifying Than Godzilla’s Atomic Breath

Godzilla is known for his atomic breath, a weaponized nuclear exhalation that forms deep inside the beast’s belly. There aren’t any animals who turn their mouths into radioactive heat rays, but there are lots who throw, spit, project, or heave things from their mouths. Here are five amazing real life mouth weapons. Spitballs Made of…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

The Best Way To Transport A Rhino? Upside Down, Tied to a Helicopter

Animals often have to be relocated by conservation organizations. Sometimes it’s to move them to safety, farther away from poachers, and sometimes it’s to introduce new genes into a population. NatGeo photographer Emma Gatland joined a group from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife for a white rhino relocation effort in Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa. While the…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

Raccoon or Dog? US Government Decides the Fate of Animal Fur

Is this animal, Nyctereutes procyonoides, best referred to as an Asiatic raccoon or as a raccoon dog? The answer to that question is actually more complicated than you might think — and could determine whether this animal will be killed for its fur or not. Earlier this week, the US government announced its answer: These…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

Handy Charts Show How To Pet Your Animal Friends Safely

For some reason, we humans have an intense desire to touch animals. Lucky for you, we found a handy, graphical guide to the safest ways to pet, poke, and prod them. Here’s the thing. If the animal isn’t a domesticate – a horse, a cat, a dog – just don’t touch it, okay? Take this…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

Did Exploding Whales Just Go Mainstream?

There was a short science lesson in this weekend’s SNL, but if you blinked you might have missed it. Also a pair of methane-filled marine mammals sent their bloody viscera flying onto Taran Killam and Charlize Theron. In case you haven’t heard, the internet spent some time wondering whether a decomposing blue whale that had…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

Mango the Brown Bear Makes Veterinary History at an Israeli Zoo

Mango is a 19 year old male Syrian brown bear who lives at Israel’s Ramat Gan Safari Park, a zoo not far from Tel Aviv. Earlier this week, he made veterinary history after undergoing a complex spinal surgery. Mango had been suffering from a condition most commonly known as a “slipped disc.” The formal term…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

Ready For Some Croc-on-Croc Violence? Cretaceous Crocs Ate Each Other

We’ve previously brought you impressive images of crocodylians – that’s the group of reptiles that includes alligators, crocodiles, and caimans – being eaten by river otters and by snakes. Now we bring you some intense croc-on-croc violence. We share because we love. Yesterday, paleontologist Pedro L. Godoy and colleagues reported a new fossil found in…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

Meet The Lizard That Looks Just Like Spiderman

Meet the Red-headed rock agama, Agama mwanzae. The lizard, native to East Africa is a fascinating critter, and not just because it likes to cosplay as Peter Parker’s alter-ego. These lizards are unique among agamids – there are more than 350 species in the Family – because they cluster in groups. They may group together…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

AAAAAAH! Dinosaur Throws Opening Pitch At Baseball Game

Also the baseball-throwing theropod has feathers, making it more scientifically accurate than what’s been announced for the fourth in the Jurassic Park franchise.

Biology Jason G. Goldman

That “Drop of Seawater” Photo Was More Than A Bit Misleading

Antiques Roadshow Needs To Stop Appraising Ivory

Gorgeous Photos Show Bears and Wolves Feasting Together on a Dead Whale

Los Angeles’s Celebrity Mountain Lion is Recovering from Rat Poison

Go Back In Time With 1950s Footage of the First Gorilla Born at a Zoo

National Aquarium Ponders Moving Dolphins to a Sanctuary

Study of 1.3 Million Kids Reveals Vaccines Aren’t Associated with Autism

Coolest Dad Ever Cooks Pancakes That Look Like Cephalopods

Behold The Most Charmingly Inaccurate Infographic on Sloths

Scientists Finally Understand Shark Skin, Thanks to 3D Printers

Scientists Discover How Octopuses Avoid Tying Themselves In Knots

5 Real Life Mouth Weapons More Terrifying Than Godzilla’s Atomic Breath

The Best Way To Transport A Rhino? Upside Down, Tied to a Helicopter

Raccoon or Dog? US Government Decides the Fate of Animal Fur

Handy Charts Show How To Pet Your Animal Friends Safely

Did Exploding Whales Just Go Mainstream?

Mango the Brown Bear Makes Veterinary History at an Israeli Zoo

Ready For Some Croc-on-Croc Violence? Cretaceous Crocs Ate Each Other

Meet The Lizard That Looks Just Like Spiderman

AAAAAAH! Dinosaur Throws Opening Pitch At Baseball Game

Logitech Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Combo Falls Under $25, a Budget Bundle Deal in the Final Hours of Spring Sale

Liquids Crack With an Audible Snap, Study Finds

Dyson V15 Detect Plus Cordless Vacuum Is a Late Spring Sale Deal at a Record Low on Amazon

The New ‘Supergirl’ Trailer Is Filled With Krypto, Lobo, and ’60s Soul

Vaping Comes With a Cancer Risk, Review Finds

ASUS Eye Care Monitor Hits an All-Time Low, Only Hours Left to Grab a 27″ Screen at a 15.6″ Budget Price on Amazon

How to Watch Artemis 2, NASA’s First Crewed Mission to the Moon in 54 Years

KitchenAid 4.5-Quart Stand Mixer Is Back at Its Lowest Price, a Last-Minute Spring Sale Deal Outside Amazon Prime Day

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

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