Biology

Toddlers and Chimpanzees Share a Surprising Unspoken Language

Prior to developing the capacity for speech, toddlers communicate their desires, demands, and discontent using a diverse repertoire of physical gestures. As a new study shows, there’s a significant amount of overlap between the gestures employed by human children and those made by other ape species, a finding that’s casting new light on the origin…

Biology George Dvorsky

Appeals Court Upholds CRISPR Patent, Potentially Ending Bitter Dispute

An appeals court has upheld a 2017 decision recognizing scientists from the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT as the true inventors of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing system. The decision likely signifies the end of a bitter legal dispute that began four years ago. Twelve patents that relate to CRISPR—one of the most powerful gene-editing tools…

Biology George Dvorsky

Cyborg Wallaby Learns to Open Door With Implanted Microchip

It sounds like a B-rated science fiction movie: wallabies implanted with microchips opening their own personal pet doors when they want to come home. But this isn’t an ill-advised sequel to Tank Girl. Researchers in Australia recently implanted a bridled nail-tailed wallaby with a microchip and trained it to use a cat door to find…

Biology Joshua Rapp Learn

Watchdog Busts Facebook Groups Selling More Than 100 Protected Animal Species in Thailand

A wildlife trade watchdog found 1,521 listings for animals on Facebook in Thailand. The posts included live animals, dead animals, and body parts. The report from Traffic, an anti-trafficking organization based in the UK, details the activities of 12 animal trade Facebook groups. From 2016 to 2018, their combined membership reportedly doubled from 106,111 to…

Biology Jennings Brown

Fishermen Find 10,000-Year-Old Skull and Antlers of Extinct Giant Elk

A pair of lucky Northern Irish fishermen pulled in this skull with enormous antlers, measuring a whopping six feet in length. The extraordinary specimen belonged to the extinct Great Elk, which hasn’t been seen in Ireland for over 10,000 years, Belfast Live reports. Raymond McElroy and Charlie Coyle were fishing for pollan (a whitefish native…

Biology George Dvorsky

Scientists Have Discovered the First Known Omnivorous Shark

Sharks are virtually synonymous with carnivorousness, but the bonnethead shark, as new research suggests, is a true flexitarian, capable of switching between meat and plant-based diets. Researchers from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Irvine have shown that bonnethead sharks, previously thought to be exclusively carnivorous in their food…

Biology George Dvorsky

French Ban on Neonicotinoid Pesticides, Which Bees May Find Addictive, Goes Into Effect

A French ban on five neonicotinoid pesticides intended to protect the nation’s bees from colony collapse disorder went into effect on Saturday, Agence France-Press reported. Per AFP, the French rules ban all five neonicotinoid pesticides once cleared for use throughout the continent. Earlier this year, the European Union upheld a moratorium of three out of…

Biology Tom McKay

New Research Sheds Light on How Opium Poppies Evolved Their Powerful Painkillers

The opium poppy is famous for its ability to produce painkilling molecules. Now, by sequencing its genome, a team of scientists from China, the United Kingdom and Australia uncovered several events in the poppy’s history that, together, could have led to the evolution of its opium-producing behavior. Opium poppies and humans share a history dating…

Biology Ryan F. Mandelbaum

A Gene Editing Study in Dogs Shows Promise in Treating a Deadly Form of Muscular Dystrophy

A new study of dogs published this week in Science offers a tantalizing glimpse of how life-changing the gene-editing technology CRISPR could be for some people in the near future. It suggests that CRISPR can be used to treat an otherwise incurable, fatal genetic disorder known as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). DMD is the most…

Biology Ed Cara

New Zealand Penguins Travel 1,500 Miles for Food in Marathon Migration

New research into the migration habits of Tawaki penguins has revealed an absolutely marathon trek in which these aquatic birds travel upwards of 1,550 miles (2,500 kilometers) from home, sometimes swimming as much as 50 miles (80 kilometers) per day to reach their feeding sites. The research team, led by Thomas Mattern of the University…

Biology George Dvorsky

Goats Do Not Like Your Grumpy Face

It turns out goats really do know that you’re trouble when you walk in. These domestic animals can distinguish human facial expressions, and prefer a pleasant smile to a disgruntled frown, according to new research. “This is the first evidence that shows goats are capable of visually discriminating facial expressions of a very different species,…

Biology Jessica Boddy

Dangerously Horny Dolphin Ruins Swimming for French Town

A village on the coast of France has banned swimming in the presence of Zafar, a bottlenose dolphin that has become problematically horny. Roger Lars, the mayor of Landévennec, issued a regulation last week that prohibits people from swimming and diving on the shoreline when Zafar is present, as well as coming within 50 yards…

Biology Melanie Ehrenkranz

In Big Win for Good Boys, England Is Banning Shock Collars

The United Kingdom is banning pet collars that deliver shocks or spray chemicals. The UK’s Environmental secretary Michael Gove announced on Monday that the country would bar “punitive” collars that “cause harm and suffering to our pets.” Scotland is also working to ban shock collars, and Wales outlawed shock collars in 2010. The devices, which…

Biology Jennings Brown

Stunning Fossils Show Ancient Parasitic Wasps Still Inside Their Unfortunate Hosts

A meticulous examination of over 1,500 fly pupae fossils has resulted in the discovery of four new species of ancient parasitic wasps, dating back to between 66 million and 23 million years ago in what is now France. New research published today in Nature Communications offers the first definitive proof of parasitic behavior among wasps,…

Biology George Dvorsky

A Genetic Study Using 23andMe Data Finds Link Between Schizophrenia and Cannabis Use

There’s evidence of a connection between cannabis use and schizophrenia, but it’s unclear whether the drug leads to the disorder, or vice versa. A new study published Monday, which relies partly on genetic data from 23andMe volunteers, might offer a little clarity on that link. It found that people genetically at risk of schizophrenia are…

Biology Ed Cara

Bison-Taunting Hooligan Sentenced to Jail

Remember this guy? In late July, news outlets picked up a video of Raymond Reinke harassing a bison in Yellowstone National Park. As Gizmodo has stated before: Playing with bison at Yellowstone is idiotic. These majestic beasts are a lot faster than they look, and their hump is a mound of muscle that enables them…

Biology Jennings Brown

We’ve Got the Meat: Scientists Unearth Final Ingredient to the Forbidden Sandwich

It’s been a summer of historic archeological finds that have left world feeling stunned by the scope of history. These incredible discoveries have also left some with an implacable urge to eat these important specimens. Now that researchers have unearthed a perfectly preserved prehistoric foal, the ingredients for The Forbidden Sandwich are finally all here.…

Biology Rhett Jones

Genetic Testing Reveals Shelters Often Label Dogs With the Wrong Breeds

When adopting a new canine family member at a shelter, many people choose a dog based on the breed or breeds labelled on its cage. But new research using genetic testing shows that shelters don’t always correctly label dogs, meaning the pointer you just adopted could actually be more of a labrador. This has implications…

Biology Jessica Boddy

Blue-and-Yellow Macaws Turn Pink to Communicate, but What Are They Saying?

Do you ever get so excited about something that your whole face starts to turn red? Well, it seems that blue-and-yellow macaws do the same thing, according to new research—though the exact reason they go red in the face is still unknown. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who handle parrots regularly, but…

Biology Jessica Boddy

Scientists Put Paint on Ants to Study How They Form Societies

Ants can do pretty amazing things when they work together, like building elaborate nests and even creating bridges from their bodies. One team of scientists wanted to know how these social insects figure out how to take on their various roles within a colony. Given that “survival of the fittest” is how we think of…

Biology Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Toddlers and Chimpanzees Share a Surprising Unspoken Language

Appeals Court Upholds CRISPR Patent, Potentially Ending Bitter Dispute

Cyborg Wallaby Learns to Open Door With Implanted Microchip

Watchdog Busts Facebook Groups Selling More Than 100 Protected Animal Species in Thailand

Fishermen Find 10,000-Year-Old Skull and Antlers of Extinct Giant Elk

Scientists Have Discovered the First Known Omnivorous Shark

French Ban on Neonicotinoid Pesticides, Which Bees May Find Addictive, Goes Into Effect

New Research Sheds Light on How Opium Poppies Evolved Their Powerful Painkillers

A Gene Editing Study in Dogs Shows Promise in Treating a Deadly Form of Muscular Dystrophy

New Zealand Penguins Travel 1,500 Miles for Food in Marathon Migration

Goats Do Not Like Your Grumpy Face

Dangerously Horny Dolphin Ruins Swimming for French Town

In Big Win for Good Boys, England Is Banning Shock Collars

Stunning Fossils Show Ancient Parasitic Wasps Still Inside Their Unfortunate Hosts

A Genetic Study Using 23andMe Data Finds Link Between Schizophrenia and Cannabis Use

Bison-Taunting Hooligan Sentenced to Jail

We’ve Got the Meat: Scientists Unearth Final Ingredient to the Forbidden Sandwich

Genetic Testing Reveals Shelters Often Label Dogs With the Wrong Breeds

Blue-and-Yellow Macaws Turn Pink to Communicate, but What Are They Saying?

Scientists Put Paint on Ants to Study How They Form Societies

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

Don’t Get Too Attached to Any AI App

‘Paradise’ Writer Teases What’s Coming in Season 3 After That Huge Twist

Trump’s New White House App Is Mildly Concerning and Weird for a Lot of Reasons

Bloodsucking Ticks Can Survive Inside Your Home Longer Than You Might Think

The Best New Toys of March 2026

Judge Denies Liking LinkedIn Post Critical of Elon Musk But Reassigns His Cases Anyway

Amazon Slashes 50% Off Keurig K-Cup Pod Coffee Maker, Now a Budget Alternative to Breville and Nespresso Espresso Machines

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

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Let us help find what you are looking for...