Biology

Why Facehuggers Make Great Science Teachers

Xenomorphs are horrifying opponents — but they’re also a great teaching tool. Back when Alien: Resurrection was in theaters, science teacher Lali, aka @LalSox, realized the Alien life cycle was a great way to teach high school students about the plant life cycle. Until she brought up facehuggers and chestbursters, students tended to be confused…

io9 DrRubidium

Artificial retinas give blind patients ability to see light and shapes

Two British men who were completely blind for years have regained some of their vision, after undergoing surgery to fit eye implants, according to the BBC. This pioneering treatment is at an early stage of development, but it marks an important step forward in an effort to help those who have lost their sight from…

io9 George Dvorsky

How to Wake Up Chicks Inside the Egg

Embryonic chicks can be made briefly conscious during the last twenty percent of their time in the egg, if you know how to wake them up. But why would we want to do that? Above is a chick with an alert and awake brain. It’s scrunched up because it’s still in the egg, and will…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

This gruesome 1889 biology book outlined the many ways animals will kill us

In J.W. Buel’s 1889 book Sea and Land, the author laid out delightfully quaint illustrations of the Earth’s flora and fauna. Many of these pictures detailed the myriad hilarious ways the animal kingdom eats humans, with creatures like the Japanese spider crab receiving a homicidal bad rap. Here’s a selection of doom and gloom from…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

Scientists recover the world’s oldest human blood cells from Ötzi the Iceman

He was found with an arrow in his shoulder and a stab wound in his hand, but when Ötzi the Iceman was first discovered in 1991, scientists were unable to recover so much as a drop of blood from his otherwise intact body. For 5,300 years, Ötzi’s remains had been preserved by the biting cold…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Parasites wage war against zombie-ant fungus

Back in March of last year scientists reported finding a “zombie fungus” that was affecting ant colonies in Brazil, the details of which sounded something straight out of a George A. Romero film. Nicknamed the “zombie-ant fungus”, it invades an ant’s brain and takes control, forcing the ant march to its death at a mass…

io9 George Dvorsky

These Amazonian ants build one of the freakiest deathtraps in the animal kingdom

The Amazonian tree known Hirtella physophora looks rather unassuming, but it is the site of several grisly spectacles. Amid its leaves and branches, an animal, a plant and a fungus conspire to create a nightmarish trap where trespassers become meals, robbers get the death penalty, and assassins are assassinated. Top image: A wasp tries to…

io9 Ed Yong - Discover

Nature goes ahead and publishes study explaining how to create deadly mutant bird flu

After months of controversy, the journal Nature has published the details of an experiment describing how the avian flu can be modified into a human-contagious form. The publication has prompted critics to warn of a possible human disaster, should the details of study get into the wrong hands or the mutant virus accidentally escape the…

io9 George Dvorsky

Holy crap, these bees will DRINK TEARS FROM YOUR EYES

Understand that when I say “this creeps me the hell out,” it’s coming from somebody who is usually pretty okay with bees. Hell, I like bees. But this? This is just… well, see for yourself. The insects you see pictured here belong to various families of bees native to Thailand that actually consume tears, both…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Shape-shifting animals inspire camouflaging artificial skin

Wouldn’t it be awesome to be able to morph your body and change your skin colors at will, the way encephalopods and zebrafish can? There are so many potential benefits… and now we may have the next best thing. Inspired by these shape-shifters, researchers at the University of Bristol have developed two different techniques that…

io9 George Dvorsky

Sweat-Eating Bees Are Invading Our Cities

While most bees get by just fine supping on nectar from flowers, there’s a different kind of bee out in the wild that feeds on sweat—and now, they’re moving into cities to make the most of all that humans can offer. The Wall Street Journal reports that researchers at Cornell University have spotted a huge…

Biology Jamie Condliffe

Watch this resourceful octopus make a mobile home out of a tin can

What a clever little cephalopod. Diver Robert Suntay recently captured this underwater footage of a pint-sized octopus schlepping a rusty can across the sea floor. The whole scene is pretty adorable. This little bugger has clearly grown very attached to its can, and it’s not about to let some nosy cameraman scoop up its brand…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Could a single pill save your marriage?

Your relationship is on the rocks. Begrudgingly, you and your significant other visit a marriage counselor in the hopes that there’s still something left to salvage in your relationship. You both spill your guts and admit that the love is gone. The counselor listens attentively, nodding her head every now and then in complete understanding.…

io9 George Dvorsky

Start your week with this spellbinding timelapse of Yosemite National Park

Nursing a wicked case of the Mondays? Snap out of it with this breathtaking timelapse of Yosemite National Park and the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Filmed over the course of almost two years by cinematographer Shawn Reeder, Yosemite Range of Light captures the park and its adjoining mountain ranges in absolutely exquisite detail. This is…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

These little fish swap their gender roles every season

Generally speaking, it’s the males of a species that take the active role in finding mates. And that’s true of Norway’s goby fish…at least in the beginning. Every year, males and females gradually swap their roles in the mating process. Gobies are incredibly common throughout the waters of northern Europe, and they fit a lot…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Why is our skin waterproof?

It’s something we all just take completely for granted: no matter how hard it rains or how much our clothes get soaked, our skin will keep the water out of our bodies. But until now, nobody knew why this was. The waterproof nature of our skin is a basic fact of life – indeed, it’s…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Fascinating photos of an octopus eating a seagull

Octopi and seagulls have an eat-or-be-eaten relationship; either one could easily be the predator or prey in the right situation. It’s common enough to see gulls snatching sea critters out of the ocean, but these photos capture something a bit different: an octopus pulling a seagull beneath the water and into its gullet. A bird-watcher…

io9 Lauren Davis

Are allergies our best defense against biohazards?

As common as they are, the origins of allergies are poorly understood. The prevailing theory is that they evolved as a method of defense against macroparasites — like ticks and worms — that are now triggered by a much wider variety of causes. However, a group of researchers from Yale think we’re looking at it…

io9 Tim Barribeau

Mice grimace after vasectomies

Both mice and men can find vasectomies a pain. That’s what grimaces on the faces of the rodents suggest, thanks to our improved understanding of how rodents express pain. Scientists want to better know when mice feel pain. There are animal welfare issues of not causing undue suffering, and scientific reasons as well — researchers…

io9 Charles Choi

TED launches a groundbreaking online education initiative

Last month, the folks at TED announced their new education initiative. They call it “TED-Ed,” and it’s part of a brand new platform designed to “capture and amplify the voice of the world’s greatest teachers” in the form of short, sharp, animated videos. On Wednesday, TED-Ed took a big step forward by unveiling the Beta…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Why Facehuggers Make Great Science Teachers

Artificial retinas give blind patients ability to see light and shapes

How to Wake Up Chicks Inside the Egg

This gruesome 1889 biology book outlined the many ways animals will kill us

Scientists recover the world’s oldest human blood cells from Ötzi the Iceman

Parasites wage war against zombie-ant fungus

These Amazonian ants build one of the freakiest deathtraps in the animal kingdom

Nature goes ahead and publishes study explaining how to create deadly mutant bird flu

Holy crap, these bees will DRINK TEARS FROM YOUR EYES

Shape-shifting animals inspire camouflaging artificial skin

Sweat-Eating Bees Are Invading Our Cities

Watch this resourceful octopus make a mobile home out of a tin can

Could a single pill save your marriage?

Start your week with this spellbinding timelapse of Yosemite National Park

These little fish swap their gender roles every season

Why is our skin waterproof?

Fascinating photos of an octopus eating a seagull

Are allergies our best defense against biohazards?

Mice grimace after vasectomies

TED launches a groundbreaking online education initiative

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