Biology

Researchers describe a new evolutionary theory: The Black Queen Hypothesis

Bacteria belonging to the genus Prochlorococcus are some of the wimpiest in the world. Left to their own devices, these microorganisms have an exceedingly difficult time just staying alive — which seems counterintuitive, given that they’re also the most abundant photosynthesizing organisms on Earth. Over the course of evolution, these wildly successful bacteria have lost…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

DNA reveals that cows were almost impossible to domesticate

Cows are quite possibly the most important domesticated animal in human history, providing vast quantities of meat, dairy products, leather, and let’s not forget manure for fertilizer. And yet DNA analysis reveals ancient humans almost didn’t succeed in domesticating cows at all. There are about 1.3 billion cows in the world today. That makes just…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Our Oceans’ Coral Is Dying of… Herpes??

Coral around the world is in decline, destroying the natural habitat of thousands of different species. But scientists might have revealed a dirty truth behind the problem: coral could have a bad case of herpes. In fact, it’s not just herpes. Coral seems to be harboring a bunch of viral diseases, that could be slowly…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Why Making a Male Contraceptive Pill Is So Damn Difficult

John Amory, a doctor at the University of Washington, has been developing a male contraceptive for 15 years. Turns out, it’s harder than it sounds. We spoke with him to find out why. PopSci: Why is it taking so long to produce a birth-control pill for men? John Amory: Women make one egg a month,…

Tech News Jennifer Abbasi-Popular Science

Forget the Pharmacy: Thyme Might Be Your Best Pimple Cure

Growing up, you always assume you’ll reach an age where you’re pimple-free. Never happens. Don’t fret! New research suggests that you can hit up your herb garden instead of shelling out bucks at the pharmacy. A little bit of thyme could clear your skin up better than any cream. Researchers from Leeds Metropolitan University in…

Health Jamie Condliffe

Origin of Modern Cows Traced to a Single Herd

A genetic study of cattle has claimed that all modern domesticated bovines are descended from a single herd of wild ox, which lived 10,500 years ago. A team of geneticists from the National Museum of Natural History in France, the University of Mainz in Germany, and UCL in the UK excavated the bones of domestic…

Biology Duncan Geere-Wired UK

Runners’ Highs Evolved to Make Us Better Hunter Gatherers

You’ve all been there: tired and exhausted, you drag your ass out for a run, but a few miles in—BOOM—your pain fades and you’re suddenly euphoric. You’ve got a runner’s high—and new research reveals that it’s an evolutionary trait that fine-tuned us to be the ultimate hunter-gatherers. The research, conducted by the University of Arizona…

Health Jamie Condliffe

The Miracle Drug That Could Kill All Cancers

It sounds like science fiction, but researchers have discovered a single drug that they think can shrink, or even completely cure, all human tumors. But how does a drug like that work, and when will it be available? An article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science explains that a new treatment—based on…

Health Jamie Condliffe

This necrophiliac ant gang bang is just about the worst thing in the animal kingdom

Holy hell, is this unpleasant. We recently saw how improperly used ant pheromones can cause some pretty dunderheaded behaviors, such as the spiral of death. https://gizmodo.com/how-to-create-an-ant-spiral-of-death-5895435 Now — courtesy of photographer Adrián Skippy Purkart — here is a crab spider eating the head of a queen Prenolepis nitens ant while her horny drones go to…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

And Now, the Sound of Farting Fish

How better to end the day than with some ichthyological flatulence? Thanks to an undersea robot, we’ve recorded some fish off the coast of Florida producing some previously unknown sounds. And the best explanation really is that the fish are farting. Specifically, fish such as menhaden and herring likely created the noise by releasing gas…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

How do you buy organs on the black market?

Organ donors are scarce. Waiting lists are long. And life is short — especially if you really need a new heart or liver. So it makes sense that there’s a black market for organs out there. But how would you go about scoring an illicit pancreas if you desperately needed one? Follow the threads people…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Eating chocolate could actually help you lose weight

Chocolate, like any other candy, makes you fat. That’s such a basic and well-known fact that it’s easily taken for granted… but it could be wrong. New research reveals that people who regularly eat chocolate are thinner than those who don’t. Top image: Shutterstock.com That’s the finding of UC San Diego researchers Beatrice Golomb, Sabrina…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

New scorpion species can fit on a dime… and hide pretty much anywhere

Big scorpions are definitely intimidating in their own right, but ask anyone who hails from the southwest and they’ll set you straight: it’s the little ones you have to look out for. It’s the tiniest of these pincer-wielding critters that scutter their way undetected into your shoes, the pile of laundry that you haphazardly dumped…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

How Do Cats Survive Massive Falls?

Everyone knows that cats can somehow survive falling out of a tree, but last week a cat survived a 19-story fall in Boston. So just how the hell did it manage it? Science, as usual, can help explain: it’s mostly anatomy. But sadly, there is a lack of empirical evidence—scientists seem reluctant to throw cats…

Biology Jamie Condliffe

This is not a caterpillar

It’s shaped like a caterpillar. It’s colored like a caterpillar. It even has what appear to be spines running along its back, a feature common in many species of caterpillars. But this is no caterpillar. By now you’ve undoubtedly realized that this caterpillar is, in fact, nine very friendly birds —European Bee-eaters, to be exact…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Human Mutation Is What Makes the Flu Deadly

If you’ve ever wondered why some people shrug off a flu while others die from the same virus, you’re in good company—it’s puzzled scientists for decades. But a new study suggests that a mutant protein found in some humans is responsible for the difference. A team of researchers from the University of Cambridge has found…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Why cats can survive falls that would kill any other animal

Cats can famously fall from skyscrapers and only suffer the most minor of bruises, including the recent story of a cat surviving a 19-story fall in Boston with only a bruised chest. What’s the secret of this feline survival? There’s a great rundown of just how cats survive these falls over at BBC News, but…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

The last mammoths died out just 3600 years ago…but they should have survived

We usually think of woolly mammoths as purely Ice Age creatures. But while most did indeed die out 10,000 years ago, one tiny population endured on isolated Wrangel Island until 1650 BCE. So why did they finally go extinct? Wrangel Island is an uninhabited scrap of land off the northern coast of far eastern Siberia.…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Why do cicadas know prime numbers?

Cicadas incubate underground for long years. They emerge every 13 or 17 years to mate and make annoying noises when people are trying to sleep. Both 13 and 17 are prime numbers. What is it that makes cicadas come out during these years? Cicadas spend so long underground that it hardly seems worth it for…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

This giant wasp may use these horrific jaws for sex

Behold a creature whose bedroom play may be straight out of the most mind-warping Brueghel painting. Meet a male Megalara garuda, which belongs to both a newly identified species and genus of Indonesian digger wasp. A specimen of this wasp had been languishing in Berlin’s Museum für Naturkunde since the 1930s, until a recent expedition…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

Researchers describe a new evolutionary theory: The Black Queen Hypothesis

DNA reveals that cows were almost impossible to domesticate

Our Oceans’ Coral Is Dying of… Herpes??

Why Making a Male Contraceptive Pill Is So Damn Difficult

Forget the Pharmacy: Thyme Might Be Your Best Pimple Cure

Origin of Modern Cows Traced to a Single Herd

Runners’ Highs Evolved to Make Us Better Hunter Gatherers

The Miracle Drug That Could Kill All Cancers

This necrophiliac ant gang bang is just about the worst thing in the animal kingdom

And Now, the Sound of Farting Fish

How do you buy organs on the black market?

Eating chocolate could actually help you lose weight

New scorpion species can fit on a dime… and hide pretty much anywhere

How Do Cats Survive Massive Falls?

This is not a caterpillar

Human Mutation Is What Makes the Flu Deadly

Why cats can survive falls that would kill any other animal

The last mammoths died out just 3600 years ago…but they should have survived

Why do cicadas know prime numbers?

This giant wasp may use these horrific jaws for sex

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