Biology

Perhaps the Most Beautiful Undersea Photography We’ve Ever Seen

Russian photographer Alexander Semenov creates photographs of marine life that just burst with color and energy. You may have understood, on some intellectual level, that the ocean depths are an ecosystem, teeming with life and all connected. But looking at these stunning photos will make you see it in a new way. Semenov is a…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Amputated gecko tails jump and move around long after their bodies are gone

As a last-ditch effort to distract predators and escape, some animals will remove a limb or organ from their body. Geckos take this already hardcore survival strategy to insane new levels — their tails effectively remain alive long after amputation. A ton of species are known to jettison appendages in a desperate attempt to save…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

How exactly do neurons pass signals through your nervous system?

You probably think of your nervous system as a kind of computer network, or some kind of electrical system that passes nerve impulses around. But in reality, the miraculous journey of a signal thorough your nervous system is a story that involves cell biology, chemistry and physics. Your brain contains 30 billion neurons, and each…

io9 Sophie Bushwick

Meet the 20,000 new species we discovered in a single year

The latest State of Observed Species report is out. And biologists might have just earned the title of Hardest-Working People in Science, discovering a staggering 19,232 species in just one year, including nearly 10,000 new types of insects. To put that in perspective, when Carl Linnaeus began his taxonomic organization of all known species in…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

How to herd a sea lion into the ocean

The Marine Mammal Center is an organization in California that looks after injured and sick marine mammals and returns them to the ocean. Sometimes the marine life is not so eager to go. Check out Leopico, a rescued sea lion, try to charge between volunteers before being driven out to the sea. Run-ins with trash,…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

How sunlight, sex, and sneezes are all connected

Somewhere back in the vast recesses of time, staying alive required one to get things out of your nose so fast that a mere finger just wouldn’t do the job quick enough. Only total involuntary facial evacuation would keep your species struggling along. Nowadays, we don’t live in the same dangerous world that our ancestors…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

This insect eye will one day be built into your smart phone

University of Cambridge materials scientist Chris Forman shows us the eyes of a beetle and a fruit fly in a way you’ve never seen them before. That’s not just because they’re electrograph images, which reveal the eyes in amazing detail. Forman also offers a quick introduction to biomimesis, or using biology to shape technological designs.…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Mysterious “white nose syndrome” is demolishing bat populations in the Northeast

It’s been just five years since the deadly fungus was first identified in a small population of New York bats. In that time, “white nose syndrome” has spread to 16 states and four Canadian provinces. Once infected, afflicted bats have been known to behave erratically, flying far from their nests, never to be seen again,…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

“Treasure Trove” of Charles Darwin’s Long-Lost Fossils Discovered

The fossils were lost, and nobody even knew it. For ages, a stockpile of over 300 specimens — including several collected by Charles Darwin on his historic Voyage of the Beagle — has been changing hands throughout England, hidden away inside a nondescript cabinet. Now, 165 years later, the fossils (and their history) have been…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Listen to an Auto-Tuned David Attenborough and Bill Nye croon about evolution

The latest Symphony of Science track is out, and it is a doozy. Listen to David Attenborough, Richard Dawkins and Bill Nye get their rave on for evolution. Who knew synths intermingled with amoebas on the Tree of Life? Hat tip to Krakenstein2!

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

The world’s greatest explanations, as chosen by Brian Eno, Richard Dawkins, and others

Every year, Edge.org poses a question to a hand-picked group of the world’s “most complex and sophisticated minds.” Then they publish the responses. This year’s question — What is your favorite deep, elegant, or beautiful explanation? — has been answered by close to 200 contributors, ranging from evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins to musician and producer…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Ultra-tiny “nano-ear” can hear bacteria and viruses

The world’s smallest ear doesn’t belong to any animal. Instead, it’s a tiny piece of gold suspended in a laser beam. It can hear sounds a million times fainter than any human ear can, making it a powerful acoustic microscope. The nano-ear is the work of Jochen Friedmann and Andrey Lutich of Munich’s Ludwig-Maximilians University.…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Life might not be possible around red dwarf stars

There could be over 150 billion planets in our galaxy alone, which makes the chances of life on other words look very solid indeed. But there’s one snag: the universe’s most common stars might not support life at all. The problem is down to axial tilt. Relative to its orbital plane around the Sun, the…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

What mysterious genetic material ruled the world before DNA and RNA?

All living organisms use DNA as the carrier of genetic material and RNA as the messenger molecule directing the expression of genes and creation of proteins. This arrangement has lasted 3.5 billion years. But what came before these life-giving molecules? These two massive molecules are wonderfully versatile, capable of assembling and replicating themselves while also…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Until 2009, the human clitoris was an absolute mystery

Humans have been studying one another sexually for thousands upon thousands of years. Yet for all that time spent diligently exploring one another’s anatomies, there remain many features of the human form that, until very recently, have gone uncharted — chief among them being the clitoris. How recently are we talking? Try 2009. Yeah. Get…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Is this bizarre organism an animal, a plant, or both?

Actually, Mesodinium chamaeleon is both. This single-celled organism definitely eats other creatures, which makes it an animal. But it also absorbs algae cells that can then give it extra energy through photosynthesis. So what on earth is this strange creature? Found off the Scandinavian coast, Mesodinium chamaeleon is an animal that forms a symbiotic relationship…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Adorable baby sloths take a spa day

Would you like to spend your Sunday being bathed by women in an organic herbal treatment, given a nice massage, and then fed brightly colored hibiscus flowers? That’s just an ordinary bath time for these baby sloths, who manage to be even cuter when wet. Be sure to turn up your speakers to hear their…

io9 Lauren Davis

Watch 30 giant hornets take out 30,000 honey bees

This morning’s most fearsome monster doesn’t come the imagination of a writer or artist. It comes from Japan, home of Godzilla, Gamera, Mothra, and the most frightening creature of them all: the Japanese Giant Hornet. Watch a nest of honey bees make their last stand against just 30 of these vicious intruders. After watching that…

io9 Lauren Davis

This snow-sledding crow will remind you what it means to make your own fun

It’s widely acknowledged that crows are remarkably intelligent animals (did you know that they’re commonly referred to as feathered apes?), but seeing one engage in a pastime as distinctly human as snow-sledding is a sight to behold. The description for this clip describes this particular corvid’s antics as “snowboarding,” but to me, the activity is…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Melting Ice Is Crushing and Drowning Baby Seals

Harp seals use sea ice as their chilly love nests, and after the lovin’ leads to babies, parents nurse for just 12 days before the pups are on their own. But their ice dens have been melting beneath the baby seals, and when that happens, their chances of survival are slim. And according to a…

Climate Change Kristen Philipkoski

Perhaps the Most Beautiful Undersea Photography We’ve Ever Seen

Amputated gecko tails jump and move around long after their bodies are gone

How exactly do neurons pass signals through your nervous system?

Meet the 20,000 new species we discovered in a single year

How to herd a sea lion into the ocean

How sunlight, sex, and sneezes are all connected

This insect eye will one day be built into your smart phone

Mysterious “white nose syndrome” is demolishing bat populations in the Northeast

“Treasure Trove” of Charles Darwin’s Long-Lost Fossils Discovered

Listen to an Auto-Tuned David Attenborough and Bill Nye croon about evolution

The world’s greatest explanations, as chosen by Brian Eno, Richard Dawkins, and others

Ultra-tiny “nano-ear” can hear bacteria and viruses

Life might not be possible around red dwarf stars

What mysterious genetic material ruled the world before DNA and RNA?

Until 2009, the human clitoris was an absolute mystery

Is this bizarre organism an animal, a plant, or both?

Adorable baby sloths take a spa day

Watch 30 giant hornets take out 30,000 honey bees

This snow-sledding crow will remind you what it means to make your own fun

Melting Ice Is Crushing and Drowning Baby Seals

Tesla Goes Ahead and Admits Its Robotaxis Are Sometimes Fully Human-Controlled

School Forced to Replace Toilets After Kids Flush Vapes

‘Scream 7’ Just Won’t Stop Making Money as ‘Scream 8’ Gets Started

The Curtain Has Closed on Meta’s Movie Rating-Inspired Content Filters

Good News! You Can Finally Change That Ridiculous Gmail Address

ExpressVPN Just Launched ExpressAI: Your Prompts Are Now Invisible

VR Just Took Another Massive Body Blow

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

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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