Biology

Behold, the future’s bioluminescent billboards

Scientists at UC San Diego have made a bioluminescent bacterial billboard. They call it a “living neon sign composed of millions of bacterial cells that periodically fluoresce in unison like blinking light bulbs.” Making it all work “involved attaching a fluorescent protein to the biological clocks of the bacteria, synchronizing the clocks of the thousands…

io9 Geoff Manaugh - BLDGBLOG

British seaside town blasted with mysterious white goo

Here’s a reminder that a lot of tiny dead microorganisms can create an absolutely gag-worthy mess. Earlier this week, the British seaside town of Cleveleys was frosted with a thick coating of oceanic foam that resembled snow, but was in all likelihood a frothing mix of deceased algae. Explains The Guardian: Lab tests on samples…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

Why don’t we normally hallucinate?

If you’ve ever seen strange geometric patterns while on drugs, you might have wondered what on Earth caused you to see these hallucinations. What mechanism is behind this weird effect? But a new study asks a different, equally reasonable question — not “Why do hallucinations occur?”, but “Why don’t they occur all the time?” Top…

io9 Sophie Bushwick

David Tennant narrates a herd of flying Devil Rays

Let this video be your moment of zen to round out the year. Watch as David Tennant narrates a group of flying Rays as they leap out of the Sea of Cortez and experience a quick moment of flight. This was captured for BBC One’s Earthflight series. [via TDW]

io9 Meredith Woerner

A deadly poison created by mixing sunlight and oil in shallow water

While a huge body of research has been done on the immense oil spill in the Gulf Coast, another, smaller, spill in the San Francisco Bay has shown not only that we don’t know much about how different types of oil behave in the environment — but also that they can interact in ways we…

io9 Tim Barribeau

Grooming a lion is an adorable, nerve-wracking process

How do you beautify a feline apex predator? Allow animal handler Alex Larenty to demonstrate on Jamu, his big cat test subject. Jamu’s lion aftershave treatment was filmed last August at the SA Lion Park in Johannesburg, South Africa. All in all, “lion beautician” is right up there with “lion autodrome driver” on my taxonomy…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

What happens when you really can’t sleep — ever.

Stress, deadlines, or caffeine can give people a few sleepless nights, but there are some people for whom insomnia is chronic, complete, and fatal. Find out about a rare, but scary, condition known as fatal familial insomnia. The first case of fatal familial insomnia shocked the world in 1984. An Italian man named Silvano, in…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

This rare, brainless sea creature could hold the secrets to vertebrate evolution

You’re looking at a rare, fish-like creature known to marine scientists as amphioxus. Widely known for being not only faceless, but brainless, these small, elusive creatures are some of the most bizarre ocean-dwellers we’ve ever discovered. In place of a brain, amphioxus instead relies on a nerve cord that extends along the length of its…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Squashing cancer cells makes them migrate

When left untreated, cancer cells begin migrating away from the tumor where they first developed, spreading throughout the body and becoming much deadlier. But what stimulates this migration? A new study suggests that physical cell compression – which occurs when a tumor grows in certain parts of the body, where there is limited room and…

io9 Sophie Bushwick

Killer whale vs. shark brawl will make you happy to stay out of the water

Last Tuesday at New Zealand’s Tuatapere’s Blue Cliffs beach, bystander David Evans witnessed an orca getting into a shallow water tussle with a gang of sharks. The whale was likely herding the sharks toward the shores, where the fish next encountered an overeager pooch. For another recent, toothy battle to the death, see Elvis the…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

The cure for schizophrenia isn’t in our genes after all

Scientists have long searched unsuccessfully for the genetic factors that cause schizophrenia. Now we know why: the disorder is actually caused by what happens in cells around the genes. That knowledge could give us our best treatment yet for schizophrenia. It turns out that schizophrenia is an example of what’s known as an epigenetic effect,…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Chimps make noises to stop the spread of ignorance

Most species will raise the alarm instinctively if they see a deadly threat. Chimpanzees, however, are way too sophisticated for all that. They actually figure out if the other chimps are aware of the threat, before bothering to say anything. Researchers at Scotland’s University of St. Andrews went to Uganda and, in what at first…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Meet the Ball Cutter fish, the piranha-cousin nicknamed for exactly what you think

The mouth of the pacu fish — gigantic, 60-pound cousin to the more well-known (but much smaller) piranha — demands respect. Its brawny jaws and nightmarish teeth, the bottom row of which resembles a full set of exceptionally pointy human canines, are designed for crushing and tearing at seeds and nuts, its primary food source…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

New sensor can detect signs of cancer on your breath

Earlier this year, we found out that dogs can be trained to successfully detect cancer on the breath of humans — but we’re still not sure exactly what smell it is they’re responding to. https://gizmodo.com/dogs-can-reliably-sniff-out-lung-cancer-german-study-s-5832899 Now a company in Spain is working on a sensor to do the same job, and are discovering what biomarkers…

io9 Tim Barribeau

The Curious Case of the Severed Yeti Finger

In 1974, Lap Kadoma — the wife of a Nepalese sherpa — had a close encounter with a Yeti. The legendary cryptid, Kadoma would later recount, had managed to sneak up on her from behind, before heaving her into a river. When Kadoma regained consciousness, she found the bodies of several dead yaks strewn nearby.…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Deep sea bacteria use bioluminescence to hitchhike across the ocean

Many bacteria found at the bottom of the ocean glow in the dark thanks to light generated by their internal chemical reactions. This makes it easier for fish to see and eat them — which is exactly what the bacteria want. Researcher Margarita Zarubin of Israel’s Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences put together an ingenious…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

This is not a cat

Sometimes it’s easy to make a mistake when picking a photo of an animal — presenting an image of a rat instead of a mouse, for example. Or mistaking a crane fly for a mosquito. But whoever made this missing cat poster has taken the crown for animal mis-classification. In any case, there is now…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Take a psychedelic trip through 700 layers of the human brain

When I was in elementary school, I was obsessed with the Visible Human Project. The idea that a person could be frozen solid and subsequently sliced from head-to-toe, one-third of a millimeter at a time (a process known as cryosectioning) was almost too incredible for my adolescent brain to handle. It’s hard to imagine how…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Two millipede species have set up a 150 mile long insect demilitarized zone

The Australian island Tasmania is home to two species of millipedes. These insects only ever meet on a tiny, 300 feet wide patch of land running right down the island. It’s a bizarre arrangement, and it has biologists completely baffled. It’s not uncommon for two similar species to occupy territories that meet but don’t overlap…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Superflies bred to be the first astronauts on Titan

Artist Andy Gracie is attempting to breed a strain of fruit fly that could survive on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. The first stage of his work, The Quest for Drosophila Titanus, is part of an exhibition currently touring the UK. What can people see if they visit Dropsophila titanus? Currently, the installation consists of a…

io9 jessica Griggs - New Scientist

Behold, the future’s bioluminescent billboards

British seaside town blasted with mysterious white goo

Why don’t we normally hallucinate?

David Tennant narrates a herd of flying Devil Rays

A deadly poison created by mixing sunlight and oil in shallow water

Grooming a lion is an adorable, nerve-wracking process

What happens when you really can’t sleep — ever.

This rare, brainless sea creature could hold the secrets to vertebrate evolution

Squashing cancer cells makes them migrate

Killer whale vs. shark brawl will make you happy to stay out of the water

The cure for schizophrenia isn’t in our genes after all

Chimps make noises to stop the spread of ignorance

Meet the Ball Cutter fish, the piranha-cousin nicknamed for exactly what you think

New sensor can detect signs of cancer on your breath

The Curious Case of the Severed Yeti Finger

Deep sea bacteria use bioluminescence to hitchhike across the ocean

This is not a cat

Take a psychedelic trip through 700 layers of the human brain

Two millipede species have set up a 150 mile long insect demilitarized zone

Superflies bred to be the first astronauts on Titan

Andy Weir Apologizes After ‘Star Trek’ Comment Backlash

Scientists Discover Hidden Behavior in Water That Helps Explain Why Ice Floats

The ‘Paradise’ Season 2 Finale Paved the Way for a Wildly Sci-Fi Season 3

A $1 Samsung Galaxy Smartphone Lands at Mint Mobile With Unlimited Data at 50% Off in a Clearance Push

Your Wimpy Workouts Aren’t Cutting It, Scientists Say

Anker Prime Power Bank Drops to an All-Time Low (200W, 20,100mAh, 3-Port) as Amazon Clears Out Remaining Spring Sale Stock

Students Are Now Renting Smart Glasses to Cheat on Exams

Roborock F25 GT Cordless Vacuum and Mop Hits Its Lowest Price in Spring Sale, 20,000Pa Cleaning Power Without the Premium Price Tag

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

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