Biology

Inbreeding is what’s secretly driving all the bedbug infestations

Bedbugs were pretty much wiped out in the United States back in the 1950s, but over the past decade they’ve returned with a vengeance. They’re tougher and more resistant to insecticides than ever before, and it’s all due to inbreeding. Although bedbugs don’t transmit disease, their bites can cause allergic reactions, and they represent a…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

No, we won’t be able to clone a woolly mammoth in the next five years

A team of Russian and Japanese scientists recently announced that they have discovered pristine DNA samples of woolly mammoths, and they will clone a living mammoth within five years. It’s tremendously exciting…but almost certainly not going to happen. Here’s why. What You Need To Clone A Mammoth Honestly, cloning a mammoth isn’t that much harder…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

This leopard is so happy to be alive it can barely stand it

The photo you’re looking at is of a Persian leopard — the largest subspecies of leopard on Earth — and it is just elated to be here. Where is here, exactly? That would be Afghanistan’s Central Highlands, where this photo was taken. Until recently, Persian leopards were believed to have vanished from this rocky region…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

What flavor is this shape?

No ideas? What about a passing train — has listening to one ever evoked a specific color in your mind? The questions I’m asking you have to deal with something known as synesthesia — a rare condition wherein a person’s senses become entangled, causing them to associate different senses with one another. A person with…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Tropical fish can adjust to warming oceans, which could bode well for the future

As global temperatures rise and the oceans heat up, a huge question is how fish that are adapted to one set of temperatures will survive this upheaval. Now we know at least one species could adapt fast enough to survive. Generally speaking, fish require very precise temperatures to survive in a way, leaving them far…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Naked mole rats have the worst sperm in the animal kingdom

Often called “sabre tooth sausages,” naked mole rats are among the most bizarre members of the rodent realm. They live for 20 years — an enormous amount of time compared to other rodents — and exist entirely within a network of underground tunnels. They are blind, feel no pain on the surface of their skins,…

io9 Annalee Newitz

The secret to fighting Alzheimer’s Disease is…red food coloring?

For centuries, we’ve used a dye derived from lichens to provide the red coloring for food and fabrics. This dye contains a compound called orcein, and we’ve just discovered its most remarkable property: it can fight Alzheimer’s disease. Specifically, the compound, as well as a related substance called O4, is able to reduce the number…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

The fantastically named yeti crab farms disgusting bacteria on its arms

Deep off the coasts of Costa Rica, this recently discovered species of yeti crab (Kiwa puravida) harvests their dinner over hydrothermal vents. But how? These nine-centimeter-long bottom dwellers — which are named such for their spindly arm bristles — cultivate gardens of nourishing bacteria by waving their claws over chemical vents and seeps. Researchers believe…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

Chivalry is not dead…among fig wasps

Admittedly, there’s not much competition, but I’m declaring fig wasps to be the most gallant of all wasps. Males are the only known insects to put pregnant females ahead of themselves…even if they haven’t had a chance to mate yet. Fig wasps are a tiny variety of wasps that pollinate, unsurprisingly, fig trees. They come…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Our cells lock up Shigella bacteria in cages to stop it from killing us

Shigella is an incredibly nasty bacteria related to E coli and Salmonella, and it’s only found in apes — including us humans. When we get infected, it can cause lethal dysentery, so we’ve evolved a cunning way of fighting off the bug, a technique which has only just been observed. The human cells attack the…

io9 Tim Barribeau

Moving to the city could split birds into separate species

It’s a well-worn cliche that moving to the big city after a lifetime of country-living can change you forever. That might actually be literally true for blackbirds, as moving to the city has begun to split their species in two. Blackbirds are found throughout northern Europe, and they began moving into cities in the 1930s.…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

The Blanket Octopus, One Of The Most Alien Animals To Swim The Earth

It’s generally agreed around these parts that octopodes are disturbingly awesome. The blanket octopus however kicks our cephalopod fascination into overdrive. How come? This creature looks like a swimming tablecloth or one of the aliens from Abyss. These cephalopods belong to the genus Tremoctopodidae, which consists of four species. The females can grow to 6.5…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

What does the Supercommittee failure mean for the future of scientific progress?

The levels of support received by any government-funded program are expected to fluctuate in kind with a country’s budgetary fortunes, but the history of federally funded science in the United States has been especially strained by the ongoing transformation of the nation’s budget. The recent failure of the congressional super committee (responsible for trimming 1.5…

io9 Robert T. Gonzalez and Annalee Newitz

Stem cells in your heart could revolutionize heart surgery

Tucked away in that useful little organ constantly toiling in your chest is a previously untapped well of stem cells, which could be used for the future of heart surgery. New research published in Cell Stem Cell identifies a pool of stem cells in the heart, found near blood vessels throughout the organ. Even in…

io9 Tim Barribeau

Sustainability Science: How to Create a New Research Field

If the world needs a new field of science, can you simply create one from scratch? That’s the question of a group of researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The scientists recently chronicled the twenty-five year journey of sustainability science, a newly coined field with the goal of advancing society without destroying our planet.…

io9 Keith Veronese

10 Bizarre Names and Strange Origins of Real Molecules

Everybody knows that scientists have an unconventional sense of humor — and paleontologists and astronomers are known for naming some of their discoveries in a whimsical fashion. But chemists and biochemists are required to stick to a strict set of naming conventions. Nevertheless, sometimes researchers get a little freedom and give a molecule a clever…

io9 Keith Veronese

Breakthrough: Gene Therapy Provides Full Protection from HIV Transmission in Mice

For hundreds of years, immunization has been one of society’s most elegant and dependable methods of disease prevention. Vaccines have been developed for infections ranging from measles to HPV. Many of us get vaccinated to protect ourselves against seasonal illness, or before traveling internationally. Vaccination is safe. It is dependable. It works. So in the…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

The world’s smelliest frogs are a treasure trove of antibiotics

Some of the most foul smelling creatures on Earth are known simply as odorous frogs. These amphibians have a normal odor like that of rotting fish, but it’s worth braving their disgusting smell for the life-saving substances that coat their bodies. Because frogs live in warm, wet places — the perfect breeding grounds for bacteria…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Will nematodes conquer space before humans?

Caenorhabditis elegans is a a less-than-one-millimeter-long nematode that matures and dutifully produces its next generation in space the same way it does on earth. C. elegans’ biology shares certain important commonalities with that of humans. Therefore, University of Nottingham researchers are arguing that these roundworms should be used to model the effects of long stays…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Why did some dinosaurs have giant hollow bones in their backs?

Rapetosaurus was a huge, plant-eating dinosaur much like the brachiosaurus. It’s one of a family of dinosaurs that had a huge, hollow bone growing in its back. Known as an osteoderm, paleontologists are only now discovering what it was for. Osteoderms are still found today in creatures throughout the animal kingdom. These bones, which are…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Inbreeding is what’s secretly driving all the bedbug infestations

No, we won’t be able to clone a woolly mammoth in the next five years

This leopard is so happy to be alive it can barely stand it

What flavor is this shape?

Tropical fish can adjust to warming oceans, which could bode well for the future

Naked mole rats have the worst sperm in the animal kingdom

The secret to fighting Alzheimer’s Disease is…red food coloring?

The fantastically named yeti crab farms disgusting bacteria on its arms

Chivalry is not dead…among fig wasps

Our cells lock up Shigella bacteria in cages to stop it from killing us

Moving to the city could split birds into separate species

The Blanket Octopus, One Of The Most Alien Animals To Swim The Earth

What does the Supercommittee failure mean for the future of scientific progress?

Stem cells in your heart could revolutionize heart surgery

Sustainability Science: How to Create a New Research Field

10 Bizarre Names and Strange Origins of Real Molecules

Breakthrough: Gene Therapy Provides Full Protection from HIV Transmission in Mice

The world’s smelliest frogs are a treasure trove of antibiotics

Will nematodes conquer space before humans?

Why did some dinosaurs have giant hollow bones in their backs?

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