Biology

Three-Eyed Fish Discovered Near Argentinian Nuclear Facility

Well this is unsettling. The fish you’re looking at was recently caught in an Argentinian reservoir lake. The thing is, it’s a reservoir lake that a nearby nuclear facility just happens to pump water into on a regular basis, meaning this is one of those rare examples where a three-eyed animal isn’t cool. “We were…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

How hagfish choke their predators with slime

Hagfish are pretty disgusting creatures, but some of their most unsavory qualities also make them pretty fascinating. Consider, for example, what is perhaps the hagfish’s most repulsive feature: the thick slime that it exudes whenever it is threatened or disturbed. Just a teaspoon is enough to turn a beaker of liquid water into a mucilaginous…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

The rise of “carbon chaos”

One of the most dramatic mass extinctions in history, the End Permian event 250 million years ago, took out 95 percent of species on Earth. Scientists have long believed this holocaust began when a mega-volcano erupted in what is now Siberia, polluting the atmosphere and causing acid rain for possibly thousands of years. But now…

io9 Annalee Newitz

How the U.S. government helped fund the development of gene therapy

Over at Discover magazine, Veronique Greenwood has written a terrific article explaining the development of gene therapy, one of the most promising avenues of medical research over the last several decades. And, she explains, this basic, life-saving research couldn’t have been done without the help of government funding: After years of doubts and dangers, gene…

io9 Annalee Newitz

What goes on in the mind of an octopus?

Orion Magazine’s Sy Montgomery has written a wonderfully funny, informative and heartfelt article about the enigmatic octopus and its mysterious mind. If you’ve ever wondered how these alien-like cephalopods manage to demonstrate levels of intelligence unmatched by most other creatures on Earth, despite having a lifespan of just three years; how they know to change…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Could you outrun a Tyrannosaurus rex?

Even if we can’t observe how fast dinosaurs ran in real life (at least for now), there’s nothing that says we can’t do our damnedest to figure it out experimentally. After all, if dinosaurs do make their big comeback, questions like “how fast do they run?” and “wait a minute…how fast can I run?” are…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Computer simulation reveals how easy it is to hunt like a wolf

Wolves are considered unusually intelligent animals because their packs seem to use complex communication and strategy. But a computer simulation reveals even the most complicated hunting pattern can be explained by two instinctual behaviors. This is bad news for animal intelligence. Between this and the recent research suggesting most wolves are lazy freeloaders, it seems…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

The Simpsons Called It: Three Eyed Fish Caught Outside a Nuclear Power Plant

Fishermen in Córdoba, Argentina caught a three-eyed wolf fish in a reservoir fed by a local nuclear power plant, which will surely hinder the plant’s owner’s attempt to run for local office. The fishermen say their discovery, which actually bears no resemblance to Blinky the three-eyed fish from The Simpsons, has begun to worry local…

Biology Andrew Liszewski

The Private Lives Of Leeches

As part of our ongoing Hardcore Science Interview series, we interviewed the American Natural History Museum’s invertebrate zoology curator, Mark Siddall. A world-renowned expert on leeches, he told us about how these strange creatures reproduce by inseminating each other (yes, they are hermaphrodites) . . . and how to hunt them without losing too much…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Life on Earth began in . . . Greenland!?

Now known as one of the most inhospitable places on Earth, the giant arctic island of Greenland might actually hold the birthplace of all life on Earth. Yes, all life on Earth might well have sprang from Greenlandic mud volcanoes. The Isua region of southwest Greenland is home to a number of these mud volcanoes,…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Killer whales swim three thousand miles just to lose their skin

Every so often, the killer whales that live around Antarctica will drop everything they’re doing and swim three thousand miles due north. It’s an extreme journey, but the end result is the whale equivalent of a day at the spa. Killer whales, otherwise known as orcas, need to periodically regenerate their skin in order to…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Scientists offer a miracle cure for the effects of alcohol poisoning: strawberries

Drinking can wreak havoc on your insides, and not just the relatively short-lived brand of havoc brought on by a one-night drinking spree. We’re talking long-term damage to the mucous membrane of your stomach that can give rise to all manner of gastrointestinal disorders, including ulcers, colorectal cancer, and inflammatory bowel disease. Now a team…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Why are most people right-handed?

It seems like such a simple question, but it’s actually one of the biggest mysteries in all of science. Is it because of how our brains are organized, how ancient humans gripped tools, or is it simple anti-lefty prejudice? Nobody knows for sure, but scientists have come up with theories that are alternately intriguing, persuasive,…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Science investigates the ‘Think Fast Principle’

As if anyone needed more proof that scientists are trying to screw with us. A group of researchers fired balls out of a cannon at people, just to see what they would do about it. Think before you volunteer for a scientific experiment. Science has locked people in prison. Science has made people think they…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

A plausible end-of-the-world scenario you’ve probably never thought of

You’ve seen the world end with fire, earthquakes, and WTF in movies like 2012 and The Core. But to find out about truly horrific, plausible scenarios you need to ask a scientist. We talked to Cal Tech’s Joe Kirschvink, a geobiologist who studies the ancient history of life — and mass death. He gave us…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Women suffer from premature orgasm, too

When we hear news about human sexual dysfunction, it often tends to revolve around men. And when female sexual dysfunction does receive attention, it’s often brought up in reference to the difficulty they face achieving sexual climax. But a new study shows that jumping the orgasmic gun is likely a problem that is faced by…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

The difference between humans and chimps is all in the junk DNA

Humans and chimpanzees share up to 99% of the same DNA, which is particularly remarkable considering we don’t look anything like each other. The reason behind our vast difference in appearance is all thanks to our seemingly useless so-called “junk” DNA. These days, junk DNA is more accurately referred to as noncoding DNA. These sequences…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

See the four-inch-long amoebas that live six miles under the Pacific Ocean

This is a video of several xenophyophores, four-inch-long single-celled organisms that have been discovered 6.6 miles under the sea in the Mariana Trench. Last July, engineers from National Geographic and UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography found this particular batch of xenophyphores when they sent untethered dropcams into a region of the Mariana known…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

Macaques use synchronized sex to keep alpha males at bay

The phrase “battle of the sexes” applies pretty literally to the Assam macaques of southeastern Asia. During mating season, males become extremely aggressive, and females rely on various tactics to defend themselves… including all having sex at the same time. In many species, males want to both maximize the amount of children they have and…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

High-speed videography reveals how mosquitoes fly in the rain

Mosquitoes tend to thrive in humid environments where rain is common, but they aren’t exactly the hardiest of creatures. The typical raindrop weighs in at a mass about fifty times that of your average mosquito—so how do the little buggers manage to survive on a rainy day? To find out, engineer David Hu and his…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Three-Eyed Fish Discovered Near Argentinian Nuclear Facility