Biology

What happens to a whale after it dies, as told by puppets

When a whale kicks the bucket, all that blubber has to go somewhere. This absolutely gorgeous short film by Sharon Shattuck and Flora Lichtman depicts what happens to a whale’s corpse after it falls to the bottom of the sea. See all of your favorite deep-sea scavengers in puppet form! I mean you, polychaete worm!…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

The physics of a stuffy nose

Your case of the sniffles isn’t just annoying and gross. It adds up to a cost of $5.8 billion dollars a year in attempts to clear a stuffy nose. This is extra frustrating for doctors, because it turns out that your nose isn’t what’s stuffed. A lot of nasal congestion has seemed like an unfixable…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

African Mole-rats have teeth like an escalator

Most mammals — notably us — only get a couple of rounds of teeth in our life: the ones we’re born with, our adult teeth, and then sometimes our wisdom teeth, all of which are replaced from beneath like an elevator when new ones come in. But mammals that spend their days burrowing and chewing…

io9 Tim Barribeau

New type of transplant could save patients from a life of immunosuppresants

Transplants are pretty much the most amazing thing ever: they replace your broken organs with functional ones from someone else. But they carry a heavy cost. They require a difficult and long surgery, and afterwards you have to spend the rest of your life taking drugs to suppress your immune system. This ensures that your…

io9 Tim Barribeau

Why zoning out reveals the evolutionary origins of consciousness

Letting your mind wander allows you to be introspective, and to think in abstract ways most other animals cannot. And yet rats possess the same brain structures we use for introspection — which suggests deeper evolutionary roots for introspection and, by extension, consciousness itself. The default mode network, or DMN, is a network in the…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Even in the real world, women on the pill may choose dependable men over sexy ones

Here’s more evidence from the front lines of science that you can’t have your cake and eat it, too. A recently published study out of Stirling University shows that women who are on the pill when they meet their partners are less likely to be satisfied with sexual aspects of their relationship, but more satisfied…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

The last sound you’ll hear as you’re torn apart by piranhas is barking

The revelations never cease. First, it turns out that piranhas aren’t the vicious cow-stripping killers we’d been led to believe. Now it turns out that they bark when they see things they don’t like. Discover the physics of how piranhas yip away like yappy dogs. Scientists knew that piranhas could and did bark when provoked,…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Evolution finally explains the real story behind the birds and the bees

For nectar-eating animals like bats, birds and bees, there is only one way to feed: they are either born with a proboscis that sucks up sweet, tasty flower sugar or a tongue for spooning it up. Whatever nectar-acquiring tool these animals are born with ultimately dictates what kind of nectar they can consume: more-sugary (and…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

The ancestor of almost all vertebrates could sense electricity

Humans are one of 60,000 species that share a 500 million year old common ancestor. This creature was the ancestor of almost every vertebrate species, but it had a sixth sense that most of its descendants long since lost. Our evolutionary great-great-great-grandparent possessed electroreception, which means it was able to detect weak electric fields. This…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Sex Can Literally Blow Your Mind

Could Sex have adverse side effects on your memory? Livescience tells the story of a woman who, an hour after having sex, began experiencing an episode of temporary global amnesia. Stephanie Pappas writes that people in their 50s and 60s can suffer bouts of amnesia after intense physical activity. In this case, first reported by…

Tech News Adrian Covert

Can a venus flytrap digest human flesh?

Venus flytraps can’t hurt you, even if you leave your fingers in there for a long time. But what if you were a particularly creative mafioso who needed to dispose of a body? Is there a particular circumstance in which they could digest human flesh? Well, the answer is… Barry Rice runs the website The…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

The more feminine you look, the more children you want. Wait, what?

Does not wanting a baby make you less feminine? Or does being less feminine (be it in the way you look, or in your hormone levels) make you less likely to want children? A study published in the latest issue of Hormones and Behavior concluded that women’s facial features and estrogen levels correlate with their…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Lexical-Gustatory Synesthesia: When People Taste Words

Synesthesia is a concept that has always fascinated people. People have long since claimed to process colors as sounds, or to associate colors with music or words. But how can we prove that synesthesia actually exists? And what happens when someone associates particular words with tastes? Top image: Zametalov/Shutterstock. Synesthesia, as a concept, was not…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Earth’s worst mass extinction might not have been as bad as we thought

The Permo-Triassic extinction event happened 251 million years ago, killing off 96% of all marine species, and 70% of those on land. As bad as all that was, it now appears that land-based species recovered much faster than previously believed. Extinction events are devastating not just because of the massive amount of individual deaths and…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

How sugar molecules secretly shaped human evolution

Three million years ago, a gene mutation switched off a sugar-making enzyme in early hominids. Our ancestors actually became unable to breed with those who still had the enzyme, possibly causing the emergence of our evolutionary grandparent, Homo erectus. All animal cells are covered in a specific type of sugar molecule known as sialic acids.…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

10 Awesome Online Classes You Can Take For Free

Back in August, we told you about a free course on artificial intelligence being offered by Stanford University, and co-taught by two world-renowned AI experts. The class officially started today, so if you managed to register for it on time, then good on you. https://gizmodo.com/enroll-in-a-free-course-on-artificial-intelligence-tau-5834891 But if you didn’t manage to register for the course…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Giant prehistoric krakens may have sculpted self-portraits using ichthyosaur bones

For decades, paleontologists have puzzled over a fossil collection of nine Triassic icthyosaurs (Shonisaurus popularis) discovered in Nevada’s Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park. Researchers initially thought that this strange grouping of 45-foot-long marine reptiles had either died en masse from a poisonous plankton bloom or had become stranded in shallow water. But recent geological analysis of the…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

The secret of beetle fidelity really, truly stinks

Rove beetles have come up with a truly novel way to ensure monogamy. After a male has mated with a female, he injects her with a chemical that makes her smell so bad that all other prospective suitors stay away. We recently reported on one of the few actual aphrodisiacs ever discovered in nature. Well,…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

The Ice Age might still be going on inside China’s deepest caves

Hidden in the dark caves of southwest China, a fragment of Earth’s last Ice Age might well survive. Sadly, there aren’t any mammoths hiding out in there, but tiny plants might represent a last link to 30,000 years ago. Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Science and the UK’s Natural History Museum have identified seven…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

How do you autopsy a whale?

Some unknown terrible person shot a defenseless pilot whale last month, leaving it to swim the Atlantic in agony for weeks before it finally beached itself on the New Jersey shore and died. Authorities are still looking for the shooter. The bullet wound caused a fulminant infection in the whale’s jaw that prevented it from…

io9 Rebecca Boyle - Popular Science

What happens to a whale after it dies, as told by puppets

The physics of a stuffy nose

African Mole-rats have teeth like an escalator

New type of transplant could save patients from a life of immunosuppresants

Why zoning out reveals the evolutionary origins of consciousness

Even in the real world, women on the pill may choose dependable men over sexy ones

The last sound you’ll hear as you’re torn apart by piranhas is barking

Evolution finally explains the real story behind the birds and the bees

The ancestor of almost all vertebrates could sense electricity

Sex Can Literally Blow Your Mind

Can a venus flytrap digest human flesh?

The more feminine you look, the more children you want. Wait, what?

Lexical-Gustatory Synesthesia: When People Taste Words

Earth’s worst mass extinction might not have been as bad as we thought

How sugar molecules secretly shaped human evolution

10 Awesome Online Classes You Can Take For Free

Giant prehistoric krakens may have sculpted self-portraits using ichthyosaur bones

The secret of beetle fidelity really, truly stinks

The Ice Age might still be going on inside China’s deepest caves

How do you autopsy a whale?

No More Cheese Grater: The Mac Pro Is Discontinued

Even the ‘Avatar’ Fighting Game Is Disrespecting ‘Legend of Korra’

Bluesky Has a New App, and It’s All About AI

Dammit, Jim, He’s a Doctor And an Action Figure!

Whatever Just Happened with ‘Fruit Love Island,’ Nobody Won

AMC Puts a Stake in ‘Talamasca’ After One Season

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

2027 Is Shaping Up to Be a Great Year for Big Sci-Fi RPGs

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

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Let us help find what you are looking for...

Biology

What happens to a whale after it dies, as told by puppets

The physics of a stuffy nose

African Mole-rats have teeth like an escalator

New type of transplant could save patients from a life of immunosuppresants

Why zoning out reveals the evolutionary origins of consciousness

Even in the real world, women on the pill may choose dependable men over sexy ones

The last sound you’ll hear as you’re torn apart by piranhas is barking

Evolution finally explains the real story behind the birds and the bees

The ancestor of almost all vertebrates could sense electricity

Sex Can Literally Blow Your Mind

Can a venus flytrap digest human flesh?

The more feminine you look, the more children you want. Wait, what?

Lexical-Gustatory Synesthesia: When People Taste Words

Earth’s worst mass extinction might not have been as bad as we thought

How sugar molecules secretly shaped human evolution

10 Awesome Online Classes You Can Take For Free

Giant prehistoric krakens may have sculpted self-portraits using ichthyosaur bones

The secret of beetle fidelity really, truly stinks

The Ice Age might still be going on inside China’s deepest caves

How do you autopsy a whale?

No More Cheese Grater: The Mac Pro Is Discontinued

Even the ‘Avatar’ Fighting Game Is Disrespecting ‘Legend of Korra’

Bluesky Has a New App, and It’s All About AI

Dammit, Jim, He’s a Doctor *And* an Action Figure!

Whatever Just Happened with ‘Fruit Love Island,’ Nobody Won

AMC Puts a Stake in ‘Talamasca’ After One Season

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

2027 Is Shaping Up to Be a Great Year for Big Sci-Fi RPGs

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

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Let us help find what you are looking for...

Dammit, Jim, He’s a Doctor And an Action Figure!