Biology

Medical science proves that fearing illness makes your illness worse

When in a cardiac emergency, your body turns your own worst fears against you. The more acutely you feel fear, the worse your heart problem gets. It’s like the plot of IT, but without the bad special effects. One of first books to really scare me was a children’s story called Ronia, The Robber’s Daughter.…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Alligators use cannibalism as the ultimate population control

If you’re a baby alligator, there’s about a 1 in 16 chance that your elders will eat you. It’s nothing personal…it’s just the simplest way for these gators to deal with a temporary food shortage and keep their population stable. Florida researchers examined the stomachs of 267 adult alligators between 1981 and 1987. Since some…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Brains Now Grow in Petri Dishes

Obviously, you can grow meat in a petri dish, but now there’s a way to grow active brain cells in a dish. And what’s even cooler is that they might be capable of storing memories, just like a real brain. According to a study done at the University of Pittsburg, these brain cells grow and…

Tech News Adrian Covert

Ten Strange Animal Hybrids

Once upon a time, there was no such thing as Photoshop. Back then, if people wanted to smash two separate things together into an unholy mixture of art, science, and caprice, they had to hire a painter – and painters tended to be moody. Those who couldn’t put up with the moods turned to crossbreeding,…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Important physics breakthrough solves the mystery of how dogs drink

Everything you knew about canine hydration was wrong! You will gasp in astonishment to discover the physical links between dog drinking and cat drinking! And learn the secrets behind messy dog slobber! All will be revealed! For decades, physicists believed that they understood dog drinking. It was well-established that dogs loop their tongues into ladle-like…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Reindeer are the only mammals that can see ultraviolet light

There’s a reason that certain wavelengths are known as “visible” light, because those are the wavelengths that humans and most animals even remotely like us can see. But one mammal can see in ultraviolet light…and it’s all because of snow. On the light spectrum, ultraviolet fits in right between visible light and X-rays. It’s invisible…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

The scientist who pretended to be a parrot

Alex the parrot died in 2007, after learning more words than any bird before him. He changed the way people think about animal intelligence. But his education wouldn’t have been possible without an unsung research assistant who pretended to be a parrot. Alex, an African grey parrot, lived only a little over thirty years, but…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

The scientific reason why the honey badger doesn’t have to give a s**t

This National Geographic honey badger video, with a hilarious voiceover from “Randall,” went viral a few months ago. Seriously, though, why can the honey badger wake up from a cobra bite and be on his merry way? And why can it get stung repeatedly by a swarm of bees and “not give a shit?” It’s…

io9 Kristen Philipkoski

How Dogs Seem to Break Gravity With Every Sip of Water They Take

High-speed and x-ray video of dogs lapping up water has shown how they seemingly bend gravity and force the water into their mouths. Humans could learn to manipulate their tongues in similar ways, but it’d be a difficult, unrewarding challenge. While cats seem to drink water in much the same way as dogs, there’s one…

Biology Kat Hannaford

10 reasons to bow down before your shark overlords

Sharks aren’t just scary-looking and deadly. They’re also superpowered. They rarely get sick, never sleep, and possess sensory organs all over their bodies that allow them to smell electricity and see vibrations. Here are ten reasons (plus a bonus extra reason) to bow down before your shark overlords. 1. Sharks don’t get tumors A substance…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Why this weird little fish is one of the top ten species discovered last year

We’re constantly discovering new species, and it isn’t just little things like insects or plants. The ten biggest species discovered last year include a six foot long lizard, an antelope being sold at market, and this truly unique-looking creature. Every year, the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University announces the top ten…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Why every human has a blind spot – and how to find yours

There are grizzled heroes and sleek assassins in movies who don’t have metaphorical blind spots. They do have literal ones, though. Because of the way the eye is constructed, every human being does. For the most part, the human eye gives the brain an accurate picture of what’s going on in the world. There are…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Why DNA might be the future of computing

A thousand different ways have been proposed for how humans and computers will someday become one: chips installed in our heads, people’s minds uploaded to the internet, you name it. But computers might be perfectly content with just our DNA. That’s the argument made by Professor Jian-Jian Shu and his team at Nanyang Technical University…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Red-crested rodent reappears after 113 years

After 113 years in hiding, the red crested tree rat (Santamartamys rufodorsalis) has appeared once again and posed for its first ever photographs. The small mammal, not seen since 1898 despite several organised searches, turned up in front of two volunteers at the El Dorado Nature Reserve in northern Colombia on the morning of 4…

io9 Seil Collins - New Scientist

Squids and octopi imitate color despite being colorblind

Cephalopods often change color to confuse their prey or escape their predators. They can’t see color, but their predators and prey can. How do they pull it off? Much has been made of octopi intelligence. They can open bottles, escape cages, and occasionally disable pumps and trash aquariums. It can distinguish between objects that are…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Liquid crystals can detect bacterial infections

Liquid crystals – yes the same as the ones in your calculator — may soon save lives: they’ll be detecting deadly bacterial infections. It turns out liquid crystals are incredibly sensitive to endotoxin, a lipid that’s found on the outside of many bacteria, including E. coli and Salmonella. Liquid crystal has a crystalline-like order to…

io9 Tim Barribeau

Zebrafish reveal all the ingredients needed to regenerate a limb

The cool trick about stem cells is that they’re super adaptable, and can become any other sort of cell, right? So why not use a mass of stem cells to regenerate a limb? Or grow an extra one? Well, it looks like it’s all a bit more complicated than that. According to new research on…

io9 Tim Barribeau

How MRIs work

Most people have seen MRI images, or MRIs being used on medical shows, but rarely is magnetic resonance imaging actually explained. Take a look at how it works. There are plenty of medical dramas on TV, and nearly all of them have some scenes of desperately sick patients climbing into gigantic tubes that look like…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

A bit of hydrogen could save you from oxygen poisoning

Hyperoxia, also known as oxygen toxicity or poisoning, can happen when your body is exposed to pure O2 for too long. That’s right – one of the gasses you need to survive can also poison you. This is an issue for people who have lung disease and other ailments that prevent them from breathing properly…

io9 Tim Barribeau

The smell that caused ancient mammals’ brains to double in size

190 million years ago, there were no mammals on Earth. Instead, there were furry, mouse-like creatures no bigger than a paperclip. And they suddenly began to grow brains 10 times larger than their relative body size. What happened? The story of the mammalian brain’s rapid growth is well-known to paleontologists. The question is, which parts…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Medical science proves that fearing illness makes your illness worse

Alligators use cannibalism as the ultimate population control

Brains Now Grow in Petri Dishes

Ten Strange Animal Hybrids

Important physics breakthrough solves the mystery of how dogs drink

Reindeer are the only mammals that can see ultraviolet light

The scientist who pretended to be a parrot

The scientific reason why the honey badger doesn’t have to give a s**t

How Dogs Seem to Break Gravity With Every Sip of Water They Take

10 reasons to bow down before your shark overlords

Why this weird little fish is one of the top ten species discovered last year

Why every human has a blind spot – and how to find yours

Why DNA might be the future of computing

Red-crested rodent reappears after 113 years

Squids and octopi imitate color despite being colorblind

Liquid crystals can detect bacterial infections

Zebrafish reveal all the ingredients needed to regenerate a limb

How MRIs work

A bit of hydrogen could save you from oxygen poisoning

The smell that caused ancient mammals’ brains to double in size

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

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

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

Biology

Medical science proves that fearing illness makes your illness worse

Alligators use cannibalism as the ultimate population control

Brains Now Grow in Petri Dishes

Ten Strange Animal Hybrids

Important physics breakthrough solves the mystery of how dogs drink

Reindeer are the only mammals that can see ultraviolet light

The scientist who pretended to be a parrot

The scientific reason why the honey badger doesn’t have to give a s**t

How Dogs Seem to Break Gravity With Every Sip of Water They Take

10 reasons to bow down before your shark overlords

Why this weird little fish is one of the top ten species discovered last year

Why every human has a blind spot – and how to find yours

Why DNA might be the future of computing

Red-crested rodent reappears after 113 years

Squids and octopi imitate color despite being colorblind

Liquid crystals can detect bacterial infections

Zebrafish reveal all the ingredients needed to regenerate a limb

How MRIs work

A bit of hydrogen could save you from oxygen poisoning

The smell that caused ancient mammals’ brains to double in size

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

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

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

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