Biology

Rabbits with Horns: Meet the Human Papillomavirus

The stories about rabbits with horns circulated for centuries. Eventually they crystallized into the myth of the jackalope. If you go to Wyoming and twirl a rack of postcards, chances are you’ll find a picture of a jackalope bounding across the prairie. It looks like a rabbit sprouting a pair of antlers. You may even…

Books & Comics Carl Zimmer

Sea squirts could hold the secret to human immortality

Sea squirts might not look like much…they’re simple, hermaphroditic creatures that barely even have a brain. But they have a particular knack for activating the enzyme telomerase, which protects DNA from degradation. That unexpected talent could help fight human aging. Although these simple organisms only live about six months to a year, the basic mechanisms…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

You could soon be dining on diapers

Now that the human race has been spewing out trash for a good long time, we need to figure out what to do with it. When it comes to diapers, the best recycling policy may be to chow down, with a little help from mushrooms. The population of the world is hitting seven billion in…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Amazon’s $23,698,655.93 book about flies

A few weeks ago a postdoc in my lab logged on to Amazon to buy the lab an extra copy of Peter Lawrence’s The Making of a Fly – a classic work in developmental biology that we – and most other Drosophila developmental biologists – consult regularly. The book, published in 1992, is out of…

Books & Comics Michael B. Eisen

Scientist learns the secret of royal jelly by creating mutant super flies

Queen bees are much larger than worker bees, and live years longer, for one reason. They gorge on a sugary protein called “royal jelly.” Now a scientist has made ultra-large flies using royal jelly too. Are humans next? Sadly, it doesn’t look like tomorrow we’ll be creating giant women who live for hundreds of years…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Chimps will follow their leader even when it’s the stupid thing to do

Chimpanzees keep showing how smart they are compared to humans, but now there’s a big knock against their intelligence – they’re seemingly unable to go against the dominant group member, even if it means using a totally ineffective strategy. This lack of chimp initiative was discovered by Georgia State researcher Lydia Hopper. She trained a…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

How Gertie the chicken mysteriously switched genders

Late last year, a British hen named Gertie stopped laying eggs. She then started crowing like a rooster, and suddenly her entire appearance seemed to morph into a male. So just what is going on here? Gertie is one of two hens kept by Jim and Jeanette Howard from Cambridgeshire in England. According to Mrs.…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Science proves that staring at a screen all day is bad for you

Proving the words of countless mothers across countless nations, new research shows that spending all day staring at computers and TVs actually is bad for kids, giving them heart problems later in life. Scientists say that kids who spend many hours in front of screens have narrower arteries in the back of their eyes, and…

io9 Tim Barribeau

The 10 Creepiest Parasites

Scared of sharks? Stay out of the water. Scared of bears? Stay out of the woods. But parasites? They’re small enough to be anywhere. They trigger our natural fear of being preyed on, and add the spice of creeping paranoia. Parasites can be in the water, or buzzing through the air, or hiding in clothes…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

“Hammer-biter” marsupials were a weird mix of mammal and lizard

The marsupials and monotremes that are now found primarily in Australia represent a sort of evolutionary middle ground, mixing together their mammalian features with those of reptiles or amphibians. One ancient marsupial represents a particularly weird case of convergent evolution. Malleodectes, otherwise known by the awesome nickname “the Hammer-Biter”, was a marsupial that lived in…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Which “gut type” do you have, and what does it say about you?

We all have flourishing bacterial ecosystems in our intestines filled with thousands of microbes. But these gut ecosystems only come in three types. And the type you have may influence the kind of life you lead. Bacteria are a crucial part of human digestion. Hundreds of billions of them live in our stomachs and intestines,…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

The first three-parent babies could soon be born

The technology is now in place for three different parents to contribute DNA to an embryo – two of them providing the 98% of DNA in the cell nucleus, while another provides the crucial 2% that is mitochondrial DNA. Why does this matter? Mitochondrial DNA is passed on exclusively by the mother, but some women…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Fruit flies on meth

Scientists put fruit flies on meth, and observed the chemical results. What they found was a link between meth, sugar, and cancer cells. There are a surprising number of tests in which scientists expose bugs to drugs. Many of those test are, I suspect, the scientists just being jerks – such as when they exposed…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

What cannabis actually does to your brain

Archaeologists recently found a 2,700-year-old pot stash, so we know humans have been smoking weed for thousands of years. But it was only about 20 years ago that neuroscientists began to understand how it affects our brains. https://gizmodo.com/world-s-oldest-pot-stash-offered-an-afterlife-high-5099717 Scientists have known for a while that the active ingredient in cannabis was a chemical called delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol,…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Chimps emerge from the womb headfirst, just like humans

The longer we watch our primate cousins, the more we realize that all the things that make us uniquely human aren’t quite as unique as we thought. The latest discovery reveals chimpanzees give birth in the most human way possible. Specifically, chimpanzee babies emerge from the birth canal facing away from the mother. In all…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

The most advanced hive mind in the jungle

All ants form hive minds, working together with uncanny precision to build giant colonies. But weaver ants do a lot more: They domesticate other insects and “milk” them for food, use tools, and go on group scorpion hunts. There are other kinds of ants that do some of these things, but weavers seem to excel…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Worlds orbiting red dwarf stars may have black forests

There are plenty of things we take for granted. One is that most plants are green. Find out why that might not be true on other planets. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Unless you’re a bird or a bug – in which case the grass might be any…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Strange and Beautiful Underwater Photography Not Altogether Unlike Your Own Boring Photography

Russian marine biologist Alexander Semenov studied invertebrates at Moscow State University Moscow State with an emphasis in squid brains. Yeah! Squid brains. Pretty awesome. And that’s only like the fifteenth coolest thing over at WonderHowTo, where you’ll find an interview with Semenov along with some stunning images of the otherworldly sea creatures he photographs. But…

Tech News Kyle VanHemert

Will humans one day run a marathon in under two hours?

Ethiopian runner Haile Gebrselassie holds the current world record in the marathon at 2 hours, 3 minutes, and 59 seconds. Here’s the question: what’s it going to take to shave those last four minutes off for the first two-hour marathon? A century ago, the world record for the marathon was only a little under three…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Watch a close call with a great white in this preview for Shark Men

National Geographic has given us an exclusive preview of tonight’s episode of Shark Men. In the episode “Surfing with Sharks,” the research team attempts to tag a youthful and rowdy great white shark, who isn’t going in without a fight. Here’s the official synopsis: The Shark Men head to Southern California just off the shores…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

Rabbits with Horns: Meet the Human Papillomavirus

Sea squirts could hold the secret to human immortality

You could soon be dining on diapers

Amazon’s $23,698,655.93 book about flies

Scientist learns the secret of royal jelly by creating mutant super flies

Chimps will follow their leader even when it’s the stupid thing to do

How Gertie the chicken mysteriously switched genders

Science proves that staring at a screen all day is bad for you

The 10 Creepiest Parasites

“Hammer-biter” marsupials were a weird mix of mammal and lizard

Which “gut type” do you have, and what does it say about you?

The first three-parent babies could soon be born

Fruit flies on meth

What cannabis actually does to your brain

Chimps emerge from the womb headfirst, just like humans

The most advanced hive mind in the jungle

Worlds orbiting red dwarf stars may have black forests

Strange and Beautiful Underwater Photography Not Altogether Unlike Your Own Boring Photography

Will humans one day run a marathon in under two hours?

Watch a close call with a great white in this preview for Shark Men

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

Rabbits with Horns: Meet the Human Papillomavirus

Sea squirts could hold the secret to human immortality

You could soon be dining on diapers

Amazon’s $23,698,655.93 book about flies

Scientist learns the secret of royal jelly by creating mutant super flies

Chimps will follow their leader even when it’s the stupid thing to do

How Gertie the chicken mysteriously switched genders

Science proves that staring at a screen all day is bad for you

The 10 Creepiest Parasites

“Hammer-biter” marsupials were a weird mix of mammal and lizard

Which “gut type” do you have, and what does it say about you?

The first three-parent babies could soon be born

Fruit flies on meth

What cannabis actually does to your brain

Chimps emerge from the womb headfirst, just like humans

The most advanced hive mind in the jungle

Worlds orbiting red dwarf stars may have black forests

Strange and Beautiful Underwater Photography Not Altogether Unlike Your Own Boring Photography

Will humans one day run a marathon in under two hours?

Watch a close call with a great white in this preview for Shark Men

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!