Biology

Bacteria can make you happier AND smarter!

Mycobacterium vaccae bacteria are already known to decrease anxiety, but it might have even more dramatic properties. Recent studies on mice suggest the bacteria, commonly found in the soils of people’s gardens, also increases intelligence and the ability to learn. Dorothy Matthews and Susan Jenks, both of The Sage Colleges in Troy, New York, sought…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Rare fish with “hands” are the true missing link

Found off the coast of Tasmania and Australia, the rare handfish are solitary, slow-moving creatures. They use their fins to walk on the seafloor, rather than swimming. This is how our ancestors might have looked, before emerging from the sea. National Geographic has a series of articles on these fish, which are spotted so infrequently…

io9 Annalee Newitz

MOTHERFCKING SHARKS CAN BECOME MOTHERFCKING INVISIBLE

As if they weren’t scary enough, scientists have discovered that sharks can become invisible to prey/you using an optical trick. Not scared yet? Well, one of the invisible shark species is nicknamed the phantom hunter of the fjords. Run. Now. The real name of the phantom hunter is Etmopterus spinax or velvet belly lantern shark.…

Tech News Jesus Diaz

Scientists create “artificial life” – synthetic DNA that can self-replicate

In one of the biggest breakthroughs in recent history, scientists have created a synthetic genome that can self-replicate. So what does this mean? Are we about to become gray goo? Led by Craig Venter of the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), the team of scientists combined two existing techniques to transplant synthetic DNA into a…

io9 Tim Barribeau

Turkish bees make beautiful nests out of flower petals

Bees and flowers have long been intertwined by pollination, as bees aid flowers in the task of sexual reproduction. But a very special group of bees in Turkey take their work home with them, making beautiful nests out of flowers. Two separate teams working in the Middle East recently discovered Osmia avoseta, which is unique…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Glucose biofuel cells could provide sustainable power for human implants

A French research team has successfully implanted glucose biofuel cells in rats — yielding enough electricity to run a pacemaker without the need for a battery. Led by Joseph Fournier University biomedical engineer Phllippe Cinquin, the research team found that the implanted biofuel cell — which generate electricity by using enzymes to oxidize the glucose…

io9 Marc Bernardin

Millennia-old octopus mystery is solved

For thousands of years, a fist-sized octopus called the argonaut has baffled scientists. Even Aristotle wondered why this creature wraps its body in a thin “paper nautilus” to swim. Now, video evidence suggests these creatures have a highly-sophisticated ballast system. Aristotle thought the paper nautilus (a thin jacket of skin, which you can see in…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Bat fellatio causes a scandal in academia

Dylan Evans, a psychologist at University College Cork in Ireland, has been saddled with a two-year period of intensive monitoring and counselling after discussing a scientific paper with a colleague. The paper? “Fellatio in fruit bats prolongs copulation time“. Now the university’s school of medicine is coming under international pressure to lift the punishment meted…

io9 Rowan Hooper - New Scientist

How the kudzu invasion is poisoning the air with ozone

The fast-growing kudzu vine may be responsible for more toxic emissions of ozone than cars. Not only are these plants releasing chemicals into the air that harm humans, but they are spreading unchecked across the Eastern US. Research published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that threats to the environment…

io9 Annalee Newitz

The Strongest Animal on the Planet

…is also the fastest, and one of the smallest: The 1-millimeter long copepod is, pound for pound, the beefiest beast in the animal kingdom. Professor Thomas Kiørboe, from the National Institute of Aquatic Resources at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU Aqua), has discovered that the naturally blind copepod got so proportionally strong — and…

io9 Marc Bernardin

How Do Spitting Cobras Hit Their Prey With Such Accuracy?

Spitting Cobras are a major danger in Africa and Southeast Asia. They have an unnerving ability to spit venom in the eyes of even the fastest moving targets. Why do they have such good aim? Bruce Young, of University of Massachusetts Lowell, researched this in the most traditional of scientific ways – by having spitting…

io9 Tim Barribeau

Why Spiders Always Eat Ants By Starting With The Head

Zodarion spiders dine exclusively on ants, and they’re very particular about how those ants should be prepared. The spiders always eat the ants’ heads first. It turns out this ghoulish practice is vital for the spider’s survival. A group of researchers wanted to see of Zodarions simply thought the heads were tastier, or if the…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Five Creatures That Prove Life Could Exist On Other Planets (Or In Space)

Want to know what life will look like on other planets? Look no farther than these five creatures, who are already prepared for life on Saturn’s moon Titan – or in the hard vacuum of deep space. Unlike humans, with our pesky need for things like oxygen and sugar, some creatures are more flexible in…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Portraits In Posthumanity: Aimee Mullins

A one-time intelligence analyst with the Pentagon, Aimee Mullins is an athlete, model, and activist. And she does it all using a collection of experimental prosthetic legs. She says her special “cheetah” legs give her superpowers. On her website, Mullins gives a quick background on how she got where she is today: Born without fibulae…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Research Paper Reveals All The Ways Scientists Hurt Mice

Mice make dramatic faces when they’re in pain, and now their expressions have been cataloged scientifically on a “mouse grimace scale” (pictured below). A paper published in Nature Methods yesterday explains the ways researchers hurt mice, and why. Just to be clear, the reason why this group of researchers studied mouse pain is not to…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Meaning to Do Good or Inflict Harm Stimulates Enhanced Strength

A new study reveals that harboring beneficial intentions — or, conversely, the desire to do evil — results in an increased threshold for strength and endurance. In other words, you can be super if you really want to. A study conducted by Harvard doctoral student Kurt Gray has found that people who either did good…

io9 Marc Bernardin

The Dead Fly Artwork Of Magnus Muhr

Magnus Muhr takes deceased flies and creates morbidly adorable illustrations of the poor dead buggers having a rollicking time. Witness some poor dead Drosophilas riding horses, hanging laundry, and behaving badly. Think of it as charmingly tacky taxidermy writ small. [Magnus Muhr via Mapping The Marvelous] “Trampoline” “Laundry” “Peeing” “Struggle” “The horse” “Good food?” “Weeeeiiii”…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

A Drug That Causes One Animal’s Brain To Transform Into Another

Creatively-applied chemicals can cause the brain of one fish to develop into the brain of another. Researchers reported today that they’d converted the brains of rock-dwelling fish called cichlids into those of a very different, but related, fish species. The researchers from Georgia Tech report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that they…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Mammoth Blood Brought Back to Life

Using ancient DNA from Siberian specimens, a team of Australian researchers have managed to resurrect the proteins of mammoth blood and figure out precisely how they survived such a hostile environment. Professor Alan Cooper, director of the Australian Center for Ancient DNA at the University of Adelaide, was the co-author of a study published in…

io9 Marc Bernardin

Scottish Island Is Infested With Adorable Rabbits

The 20 residents of Canna once had 10,000 rats on their 5-mile-long island. Exterminators killed the last rat in 2006, but a new plague has descended upon Canna – the plague of bunnies. Night of the Lepus, anyone? In 2005, an extermination team from New Zealand waged poisonous war against Canna’s burgeoning brown rat population.…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

Bacteria can make you happier AND smarter!

Rare fish with “hands” are the true missing link

MOTHERFCKING SHARKS CAN BECOME MOTHERFCKING INVISIBLE

Scientists create “artificial life” – synthetic DNA that can self-replicate

Turkish bees make beautiful nests out of flower petals

Glucose biofuel cells could provide sustainable power for human implants

Millennia-old octopus mystery is solved

Bat fellatio causes a scandal in academia

How the kudzu invasion is poisoning the air with ozone

The Strongest Animal on the Planet

How Do Spitting Cobras Hit Their Prey With Such Accuracy?

Why Spiders Always Eat Ants By Starting With The Head

Five Creatures That Prove Life Could Exist On Other Planets (Or In Space)

Portraits In Posthumanity: Aimee Mullins

Research Paper Reveals All The Ways Scientists Hurt Mice

Meaning to Do Good or Inflict Harm Stimulates Enhanced Strength

The Dead Fly Artwork Of Magnus Muhr

A Drug That Causes One Animal’s Brain To Transform Into Another

Mammoth Blood Brought Back to Life

Scottish Island Is Infested With Adorable Rabbits

Do ‘Disclosure Day’ Prep With a Spielberg Sci-Fi Marathon

How to Watch the F1 Japanese GP 2026 on a Free Channel

Ranking 2016’s Superhero Debuts, 10 Years Later

Fourth Most Populous Country in the World Bans Most Social Media for Kids

How to watch UFC Fight Night Adesanya vs Pyfer live this Saturday

‘Steel Ball Run’ Will Return This Year…Eventually

‘The Mummy 4’ Is Getting the Family Back Together

JD Vance Says UFOs Are Actually Demons

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

Bacteria can make you happier AND smarter!

Rare fish with “hands” are the true missing link

MOTHERF*CKING SHARKS CAN BECOME MOTHERF*CKING INVISIBLE

Scientists create “artificial life” – synthetic DNA that can self-replicate

Turkish bees make beautiful nests out of flower petals

Glucose biofuel cells could provide sustainable power for human implants

Millennia-old octopus mystery is solved

Bat fellatio causes a scandal in academia

How the kudzu invasion is poisoning the air with ozone

The Strongest Animal on the Planet

How Do Spitting Cobras Hit Their Prey With Such Accuracy?

Why Spiders Always Eat Ants By Starting With The Head

Five Creatures That Prove Life Could Exist On Other Planets (Or In Space)

Portraits In Posthumanity: Aimee Mullins

Research Paper Reveals All The Ways Scientists Hurt Mice

Meaning to Do Good or Inflict Harm Stimulates Enhanced Strength

The Dead Fly Artwork Of Magnus Muhr

A Drug That Causes One Animal’s Brain To Transform Into Another

Mammoth Blood Brought Back to Life

Scottish Island Is Infested With Adorable Rabbits

Do ‘Disclosure Day’ Prep With a Spielberg Sci-Fi Marathon

How to Watch the F1 Japanese GP 2026 on a Free Channel

Ranking 2016’s Superhero Debuts, 10 Years Later

Fourth Most Populous Country in the World Bans Most Social Media for Kids

How to watch UFC Fight Night Adesanya vs Pyfer live this Saturday

‘Steel Ball Run’ Will Return This Year…Eventually

‘The Mummy 4’ Is Getting the Family Back Together

JD Vance Says UFOs Are Actually Demons

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...

MOTHERFCKING SHARKS CAN BECOME MOTHERFCKING INVISIBLE