Biology

Photosynthetic Sea Slug Snarfs (And Steals) Algae DNA

After 20 years of studying the sea slug Elysia chlorotica, biologist Sidney Pierce recently discovered a trait unprecedented in the animal kingdom – sea creatures were producing chlorophyll. The University of South Florida researcher unveiled this discovery in Seattle at last week’s annual gathering of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. Pierce observed that…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

It’s Time To End The Forbidden Microbes List, Say Scientists

Since the 2001 anthrax scare in the US, the government here has maintained a list of 80 microbes and toxins that are essentially forbidden to researchers. Now scientists say the list is undermining security rather than strengthening it. The list is called the Select Agents and Toxins List (SATL), and the microbes on the list…

io9 Annalee Newitz

The Mystery Of The Fruit Fly Penis Solved With Lasers

To anyone who doubts modern science still pursues essential lines of inquiry into the most pressing questions of our time, we present this resounding rebuttal. Two fearless truth seekers used lasers to figure out why fruit fly penises look weird. “Look weird” is, of course, not a technical term. More specifically, the penises of Drosophilia…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

When Tarantulas Shoot Barbed Hair Into Your Eyes

In 2009, a man from Leeds visited an eye specialist due to lingering sore eyes. The cause? His pet tarantula had shot tiny hairs at him, lodging in his cornea. The 29-year-old was referred to an eye specialist by his GP due to eye troubles that had been bothering him for three weeks. Under magnification,…

io9 Tim Barribeau

10 Remarkable Monsters Named in the Last Ten Years

We know that real monsters walk, slither, and crawl among us, and each year we learn more about the amazing creatures from Earth’s past and present. We look at ten of the more monstrous names we added this decade. In the last ten years, researchers have discovered thousands of species, both living and extinct. We…

io9 Lauren Davis

Female Ducks Have Evolved A Vagina Dentata

Duck sex is far more interesting than it has any right to be, due to the twisted nature of the birds’ genitals. Male and female ducks have corkscrew-shaped sex organs which spiral in different directions. Now we know why. Ducks are known for their bizarre penises, stretching up to 20cm in size in an anti-clockwise…

io9 Tim Barribeau

Rare In Utero Images Glimpse Animals Inside the Womb

In its documentary Extraordinary Animals In The Womb, National Geographic captured rare highly detailed images of animals at various stages of gestation. Now you can see fetal dog, elephants, penguins, and dolphins still inside the womb. Extraordinary Animals In The Womb aired last year, using advances in scanning and imaging technology to trace the gestational…

io9 Lauren Davis

Scientists Coax Tiny Bacteria Into Operating Slightly Less Tiny Machinery

These 380-micrometer gears are being turned by hundreds of common bacteria swimming in a liquid solution. Scientists think this discovery could signpost a path to the development of "smart materials" that close the gap between man-made and organic matter. A collaborative effort between scientists at Northwestern University and the United States Department of Energy discovered…

Tech News Kyle VanHemert

The Evolutionary Cost of Being Extremely Sexy

It’s a classic tale of how mediocrity is maintained. Evolutionary biologists in California have discovered that when males shower attractive females with attention, it actually undermines those females’ fitness as mothers. That means fit females don’t pass their genes on. Today PLoS Biology published a study of fruitflies, a species where the male flies show…

io9 Annalee Newitz

The First Space Butterfly Takes a Test Flight

Yesterday a Painted Lady butterfly emerged from its chrysalis and flapped its wings – in microgravity on the International Space Station. It was the first butterfly to be born and survive in microgravity. In this awesome movie, where the butterfly flaps around in its cage with a floating chrysalis, you can see the future of…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Give Me A Biotech Apocalypse That I Can Believe In

So Hollywood trashed the world in 2012, and scourged it in The Road. But neither apocalypse delivered the sweet tang of satisfaction. That’s because what the Earth needs now are life-distorting biotech mutation stories. Here’s why. First of all, there haven’t been very many biotech apocalypse flicks at all, even though genetic engineering and other…

Movies Annalee Newitz

Paralyzed By Light

Just one beam of ultra-violet light left this nematode worm completely paralyzed. A second beam of visible-spectrum light allowed it to move again. That’s right – scientists have created behavioral “light switches,” a way to control animals with light. We’ve written about this kind of work before, specifically the research into optogenetics, which allows scientists…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Deadly Worms and Ravenous Sea Stars Engage in a Monster Feeding Frenzy

It’s a once in a decade occurrence: a bounty of meat falls to Antarctica’s ocean floor, prompting it voracious inhabitants to descend in a frenzy of flesh-skewering sea worms, pulsating sea stars, and giant underwater spiders. The BBC captured this rare timelapse video of Antarctic creatures feeding on a fallen seal carcass. Its estimated that…

io9 Lauren Davis

Beautiful and Terrifying Creatures From The Edge Of Light

Deep in the ocean, beyond where light reaches, thousands of new species are being documented by the Census Of Marine Life. From the tiny and adorable to the nightmarish, all of these creatures from the Cthulian depths are entrancing. The photic zone is an area of the ocean that extends beyond the reach of sunlight,…

io9 Tim Barribeau

Synthetic Biology: Why Not Pursuing Crazy Biotech Is Dangerous

We are at a biological turning point: We can invent organisms to make our drugs and fuel, even recode our DNA. It’s easy to run away screaming, but author Michael Specter says we have to quit whining and face it. Specter, who covers the science beat for The New Yorker, is pissed off. Forces on…

Tech News Wilson Rothman

Connect-a-Desk Seamlessly Blends Man With Machine

It might be quite a while before science and medicine are able to make you better, stronger and faster with bionics, but there is an easy and inexpensive way to blend man and machine that’s available today—Connect-a-Desk. Thanks to space age harness technology and alien plastics gleaned from UFO crashes, you can now seamlessly integrate…

Tech News Sean Fallon

This Cyborg Life

This week, we’re celebrating the human body: the ultimate machine, 4 billion years in refinement. Your heart can beat 3 billion times in your lifetime without maintenance—that’s a performance spec that no motor can match. Tens of trillions of cells inside you undergo constant death and regeneration. And your brain juggles countless autonomic and cognitive…

Tech News Brian Lam

Why Aggressive Men Finish Last

Among the tiny insects known as water striders, males who aggressively attempt to mate with females don’t wind up with as many offspring as their more gentlemanly counterparts. How can aggressive mating ever be a losing strategy? A group of researchers in the United States decided to do an experiment with water striders, in which…

io9 Annalee Newitz

So Just How Small Is a Ribosome, Anyways?

This incredible interactive visualizer of cell size from the University of Utah is a must see, allowing you to zoom in from a coffee bean down to a carbon atom. Prepare to have your mind blown. [GSLC via DailyWhat]

Tech News Adam Frucci

You Can Learn From One Of Science Fiction’s Greatest Biologists Online

Joan Slonczewski is one of the few science-fiction authors who’s also a biology professor. She’s teaching a Biology In Science Fiction course at Kenyon College, using Tribbles, Dune and Jurassic Park to teach biological principles, and you can join in. The class’ syllabus, quizzes and related links are online, and so are the study guide,…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Photosynthetic Sea Slug Snarfs (And Steals) Algae DNA

It’s Time To End The Forbidden Microbes List, Say Scientists

The Mystery Of The Fruit Fly Penis Solved With Lasers

When Tarantulas Shoot Barbed Hair Into Your Eyes

10 Remarkable Monsters Named in the Last Ten Years

Female Ducks Have Evolved A Vagina Dentata

Rare In Utero Images Glimpse Animals Inside the Womb

Scientists Coax Tiny Bacteria Into Operating Slightly Less Tiny Machinery

The Evolutionary Cost of Being Extremely Sexy

The First Space Butterfly Takes a Test Flight

Give Me A Biotech Apocalypse That I Can Believe In

Paralyzed By Light

Deadly Worms and Ravenous Sea Stars Engage in a Monster Feeding Frenzy

Beautiful and Terrifying Creatures From The Edge Of Light

Synthetic Biology: Why Not Pursuing Crazy Biotech Is Dangerous

Connect-a-Desk Seamlessly Blends Man With Machine

This Cyborg Life

Why Aggressive Men Finish Last

So Just How Small Is a Ribosome, Anyways?

You Can Learn From One Of Science Fiction’s Greatest Biologists Online

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

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