Biology

Species Diversity Not Caused By Environment

Accepted scientific wisdom holds that new species arise because of geographic separation – the same bird evolves differently on two different islands. But a new study overturns this idea, challenging the importance of environment as a driver of evolution. Published this week in Nature, the new study shows that even when a group of creatures…

io9 Annalee Newitz

The Mysterious Lizards Who Swim In Sand

When the tiny lizard known as the sandfish moves through sand, it literally dives under the surface of the ground as if swimming. Now physicists have figured out how they do it – and want to build sandfish robots. Georgia Tech physicist Daniel Goldman and his team observed the sandfish as they swam through sand,…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Unidentified Biological “Goo,” 15 Miles Long, Creeps Down Alaskan Coast

A gigantic smear of gooey, black biological material is making its way through the Chukchi Sea between Wainwright and Barrow in Northern Alaska. Eyewitnesses say it’s definitely a living entity, though unlike anything they’ve seen before. Closeup shot below. The blob was first spotted last week, floating in Arctic waters. Big chunks of it –…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Cats Can Train Humans Better Than Humans Can Train Cats

Paranoid cat owners have always claimed that their cats manipulate them into doing whatever the cats want. According to a report in Current Biology, it’s true — and scientists have identified one of their insidious feline tactics. According to research by University of Sussex scientist Karen McComb, the combined purring-crying of a hungry cat triggers…

io9 StephenGoldmeier

Can Food Prevent Age-Related Dementia?

A new study has confirmed that primates who eat a low-calorie diet can, according to researchers, “slow the aging process.” Restricting your calorie intake means you’re three times less likely to develop age-related disorders, particularly in the brain. The system of caloric restriction has been studied in yeast and mice, and now a long-range study…

io9 Annalee Newitz

A Homemade Piece of Lab Equipment With A Terrible Purpose

There is something creepily fascinating about this piece of DiY lab equipment, fashioned in Denmark during the 1970s. Can you guess its purpose? Not for the faint of heart. The habitrails may have given it away. Yes, it’s a rat guillotine, considered 40 years ago to be the most humane way to kill rats after…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Giant Manta Rays Are The Cylon Raiders Of The Deep

BoingBoing points out the similarities between cylon ships and these giant manta rays featured in the latest National Geographic magazine. These 2,000-pound creatures are on a krill feeding frenzy. More pictures via NatGeo, thanks to Marilyn Terrell!

io9 Annalee Newitz

Ant Mega-Colony Covers Half The Planet

Ant colonies are often part of bigger “mega colonies” that share genetic traits and will not make war on each other. One colony got so big it now rivals the human population in its reach, covering most of the planet. According to BBC News: In Europe, one vast colony of Argentine ants is thought to…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Shrinking Sheep Shocker

Scottish sheep are shrinking! Each new generation of sheep on the Scottish island of Hirta are smaller than the last. Shorter, warmer winters, caused by climate change, are tampering with normal sheep evolution. Professor Tim Coulson, of the Imperial College London’s Life Sciences Department, sums up what exactly is happening to sheep evolution on this…

io9 StephenGoldmeier

Commonly-Prescribed Drug Significantly Reduces Memory Loss from Alzheimers

A growth hormone frequently prescribed for cancer patients has been found to significantly reduce memory loss from Alzheimers disease. The drug, which stimulates the production of red blood cells, essentially washes plaques out of the brain. Plaques are protein buildups (pictured) found in the brains of people suffering from age-related dementia, and are believed to…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Public Utilities Group Confirms “Sewer Monster” Is Real, But Doesn’t Know What It Is

If you’ve been following the ongoing sewer monster story from North Carolina, I’ve got some seriously crazy news for you. First of all, the video of the throbbing poop-esque creature has been confirmed as real. But what is it? We’ve been tipped off by an anonymous source about how the city of Raleigh, North Carolina,…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Can Humans Awaken Their Bat-Senses?

We may not all have pointy ears and sharp teeth, but Spanish scientists are convinced that inside every human lurks the best bat-power: echolocation, or navigating by sound. And they’re determined to show us all how to unlock it! Juan Antonio Martínez and a team of researchers at the University of Alcalá de Henares taught…

io9 Megan Carpentier

Video Footage Surfaces of North Carolina Sewer Creatures

This is footage taken in the sewers under Cameron Village in Raleigh, North Carolina. Is it a disgusting new life form, or just a great special effect? Either way, I want to know more.

io9 Annalee Newitz

Science Still Cannot Explain Why Women Sleep Around

Seed beetles are polyandrous – females mate with multiple males, and choose which sperm will fertilize their eggs afterward. Scientists long believed they did this to get the best sperm. But a new study shows the fittest males always lose. A study published today in Science details a series of careful experiments Swedish researchers conducted…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Infant-Sized Teenager May Provide Key to Reversing the Aging Process

Brooke Greenberg looks like a toddler, but she is actually sixteen years old. She is only 30 inches high. Now scientists are studying her genome to figure out whether she possesses a mutation that prevents her body from aging. Greenberg also possesses the mental capacity of an infant, and has never learned to speak or…

io9 Annalee Newitz

An Anti-Anxiety Drug That Could Create Super-Soldiers

Soon you may be able to buy a drug that can make you calm by mimicking the body’s natural self-soothing process. But you wouldn’t feel drugged. What would happen to people who suddenly became fearless without side-effects? A group of European researchers discovered a ligand, or a chemical that binds with molecules, can soothe even…

io9 Annalee Newitz

The Strange Life of Creatures Whose Sperm Is Larger Than They Are

Some insects and sea creatures produce sperm that is up to 10 times bigger than they are. Now scientists have used an innovative new x-ray technology to show how this bizarre situation evolved over hundreds of millions of years. It sounds like a genetic aberration, but supergiant sperm can actually be an evolutionary advantage in…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Transgenic Mice Engineered With A Human Gene For Speech

A team of German scientists have created a batch of transgenic mice with a human gene for speech. Could they be the prototypes for future hyper-intelligent rodents? The researchers wanted to shed light on how humans developed our language capabilities, including the intricate thought and muscle coordination which allowed us as a species to develop…

io9 StephenGoldmeier

The Bizarre Collective Consciousness of Slime Mold

This shimmering, metallic structure isn’t a new configuration of carbon nanotubes. It’s actually a slime mold, which grows on dead plants. Not only does it look alien, but it has a very alien lifecycle. Individual slime mold cells can merge into one giant cell, up to 30 meters across. There are many types of slime…

io9 Annalee Newitz

One Unit of Lab-Grown Human Skin Now Costs 34 Euros

Thanks to advances in biotechnology, German researchers can now rapidly mass produce swatches of real human skin. At 34 Euros per unit, this manufactured skin is so cheap you might soon find it for sale next to bandages in the pharmacy. Yesterday at the massive BIO conference in Atlanta, company Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft showed off its new…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Species Diversity Not Caused By Environment

The Mysterious Lizards Who Swim In Sand

Unidentified Biological “Goo,” 15 Miles Long, Creeps Down Alaskan Coast

Cats Can Train Humans Better Than Humans Can Train Cats

Can Food Prevent Age-Related Dementia?

A Homemade Piece of Lab Equipment With A Terrible Purpose

Giant Manta Rays Are The Cylon Raiders Of The Deep

Ant Mega-Colony Covers Half The Planet

Shrinking Sheep Shocker

Commonly-Prescribed Drug Significantly Reduces Memory Loss from Alzheimers

Public Utilities Group Confirms “Sewer Monster” Is Real, But Doesn’t Know What It Is

Can Humans Awaken Their Bat-Senses?

Video Footage Surfaces of North Carolina Sewer Creatures

Science Still Cannot Explain Why Women Sleep Around

Infant-Sized Teenager May Provide Key to Reversing the Aging Process

An Anti-Anxiety Drug That Could Create Super-Soldiers

The Strange Life of Creatures Whose Sperm Is Larger Than They Are

Transgenic Mice Engineered With A Human Gene For Speech

The Bizarre Collective Consciousness of Slime Mold

One Unit of Lab-Grown Human Skin Now Costs 34 Euros

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