Biology

This Alien Worm-Creature Will Haunt Your Nightmares

New species are discovered frequently, but this creature is unlike anything we’ve seen before. Called the giant shipworm, it lives inside a long shell where it consumes noxious chemicals at the bottom of muddy lagoons. An international team of scientists are now the first to study this elusive animal in the flesh, but after taking…

Tech News George Dvorsky

Ten Horrifying Deep Sea Creatures, Ranked

The depths of the ocean are festooned with the most nightmarish creatures imaginable. You might think you’re safe, because these critters live thousands of feet down in a cold dark abyss, but the vampire squid, which looks like a nightmare umbrella, and the frilled shark—a literal living fossil—will live on in the recesses of your…

Tech News Rae Paoletta

A Deceptively Simple Test Just Taught Us Something New About Elephant Intelligence

It’s hard to know how smart animals are for the simple reason that they’re not able to come right out and tell us. Scientists have developed various methods over the years to assess animal intelligence, but a simple new body-awareness test involving elephants may be a promising new tool to add to the arsenal. A…

Tech News George Dvorsky

These Sea Urchins Have a Terrifying Self-Defense Strategy

Prey animals are capable of defending themselves in an amazing of ways, but when it comes to mounting a sophisticated biological counter-attack, sea urchins have taken it to another level. When attacked by predatory fish, these humble echinoderms release a hostile cloud of tiny jaws that act independently of the urchin itself, attacking the fish…

Tech News George Dvorsky

Newly Discovered Chill Dad Shrimp Gets Best Name Ever

It’s a rare treat when we get to read some wholesome news about shrimp—living ones that aren’t being carefully placed around a cocktail glass. It’s even better when that news involves a feisty little shrimp getting a badass name from some cool science dudes. A new study published today in Zootaxa details the discovery of…

Tech News Rae Paoletta

Your Most Distant Animal Relative Is Probably This Tiny Jelly

For years, a debate has raged among scientists as to which ancient creature represents the first true animal, sponges or jellies. Using a new genetic technique, a collaborative team of researchers has concluded that ctenophores—also known as comb jellies—were the first animals to appear on Earth. It’s an important step forward in this longstanding debate, but…

Tech News George Dvorsky

Lady Puffins Basically Holding Everything Together in Puffin Marriages

In the animal kingdom, pretty much everything wants to fuck and/or kill. But puffins—those flying penguin-looking things that live in regions around the North Atlantic—are special in the sense that they typically mate with the same partner for life. They’re even called “soulmate puffins,” which is so mind-numbingly adorable it makes my Grinch heart palpitate.…

Biology Rae Paoletta

These Badass Little Snakes Eat Bigger Snakes

Professional fighters have weight classes for a reason: no matter how adept the smaller fighter is, a much bigger one will probably have some sort of advantage. But size is rarely an issue in the snake world if a kingsnake is competing—and the little snake usually eats the bigger snake. So there’s that. A pair…

Tech News Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Ancient Humans Didn’t Turn to Cannibalism For the Calories

Humans have been eating other humans since the beginning of time, but the motivations behind this macabre practice are complex and often unclear. Some anthropologists say prehistoric cannibals were just trying to grab a nutritious snack, but new research shows that human flesh—as tasty as it is—doesn’t pack the same caloric punch as wild animals.…

Tech News George Dvorsky

10 Percent of Pregnant US Women With Zika Had Fetus Or Baby With Birth Defects

The US Centers for Disease Control has released a sobering new study detailing the birth defect rates among pregnant American women infected by the Zika virus. It’s as bad as we feared. The CDC Vital Signs study is the first comprehensive analysis of Zika-infected pregnant women entered into the US Zika Pregnancy Registry (USZPR) from…

Tech News George Dvorsky

The World’s Deadliest Scorpion Strike Is Even More Terrifying in Super Slow Motion

It’s known as the “death stalker”—a four-inch-long predatory arachnid capable of whipping its tail at speeds reaching 51 inches per second. Footage shot with high-speed cameras shows how the death stalker and other scorpions use their deadly tails to ward off would-be predators and catch unsuspecting prey. A research team led by evolutionary biologist Arie…

Tech News George Dvorsky

This New Amber Discovery Is Like the Start of Jurassic Park but With Ancient Monkeys [Updated]

A tick sucks some monkey blood. A monkey’s grooming partner picks the tick off. The tick lands in some sap. The whole thing fossilizes. Scientists discover the cells inside the tick in the amber. They turn the blood cells into monkey clones and you’ve essentially got some sort of Jurassic Park in real life. That…

Tech News Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Freaky Experiment Allows Tadpoles to See Out of Eyes Implanted on Their Tails

By leveraging the regenerative powers of migraine medication, researchers at Tufts University have restored the vision of blind tadpoles after grafting eyes to their tails. Sounds bizarre, but a similar technique could one day be used on humans. A new study published in npj Regenerative Medicine shows that eyes, and probably other sensory organs, don’t…

Tech News George Dvorsky

These Fish Inject Predators With Opioid Venom and That’s Not Even the Coolest Part

Fangblennies are tiny reef-dwelling fish only two inches long that look like they came from some adorable deep-sea vampire movie. Only, if you’re a predator and you piss them off, they will wreck the shit out of you with their opioid-laced venom. An international team of scientists wanted to know how venom evolved in these…

Tech News Ryan F. Mandelbaum

The Hunt for Undiscovered Drugs at the Bottom of the Sea

In 2009, Kerry McPhail descended Jacques Cousteau-style towards the Axial Volcano, inside the cramped, 30-year-old little submarine DSV Alvin, with a pilot and another scientist. Three hundred miles off the coast of Oregon, they were collecting tubeworms, bacterial mats and bivalves living near a deep sea volcanic vent. These samples could potentially yield new pharmaceutical…

Tech News Ryan F. Mandelbaum

This Elusive Giant Octopus Snacks on Giant Jellies

The giant deep-sea octopus Haliphron is so rare that marine biologists have seen it just three times in 27 years. Using a robotic sub, scientists have finally caught video footage of this animal at mealtime—revealing its distinct preference for gelatinous sea creatures. A new study published in Scientific Reports is providing the first observational evidence…

Tech News George Dvorsky

Scientists Have Created Self-Flowing Liquids That Don’t Need Pumps to Move Around

To bring a constant supply of fresh water into its massive cities, the Romans built countless miles of gravity-powered aqueducts, all at a tremendous expense. But even the massive pumping stations we rely on now might one day be obsolete as scientists work on perfecting liquids that can move all by themselves. In a new…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

Mice Have Been Mooching off Humans For an Astoundingly Long Time

The common house mouse is one of the most recognizable creatures on the planet, yet we know surprisingly little about the origins of this crafty rodent. New research shows that house mice first entered human settlements far earlier than previously thought—but they had to fight a rival species to maintain their status as one of…

Tech News George Dvorsky

Mammals ‘Battle’ for Greatness in March Madness for Science Nerds

Who among us hasn’t wondered who would win in a fight between a bear and an alligator? Or a ram and a tiger? A badger and a gopher? While these animals are all university mascots represented in the NCAA March Madness tournament, they’re also competitors in an imaginary Pokemon battle-style spinoff tournament playing out right now…

Biology Summer Ash

Smart Female Guppies Don’t Wind Up With Losers

Guppies might look like mindless, mouth-breathing little bastards, but it turns out some of them make better dating decisions than we do. No, really—these tiny fish, with their infinitesimal brains, are somehow more discerning with their mates than us, and we literally invented rockets. And Doritos. A new study, published on March 22nd in Science…

Tech News Rae Paoletta

This Alien Worm-Creature Will Haunt Your Nightmares

Ten Horrifying Deep Sea Creatures, Ranked

A Deceptively Simple Test Just Taught Us Something New About Elephant Intelligence

These Sea Urchins Have a Terrifying Self-Defense Strategy

Newly Discovered Chill Dad Shrimp Gets Best Name Ever

Your Most Distant Animal Relative Is Probably This Tiny Jelly

Lady Puffins Basically Holding Everything Together in Puffin Marriages

These Badass Little Snakes Eat Bigger Snakes

Ancient Humans Didn’t Turn to Cannibalism For the Calories

10 Percent of Pregnant US Women With Zika Had Fetus Or Baby With Birth Defects

The World’s Deadliest Scorpion Strike Is Even More Terrifying in Super Slow Motion

This New Amber Discovery Is Like the Start of Jurassic Park but With Ancient Monkeys [Updated]

Freaky Experiment Allows Tadpoles to See Out of Eyes Implanted on Their Tails

These Fish Inject Predators With Opioid Venom and That’s Not Even the Coolest Part

The Hunt for Undiscovered Drugs at the Bottom of the Sea

This Elusive Giant Octopus Snacks on Giant Jellies

Scientists Have Created Self-Flowing Liquids That Don’t Need Pumps to Move Around

Mice Have Been Mooching off Humans For an Astoundingly Long Time

Mammals ‘Battle’ for Greatness in March Madness for Science Nerds

Smart Female Guppies Don’t Wind Up With Losers

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

Ahead of the SpaceX IPO, xAI Has Now Shed All 11 of Its Non-Elon Musk Founders

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

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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