Biology

There May Be an Evolutionary Reason for Masturbation, After All

Most people think of masturbation as a poor substitute for sex. The question is, why is it a substitute for sex? For most species, it doesn’t seem to achieve any kind of evolutionary purpose. Or does it? Historically, masturbation was considered sinful because it did not—it could not—produce any offspring. That’s not a socially progressive…

You’re looking at the smallest snail ever discovered. Measuring just 0.86mm in height, ten of these extreme “microsnails” could fit within the eye of a single needle, though it’s not immediately obvious why they evolved to be so small. Called Angustopila dominikae, the new species of snail was discovered in China’s Guangxi province. Photograph: Dr…

This Fossilized Flea Could Carry an Ancestor of the Black Death

This flea died 20 million years ago, but the bacteria on its proboscis look familiar. Scientists believe that these bacteria, preserved in amber along with their host, may be a very early version of the Black Death. We know what Yersinia pestis, the bacteria that modern scientists believe caused the Black Death, does to humans.…

Why Standing in One Place Makes Your Legs More Sore Than Walking

Working retail, waiting tables, standing in line at the amusement park or just shopping with mom, anyone who’s ever been stuck on their feet for a long time more or less standing still knows that it’s much more tiring than walking the equivalent amount of time. But why? First, when you stand, your legs aren’t…

This Glowing Turtle Is the First Biofluorescent Reptile Ever Discovered

During a recent night dive near the Solomon Islands, a team of scientists were stunned to discover a glowing hawksbill sea turtle. It’s the first documented case of biofluorescence in a reptile. Not to be confused with bioluminescence (in which animals produce light through a chemical reaction), biofluorescence is a phenomenon in which organisms absorb…

Biologists Say Breeding Better Soil Microbes Can Help Grow Bigger Plants

It may be possible to grow better, healthier crops with just a syringe and some careful observation. That’s all you need to breed better soil microbes, which can have a big effect on how well plants grow, according to new research. Biologists Ulrich Mueller of the Univeristy of Texas and Joel Sachs of the University…

Viruses are Alive, and They Share An Ancestor With Modern Cells

Viruses are living things after all, and they share an early evolutionary history with the cells that make up the bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals we know today. That’s according to new research on the evolutionary history of viruses and cells, published in the journal Science Advances. To learn more about how viruses might be…

Here’s What Happens When the Animal You’re E-Tracking Gets Eaten By a Whale

European eels are critically endangered. To better understand their lives, researchers tracked them during a migration. Suddenly, three trackers returned very strange data. What, oh what, could have happened? European eels are reverse salmon. They live most of their adult lives in rivers, but will eventually migrate out into the ocean and journey to the…

This Jaw-Dropping Visualization Shows the Extent to Which Diseases Spread Among Species

Around 60% of all human diseases and some 75% of all emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic, meaning they spread from species to species. This remarkable visualization shows how these problematic pathogens proliferate among the animals. A research team from the UK collected data from 1950 to 2012 to create a database of host-pathogen and related…

How Hormones Make You Feel Hungry and Full

The need to find fuel to generate energy is a profound drive within the biology of all living organisms: we all need food to survive. So it’s not surprising that our bodies have such a complex system to control food intake, driven by hormones. Hormone levels also change when we lose weight. As much as…

Ig Nobel Informal Lectures Give Winners a Chance to Explain Themselves

The Ig Nobel awards ceremony is a marvelous spectacle encrusted with tradition. But if you really want to know how the winners did their work and why, you need to go to the Ig informal lectures, held at MIT the Saturday after the awards. The event lets winners present a short lecture to explain the…

This Is the Most Beautiful View of Poop You’re Ever Going to See

Poop is sometimes considered a little taboo, but it can tell you a lot about your health and potentially even save your life. And, if these images are anything to go by, it can even look beautiful, too. These images were created by Dr Nicola Fawcett from the University of Oxford as a submission for…

Beautiful Video Describes How Tanzanian Hunters Turn Ecology Researchers

If you need to understand the depths of the wilds, there’s nobody better to turn to than someone that lives and breathes the environment. This beautiful video tells the story of an African hunter who decided to stop killing animals — and help scientists find them instead. It tells the story of Ruben, describing his…

Uber Launches Carpooling Service — First in China, Then Around the World

Uber has launched a new service that it’s calling UberCommute: a tool that allows people who are driving long distances to pick up extra travellers and share the cost of the trip with them. The new Uber service will initially be available just in Chengdu, China — in fact, the company points out that it’s…

Why Some Boys in the Dominican Republic Don’t Grow Penises Until Puberty

Countdown to Life: The Extraordinary Making of You, a new BBC series focused on how our prenatal development shapes our lives, has brought new attention to a group of seemingly sex-swapping people in the Dominican Republic. In an article for the BBC Magazine, Michael Mosely talks to families with children that were brought up as…

A Well-Preserved Whale Fossil Has Been Discovered on a California Mountain

The nearly intact fossil of a 4-million-year old whale has been unearthed at a construction site in Santa Cruz County. Discovered well above sea level, the bones made their way to the mountains through the shifting of tectonic plates. The whale was discovered on September 4 by a paleontologist assigned to monitor a housing development…

You Probably Can’t Tell Your Toes Apart Without Looking at Them

You may think you know your body well—but you likely don’t know your toes as well as you may hope. A new study reveals that most people can’t tell their toes apart without looking at them. Researchers at the University of Oxford had people close their eyes while testers gently prodded at their toes. While…

Is the Changing Definition of Autism Narrowing What We Think of as “Normal”?

The definition of autism is getting increasingly broader. As a result, we are building a new reality of the disorder that doesn’t accurately represent the most affected population. I first learned about autism in 1997 in my high school psychology course. It was relegated to a small paragraph in a chapter on childhood disorders. The…

This Is the Earliest Known Creature Capable of Walking Upright on All Four Legs

Behold Bunostegos akokanensis, an ancient “pre-reptile” that lived during the Permian era some 260 million years ago. Researchers studying its fossilized remains have concluded that it stood upright on all fours, making it the earliest known creature to do so. Pareiasaurs, an ancient group of parareptiles to which Bunostegos belonged, were large herbivores that flourished…

These 4 New Spider Species Just Want to Be Your Friends

Arachnologists have found a whole new genus of spiders in the deserts of Namibia and South Africa, and a couple of the new species seem to have some peculiar habits. Recently, Peter Jäger and Henrik Krehenwinkel examined some spider specimens they had collected with their colleague Dirk Kunz back in 2004. They noticed that the…