Biology

Photo: T. Rupp, B. Oelschlägel, K. Rabitsch et al.

World’s Worst Flower Looks Like a Butt, Smells Like Dead Bugs

Nondescript on the forest floor, the flowering plant Aristolochia microstoma has developed an arresting means of self-preservation: It smells like dead bugs, which attracts the living bugs that act as the plant’s pollinators. Research describing the plant’s strategy was published this month in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. Like the more famous and…

Biology Isaac Schultz

Like ‘A Part of Their Body’: People Adapt to an Extra Thumb in Fascinating Experiment

An experiment in which 36 people were fitted with a robotic third thumb has demonstrated the brain’s uncanny ability to adapt and leverage an entirely new body part, and in ways the researchers are still trying to understand. The Third Thumb started as an award-winning graduate project at the Royal College of Art in London,…

Health George Dvorsky

American Alligators’ Sex Ratios Could Go Haywire

Many of the effects of climate change are obvious, like bizarre weather patterns, rising sea levels, and species loss as a result of deforestation and habitat degradation. Some, though, are a little bit weird. One of those is that the sex ratios of certain reptile species, which might shift to be either entirely male or…

Climate Change Jess Thomson

Image: Ponz-Segrelles G, Glasby CJ, Helm C, et al. Integrative anatomical study of the branched annelid Ramisyllis multicaudata (Annelida, Syllidae). Journal of Morphology. 2021;1-17.

This Worm Has 100 Butts

In Greek mythology, the hydra is a creature with many heads. In Norse mythology, Odin rides Sleipnir—a horse with many legs. And in the warm, coastal waters of Australia lives Ramisyllis multicaudata, the worm with many butts. The creature is shaped somewhat like a tree, with a single head and a body that branches over…

Biology Jake Buehler

Polar Bear-Grizzly Hybrids, Aka Pizzly Bears, May Be Growing More Common Due to Climate Crisis

What do you get when you cross a polar bear and a grizzly bear? A fluffy reminder of how climate change is transforming our planet at an alarming rate. These hybrids, sometimes called pizzly bears or grolar bears, have been spotted in the wild as far back as 2006. But with global temperatures rising as…

Earther Alyse Stanley

Scientists Find Billion-Year-Old Fossil Life, ‘Something Which Has Never Been Described Before’

On the shores of a Scottish loch lie geologic deposits dating back a billion years, and within the rocks is evidence of the earliest known non-marine multicellular organism, according to a study published in Current Biology. It’s a fascinating new detail in the story of how animals may have evolved from the soup of early…

Biology Isaac Schultz

Luca‘s Mystique-Like Transformations Were Inspired by ‘Squid Chromatophores’

Like many fantasy stories involving sea-dwelling people who work up the courage to explore the land beyond the ocean, the young heroes of Pixar’sLuca have the ability to pass as humans thanks to a magical transformation. It’s easy for Luca and his platonic buddy Alberto to pass once they step out of the water and…

Movies Charles Pulliam-Moore

Glowing Pumpkin Toadlet Can’t Hear Its Own Tiny Scream

Scientists in Brazil say they’ve discovered a new species of poisonous toad—hidden in plain sight due to its close resemblance to another related species. Aside from their tiny size, the wee toads have brightly colored skin and bones that fluoresce under UV light, a feature that still isn’t completely understood. Study author Ivan Sergio Nunes…

Biology Ed Cara

Humans Have Destroyed 97% Of Earth’s Ecosystems

Only 3% of land on Earth still qualifies as “ecologically intact,” with undisturbed habitats and healthy populations of its original animal species, grim new research shows. That’s a much bleaker picture than the one painted by previous assessments, which pegged that number much higher, estimating that 20% to 40% of land is still intact. But…

Climate Change Dharna Noor

Chimeric Human-Monkey Embryos Kept Alive for a Record 19 Days

Building on previous experiments, an international team of scientists has created chimeric human-monkey embryos, which were kept alive for nearly three weeks. The breakthrough could lead to new ways of testing drugs and generating organs for transplant, but this line of research is raising some ethical concerns. New research in Cell details the experiment, in…

Health George Dvorsky

Scientists Dive Into Axolotl Genome, Looking for Secrets to Regeneration

Its adorableness aside, the Mexican axolotl is a salamander of particular interest to scientists. On the molecular level, the animal seems to have a cheat code for life: It can regenerate its limbs and vital organs, an ability researchers are desperate to better understand for medical applications. Now, geneticists have gotten a clearer view of…

Biology Isaac Schultz

Photo: VALERIE KUYPERS/AFP via Getty Images

Early Humans Were Walking Around With Ape-Like Brains, Study Finds

Humans can be distinguished from other apes in many ways, such as our general hairlessness, our upright bipedalism, and, of course, our powerful brains. But it turns out that our cognitive ability didn’t evolve as early as previously thought, according to new research by an international team of researchers. The team’s findings, published today in…

Human History Isaac Schultz

Eagles Are Filled With Rat Poison

Eagles are majestic, beautiful, and full of toxins that we’ve pumped into the environment. A new study finds that 82% of dead eagles examined between 2014 and 2018 had detectable levels of rat poison in their systems. The study, published on Wednesday in PLOS One, was, happily, made possible by the fact that eagle populations…

Conservation Molly Taft

A Dangerous Toxin From Pond Scum Can Go Airborne, Study Finds

A potent toxin released by algae blooms has the potential to become airborne, recent research suggests. In what’s said to be a first, the study found traces of the toxin in the air near pond water in Massachusetts. Though it’s unclear whether this and similar toxins are harmful to people and animals when airborne, the…

Health Ed Cara

Airborne DNA Could Help Scientists Find Elusive Animals

A UK-based team says they were able to pull genetic material from the air and correctly identify the species it belonged to, an exciting leap for the field of environmental DNA. The technique of sampling an environment for DNA to figure out what organisms inhabit it, known as environmental DNA or eDNA, is regularly used…

Biology Isaac Schultz

There’s an Ancient Connection Between Our Saliva and Snake Venom

Humans and other mammals have the same genetic foundations for developing oral venom that snakes have, according to a paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This connection was discovered by a research team looking at venom-producing tissue from 30 habus, a pit viper from East Asia. The researchers were…

Biology Isaac Schultz

These Mutant Rabbits Walk on Two Legs, and Geneticists Now Know Why

An entire lineage of French rabbits has been doing handstands for nearly a century. The acrobatic bunnies are not so much performing a stunt as they are a product of stunted genetics, according to a paper published this week in PLOS Genetics. First discovered in a domesticated rabbit living in a Parisian suburb in 1935,…

Biology Isaac Schultz

Mysterious Bald Eagle Killer Finally Identified

In a new study out Thursday, scientists say they’ve solved the mystery of a neurological disease that’s been killing bald eagles and other birds in the U.S. for over 25 years. The disease appears to be caused by a toxin produced by a species of blue-green algae that grows on an invasive plant—a toxin that…

Earther Ed Cara

Octopuses Dream in ‘GIFs,’ New Experiment Suggests

Two years ago, a PBS documentary video showed an octopus named Heidi in what appeared to be an active dream state. Her arms twitched as she slumbered, and her skin flipped wildly through all sorts of alien textures. Most dramatically, however, the cephalopod changed colors, flashing in greens and reds like a malfunctioning billboard. Many…

Biology George Dvorsky

Some of Our Brain Cells Get More Active Hours After We Die, Study Finds

Even after we die, some of our brain cells can experience one last and large momentary burst of life, new research out Tuesday suggests. The study found evidence that certain “zombie genes” in our brain cells are active more frequently soon after death, which causes some cells to immensely expand for hours. The findings won’t…

Health Ed Cara

World’s Worst Flower Looks Like a Butt, Smells Like Dead Bugs

Like ‘A Part of Their Body’: People Adapt to an Extra Thumb in Fascinating Experiment

American Alligators’ Sex Ratios Could Go Haywire

This Worm Has 100 Butts

Polar Bear-Grizzly Hybrids, Aka Pizzly Bears, May Be Growing More Common Due to Climate Crisis

Scientists Find Billion-Year-Old Fossil Life, ‘Something Which Has Never Been Described Before’

Luca‘s Mystique-Like Transformations Were Inspired by ‘Squid Chromatophores’

Glowing Pumpkin Toadlet Can’t Hear Its Own Tiny Scream

Humans Have Destroyed 97% Of Earth’s Ecosystems

Chimeric Human-Monkey Embryos Kept Alive for a Record 19 Days

Scientists Dive Into Axolotl Genome, Looking for Secrets to Regeneration

Early Humans Were Walking Around With Ape-Like Brains, Study Finds

Eagles Are Filled With Rat Poison

A Dangerous Toxin From Pond Scum Can Go Airborne, Study Finds

Airborne DNA Could Help Scientists Find Elusive Animals

There’s an Ancient Connection Between Our Saliva and Snake Venom

These Mutant Rabbits Walk on Two Legs, and Geneticists Now Know Why

Mysterious Bald Eagle Killer Finally Identified

Octopuses Dream in ‘GIFs,’ New Experiment Suggests

Some of Our Brain Cells Get More Active Hours After We Die, Study Finds

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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