Biology

You Are Alive Today Thanks to the Symbionts in Your Body

Mitochondria float around in the goo of your cells, tirelessly making the molecules that power your body. But these mitochondria used to be independent of your body; they were bacteria, floating free in the world. You are, at a fundamental level, the result of symbiosis — the interdependence of two life forms. Symbiotic relationship between…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

How Do These Crocodiles Communicate With Each Other Before They Hatch?

Different crocodiles have different calls to signal everything from distress to dinnertime. But for sheer vocalization lifespan, it’s hard to beat the New Guinea Crocodile, whose lifelong habit of chattering begins while they’re still in the egg. https://observationdeck.kinja.com/smonday-crocodilian-crocodylus-novaguineae-edition-1637908129

io9 Ria Misra

Are Sperm Really Attracted to the Scent of These Flowers?

A few years ago, researchers made a strange discovery. Sperm seemed to gravitate toward the scent of flowers called lily of the valley. Could this open up a whole new era of scent-based conception and disreputable flower shops? Lily of the valley is a pretty white flower which makes a pretty ultra-sweet scent. Because it…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Before Wasps Enslaved Caterpillars, They Enslaved a Virus

Every day we get more proof that wasps are the most terrifying creatures on the planet. Not only do they mind-control caterpillars and inject them with their wasp babies, they also managed to enslave a virus to do their dirty work for them. Just when you get used to wasps, they spring some new diabolical…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Nevermind Drought — The Biggest Threat to Our Food Supply Is Fungus

Within 30 years, it’s likely that farmers will be battling deadly crop pests that they’ve never seen before. Pests are evolving and entering new regions in greater numbers than ever — and our worst adversary is likely to be fungus, which could destroy whole harvests and wreak havoc with our food supplies. Blumeria photo by…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Baby Poop Sausage, And Other Winners From The 2014 Ig Nobel Awards

Last night, scientists from around the world gathered at Harvard’s iconic Sanders Theatre for the “24rd First Annual” Ig Nobel Awards, the wonderfully peculiar annual awards ceremony that recognizes those achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think. The Ig Nobels are the brainchild of Marc Abrams, and are perhaps the only…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Mammals Respond Instinctively To The Cries Of Other Species’ Babies

If you’ve ever found yourself moved by the sound of a mewling kitten, or a whimpering pup, you know that our species can and does respond to the cries of other animals – but newly published findings suggest this quality is not unique to humans. Above: The author’s dog, doing her best impression of a…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

A Man Howls At The Woods – And The Woods Howl Back

It’s call and response, coyote-style. And it’s one of the most intense examples of human-animal communication you’ve ever heard. Coyotes are notoriously vocal animals. There’s even research that suggests their howls can convey individually specific information. University of Vermont researcher Brian Mitchell hypothesizes that coyotes might use howls to identify which nearby coyotes they’re familiar…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Could You Use A Placebo To Calm Your Anxious Dog?

When a dog is left alone, it can be scary for them. Some dogs get so anxious that they destroy your stuff, scratch up your front door, and bark so loud it annoys your neighbors. But now it looks like there might be a solution – and it involves a simple placebo. Header image: Flickr/Paul…

io9 Jason G. Goldman

Marine Biologists Release Incredible Video Of A Borg-Like Sea Creature

“I can’t believe that’s a living thing!” declares one of the scientists watching this stunning underwater footage of a siphonophore. The creature is not just one organism, but several that collectively serve various functions such as locomotion and even preying for food. The video was captured by the Hercules diving craft, part of the Nautilus…

io9 Mark Strauss

Here’s The Gruesome Way A Doctor First Proved The Heart Pumps Blood

Strange as it sounds, European medical doctors didn’t know, until the 1600s, that the heart pumps blood around the body. How they proved this seemingly simple fact is one of the most controversial (and gruesome) stories in medicine. It’s a shock, sometimes, to learn how much rudimentary knowledge — things any child would know —…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

These Wasps Built Their Colony On A Window – And The View Is Incredible

Here’s something you don’t see every day: A glimpse at the internal structure of a rather large (and rather occupied) wasp nest. Put down the flamethrower and check it out. Trust us on this one, you’ll want to see this. YouTuber Vang Tsal captured the footage when a colony of wasps opted to construct its…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Why Does Rabies Damage Your Body With Such Scary Speed?

A terrifying feature of the deadly rabies virus is how fast it moves along the body’s nervous system toward the brain, at speeds approaching half a meter per day. Its speed has been a medical mystery – but now researchers have a promising new lead that could explain how rabies spreads. Above: An electron micrograph…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

One Bad Piece of Press Made Black Widow Spiders Legendary

Black widows have figured in everything from real life murder plots to James Bond novels. It’s understood that they mean certain death. They don’t. They just got one spectacularly bad piece of press. Black widows are not a threat to house and home. It’s understandable that most people don’t want to be around them, but…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

The Quest to Resurrect an Extinct Animal Without Cloning

Before there was the cow, there was the auroch, a sinewy beast that roamed Eurasia by the millions. And over thousands of years, humans bred the creature into the millions of milk-and-steak-machines we have today. The last auroch, however, died in the 17th century. A group of scientists now want to bring back the auroch…

Tech News Sarah Zhang

Why Is Your Poop Green?

According to Hank Green and the good folks at SciShow, one of the most commonly googled questions on Earth is “why is my poop green?” Why, indeed? The short answer: Your food went through you too fast. That, or you recently ate a bunch of leafy, green vegetables. The slightly longer explanation, which Green delivers…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Doctors Discover A Woman With No Cerebellum

A 24-year-old woman complaining of dizziness and nausea was admitted to a hospital in Shandong Province recently, where she told doctors she had struggled with balance all her life. When doctors performed a brain scan, they immediately noticed the problem: The woman was missing her cerebellum. Above: An MRI of the woman’s head reveals “no…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

This Is Not A Starscape

Biologists hypothesize that the larvae of New Zealand glowworm Arachnocampa luminosa – which dangle, numerous and luminous, from the ceilings of caves – have evolved to resemble a star-studded night sky. Above: Arachnocampa luminosa do their best impression of a starry night along the ceiling of New Zealand’s Hollow Hill Cave | Photo used by…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

“Mucus-Harvesting Drone-Pilot” Sounds Like A Pretty Awesome Job

Much of the work done to study stress in whales may, paradoxically, be stressful to whales. Ocean Alliance – a research and conservation organization devoted to the development of “benign research techniques” – has designed a possible solution to this problem: a mucus-harvesting drone. The stuff whales eject from their blow-holes isn’t water. It’s snot.…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

The Science of Dog Training: Is It Okay To Use A Shock Collar?

No matter what you call them – shock collars, e-collars, or the more scientific-sounding “collar mounted electronic training aids” – are designed with the most basic form of learning in mind, operant conditioning. How Do Shock Collars Work? From a psychological perspective, the idea is remarkably simple. An animal has a behavior you’d like to…

Biology Jason G. Goldman

You Are Alive Today Thanks to the Symbionts in Your Body

How Do These Crocodiles Communicate With Each Other Before They Hatch?

Are Sperm Really Attracted to the Scent of These Flowers?

Before Wasps Enslaved Caterpillars, They Enslaved a Virus

Nevermind Drought — The Biggest Threat to Our Food Supply Is Fungus

Baby Poop Sausage, And Other Winners From The 2014 Ig Nobel Awards

Mammals Respond Instinctively To The Cries Of Other Species’ Babies

A Man Howls At The Woods – And The Woods Howl Back

Could You Use A Placebo To Calm Your Anxious Dog?

Marine Biologists Release Incredible Video Of A Borg-Like Sea Creature

Here’s The Gruesome Way A Doctor First Proved The Heart Pumps Blood

These Wasps Built Their Colony On A Window – And The View Is Incredible

Why Does Rabies Damage Your Body With Such Scary Speed?

One Bad Piece of Press Made Black Widow Spiders Legendary

The Quest to Resurrect an Extinct Animal Without Cloning

Why Is Your Poop Green?

Doctors Discover A Woman With No Cerebellum

This Is Not A Starscape

“Mucus-Harvesting Drone-Pilot” Sounds Like A Pretty Awesome Job

The Science of Dog Training: Is It Okay To Use A Shock Collar?

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