Biology

A cinnamon black bear

Why Do Some Black Bears Have Brown Fur?

New research pinpoints the 9,000-year-old genetic mutation that gives some black bears a cinnamon-colored hue

A high-ranking adult male chimpanzee rests in the dry and open woodland vegetation that dominates the Issa Valley savanna-mosaic habitat.

Human Ancestors May Have Evolved to Walk Upright in Trees

Research on wild chimpanzees suggests searching for food in tree branches drove bipedalism

This year’s picks include Fresh Banana Leaves, Origin and Starry Messenger.

The Ten Best Science Books of 2022

From a detective story on the origins of Covid-19 to a narrative that imagines a fateful day for dinosaurs, these works affected us the most this year

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Octopuses Caught on Camera Throwing Debris at Each Other

Scientists say this is the first time they have documented the behavior among the tentacled sea creatures

Upon examination, veterinarians realized Hope, now named Beans, had no internal or external sex organs.

Meet the Rare Gender-Neutral Kitten With No Sex Organs

The formerly homeless cat has now been adopted in the U.K.

The final facial reconstruction depicting John Barber, 55

Scientists Reconstruct Face of 19th-Century Man Accused of Being a Vampire

He was a victim of tuberculosis—and a target of the vampire panic that swept through New England

Human red blood cells at 1,000 times magnification. 

Scientists Perform First Transfusions of Lab-Grown Blood

A clinical trial is testing how lab-grown cells might help patients with blood disorders and rare blood types

An illustration of a springtail jumping

Springtails Are Nature’s Tiny Gymnasts, Videos Reveal

The insect-like creatures that leap through the air with remarkable control might inspire new jumping robots

On the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the bare, whitened trunks of a “ghost forest” are one of the effects of surging waters that turn woodland into marsh.

Why Marshlands Are the Perfect Lab for Studying Climate Change

At the border between land and sea, an extraordinary set of experiments is helping us prepare for an uncertain future

Nearly ten percent of all deer-vehicle collisions occur in the two weeks surrounding the time change in the fall.  

Deer-Car Collisions Rise When Daylight Saving Time Ends

Forgoing the “spring forward, fall back” pattern could save 33 human lives, 37,000 deer and more than $1 billion per year, study suggests

Scientists recorded 50 species of turtles making vocalizations.

Scientists Thought These 53 Species Were Silent. Now, They’ve Recorded Their Sounds

Vocal communication may have evolved from a common ancestor some 407 million years ago

While swarming, western honeybees can produce an atmospheric electric charge density that's greater than a thunderstorm's.

Honeybee Swarms Can Produce as Much Electric Charge as a Storm Cloud

Denser swarms create more atmospheric electricity, new research suggests

Darwin's signature on the note

Charles Darwin's Rare Autographed Manuscript Could Sell for $800,000

The English naturalist was responding to a magazine editor who had asked for a handwriting sample

Shark skin is made of tiny, stiff segments of overlapping, textured dentin and enamel. Shark skin’s distinctive texture gives sharks greater efficiency moving through the water.

Shark Skin-Inspired Materials Have a Long Way to Go Before They Work Like the Real Thing

The predator's distinctive texture is the envy of engineers trying to maximize hydrodynamics

An Adélie penguin

Adélie Penguins Are Dwindling in East Antarctica

Researchers blame too much summer sea ice for causing a downward spiral in one colony

Photographed on September 14, 2022, 480 Otis is the reigning 2021 Fat Bear Week champion.

How the Bears at Alaska's Katmai National Park Became Celebrities

Park officials had no idea that the installation of live nature cameras at Brooks River ten years ago would lead to the wildly successful Fat Bear Week

Paruroctonus soda

These California Teens Discovered Two New Scorpion Species

One of the creatures could be wiped out if its range isn't protected, researchers say

A bull walks in front of a cow. If they mate, the bull’s sperm will likely cluster together as they swim through the female’s reproductive organs.

Bull Sperm Get by With a Little Help From Their Friends

Traveling together helps the sperm navigate a tricky, sticky migration through a cow's reproductive tract

Four pairs of "human doubles" included in the study

Doppelgängers Don't Just Look Alike—They Also Share DNA

New research finds genetic and lifestyle similarities between unrelated pairs of "virtual twins"

A female Aedes aegypti mosquito

How Can Mosquitoes Find Humans So Easily?

A sophisticated sense of smell makes the Earth’s deadliest animal hard-wired to hunt us

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