Biology

A tiny, aphid-like whitefly sitting on a leaf.

This Insect Has Plant DNA in Its Genome

Whiteflies have a gene only found in plants that appears to allow the tiny insects to withstand plants’ chemical defenses

After five weeks of development, a human brain organoid (left) is roughly twice the size of those from a chimpanzee (top right) and a gorilla (bottom right).

Experiments Find Gene Key to the Human Brain's Large Size

The single gene identified by the study may be what makes human brains three times larger than our closest great ape relatives at birth

All modern dogs are descended from a wolf species that when extinct around 15,000 years ago. Grey wolves, pictured here fighting for food with now extinct dire wolves (red), are dogs’ closest living relative.

Meet the Scientist Studying How Dogs Evolved From Predator to Pet

Learn about how humans of the past helped build the bond between us and our favorite furry friends

The biodiversity map predicted that amphibians and reptiles have the most undiscovered species to date. Pictured: blue poison dart frog (Dendrobates tinctorius "azureus")

This Map Shows You the Odds of Finding a New Species in Your Neighborhood

The 'Map of Life' predicts where undiscovered birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals could be found around the world

The stories of children who participated in polio vaccine tests became a constant in media coverage, appearing alongside warnings and debates.

The Press Made the Polio Vaccine Trials Into a Public Spectacle

As a medical breakthrough unfolded in the early 1950s, newspapers filled pages with debates over vaccine science and anecdotes about kids receiving shots

Balaram Khamari's “Microbial Peacock” won second place in the traditional category in the 2020 American Society for Microbiology Agar Art Contest.

How Microbiologists Craft Stunning Art Using Pathogens

Scientists mix microorganisms with agar, a jelly-like substance from seaweed, to create amazing illustrations in petri dishes

Ocean creatures are noisier than scientists first thought.

Biologist Marie Fish Catalogued the Sounds of the Ocean for the World to Hear

Scientists once thought marine life kept quiet. Then the Navy tapped an aptly named researcher with an open mind

The tear gland organoids grown from stem cells produce a tear-like fluid (red).

Scientists Make Tiny Lab-Grown Tear Glands Cry

The tear-producing organoids researchers created could one day help relieve medical conditions that cause dry eyes

Leafhoppers are known for devastating crops like potatoes and grapes. But they can be a benign presence within a balanced jungle ecosystem.

The Wild World of a New Nature Preserve in Ecuador

Scientists have already begun discovering new species in the hotbed of biodiversity

Across the globe, culling has become the default strategy for the egg industry to eliminate the unwanted hatchlings.

Can New Technologies Eliminate the Grim Practice of Chick Culling?

As the U.S. egg industry continues to kill male chicks, scientists are racing to develop accurate and affordable ways to sex a chick before it hatches

The head and the body of the sea slug Elysia marginata, a day after the animal decapitated itself.

Sea Slug's Decapitated Head Crawls Around Before Regrowing a Body

Researchers think that lopping off its own noggin could help the critter rid itself of parasites

Jennifer Doudna, a Nobel Prize recipient for her work on the gene-editing tool CRISPR, and the "life sciences revolution" are the dual subjects of Walter Isaacson's latest biography.

How Scientist Jennifer Doudna Is Leading the Next Technological Revolution

A new book from Steve Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson offers an incisive portrait of the gene editing field that is changing modern medicine

Photos of the kitefin shark glowing in the dark.

Nearly Six-Foot-Long Glowing Shark Discovered in Deep Sea Off New Zealand

The kitefin shark is one of three species of glowing sharks described in a new paper

Slime mold in a petri dish. New research finds that slime molds can store memories by changing the diameter of the branching tubes they use to explore their environment, allowing them to keep track of food sources.

How the Brainless Slime Mold Stores Memories

New research finds the organism can remember the location of food by altering the diameter of the creeping tendrils it uses to explore its surroundings

A statue of Charles Darwin sits in the Natural History Museum in London. The scientist's book 'Descent of Man' was published in 1871.

How Darwin's 'Descent of Man' Holds Up 150 Years After Publication

Questions still swirl around the author’s theories about sexual selection and the evolution of minds and morals

Only the flower on the far left is real. The rest are made of fungus.

This Fungus Makes Convincing Fake Flowers From Scratch

The yellow, flower-shaped growths lure in pollinator insects to spread the fungus’ spores

The protein RAC1 can cause some sperm to spin in circles until they die

Mice Sperm Sabotage Other Swimmers With Poison

A study in mice found that poison-spewing sperm make others swim in circles, but carry the antidote for themselves

A 38-foot male whale washed up along Sandy Key in the Florida Everglades in January 2019. Researchers have now determined that the whale is a member of a previously unknown species they've dubbed Rice's whale. A necropsy revealed a 3-inch hunk of plastic lodged in its gut that may have contributed to its demise.

Large New Whale Species Identified in the Gulf of Mexico

Named Rice’s whale, the species can reach lengths of 42 feet and lives in the Gulf’s warm waters all year

The male of a newly discovered species named Brookesia nana may be the smallest adult reptile ever found.

Chameleon Discovered in Madagascar May Be World's Smallest Reptile

The male of the newly described species measured just half an inch long from his nose to the base of his tail

An oceanic whitetip shark swimming in the open ocean. This species was common in the 1970s but its population has since declined by 98 percent, according to a new study.

Oceanic Sharks and Rays Have Declined 70% Since 1970

Fishing fleets have indiscriminately slaughtered sharks for decades and a new study catalogues the environmental damage done

Page 15 of 83