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Biology

AlphaFold's protein structure in blue is shown overlaid with the lab results in green for two kinds of proteins.

New Research

Breakthrough A.I. Makes Huge Leap Toward Solving 50-Year-Old Problem in Biology

Proteins are vital biological molecules, and it can require years of lab-based experiments to tease out the 3-D shape of just one

A male bottlenose dolphin used in the study, seen here with electrocardiogram suction cups attached to monitor its heart rate.

New Research

Dolphins May Be Able to Control Their Heart Rates

New study finds trained dolphins slow their hearts faster and more dramatically when instructed to perform long dives than short ones

Researchers analyze the microbiome of Leonardo's Portrait of a Man in Red Chalk (circa 1490). Housed at the Royal Library of Turin, the detailed sketch is considered by some scholars to be a self-portrait.

Art Meets Science

Hidden Microbes and Fungi Found on the Surface of Leonardo da Vinci Drawings

Researchers used new DNA sequencing technology to examine the “bio-archives” of seven of the Renaissance master’s sketches

A male wrinkle-faced bat (Centurio senex) seen dangling from his perch. Beneath his chin is a furry skin fold that he pulls up to cover the lower half of the face like a mask during courtship.

New Research

These Bats Mask Up to Woo Mates

Male wrinkle-faced bats use a furry neck flap to cover their faces while serenading the opposite sex in never-before-seen behavior

Can you see the plant in this picture? This small brown Fritillaria delavayi has evolved camouflage in response to heavy harvesting by humans. The more closely the plant mimics its environment, the harder it is for humans to find and harvest the plant.

New Research

Medicinal Plant May Have Evolved Camouflage to Evade Humans

In places where people harvest the plant most aggressively, its color has changed to blend in with the rocky environment

Bee species are more diverse in dry regions where pollen is abundant.

Scientists Create a Buzz With the First Ever Global Map of Bee Species

Most of the insects avoid the tropics and choose treeless environments in arid parts of the world

Most people will tell you that the average temperature for the human body is 98.6 degrees. But a growing body of research is challenging that idea, suggesting peoples' bodies now run a bit cooler on average.

New Research

Even in the Bolivian Amazon, Average Human Body Temperature Is Getting Cooler

A new study finds the average body temperature among Bolivia’s Tsimane people dropped by nearly a full degree in just 16 years

Echidnas have a four-headed penis, though only two heads are put to use at a time.

Nine of the Weirdest Penises in the Animal Kingdom

A short list of some of nature’s most curious phalluses, from the echidna’s four-headed unit to the dolphin’s prehensile member

Camels stay cool through a combination of sweat and insulating fur.

Why This New Technology Inspired by Camel Fur Is Super Cool

A two-layered material that mimics the animals’ sweat glands and insulating fur chills surfaces 400 percent longer than traditional methods

New research identifies a previously unknown type of nerve cell inside octopus suckers that the cephalopods use like taste buds.

New Research

Octopuses Taste Food With Special Cells in Their Suckers

New study reveals biology behind one of the octopus’ many super powers

Time-lapse of fruiting mushrooms

Watch an Amazing Time-Lapse of Growing Mushrooms

A mesmerizing 10,000-shot video captures the dramatic life cycles of several species

Damselfish typically live in the nooks and crannies of coral reefs. But do you have anything with more of an open concept?

If a Fish Could Build Its Own Home, What Would It Look Like?

By exposing fish to experimental constructions, scientists hope to find out if replicating coral reefs is really the way to go

Rattlesnakes can bite after death.

14 Fun Facts About Frightening Animals

From snakes that eat their prey alive to primates that inject their peers with flesh-rotting venom, these are the scariest deeds committed by critters

The ogre-faced spider earns its name from its large eyes and mandibles.

How Ultra-Sensitive Hearing Allows Spiders to Cast a Net on Unsuspecting Prey

Sounds trigger the ogre-faced spider to backflip and shoot a silk trap on other insects

Two eight-year-old Twinkies that Pennsylvania man Colin Purrington found in his basement.

Scientists Study Twinkie Mummified by Mold

Tests on the eight-year-old snack food put the myth of the immortal Twinkie to rest

100,000 people die from venomous snakebites each year, a problem the Instituto Clodomiro Picado seeks to address with its antivenoms.

The Lab Saving the World From Snake Bites

A deadly shortage of venom antidote has spurred a little-known group of scientists in Costa Rica to action

A high-resolution image depicts the brain axons discovered in the well-preserved remains of a Vesuvius victim

Well-Preserved Brain Cells Found in Vesuvius Victim

The volcanic eruption transformed the young man’s neural tissue into glass

Conservationists report that the Przewalski’s horse is extinct in the wild, and only an estimated 2,000 remain in zoos and reserves.

Scientists Cloned an Endangered Wild Horse Using the Decades-Old Frozen Cells of a Stallion

The cloned foal will hopefully provide an ‘infusion of genetic diversity’ as conservationists work to restore the Przewalski’s horse’s population

This month's picks include Mantel Pieces, The Dead Are Arising and A Series of Fortunate Events.

Books of the Month

How the Alphabet Got Its Order, Malcolm X and Other New Books to Read

These five October releases may have been lost in the news cycle

Blue whales are the world’s largest animals, and they can grow to the length of three school buses in a row.

Blue Whales Sing All Day When They Migrate and All Night When They Don’t

Their mysterious songs could be an ‘acoustic signature of migration’

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