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Biology

Soft tumors make life hard for sea turtles.

Should We Share Human Cancer Treatments With Tumorous Turtles?

They may be key to saving wild sea turtles from tumors associated with turtle-specific herpes

Ricardo Martínez digging up the arm of the dinosaur Ingentia prima in Triassic layers of Balde de Leyes, San Juan Province, Argentina.

New Research

The Most Massive of Dinos Evolved Earlier Than Previously Thought

A Triassic giant unearthed in Argentina suggests that dinosaurs took the path to greatness at least twice

Graafian follicle, human ovary

How Artificial Ovaries Could Expand Fertility Options for Chemo Patients

Scientists have taken the next steps toward creating an alternative fertility preservation method using modified ovarian tissue

Koala populations are expected to drop by 50 percent over the next 20 years

New Research

Newly Mapped Koala Genome Unlocks Secrets of Marsupial’s Diet, Susceptibility to Chlamydia

The cuddly creatures can survive on a diet of high-toxin eucalyptus leaves thanks to detoxifying genes

Due to their ubiquity at archaeological sites, teeth are like the pennies of ancient human remains. But unlike pennies, fossil chompers can be a treasure trove.

How Ancient Teeth Reveal the Roots of Humankind

From diet to evolution, prehistoric chompers tell archaeologists a surprising amount about our ancestors

From glow-in-the-dark squid to the terrifying stoplight loosejaw, creatures of the deep have evolved their own living light time and time again.

Why Bioluminescence Evolved to Be Red Light, and Blue

The laws of nature constrict living light to a few hues, which also happen to be quite patriotic

The tiny mosquito can be a big summer nuisance.

Why Some Summers Are So Appealing For Mosquitoes

…and so unbearable for you

Researchers studied delicate hyoid bones, which support and ground the tongue, in fossils like these from Northeast China.

Actually, T. Rex Probably Couldn’t Stick Out Its Tongue

The tongues of bird-like dinosaurs and pterosaurs, however, may have been more mobile

Genetic revelations are shifting the story of the Cuban crocodile and raising questions about the right way to conserve it.

The Quest to Preserve the Last of Castro’s Crocodiles

Breeders are trying to save a ‘pure’ Cuban crocodile—but out in the wild, divisions between species are increasingly murky

Fully 73 percent of the patents studied in the paper pertained to microbial species, which account for about 20 percent of marine life.

New Research

Nearly Half the Patents on Marine Genes Belong to Just One Company

Who owns biodiversity? No one and everyone—or maybe, a German chemical company

New Research

Humans Make Up Just 1/10,000 of Earth’s Biomass

Plants make up 80 percent, but human activity chopped that number in half over the last 10,000 years

Scimitar-horned oryx can go for ten months without drinking water.

Future of Conservation

Smithsonian Researchers Are Bringing the Oryx Back to the Wild

Reintroducing the species back to north-central Africa shows early signs of success

Sacred Sites Can Also Be Hotspots of Conservation

Protecting burial grounds, temples and churchyards can bolster wildlife and forests

Henrietta Lacks (HeLa): The Mother of Modern Medicine by Kadir Nelson (detail, above) is on view at the National Portrait Gallery through November 4, 2018.

Women Who Shaped History

Famed for “Immortal” Cells, Henrietta Lacks is Immortalized in Portraiture

Lacks’s cells gave rise to medical miracles, but ethical questions of propriety and ownership continue to swirl

Venus shines brightly in the distance in this picture taken on the International Space Station.

New Research

Venus and Jupiter May Meddle With Earth’s Orbit and Climate

In 405,000-year cycles, the tug of nearby planets causes hotter summers, colder winters and drier droughts on our home planet

Scientists Have a New Way of Knowing How Many Sharks Are in the Sea

The predators are elusive, but marine ecologists are finding more of them by analyzing the “environmental DNA” in ocean water samples

Most White Sands moths are white to blend in with their environment, but a select few black species have evolved as well.

Dissecting Moth Genitals In the Name of Science

How “moth evangelist” Eric Metzler uncovered hundreds of moth species in the barren dunes of New Mexico

The science of DNA facial reconstruction is advancing rapidly.

How Accurately Can Scientists Reconstruct A Person’s Face From DNA?

Predicting physical features from genetic data certainly has its limitations, but it is advancing. What does this mean for our privacy?

A pelagic snail ensnares food with with a mucous web.

These Strange Ocean Creatures Trap Their Food In a Net of Mucus

Biologists are finding that these invertebrate grazers can actually be picky eaters—and their choices might influence ocean food webs

Good old Number 16 in happier times

New Research

The World’s Oldest Known Spider Has Died at Age 43

The female trapdoor spider ruled over her burrow in the Australian outback until a parasitic wasp attacked

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