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Biology

The Black Sea's fish stocks have been plummeting as of late and may be beyond repair.

The Black Sea Is Dying, and War Might Push it Over the Edge

Surrounded by six countries, all with their own agendas, the massive body of water is at risk of becoming another casualty of regional strife

The spectral bat (Vampyrum spectrum), the world’s largest carnivorous bat, feeds on small birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals—including other bats.

The World’s Carnivorous Bats Are Emerging From the Dark

Meat-eating evolved multiple times among these mysterious species, yet all of the winged carnivores share similar physiological fixes

Atopodentatus used its odd-shaped head to vacuum up food from the sea floor hundreds of millions of years ago.

Weirdo Ancient Marine Reptile Had a Vacuum-Shaped Head

Animal probably slurped up plant material from the seafloor

How sleepy you are may depend on a number of factors, including age and where in the world you live.

Smartphone Study Uncovers Why So Much of the World is Short on Sleep

Age, gender and nationality impact how much we sleep, and social pressures rob many of needed rest

10 Things Science Says About Being a Mom in 2016

For one, a nurturing mother can help her child’s brain grow

Trachymolgus purpureus

Enjoy Face Time with Seven of Earth’s 3 to 5 Million Mite Species

A Smithsonian collection of some one million species of mites is receiving its up close and personal

Washing your hands will make them clean, but it may not get rid of the microbes that live there.

Your Skin’s Microbial Inhabitants Might Stick Around, Even If You Wash

This tiny ecosystem is surprisingly stable from months to years, study reveals

Important information about a cheetah can be found in its feces.

A Fecal Pellet’s Worth A Thousand Words

Scientists can learn a surprising amount about an animal just by analyzing its poop

How do we measure a bird's IQ?

Describing Someone as “Birdbrained” Is Misguided, Unless You’re Talking About Emus

A new book about birds explores how birds think

Ivory burn outside Nairobi, 1991

Trending Today

Eerie Footage of Over 100 Tons of Burning Ivory

The Kenyan government burned tusks from over 6,000 elephants to reduce stockpiles of ivory and raise awareness of poaching

New Research

Scientists Use “The Moth Radio Hour” to Create Brain Atlas

Using a functional MRI, scientists created a visual dictionary to show how areas of the brain process language

Brindled Stamiter, Cricetus fasciatus

Weird Animals

Audubon Pranked Fellow Naturalist by Making Up Fake Rodents

Annoyed with naturalist and houseguest Constantine Rafinesque, John J. Audubon dreamed up 28 non-existent species

Modern microscopes can image red blood cells in stunning detail.

Early Microscopes Revealed a New World of Tiny Living Things

A cloth merchant turned a device for checking his wares into an instrument fit for science

New Research

“Shark Vision” Shines Light on Biofluorescent Species

Using a specially designed filter, divers uncovered the glowing patterns on the skin of catsharks

"Science fiction is so important to our culture, because it allows us to dream," said Jim Green, director of NASA's planetary science division, at the "Future is Here" festival.

Future Is Here Festival

The Future Is Here Festival Considers Extraterrestrial Life and the Essence of Humanity

In the festival’s final day, speakers turn to the cosmos and our place within it

Researchers sort through finds recovered from trawling in the central section of the Amazon reef.

Shining Light on Brazil’s Secret Coral Reef

The massive, previously unstudied reef is unlike any other known on Earth

Groggy after a night in a strange place? A night watchman in your brain may be to blame.

You Can’t Sleep While Traveling Because Your Brain Acts Like a Dolphin’s

On the first night in a new place, half your brain stays awake to watch out for danger

Trending Today

Mass Bleaching Destroys Swaths of the Great Barrier Reef

Surveys show that 55 percent of reefs surveyed were severely affected by high water temperatures, with half of those expected to die

Workers in Sumatra process an oil palm harvest from the plantation on the left even as the remnants of the natural peat swamp forest in the distance are burned to make way for new plantations.

Journey to the Center of Earth

The Mad Dash to Figure Out the Fate of Peatlands

As the planet’s peat swamps come under threat, the destiny of their stored carbon remains a mystery

Some molecular motors in this “biocomputer” are made in the lab but copy those found in brains.

Can Proteins From Living Cells Solve Problems That Vex Supercomputers?

When nature knows best

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