Latest Biology Stories
Geologists are searching for when the Earth took its first breath
You can’t control your height, but 12,000 genetic variants probably do
Our long childhoods could be linked to food-gathering skills
Billions of years ago, Mars may have been bustling with climate-changing microbes
Watch what can happen when killer whales tangle with great white sharks
How researchers leveled up worm silk to be tougher than a spider’s
One secret to excellent memory in old age? Giant neurons.
The key to tastier beer might be mutant yeast—with notes of banana
This pterosaur ancestor was a tiny, flightless dog-like dinosaur
Here’s how life on Earth might have formed out of thin air and water
Below Madagascar, cave divers surface secrets of the past
Nobel Prize in medicine awarded to scientist who sequenced Neanderthal genome
Termites work through wood faster when it’s hotter out
2022 Ig Nobel Prize winners include ducks in a row, constipated scorpions, ice cream, and more
These fungi demand more pumpkin in their pumpkin spice lattes
Why you want to barf when you see something gross
How do you preserve a famous person’s body?
Can a bold new plan to stop mosquitoes catch on?
How the logic of ‘winter selection’ shaped centuries of bad science
First study of cancer-detecting blood test shows hopeful results
Why do we love watching people defy death?
The back-to-school guide for fighting common viruses
The slimy history of human beings and mucus
The untouched ‘wilderness’ of the Great Lakes is an illusion
Can invasive species ever be ‘good’?
You might have a doppelgänger who shares your DNA
Skull research sheds light on human-Neanderthal interbreeding
Biofluorescent snailfish brave Arctic waters with built-in antifreeze
Jumping spiders might be able to sleep—perchance to dream
Cushy feet supported sauropods’ gigantic bodies
Pigs died after heart attacks. Scientists brought their cells back to life.
Pandas weren’t always bamboo fiends
Great white shark sightings are up in the US, which is kind of good news
Ancient milk-drinkers were just fine with their lactose intolerance–until famine struck
A centuries-old horse tooth holds clues to the mystery of the Chincoteague ponies
Human eggs have a ‘standby battery mode’ that allows them to last decades
Tiktaalik’s ancient cousin decided life was better in the water
Do cats and dogs remember their past?
Mammals’ ears may hold the secret to warm-bloodedness
A swamp orgy went terribly wrong for these prehistoric frogs
Megalodons liked to snack on sperm whale snouts
When insects got wings, evolution really took off
Ancient wolf DNA is being used to sniff out where our love story with dogs began
Macro portraits reveal the glamor and peril of endangered insects
The mites that breed on our faces are getting clingier by the day
Could reptiles and amphibians hold the key to the fountain of youth?
We finally know why we grow wisdom teeth as adults
What an ancient jawbone reveals about polar bear evolution
From the archives: The discovery of DNA’s structure explained how life ‘knows’ what to do
Sex and gender binaries don’t tell the entire story of life
A viral descendent of the deadly 1918 flu is probably still going around
The biggest myth about dog breeds
Meteorites older than the solar system contain key ingredients for life
Crows and ravens flexed smarts and strength for world dominance
Shifting ancient climates shaped human evolution
An archerfish family tree is the best shot yet at the evolution of sniper fish
Dogs know exactly what they’re doing when they give you the ‘puppy eyes’
Songbirds near the equator really are hotter, color-wise
This South Pacific island could help us understand how fungi evolve
Meet the ancient owl that embraced daylight
How vampire bats evolved to get the most out of their bloody diets
Why ocean researchers want to create a global library of undersea sounds
Ancient sea creatures pioneered the gallop
Slap another cephalopod on the vampire squid’s family tree