Latest Biology Stories
This timeline shows just how insignificant humans are
This photo confirms that your tongue is basically a microbe party
Rhinos pay a painful price for oxpecker protection
An ancient bit of yarn suggests Neanderthals were super crafty
Social distancing works—just ask lobsters, ants, and vampire bats
These spiky frog skulls look more like dinosaur fossils
Meet the highest mouse on Earth
Pablo Escobar’s invasive hippos could actually be good for the environment
Vampire bats know the true meaning of friendship—sharing slurps of blood
The narwhal’s giant unicorn horn might help them find mates
Lowly slime molds are helping us map out the cosmos
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How do we get our eye color?
Fish gave us legs—and four other finny facts
Watch tiny tadpoles breathe by ‘bubble sucking’
We might have started kissing to share chewed up food (and other delicious facts about smooching)
This ancient bony fish was a sexual pioneer
Meet the Azawakh, the latest breed to enter the Westminster Dog Show
Did humans truly domesticate dogs? Canine history is more of a mystery than you think.
Most humans don’t have tails. So why do we have the bones for it?
If monkeys could speak, they’d probably be trolls
See how birds change their tunes to fit their surroundings
These tiny living robots could help science eavesdrop on cellular gossip
For some African grey parrots, sharing is caring
DNA tests can’t tell you your race
The ‘granddaddy’ of all early hominins walked on Earth a lot longer than we thought
Monkey mouth sounds could push the evolution of speech back by 27 million years
Meteorite-eating microbes could help us look for alien life
These single-cell organisms don’t need brains to make up their minds
Why do some animals engage in same-sex sexual behavior? The better question is… why not?
In 1964, Popular Science answered ‘stupid’ questions about what you eat
Is it possible to eat so much that your stomach explodes?
A controversial new study claims Botswana may be the origin of modern humanity
We may finally know why we can’t regrow limbs like newts and toads do
An experiment hinted at Martian life in the ’70s. So why did we stop looking?
The weirdest things we learned this week: moving corpses, birth control placebos, and the story behind the hymen
The asteroid collision that changed life on Earth forever—without killing the dinosaurs
How some fish are adapted to thrive after catastrophic hurricanes
Panic might be triggered by signals from your bones
Motion sickness is proof that your body is functioning as evolution intended
Evolution doesn’t work the way you think it does
Some viruses can actually protect our health
This three-foot-tall parrot proves New Zealand is the mecca of giant weird birds
This ancient predator had claws like rakes and a body like a spaceship
The weirdest things we learned this week: Feminist butter sculptures and America’s first favorite pastime
Everything you need to know about shark bites
Gorillas can be cliquey, too. Here’s what that says about our own social lives.
The weirdest things we learned this week: virgin births, composted humans, and naked South Pole scientists
Natural selection can’t explain this bug’s bizarre horn
Scientists are still straightening out the history of zebra stripes
Scientists are putting antibiotics into the ocean—on purpose. And it’s our only hope.
Hitting snooze confuses your brain more than waking up
The naked mole rat’s furry cousin also feels no pain
Europeans looked down on Neanderthals—until they realized they shared their DNA
Ancient fungi may have laid the groundwork for complex life
Scientists caught chimps smashing tortoises like walnuts for future snacking
The secret to San Francisco’s famous sourdough: bug poop
This ancient sea creature had 45 tubular tentacles and will haunt your dreams
Four-legged whales once straddled land and sea
These Chinese fossil deposits shed light on an explosive period in evolution
Warblers live longer with a little child-rearing help from their friends
Rethinking what sets humans apart starts with asking if we’re special at all
Megapixels: This butterfly’s wings are transparently toxic
How a zebra’s stripes put bloodthirsty flies into a tailspin
Charles Darwin wrote enough one-liners to fill a burn book