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Latest in Biology

Pale blue blip
Biology

This timeline shows just how insignificant humans are

By Nicole Wetsman

bacteria on our tongues
Biology

This photo confirms that your tongue is basically a microbe party

By Claire Maldarelli

Rhinos with oxpeckers on their back.
Animals

Rhinos pay a painful price for oxpecker protection

By Sara Kiley Watson

Close-up of modern flax cordage showing twisted fibre construction
Biology

An ancient bit of yarn suggests Neanderthals were super crafty

By Sara Kiley Watson

A mandrill baboon in a zoo
Animals

Social distancing works—just ask lobsters, ants, and vampire bats

By Hawley & Buck/The Conversation

Anotheca spinosa skull
Animals

These spiky frog skulls look more like dinosaur fossils

By Sara Kiley Watson

Yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse.
Animals

Meet the highest mouse on Earth

By Sara Kiley Watson

Hippo in water
Animals

Pablo Escobar’s invasive hippos could actually be good for the environment

By Sara Kiley Watson

Vampire bat
Animals

Vampire bats know the true meaning of friendship—sharing slurps of blood

By Sara Kiley Watson

Blessing of narwhals
Animals

The narwhal’s giant unicorn horn might help them find mates

By Sara Kiley Watson

A webby, pink-and-orange mock-up of what the universe might look like.
Biology

Lowly slime molds are helping us map out the cosmos

By

A brown-eyed individual holding a mug
Ask Us Anything

How do we get our eye color?

By Jordan Blok

A bioluminescent ponyfish with a light-generating organ in its esophagus.
Animals

Fish gave us legs—and four other finny facts

By Molly Glick

A tadpole of a gray tree frog sucks in a bubble full of oxygen.
Animals

Watch tiny tadpoles breathe by ‘bubble sucking’

By Purbita Saha

young women kissing
Biology

We might have started kissing to share chewed up food (and other delicious facts about smooching)

By Erin Blakemore

two fish side by side with one poking a bone into the other, but in a sexy way
Animals

This ancient bony fish was a sexual pioneer

By Rachel Feltman

Azawakh dog in the forest.
Animals

Meet the Azawakh, the latest breed to enter the Westminster Dog Show

By Sara Kiley Watson

White dog on blue background
Animals

Did humans truly domesticate dogs? Canine history is more of a mystery than you think.

By Kat McGowan

A graceful orange cat with a long tail walking on green grass
Biology

Most humans don’t have tails. So why do we have the bones for it?

By Molly Glick

Natalie Andrewson illustration
Animals

If monkeys could speak, they’d probably be trolls

By Jessica Boddy

How birds got their groove
Animals

See how birds change their tunes to fit their surroundings

By Marion Renault

a tiny organism with four nubbin legs
AI

These tiny living robots could help science eavesdrop on cellular gossip

By Kat Eschner

African grey parrot.
Animals

For some African grey parrots, sharing is caring

By Sara Kiley Watson

A Spanish-American family photographed in New Mexico in 1940.
Biology

DNA tests can’t tell you your race

By Jack Herrera

Homo erectus skull
Biology

The ‘granddaddy’ of all early hominins walked on Earth a lot longer than we thought

By Sara Kiley Watson

Baboon making sounds
Animals

Monkey mouth sounds could push the evolution of speech back by 27 million years

By Thomas R. Sawallis & Louis-Jean Boë/The Conversation

a meteorite in space
Biology

Meteorite-eating microbes could help us look for alien life

By Charlie Wood

Stentor roeselii cells
Biology

These single-cell organisms don’t need brains to make up their minds

By Sara Kiley Watson

Why do some animals engage in same-sex sexual behavior? The better question is… why not?
Animals

Why do some animals engage in same-sex sexual behavior? The better question is… why not?

By Grace Wade

In 1964, Popular Science answered ‘stupid’ questions about what you eat
Biology

In 1964, Popular Science answered ‘stupid’ questions about what you eat

By Popular Science, November 1964, by James Berry

A stomach full of food, a balloon
Biology

Is it possible to eat so much that your stomach explodes?

By Tom McNamara

A controversial new study claims Botswana may be the origin of modern humanity
Archaeology

A controversial new study claims Botswana may be the origin of modern humanity

By Kat Eschner

We may finally know why we can’t regrow limbs like newts and toads do
Biology

We may finally know why we can’t regrow limbs like newts and toads do

By Kat Eschner

An experiment hinted at Martian life in the ’70s. So why did we stop looking?
Biology

An experiment hinted at Martian life in the ’70s. So why did we stop looking?

By Charlie Wood

The weirdest things we learned this week: moving corpses, birth control placebos, and the story behind the hymen
Biology

The weirdest things we learned this week: moving corpses, birth control placebos, and the story behind the hymen

By Popular Science Team

The asteroid collision that changed life on Earth forever—without killing the dinosaurs
Biology

The asteroid collision that changed life on Earth forever—without killing the dinosaurs

By Birger Schmitz/The Conversation

How some fish are adapted to thrive after catastrophic hurricanes
Animals

How some fish are adapted to thrive after catastrophic hurricanes

By Thomas J. Kwak and Alonso Ramirez/The Conversation

Panic might be triggered by signals from your bones
Biology

Panic might be triggered by signals from your bones

By Kat Eschner

Motion sickness is proof that your body is functioning as evolution intended
Biology

Motion sickness is proof that your body is functioning as evolution intended

By Spencer Salter/The Conversation

Evolution doesn’t work the way you think it does
Biology

Evolution doesn’t work the way you think it does

By Quentin Wheeler, Antonio G. Valdecasas & Cristina Cánovas/The Conversation

Some viruses can actually protect our health
Biology

Some viruses can actually protect our health

By Cynthia Mathew/The Conversation

This three-foot-tall parrot proves New Zealand is the mecca of giant weird birds
Animals

This three-foot-tall parrot proves New Zealand is the mecca of giant weird birds

By Sara Chodosh

This ancient predator had claws like rakes and a body like a spaceship
Animals

This ancient predator had claws like rakes and a body like a spaceship

By Kat Eschner

The weirdest things we learned this week: Feminist butter sculptures and America’s first favorite pastime
Biology

The weirdest things we learned this week: Feminist butter sculptures and America’s first favorite pastime

By Popular Science Team

Everything you need to know about shark bites
Animals

Everything you need to know about shark bites

By Gavin Naylor/The Conversation

Gorillas can be cliquey, too. Here’s what that says about our own social lives.
Animals

Gorillas can be cliquey, too. Here’s what that says about our own social lives.

By Marion Renault

The weirdest things we learned this week: virgin births, composted humans, and naked South Pole scientists
Biology

The weirdest things we learned this week: virgin births, composted humans, and naked South Pole scientists

By Popular Science Team

Natural selection can’t explain this bug’s bizarre horn
Animals

Natural selection can’t explain this bug’s bizarre horn

By Daniel Milo

Scientists are still straightening out the history of zebra stripes
Animals

Scientists are still straightening out the history of zebra stripes

By Donavyn Coffey

Scientists are putting antibiotics into the ocean—on purpose. And it’s our only hope.
Animals

Scientists are putting antibiotics into the ocean—on purpose. And it’s our only hope.

By Amelia Urry

Hitting snooze confuses your brain more than waking up
Biology

Hitting snooze confuses your brain more than waking up

By Steven Bender/The Conversation

highveld mole rat droptail ant
Animals

The naked mole rat’s furry cousin also feels no pain

By Sara Chodosh

Europeans looked down on Neanderthals—until they realized they shared their DNA
Biology

Europeans looked down on Neanderthals—until they realized they shared their DNA

By Angela Saini

Ancient fungi may have laid the groundwork for complex life
Biology

Ancient fungi may have laid the groundwork for complex life

By Katie Field/The Conversation

Scientists caught chimps smashing tortoises like walnuts for future snacking
Animals

Scientists caught chimps smashing tortoises like walnuts for future snacking

By Lydia Luncz, Alexander Piel, and Fiona Stewart/The Conversation

San Francisco sourdough
Biology

The secret to San Francisco’s famous sourdough: bug poop

By Charlotte Druckman

This ancient sea creature had 45 tubular tentacles and will haunt your dreams
Animals

This ancient sea creature had 45 tubular tentacles and will haunt your dreams

By Kaitlin Sullivan

Four-legged whales once straddled land and sea
Animals

Four-legged whales once straddled land and sea

By Jan Hoole/The Conversation

These Chinese fossil deposits shed light on an explosive period in evolution
Archaeology

These Chinese fossil deposits shed light on an explosive period in evolution

By Jan Zalasiewicz and Mark Williams/The Conversation

Warblers live longer with a little child-rearing help from their friends
Animals

Warblers live longer with a little child-rearing help from their friends

By Eleanor Cummins

Human animal humanimal hand swan feeding
Animals

Rethinking what sets humans apart starts with asking if we’re special at all

By Adam Rutherford

Clearwing butterfly toxin species photograph award winning
Animals

Megapixels: This butterfly’s wings are transparently toxic

By Eleanor Cummins

close-up of a zebra
Animals

How a zebra’s stripes put bloodthirsty flies into a tailspin

By Jessica Boddy

Charles Darwin wrote enough one-liners to fill a burn book
Biology

Charles Darwin wrote enough one-liners to fill a burn book

By Eleanor Cummins

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