Biology(Page 23)

A guide to life, on Earth and beyond, including the top news about plants, animals, and physiology.

Latest in Biology

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

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

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

Scientists are still straightening out the history of zebra stripes

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.

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

Hitting snooze confuses your brain more than waking up

Hitting snooze confuses your brain more than waking up

By Steven Bender/The Conversation

highveld mole rat droptail ant

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

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

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

Scientists caught chimps smashing tortoises like walnuts for future snacking

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

San Francisco sourdough

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

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

By Kaitlin Sullivan

Four-legged whales once straddled land and sea

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

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

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

By Eleanor Cummins

Human animal humanimal hand swan feeding

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

By Adam Rutherford

Clearwing butterfly toxin species photograph award winning

Megapixels: This butterfly’s wings are transparently toxic

By Eleanor Cummins

close-up of a zebra

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

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

By Eleanor Cummins

A macaroni penguin takes a little snooze on a rock.

Penguins may have islands to thank for their diverse looks

By Jessica Boddy

fluorescent flying squirrel

MEGAPIXELS: These flying squirrels fluoresce hot pink, and no one knows exactly why

squirrel in the snow

Do wild animals hate being cold in winter?

By Bridget B. Baker/The Conversation

Veoneer driving facial recognition mood

Artificial intelligence thinks your face is full of data. Could it actually unmask you?

By Eleanor Cummins

Face to face with the sloth

Sloths aren’t the picky eaters we thought they were

By Jan Hoole/The Conversation

iss view from atlantis space shuttle

Good news: space bacteria (probably) aren’t evolving to destroy us

holiday pregnancy test

Like other animals, humans have a breeding season—and it’s right now

By Micaela Martinez and Kevin M. Bakker/The Conversation

Finding opioid alternatives in cone snail stings

Finding opioid alternatives in cone snail stings

By Kyle Dickman

Too impatient to meditate? A mild shock to the scalp could help.

Too impatient to meditate? A mild shock to the scalp could help.

By Dana G. Smith

Ferrara Church Santa Maria de Vado

Every work of art has its own microbiome. Most could use a probiotic.

By Eleanor Cummins

gecko running water

It turns out geckos can run on water—and this adorable video shows how

By Sara Chodosh

Early humans hooked up with other species a whole bunch

Early humans hooked up with other species a whole bunch

By Neel V. Patel

Whoa, dinosaur eggs looked more dope than we thought

Whoa, dinosaur eggs looked more dope than we thought

By Jillian Mock

Behold the mighty elephant bird, blindly crashing through the Madagascan forest

Behold the mighty elephant bird, blindly crashing through the Madagascan forest

By Sara Chodosh

Did a gigantic bird really eat a Neanderthal child?

Did a gigantic bird really eat a Neanderthal child?

By Jillian Mock

The evolutionary mystery of goosebumps

The evolutionary mystery of goosebumps

By Elaina Hancock

Adult mouse with two mothers

Scientists just created healthy mice with same-sex parents

This year’s Nobel Prize in chemistry ‘rewards a revolution based on evolution’

This year’s Nobel Prize in chemistry ‘rewards a revolution based on evolution’

By Jillian Mock

Octopuses trip on ecstasy the same way we do

Octopuses trip on ecstasy the same way we do

By Charlie Wood

Humans are natural runners—and this ancient gene mutation might have helped

Humans are natural runners—and this ancient gene mutation might have helped

By Jillian Mock

Why do we think tiny things are cute?

Why do we think tiny things are cute?

By Dana G. Smith

Researchers found proof of Neanderthals reproducing with other species

Researchers found proof of Neanderthals reproducing with other species

By Neel V. Patel

“Survival of the laziest” may help some species avoid extinction

“Survival of the laziest” may help some species avoid extinction

By Luke Strotz/The Conversation

Wasps, oak trees, and a creepy vine are involved in a parasitic Florida love triangle

Wasps, oak trees, and a creepy vine are involved in a parasitic Florida love triangle

By Sara Chodosh

Reports of Homo erectus’ laziness are ‘moronic’

Reports of Homo erectus’ laziness are ‘moronic’

Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution owes more to his garden than the Galápagos

Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution owes more to his garden than the Galápagos

By Ben Garrod/The Conversation

three domesticated foxes

The genes that turn wild animals into pets

By Neel V. Patel

How jumping genes hijack their way into the next generation of babies

How jumping genes hijack their way into the next generation of babies

Hurricanes may have made these lizards better huggers

Hurricanes may have made these lizards better huggers

Dogs spread across the Americas alongside humans. Then they got eaten.

Dogs spread across the Americas alongside humans. Then they got eaten.

How whale corpses feed ocean floors

How whale corpses feed ocean floors

By Eleanor Cummins

Earth from space

Earth’s first animals probably triggered a change in climate

By Neel V. Patel

Descended testicles: DNA study drops new hints on secrets of low hanging glands

Descended testicles: DNA study drops new hints on secrets of low hanging glands

By Neil Adams/The Conversation

We’re really bad at making babies

We’re really bad at making babies

By Amy Schellenbaum

We haven’t been giving Neanderthals enough credit

We haven’t been giving Neanderthals enough credit

By Annemieke Milks/The Conversation

A Tyrannosaurus rex

Why it would have been impossible for a T. rex to stick out its tongue

corpse pose study group

Meet the yogis who hang out in cadaver labs

By Erin Blakemore

The genes of many marine creatures are patented—and one company owns half of them

The genes of many marine creatures are patented—and one company owns half of them

You are disgusting in so many ways. Scientists just outlined six of them.

You are disgusting in so many ways. Scientists just outlined six of them.

By Neel V. Patel

How modern-day dinosaurs survived the apocalypse

How modern-day dinosaurs survived the apocalypse

Octopuses are not aliens, but boy are they a bunch of beautiful weirdos

Octopuses are not aliens, but boy are they a bunch of beautiful weirdos

By Sara Chodosh

green blooded lizard

Green bones, green hearts, can’t lose: these lizards survive with toxic green blood

These animals spend their whole lives waiting to have sex, and then they die

By Sara Chodosh

a crocodile with a fin

This croco-dolphin has it all

By Neel V. Patel

If you grow a brain in a lab, will it have a mind of its own?

If you grow a brain in a lab, will it have a mind of its own?

By Sara Chodosh

A man raises his eyebrows

Humans may have a surprising evolutionary advantage: Expressive eyebrows

By Mary Beth Griggs