Biology(Page 3)

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

Latest in Biology

three narwhals with long tusks swim in the arctic ocean
Environment

Narwhals spotted using tusks for non-mating fun

By Laura Baisas

Close up of hands preparing pill capsules in lab
Health

‘Poop pills’ tested in pancreatic cancer patients

By Andrew Paul

A polar bear mom and cub on sea ice, off the coast of Svalbard, Norway.
Environment

See the first moments when 3 polar bear cubs emerge from their den

By Laura Baisas

a raccoon looking at a camera
Environment

Morning lark or night owl? Prevailing ideas of mammal activity are outdated

By Lauren Leffer

a newly discovered species of plant. it has fuzzy white wool on its green leaves, a yellow center, and two small red flowers
Science

New species of fuzzy sunflower found by national park volunteer

By Laura Baisas

a dead fish being dragged on artificial turf
Environment

Dragging dead fish around reveals super power of mucus

By Ethan Freedman

Red tomatoes with googly eyes on yellow background
Health

Scientists finally figured out why tomatoes don’t kill you

By Andrew Paul

a large bird with a long neck and black plumage called an emu walking around in nature
Environment

Emus might not be the ‘world’s dumbest bird’ after all

By Laura Baisas

an illustration of two orchids and their root systems. one is growing near decomposing wood and fungi and has more flowers. the other is still growing, but does not have as many flowers
Science

Parasitic orchids ditch photosynthesis for fungi

By Laura Baisas

Young woman yawning, close up
Science

Why do some people need less sleep?

By Clarissa Brincat

a close up of a diver wearing a mask and a fish swimming towards him
Environment

Wild fish can recognize human divers

By Laura Baisas

an illustration of an extinct big cat about the size of a leopard. it is brown with sharp teeth
Environment

Skull of a 30-million-year-old apex predator discovered in Egypt

By Laura Baisas

africa and the middle east seen from space
Science

New theory ups the odds that intelligent aliens exist

By Lauren Leffer

a cuttlefish swimming in the ocean
Environment

Cuttlefish ink can help keep sharks away from humans

By Laura Baisas

a seal with grey coloring wearing an orange heart rate monitor around its abdomen
Environment

Baby seals are wearing heart monitors–for science

By Laura Baisas

one jaw fossil and six vertebrae fossils lined up
Environment

500,000 years ago, a bunch of animals fell into a Florida sink hole

By Laura Baisas

a turtle peeks its head out of the water
Environment

These sea turtles ‘dance’ when magnetic fields lead them to a snack

By Laura Baisas

A blow fly larva disguised as a termite, antennae and all.
Environment

Rare fly species wears fake termite head to infiltrate nests

By Laura Baisas

a long python snake coiled in the grass with its head poking up
Environment

Hunting for Burmese pythons is best done in the dark

By Laura Baisas

a close up of a brightly colored mantis shrimp. they have two buldging eyes and greenish-yellow side appendages that they use to punch
Environment

How mantis shrimp protect their powerful ‘fists’ of fury

By Laura Baisas

a black and white dog called a border collie sniffs around green grass
Environment

Border collies out-sniff some hunting dogs in scientific smell competition

By Laura Baisas

a tiny green frog looking up from water
Environment

Frogs rescued from a deadly fungus welcome 33 froglets

By Laura Baisas

a close up of a human ear
Science

Most humans haven’t moved these muscles in 25 million years

By Laura Baisas

a woman reaches to scratch a red rash on her upper back
Health

Why scratching a rash really does make it worse

By Laura Baisas

a spider with a large white fungus covering its head
Environment

Fungus-infected zombie spiders discovered in Northern Ireland

By Laura Baisas

A polar bear still hunting on the sea ice of Hudson Bay, Manitoba, Canada.
Environment

How do polar bears keep ice off their fur? Grease.

By Laura Baisas

the side profile of a penguin as it swims
Environment

Finally, scientists get a penguin’s-eye-view of the world

By Laura Baisas

a baby swell shark swimming in a tank
Environment

Aquarium surprised by shark born in a tank without males

By Laura Baisas

Tiny pieces of plastic were found lodged in blood vessels in the brains of mice.
Health

Microplastics look like a ‘car crash’ in mice brains

By Andrew Paul

Visitors seen taking photos of the Corpse Flower's blossom at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. One of the biggest and smelliest flowers in the world blooms at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney in Australia on January 23, 2025. It last bloomed in Sydney in 2010.
Environment

5 facts about corpse flowers that don’t stink

By Laura Baisas

a scientist holds a large rescued sea turtle in a lab
Environment

Dozens of cold-stunned turtles rescued in Florida

By Laura Baisas

Close up of baboon face
Environment

Alpha male baboons’ obsession with females stresses them out

By Andrew Paul

the stone remains of a castle, revealing an archway, wall, and a tower
Science

In a global crisis, working harder isn’t the best solution

By Laura Baisas

a scientist in a lab pierces the inside of an oyster to extract blood
Health

Oyster blood could fight superbugs

By Laura Baisas

a close up of a dog's nose
Environment

Dogs sniff out two new species of truffle

By Laura Baisas

Three chimpanzees in an enclosure at the Kumamoto Sanctuary holding leafy branches.
Environment

Peeing is contagious for chimpanzees

By Laura Baisas

Two little blue penguins at a nest in Timaru, New Zealand.
Environment

When penguins divorce, the whole colony is impacted

By Laura Baisas

The great green bush-cricket.
Environment

Parasitic crickets have a few moves to outsmart ants

By Laura Baisas

cobra snake closeup
Technology

Scientists use AI to create completely new anti-venom proteins

By Lauren Leffer

Two feral dogs walking near abandoned Ferris wheel in Chernobyl
Science

Chernobyl’s feral dogs are genetically unique, but not mutated

By Andrew Paul

a close up of an isopod with antenne and a segmented body
Environment

New foot-long crustacean named after Darth Vader

By Laura Baisas

a blue lobster-looking animal called a crayfish. it has long claws, antennae, and a segmented body
Environment

New colorful species of crayfish discovered in aquarium shipment

By Laura Baisas

a small bird sits in a tree with its beak open wide
Environment

Why do birds make so many different sounds? 100,000 audio recordings offer clues.

By Laura Baisas

a green glow of bioluminescence from a mushroom
Environment

Artists find a green, glowing mushroom in a Swiss forest

By Laura Baisas

Three red ants interacting with one another
Science

Even ants may hold grudges

By Andrew Paul

a small brown fish swimming in a tank
Environment

These fish can mate 19 times per day

By Laura Baisas

a long whale shark with gray spots swims in the ocean
Environment

Whale shark pre-mating ritual observed for the first time

By Laura Baisas

a bird with white and black plummage and an egg on a nest and three other birds standing around her
Environment

Which animals reproduce at the oldest age?

By Laura Baisas

a woman nuzzles a dog
Science

Meet the former musher investigating sled dog genetics

By Laura Baisas

a dark brown moray eel
Environment

New ‘Hades’ moray eel discovered by accident

By Laura Baisas

An adult female chimpanzee cracks an oil palm nut with a stone hammer and anvil while her infant son looks at the camera.
Environment

Some chimpanzees are great nutcrackers

By Laura Baisas

a svalbard reindeer with antlers standing on muddy terrain
Environment

Shorter, fatter, and hairier: 5 fun facts about the world’s smallest reindeer

By Laura Baisas

a strange fish with a blob on its head sits on a rock
Environment

27 new, exciting, and blobby species discovered in the Peruvian rainforest

By Laura Baisas

A Sombrero ground lizard (Pholidoscelis corvinus) photographed on Sombrero Island in June 2021. This species is endemic to the Carribbean island.
Environment

Population of nearly extinct lizard grows 16X in only six years

By Laura Baisas

An Andean bear at the nature reserve Bioparque Wakata, in Briceno municipality near Bogota, Colombia, on June 21, 2023.
Environment

Shy ‘Paddington’ bears need more plants to survive

By Laura Baisas

a squirrel sits eating a vole, pulling its meat with its teeth
Environment

‘Shocking:’ These squirrels are hunting and eating other rodents

By Laura Baisas

a turtle swims in a tank wearing a black weighted harness on its side
Science

Sea turtle with ‘bubble butt syndrome’ gets a 3D-printed custom harness

By Laura Baisas

A reconstruction of the oldest known gorgonopsian in life.
Environment

This dog-like predator is the oldest known mammal ancestor

By Laura Baisas

a small blue-colored penguin called a little penguin swims in the ocean
Environment

Turtles and penguins have a swimming sweet spot that reduces drag

By Laura Baisas

Striated frogfish (Antennarius striatus), also known as the hairy frogfish.
Science

Anglerfish use ‘extremely rare’ mechanism to control their lures

By Andrew Paul

red brain neurons
Health

Why is deep sleep so important to memory? It’s about time.

By Laura Baisas

A juvenile Nile crocodile. It is small with pointed teeth
Environment

Why are crocodiles so bumpy? A dermatological mystery has been solved

By Laura Baisas

a new shrimp-like crustacean. it is white with two protruding tusk-like appendages at its head, at least 8 legs, and two tail-like appendages at the back
Environment

New predator uncovered 25,000+ feet under the Pacific

By Laura Baisas

a microscopic zooplankton
Environment

Microscopic ‘eating and pooping machines’ are great at sucking up carbon

By Laura Baisas