Biology

Dec 6th, 2025 - Follow Earth on Google For more than 2,000 years, people have watched chameleon eyes swivel around and wondered how they pull it off without twisting their necks. Now high-resolution scans have finally revealed the secret: each eye is wired to the brain by a long, tightly coiled nerve that acts like extra cable hidden inside the skull. Those spiral cables let the eyes sweep across almost the whole surroundings while the head stays nearly still, a huge advantage for an animal that hunts from ... [Read More]

Dec 6th, 2025 - Follow Earth on Google Ant colonies run like living bodies. Queens produce offspring. Workers clean, feed, and defend. And brood develop quietly in the nursery. When disease slips in, the whole "superorganism" is at risk. New research shows just how far ants go to head off catastrophe: terminally infected pupae change their body scent to broadcast an unmistakable message – come find me, disinfect me, and, if necessary, end me. The result is swift triage that protects the colony's health, ... [Read More]

Dec 6th, 2025 - Follow Earth on Google During a tiger survey in a forest sanctuary in northern India, researchers accidentally photographed a different predator. Their cameras captured the first confirmed images of smooth-coated otters living in Nandhaur Wildlife Sanctuary . The discovery confirms that this vulnerable otter species is hiding in a busy landscape that people mostly associate with tigers. It also hints at a much richer river ecosystem flowing through the hills of Uttarakhand. India's ... [Read More]

Dec 6th, 2025 - Follow Earth on Google The idea of life continuing on Earth without humans is difficult to fathom. Though our species has only been here for a relatively short period of time, we've altered the planet in countless ways, leaving our " human fingerprint " across every inch of land and sea. Still, Earth's history shows that no species lasts forever. It can be sobering to consider a future without us, but it also sparks plenty of curiosity about what might follow in our absence. Human beings have ... [Read More]

Dec 5th, 2025 - Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. . I t's nearly impossible to see a tiger ( Panthera tigris ) outside of a zoo. Between habitat loss, prey declines, and poaching, the species has been extirpated from more than 90 percent of their original range—for example they're entirely gone from the forests of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Some tiger populations remain on the island of Sumatra, but assessing the status of this critically endangered subspecies of the big cat has been ... [Read More]

Dec 5th, 2025 - Wildlife enthusiasts and researchers alike continue to show keen interest in India's tiger population, which has been steadily monitored and protected over recent decades. Tigers are not only apex predators, but also indicators of the health of forest ecosystems, and their presence signals a well-balanced habitat. Certain tiger reserves in India have gained prominence due to higher sighting rates, making them focal points for conservation and tourism. According to the latest , some reserves ... [Read More]

Dec 5th, 2025 - Our new data-driven investigation reveals how "protected" UK waters are still being heavily trawled—and invites anyone to explore the evidence for themselves. Around the UK, hundreds of marine protected areas (MPAs) appear on maps as blue sanctuaries for ocean life. In theory, these sanctuaries should function like national parks for the sea, enabling marine life to recover from decades of human pressure. However, despite the label, many of these so-called MPAs remain open to damaging ... [Read More]

Dec 5th, 2025 - If your cherished memories include watching whales breach, spy-hop, and fluke off the coast of Massachusetts on Stellwagen Bank , have we got the island for you. The sheltered bays and sheer underwater drop-offs off the western shore of Dominica serve as feeding grounds for six different species of cetaceans. About 16 more species show up occasionally. The list includes humpbacks, pygmy sperm whales, melon head whales, false killer whales, short-fin, and pilot whales — and, drumroll ... [Read More]

Dec 5th, 2025 - Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. . W hen you listen to a jungle ape whooping through the canopy what do you hear? If it's a chimp who's responsible for the cacophony, it may trigger an ancient form of recognition, flickering below your conscious awareness. Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Such are the findings of a new study from researchers at the University of Geneva: They observed that chimp calls light up pockets of a special voice-sensitive region of the human ... [Read More]

Dec 5th, 2025 - More than 66 million years ago, different types of dinosaurs roamed the planet, each with varying diets and appetites. One of these majestic dinosaurs dabbled in warm, brackish pools and coastal plains, ripping soft, aqueous plants with its tough "dental batteries," as researchers describe in Science . And even though this species was not documented as well as other dinosaur species, when they vanished, the scattering of their bones marked trails of clues that constantly lead scientists to ... [Read More]

Dec 5th, 2025 - Reading time 3 minutes Around 120 million years ago, a bird swallowed over 800 tiny stones and choked to death as a result. Paleontologists aren't sure why. Like many recent fossil "discoveries," researchers with the Field Museum were browsing through a collection of old fossils when they noticed something that appeared to be an entirely new species. They found that it represented a new species of bird (and therefore dinosaur) and named it Chromeornis funkyi , or a "Funky Chromeo bird," in ... [Read More]

Dec 5th, 2025 - Recent genetic research has uncovered that ancient humans in southern Africa lived in near-total isolation for almost 100,000 years. This long period of separation led to the development of unique genetic traits that are strikingly different from those found in modern populations. The study, which sequenced genomes from 28 ancient individuals, demonstrates that early Homo sapiens exhibited extraordinary genetic diversity. These findings provide valuable insights into human evolution, showing ... [Read More]

Dec 5th, 2025 - Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. . I t might not sound too tasty to us, but some animals snack on hornets, stingers and all, including certain spiders, birds, and frogs. Hornet stings can trigger powerful pain, heart issues, and even death in some species, yet others seem to eat them up without issue. Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. It's unclear how such daring predators stomach these venomous victuals—they might endure the stings, or just manage to evade them ... [Read More]

Dec 4th, 2025 - It's quick and easy to access Live Science Plus, simply enter your email below. We'll send you a confirmation and sign you up for our daily newsletter, keeping you up to date with the latest science news. Scientists have discovered a record-breaking number of fossilized dinosaur footprints and swim tracks in a national park in central Bolivia. The tracksite sits along what was once an ancient coastline, with ripple marks extending alongside the footprints and other imprints in a ... [Read More]

Dec 4th, 2025 - On November 19, Ian Schosberg of the Center of Coastal Studies was conducting an aerial survey 25 miles east of Boston, when he noticed a whale gliding in the waters below him. The whale looked familiar. When he looked closer, a unique scarring pattern materializing on the right side of its head caught his attention. The mystery was solved when he conveyed the details of this mammal to the scientists of the New England Aquarium . Turns out, it was the same male right whale that had been spotted ... [Read More]

Dec 4th, 2025 - Pterosaurs acquired flight 'in a burst at their origin,' giving scientists new insights into the biological laws of flight In a study of fossils, a research team led by evolutionary biologist and Johns Hopkins Medicine assistant professor Matteo Fabbri suggests that a group of giant reptiles alive up to 220 million years ago may have acquired the ability to fly when the animal first appeared, in contrast to prehistoric ancestors of modern birds that developed flight more gradually and with a ... [Read More]