Biology

Jan 27th, 2026 - A dolphin zooming on its tail is not an everyday event. In footage shared by Monterey Bay Whale Watch on  Instagram , an excited dolphin is seen moving across the ocean. However, instead of using its fins, it uses its tail to glide through the water.  Dolphins are known to be graceful movers who can be impressively acrobatic and coordinated with their peers. This recent event was yet another example of their creative way of expression. "The Blackfin we saw this Northern Right Whale ... [Read More]

Jan 27th, 2026 - 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. Sharktober is real in Hawaii — and it's down to the reproductive pattern of predatory tiger sharks, an analysis of 30 years of data reveals. Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter ... [Read More]

Jan 26th, 2026 - What were the first animals? The fierce sponge–jelly battle that just won't end For almost two decades, scientists have debated whether sponges or comb jellies are the first animal lineage. Now some are calling for a more harmonious approach. Which animals came first? For more than a century, most evidence suggested that sponges, immobile filter-feeders that lack muscles, neurons and other specialized tissues, were the first animal lineages to emerge. Then, in 2008, a genomic study ... [Read More]

Jan 26th, 2026 - Ever wondered why you won't find kangaroos outside Australia? It all started with massive climate change millions of years ago. In the 19th century, Alfred Russel Wallace (famous for coming up with his own theory of evolution by natural selection, independent of Charles Darwin) was wandering through the Malay Archipelago with a butterfly net and a notebook, documenting what would become one of biology's most surreal puzzles. On the island of Bali, he saw familiar animals common in Asia: ... [Read More]

Jan 26th, 2026 - The ocean is under increasing pressure. Everyday human activities, from shipping to oil and gas exploration to urban pollution, are affecting the marine environment. Extensive research shows how this combination of stressors represents one of the greatest threats to marine wildlife, potentially affecting biodiversity on a global scale . To protect the ocean, one of the primary tools we have is marine protected areas . But are they truly protecting species in the most critical locations? In an ... [Read More]

Jan 26th, 2026 - The deep ocean is in trouble. When a whale dies and sinks, it's not a tragedy for the ocean — it's a miracle. These "whale falls" become organic skyscrapers, sparking a frantic gold rush in the deep sea. Typically, a clean-up crew of bone-eating "zombie" worms and wood-boring clams arrives within months to dismantle the remains. But recently, the customers have gone missing. Scientists led by Craig R. Smith and Fabio C. De Leo, recently utilized the high-tech eyes of the NEPTUNE cabled ... [Read More]

Jan 25th, 2026 - Swingers and long-game players: The wild sex lives of beluga whales For the first time, we know more than we ever expected to know about the sex lives of the majestic beluga whale. It's complicated, to say the least, but it also shows just how strategic nature is at keeping an isolated group of animals alive. Research led by the Florida Atlantic University's (FAU) Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute have, for the first time, discovered how wild beluga whales mate – and it's a picture of ... [Read More]

Jan 25th, 2026 - Frontiers in Marine Science Researchers studying this small, long-isolated group of about 2,000 belugas expected to find low genetic diversity. There are so few of them, and they collectively had such infrequent contact with outside groups, that there was no doubt in anyone's mind that there was going to be strong evidence of inbreeding. Instead, they found a surprisingly high level of genetic diversity. The authors of the study say that this small group of isolated whales pulled off this ... [Read More]

Jan 23rd, 2026 - Many species of fungus across the world produce psilocybin, a chemical with psychedelic effects in humans, but its evolutionary purpose may be to deter mushroom-munching insects Magic mushrooms have been giving humans mind-altering experiences for thousands of years, but the real reason fungi evolved these hallucinogenic chemicals may have been as a bioweapon against insects that feed on them. Psilocybin is the active ingredient in numerous species of magic mushrooms, which are found on every ... [Read More]

Jan 23rd, 2026 - Millions of years of isolation have shaped Australia's extraordinary mammal fauna into species unlike anywhere else in the world, from platypus to koalas and wombats. Tragically, Australia is the world leader in mammal extinctions. About 40 species have gone extinct in the 238 years since European colonisation began, and nearly 80 species are now imperilled. It's essential we understand what factors caused these extinctions and ongoing decline. Over many years, scientists have gathered ... [Read More]

Jan 23rd, 2026 - An "epigenetic" adaptation could prevent large numbers of loggerhead turtles from hatching as female due to climate change – a threat that was feared to lead to population collapse Sea turtles may be better able to cope with climate change than we had thought. Biologists are concerned that the reptiles might face extinction because warmer conditions will encourage most turtle eggs to develop into females. But it turns out the animals have a genetic safety net that could help them retain a ... [Read More]

Jan 23rd, 2026 - Some animal societies are ruled by despots with an iron fist, while others seem naturally egalitarian – and they all have lessons for us. The 20th Century had no shortage of despots. Ruthless leaders who crushed their opponents and brutalised anyone who dared step out of line. Authoritarians like Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Idi Amin – and Bill the house mouse. In the early 1950s, Peter Crowcroft, an ecologist and expert in mice, was on a former World War Two bomber training airbase ... [Read More]

Jan 23rd, 2026 - Watching dolphins play can evoke wonder and admiration. While these delightful bonds may seem fleeting, a subset of dolphins form complex alliances based on strong, lifelong friendships. And these bonds may slow aging, a recent study suggests. To explore that association, researchers drew on more than four decades of behavioral observations of a well-studied group of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay, Australia. The new research showed that social relationships influenced the pace ... [Read More]

Jan 22nd, 2026 - Follow Earth on Google Wild dolphins are putting sea sponges over their snouts to hunt along the seafloor, and the tool changes what they can sense. That choice matters because it shows how animal traditions survive only when brains can adapt to the hidden costs. Dolphins hunting with sponges In Shark Bay, Western Australia, some bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops aduncus , have been filmed grabbing marine sponges and covering their beaks. The work was led by Ellen Rose Jacobs, Ph.D., at Aarhus ... [Read More]

Jan 22nd, 2026 - A newly revealed "aging cliff" in sperm RNA marks a conserved molecular transition from youth to later life, offering fresh insight into how a father's age may influence the earliest stages of development. Study: Conserved shifts in sperm small non-coding RNA profiles during mouse and human aging A recent study in The EMBO Journal used a previously developed method, PANDORA-seq, to profile small non-coding RNAs ( sncRNAs ) in mouse and human spermatozoa across the lifespan, uncovering ... [Read More]

Jan 22nd, 2026 - Blind, slow and 500 years old – or are they? How scientists are unravelling the secrets of Greenland sharks Described by one researcher as looking 'already dead', the enigmatic creatures are one of the least understood species on the planet I t looks more like a worn sock than a fearsome predator. It moves slower than an escalator. By most accounts, it is a clumsy and near-sightless relic drifting in the twilight waters of the Arctic , lazily searching for food scraps. But the Greenland ... [Read More]