Biology

Apr 28th, 2025 - Among the animal kingdom's many mysteries, few are as fascinating as bonobos' social lives. Often called the "hippies" of the primate world, bonobos have long intrigued scientists with their peaceful societies and strong female alliances. Unlike their more aggressive chimpanzee cousins, bonobos embrace cooperation over conflict. Yet, a deeper puzzle hides within their gentle reputation. Female bonobos dominate social structures, even though males are physically larger and stronger. This unusual ... [Read More]

Apr 28th, 2025 - Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. . science and culture for people who love beautiful writing. H ow do animals understand death? That is the question animating this story, which convention dictates I start with an anecdote. But which one? While working on the story a friend told me how his dog saw his closest canine friend run over; the dog becomes disconsolate and agitated whenever they pass the street where it happened. My algorithms surfaced a story about a grief-stricken widower ... [Read More]

Apr 28th, 2025 - A small bone found 30 years ago at Dinosaur Cove in southeastern Australia could turn what we know about the evolution of echidnas and platypuses on its head. Up until now, the accepted understanding about these egg-laying monotremes—arguably the most unusual mammals on the planet—was that they were both descended from a land-bound ancestor. And while the platypus ancestors became semiaquatic, the echidnas stayed on the land, or so the story went. But following a UNSW-led analysis ... [Read More]

Apr 28th, 2025 - Researchers have identified two new crocodile species living on isolated islands in the Caribbean — and they're both threatened with extinction, a new study has found. The reptiles, previously thought to be American crocodiles ( Crocodylus acutus ), separately inhabit the island of Cozumel and the atoll of Banco Chinchorro off Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. Both populations have around 500 individuals. Scientists identified the as-of-yet unnamed species while studying the genetics of ... [Read More]

Apr 28th, 2025 - A new study, appearing in Nature Genetics and led by researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST, Saudi Arabia) and Wageningen University & Research (the Netherlands), provides new insights into rice evolution, showing how the DNA of this valuable crop has changed across species. The findings are expected to not only help with improving rice yields but also with the introduction of rice into regions where rice production is currently untenable. Rice is one of the ... [Read More]

Apr 28th, 2025 - Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. . science and culture for people who love beautiful writing. Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. As a child, I was, like many people, mesmerized by the astounding physical metrics of snakes—the longest snake (reticulated python), the heaviest (anaconda), how large a meal they could consume in one gulp (up to 1.6 times their body weight in the case of pythons), the longest fangs, the most lethal venom. These superlatives have been ... [Read More]

Apr 27th, 2025 - Giant prehistoric kangaroos perished when "climate upheaval" turned lush Australian rainforest into desert, scientists said Thursday after studying ancient fossils with new techniques. Weighing as much as 170 kilograms (375 pounds)—almost twice as hefty as the chunkiest living kangaroos—the extinct "Protemnodon" bounded across Australia as many as five million years ago. Researchers were able to recreate the foraging habits of one population by matching long-lived chemicals from ... [Read More]

Apr 27th, 2025 - Surprising new evidence challenges longstanding ideas about evolution Venomous wide-bodied rattlesnakes on several serpent-infested Mexican islands have provided biologists from Florida with surprising new evidence about the evolution of animals. A team from the University of South Florida joined scientists from Mexico on three separate camping expeditions to 11 uninhabited islands in the Gulf of California, a region known as the world's biggest rattlesnake nest . Upon capturing dozens of the ... [Read More]

Apr 26th, 2025 - SATURDAY, April 26, 2025 (HealthDay News) — From beetles to moths, leafhoppers and butterflies, the world's insects are vanishing at a breakneck pace. Since 2017, when European researchers that insect populations had declined 75% in fewer than 30 years, scientists have churned out study after study trying to parse out exactly why. To get a handle on all those studies, a team from Binghamton University in upstate New York has published one more. It's a comprehensive analysis of more than ... [Read More]

Apr 26th, 2025 - There's quiet optimism that gene-edited 'Peter Pan' tadpoles could help control one of the world's worst invasive species T he toad's eyes seemed to glow red, its warty and poison-soaked skin – normally splodged in browns – instead a porridge of creamy whites. This albino toad was produced by a team of scientists with one foot in a Sydney university laboratory and the other in a research station on the vast tropical savannahs and wetlands far away to the north near Humpty Doo. It ... [Read More]

Apr 26th, 2025 - Editor's note: A version of this story appeared in CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here . Legends of young heroes fighting lions to the death appear in Roman records and artwork, but scant physical evidence of these beastly battles exists. Perhaps, that is, until now. A new study sheds light on the story of a young man, likely between the ages of 26 and 35, discovered with a fatal bite mark from a large animal. His remains were buried between ... [Read More]

Apr 25th, 2025 - It's cicada season again. Any time now, these flying insects will emerge from the ground and make an absolute ruckus as they look for mates before disappearing again.  The noise from cicadas can be as loud as a motorcycle or a chainsaw in some cases. Investing in a good pair of noise-cancelling headphones is one way to get ready for the insect invasion.  I still remember the first year I saw a major cicada brood emerge. As a teenager, I watched as the swarm descended on my ... [Read More]

Apr 25th, 2025 - Male blue-lined octopuses paralyze their mates to survive the perils of reproduction. It's not uncommon for sex in nature to include a bit of violence. But in the shadowy tide pools and coral reefs of the Pacific, an extraordinary mating duel is unfolding. The blue-lined octopus ( Hapalochlaena fasciata ), a tiny but deadly cephalopod, has developed a unique and ruthless solution to a longstanding problem: surviving mating. A Deadly Embrace Sexual cannibalism is common in cephalopods. Female ... [Read More]

Apr 25th, 2025 - Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more . About 50 million years ago, a small bird waded along a lakeshore in what today is central Oregon. A worm wriggled at its feet. The bird appeared to probe the silty earth with its beak, once, twice, three times, looking for food. On the fourth try, the bird may have found something. Or perhaps it missed again and moved on. This glimpse into prehistory ... [Read More]

Apr 25th, 2025 - The creation of three "dire wolf" pups has raised hopes that it may be possible to resurrect extinct animals. But some scientists have grave concerns. When news broke that Colossal Biosciences, a Dallas-based biotechnology company, had resurrected three extinct dire wolves , the internet reacted with awe. It is a species that last roamed the earth some 13,000 years ago, but has found recent fame thanks to Game of Thrones, which features fictional dire wolves. The story was stoked further when a ... [Read More]

Apr 25th, 2025 - If an experiment is repeated under similar conditions, the results should be the same. In reality, the situation is often different—scientists speak of a "reproducibility crisis," which affects different disciplines. A recent study by an 11-member research team from the Universities of Münster, Bielefeld and Jena has provided evidence that some results of behavioral experiments with insects cannot be fully reproduced. Nevertheless, at least half of the findings in the various ... [Read More]