Biology

Jan 20th, 2026 - Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. . I n their watery ocean worlds, fish have some weird features that are used to do some odd things, which we rarely witness. In "studying how strange fish do strange fish things," biologist Daniel Geldof, while a master's student at Louisiana State University, decided to investigate the rockhead poacher ( Bothragonus swanii ), known for the big cavity in its skull. In his master's thesis , Geldof described the unique anatomy of this cranial pit that ... [Read More]

Jan 20th, 2026 - Changing temperatures may be behind change in behaviour, which experts fear threatens three species' survival Penguins in Antarctica have radically shifted their breeding season, apparently as a response to climate change, research has found. Dramatic shifts in behaviour were revealed by a decade-long study led by Penguin Watch at the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University, with some penguins' breeding period moving forward by more than three weeks. The changes threaten to disrupt ... [Read More]

Jan 20th, 2026 - Follow Earth on Google Same-sex sexual behavior shows up across many primate species, and a new large comparison suggests it is not random. It appears more often in species facing tougher living conditions, heavier predation pressure, or more intense social lives. The findings point to a behavior that may help animals navigate stress, conflict, and relationships, rather than something rare or biologically pointless. The new analysis brought together evidence from hundreds of non-human primate ... [Read More]

Jan 20th, 2026 - Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. . W e hear a lot these days about aging human populations. Projections show the number of Americans 65 years old or older increasing by a whopping 42 percent from 2022 to 2050, according to United States Census Bureau stats . And, based on this graphic , many other countries rank even more top-heavy in elderly people, thanks to healthcare advances that promote longevity, coupled with declining reproduction rates. Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free ... [Read More]

Jan 20th, 2026 - Sharks are the most feared predators in the sea, and their survival hinges on fearsome teeth that regrow throughout their lives. But changes in the ocean's chemistry could put those weapons at risk. That is the takeaway from a study performed by a group of German scientists who tested the effects of a more acidic ocean on sharks' teeth. Scientists have linked human activities including the burning of coal, oil and gas to the ongoing acidification of the ocean. As oceans become increasingly ... [Read More]

Jan 20th, 2026 - Hidden RNA signals in sperm reveal an "aging cliff" that could impact offspring health. The so-called ticking biological clock has been framed largely as a concern for women. We talk about egg freezing, ovarian reserve, and the ticking timeline of maternal fertility. Meanwhile, the male timeline has often been treated as a flat line — men, the story goes, can father children well into their twilight years with little consequence. Is it that simple, though? For one, we know that children ... [Read More]

Jan 19th, 2026 - By Of all the friendly creatures to pay a visit to our garden and windowsill flower boxes, hummingbirds are among the most ephemeral and magical. Often visiting for only a few seconds at a time, their jeweled wings beating the air faster than the eye can track, their elusive presence is not unlike that of a fairy stopping by for a spell. Naturally, if you're entranced by these hummingbirds, you're probably left wondering how you can keep them around a little longer on their next visit and how ... [Read More]

Jan 19th, 2026 - A century-old Brazilian fungus went global by hitching a ride in the international frog meat trade. A pathogenic fungus that has wiped out hundreds of amphibian species worldwide started its global journey in Brazil. Genetic evidence correlated with trade data demonstrates how the fungus hitchhiked across the world via international frog meat markets. These findings, from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, raise urgent concerns about how wildlife ... [Read More]

Jan 17th, 2026 - Follow Earth on Google In London, the Natural History Museum released its 2025 list of newly described species, formally adding 262 plants and animals into the scientific record. A species name gives researchers a shared label for comparing specimens, tracking threats, and debating what counts as distinct. Curators at the Natural History Museum ( NHM ) maintain reference collections that let them test whether a find matches a known species. That work at the Natural History Museum documents ... [Read More]

Jan 17th, 2026 - Ancient DNA from cave mummies offers a genetic roadmap for rewilding Saudi Arabia's deserts. In the dry, sun-baked expanse of northern Saudi Arabia, there are holes in the earth that lead to another world. For millennia, these underground caverns have sat in silence, protected from the scorching heat above. In 2022, researchers rappelled into one of these sinkholes — a 50-foot (15-meter) drop into the dark — expecting to find perhaps a few bats or insects. Instead, they found a ... [Read More]

Jan 17th, 2026 - Follow Earth on Google Female moths don't rely on sight or smell alone. They can also hear stressed plants. Scientists found that these insects detect ultrasonic clicks from plants under drought stress and use them when choosing egg-laying sites. Plants emit airborne ultrasonic sounds when stressed. These vibrations, previously thought to be undetectable by animals, can travel through the air. The Egyptian cotton leafworm moth,  Spodoptera littoralis , hears these sounds. This species has ... [Read More]

Jan 17th, 2026 - Virunga park ranger says babies are well cared for by mother Mafuko but high infant mortality makes first weeks critical I t was noon by the time Jacques Katutu first saw the newborn mountain gorillas. Cradled in the arms of their mother, Mafuko, the tiny twins clung to her body for warmth in the forest clearing in Virunga national park, in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Katutu, head of gorilla monitoring in Virunga, has seen dozens of newborns in his 15 years as a ranger. But, ... [Read More]

Jan 17th, 2026 - Follow Earth on Google Mushrooms that long looked the same across forests in Europe and North America turn out not to be the same at all. DNA and molecular analysis shows they are three different species. By separating the three, quietly distinct fungi that had been bundled together for decades, researchers correct records that shape how biodiversity is counted and protected. Mushroom species fool experts The newly separated fungi all belong to the Xerampelinae , a small group within the ... [Read More]

Jan 16th, 2026 - You can now listen to Fox News articles! A mama turtle has impressed researchers after making a rare 7,000-mile journey in seven months, swimming from the warm waters of Panama to the North Atlantic before returning to Florida. Riptide, a female leatherback turtle from the Caribbean , was tagged and released off the coast of Panama on May 22.  Since then, Sea Turtle Conservancy, an organization based in Gainesville, Florida, has been tracking the turtle's long and impressive journey.  ... [Read More]

Jan 15th, 2026 - By Bob Timmons, The Minnesota Star Tribune MINNEAPOLIS - Year to year, birders document what they see perching or passing through northeast Minnesota's Sax-Zim Bog. Now, what's heard at the popular birding destination might give an even clearer picture of the winged life drawn to its boreal bog landscape. The Friends of Sax-Zim Bog has set up a listening device at its welcome center - the first of many similar types to be installed this year around the bog's 25,000 acres - that captures bird ... [Read More]

Jan 15th, 2026 - Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. . W hat female mosquitoes choose to feed on has a bearing on human health, since they transmit pathogens from one host to another. In theory, mosquitoes can take their blood meals from any vertebrate, but in practice, they may favor certain hosts based on smell, body heat, or simply availability. Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. A new study published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution shows that mosquitoes along the east coast of ... [Read More]