Biology
From the smallest microbe to the largest dinosaurs and from the tiniest spore to the biggest giant sequoia, biological research continues to shed new light on the weird and wonderful world of living organisms.
Top News
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For four years, orcas have been ramming and sinking luxury yachts, and scientists finally have an idea why. No, it's not their anticapitalist 'eat the rich' agenda, nor is it to do with territory and aggression. The truth is, well, it's child's play.
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Scientists have discovered that a once-in-a-billion-years evolutionary event is underway, as two lifeforms have merged into one organism that boasts abilities its peers would envy. Last time this happened, Earth got plants.
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In the 1800s, a conflict between the founding fathers of evolution divided the community. Charles Darwin said sexual selection drove male butterfly looks, while rival Alfred Russel Wallace believed it was just natural selection. Now we have an answer.
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Latest News
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October 17, 2024Microscopic battles rage around and in us at all times, involving surprisingly exciting weapons. Scientists have now observed a bacterium that attacks like a pirate ship, ensnaring its prey with grappling hooks and firing “cannons” that blow it open.
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October 17, 2024If you were a flowering plant, wouldn't you want your pollen to be received by a plant of your own kind? According to a new study, at least one plant may ensure that happens, by blasting "rival" pollen off of pollinating animals' bodies.
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October 17, 2024Everybody from NASA to David Bowie has wondered if there’s life on Mars – and now we might have a precise place to look for it. A new Caltech study has shown that photosynthetic microbes could thrive in a small habitable zone beneath the ice.
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October 14, 2024A surprise discovery in the Australian outback has delivered exciting insight into the origins of complex animal life. The animal fossil, dating back half a billion years, shows when bilateral symmetry emerged – a hallmark of most life on Earth now.
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October 13, 2024You might not hear it, but rodents are known to speak to each other in voices so high-pitched that human ears can’t pick them up. Now scientists have found that these vocalizations might have a second purpose – they help them smell better.
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October 09, 2024Imagine being horribly maimed and the only way to survive was to merge your damaged flesh with another injured human. Scientists have discovered this startling ability in comb jellies, which can fuse together to share a nervous and digestive system.
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October 03, 2024In a move akin to puncturing an egg yolk without breaking the shell or egg white, researchers have figured out how to pierce the nucleus of a cell without hurting the rest of the structure. The breakthrough could be big news for medical treatments.
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October 03, 2024Scientists have discovered a kind of “pause button” in early human development. This biological mechanism has long been known in other mammals, but its discovery in humans could aid IVF procedures.
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September 24, 2024Move over, Moo Deng, there's a new superstar baby animal that's become an overnight viral sensation – a nine-month-old king penguin chick named Pesto whose species-defying growth spurt has made this big boy a worldwide celebrity.
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September 22, 2024A humble little lizard has developed a clever escape route from predators – it blows a bubble over its nostrils and scuba dives to safety for 20 minutes or more. Now, a biologist has explored exactly how it works.
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September 15, 2024Last year, it was discovered the bluestreak cleaner wrasse could pass the "mirror test", showing that it can recognize its own face in a mirror. Now researchers have found it can actually size itself up against a potential competitor before a fight.
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September 13, 2024Whether we've watched athletes do it or experienced it ourselves, 'choking' in a high-stakes moment comes down to more than composure. For the first time, scientists have uncovered a set of neurons that fail to do their job when the payoff is greatest.
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September 06, 2024Seeing a wombat in regional Australia is not a rare experience, but when ecologists captured this particular one emerging from a den and casually wandering past a motion-sensor camera in the middle of the night, there was serious cause for celebration.
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September 05, 2024In an effort to enhance the research abilities of biologists, Stanford University researchers have discovered that applying a popular food coloring to the skin of mice allowed them to see through to the rodents' internal organs and other structures.
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September 03, 2024Science's war against the super-small and, sometimes, super-deadly bacteria that have evolved to resist destruction by antibiotics may have just enlisted new, unlikely allies: invertebrate creatures living in the frigid depths of the Arctic Ocean.
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