Biology

Last year, we heard how anole lizards are able to breathe underwater from an air bubble on their nose. One of the scientists involved in that study has now documented a spider doing something similar – although the bubble covers its whole body.

Greater mouse-eared bats are preyed upon by owls, but the owls themselves likely avoid hornets, for fear of getting stung. New research suggests that the bats take advantage of this fact, by buzzing like hornets to keep owls at bay.

DNA mutates regularly, for better or worse, driving both evolution and disease. Researchers at the University of Surrey have now found evidence that some of these spontaneous mutations could be caused by the spooky realm of quantum mechanics.

Scientists have created new artificial microbes by combining two very different organisms into one functioning entity. The hybrid of a yeast and a bacterium adds evidence to a long-standing hypothesis on how advanced life may have evolved.

Hundreds of scientists around the globe have shared data to create the world's first brain growth chart. The project incorporated MRI scans from subjects of all ages to offer a unique portrait of how our brains change over the course of a lifetime.

A single protein called Fel d 1 is responsible for the lion's share of human cat allergies, but a company called InBio says its initial research indicates a promising possibility that this protein can be eliminated safely using CRISPR gene editing.

After being declared the first known swimming dinosaur in 2020, Spinosaurus was subsequently suspected of being a shore-wader. A new analysis of its bones, however, has swung the needle back towards the concept of it going underwater to hunt its prey.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have created an RNA molecule that can not just replicate, but “evolve” into a diverse range of more complex molecules. This find could plug a major gap in the puzzle of how life on Earth began.

Researchers have found that the “mother” of stem cells, known as totipotent stem cells, have a much slower rate of DNA replication, which helps improve their differentiation efficiency. This could lead to major breakthrough for regenerative medicine.

A touch-sensitive protein normally located in the skin has now been found in the gut. It senses the presence of food and triggers contractions to push it along, while reduced levels of this protein may be implicated in conditions like constipation.

Although it's not a hard and fast rule, marine animals that live in cold climates tend to grow larger than their warm-water counterparts. According to a new study, such may have true for everyone's favorite prehistoric shark, the megalodon.

Tyrannosaurus rex is one of the few dinosaurs that has its full scientific name in wide use. But now a new analysis of known fossils reveals that T-rex might be three separate species, including the newly proposed T-imperator and the T-regina.