biology

Left photo: A. Diamant. Right photo: P. Cartwright

Sequencing the myxozoans’ genome revealed their unlikely cnidarian origins.

Thanks to a pair of glasses, Michael Arbeiter sees some colors for the first time.

Birds' nests are as diverse as the creatures who build them. The variety of locations, shapes, and sizes they’re built in and the materials they’re made from can be staggering.

“Rain, rain, go away, come again another day” is not a sentiment that many would disagree with. But then there’s Nepenthes gracilis, a carnivorous plant found in Southeast Asia that relies on rain to help it eat.

Drägüs, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 3.O

Stick bugs arrived on the Mascerene Islands 22 million years ago from a surprising place: Australia.

fir0002 | flagstaffotos.com.au via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-NC 3.0

No one has yet made an adhesive based on the spider’s glue. Now we're learning how it's affected by UV light.

Scientists pin down the chemical process that makes plants open up.

The brown-headed cowbird is never going to win any parenting awards.

Biologists think that images like these, which let them look at wolf howls instead of just listening to them, might help them better protect wolves.

Opencage via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 3.0

Eels: As awesome as they are terrifying.

Halimeda incrassata is a type of seaweed, and it’s pretty badass for an algae. But none of its defenses deter the sea slug Elysia tuca.

Humans aren’t the only animals that keep larders of food.

Not all of the gas you pass is smelly. Here is the reason why some farts smell while others do not.

A new study finds that babies can distinguish between sounds better if they can move their tongue.

The giraffe's neck evolved in two stages, millions of years apart.

Rore bzh, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 3.0

Coral reefs are in trouble. On these Pacific reefs, one of the major causes of coral loss is predation by the crown-of-thorns sea star.

Gagliano via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY 2.5

Ambon damselfish were able to identify the correct fish face with 75 percent accuracy.

The phenomenon is so common it even has a name.

Scientists just confirmed what local fishermen have known for years.

Lots of beach-goers find seagulls annoying, but usually the only harm they do is snatching away poorly-guarded snacks. On one particular beach, though, scientists have found that some gulls have a much more aggressive and grisly way of getting their meals

Microscopic Parasite Revealed to Be Teeny, Tiny Jellyfish

What It's Like to See Pink for the First Time

How Some Birds Evolved to Build Protected Nests

Carnivorous Plant Uses Rain to Spring Its Trap

How Bugs From Australia Settled African Islands

The Strength of Spider Web Glue Is Affected by UV Light

How Do Plants Decide When to Flower?

Even Deadbeat Bird Parents Keep an Eye on Their Kids

Counting Wolves by Looking at Their Howls

Electric Eels Use Their High-Voltage Shocks to Locate Prey

Weird Sea Slug Sniffs Out and Steals Its Food’s Defenses

Meet the Bird that Imprisons its Prey

Why Do Some Farts Stink and Some Farts Don't?

Babies May Need to Move Their Tongues to Understand Speech

Fossils Reveal How and When Giraffe Necks Grew Long

Corals' Competitors Can Be Accomplices Against Starfish

Damselfish Can Recognize Each Other’s Faces Using UV Vision

Your Bones Are Electric (Sometimes)

Fungus Kills its Victims and Makes Them More Attractive

8 Hard Facts About the Penis Bone

How Mice Recognize Relatives They’ve Never Met

What Makes These Dominican Children Grow Penises at Puberty?

Legendary 'Blue Bastard Fish' Identified as a New Species

Seagulls in Namibia Are Attacking Baby Seals