biology

A 62-year-old female python at the St. Louis Zoo hasn't been in contact with a male in decades, but she was somehow able to reproduce this summer.

These hikers's gut microbes are running the show.

Your gut microbes might be yearning for their outdoor counterparts—and telling your brain to go find them.

Sperm have been duping us for nearly 350 years.

This new revelation about how sperm propel themselves to eggs could inform future studies on male infertility.

Ray Scott, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY SA 3.0

A five-year trial has proven the beaver families on England's Otter River are not harmful to the local ecosystem—they actually benefit it.

Work blanket? Check. Hot tea? Check. Writing gloves? Check.

If you own a work sweater and have a space heater under your desk, your individual perception of cold might differ from that of your co-workers.

Not the actual northern curly-tailed lizard with the epic poop.

Explore a 3D-model of a lizard's record-setting poop, formed by its taste for pizza grease, that will haunt the halls of eternity.

This woman might be controlling her goosebumps with her mind.

The way the human nervous system works, people should not be able to choose when they get goosebumps. But people with Voluntary Generated Piloerection can.

An alpine newt glows green after being exposed to blue light.

After being bathed in blue light, salamanders, frogs, and other amphibians glowed a brilliant green. There's more to these critters than meets the eye.

Good news: chubby little brown bats might be genetically resistant to white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that’s killed more than 5.5 million bats since it was first documented in 2006.

The 98.6°F human body temperature may no longer be the standard. Scientists point to a marked decrease in inflammation.

The discovery of 10 bird species and subspecies on three remote islands in Indonesia marks the first time in over a century that so many new birds have been found in such a small area.

3D movies of shrimp were involved, too—all in the name of seeing if cuttlefish use stereopsis like we do.

Athena, a 1.5-year-old two-toed sloth, may help the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., launch a successful sloth breeding program.

Does it seem like a surplus of newborn babies pop up in September? Science has a few explanations why.

H. Armstrong Roberts/iStock via Getty Images

Turkey and other tryptophan-containing foods can produce melatonin, but that’s not why you’re tired on Thanksgiving.

Tira the polka-dotted zebra foal likely has pseudomelanism, a rare genetic condition that makes stripes appear as white spots.

In the video, the Deepstaria jellyfish hovers like a ghost before unfurling its billowing bell, giving scientists aboard the 'Nautilus' a rare look at the illusive species.

Newborns can wail like emergency sirens, but you don't typically see them producing tears. Here's why.

Zero is an idea even young children struggle with, but bees are one of the few animal species that can figure it out.

The endangered tapir faces threats like poaching, habitat loss, and trafficking, but Nai Conservation, an organization in Costa Rica, is leading a grassroots effort to save the species.

Research data indicates men can expect to live an average of five fewer years than women. The reason might surprise you.

The ancient Greeks and Romans gorged themselves while lying down, but medical professionals say eating (and digesting) in a reclined position isn't such a good idea.

High blood pressure guidelines have changed recently, which means Americans are more likely to receive a hypertension diagnosis than ever. Here are some essential facts about high blood pressure symptoms and causes.

Astronaut Scott Kelly used cotton swabs to take samples of his fecal matter. He then sealed it in tubes and sent it back to Earth via rocket.

62-Year-Old Ball Python at St. Louis Zoo Lays Eggs After Decades of Isolation

Craving Nature? Your Gut Microbiome Might Be Responsible

A Stroke of Genius: New Research Shows That Sperm Don’t Slither—They Corkscrew

Beavers on Devon's River Otter to Become England's First Permanent Population in Centuries

Winter is Coming: Why Some People Seem to Feel Colder Than Others

What a Lizard Poop of Epic Proportions Is Teaching Scientists

Some People Can Control When They Get Goosebumps—and Scientists Are Stumped

It’s Easy Being Green: Most Amphibians Are Biofluorescent, Study Finds

Fat Bats Might Be Resistant to Deadly White-Nose Syndrome

Human Body Temperatures Are Dropping, and Science Might Know Why

10 New Bird Species and Subspecies Discovered on Indonesian Islands

Scientists Put 3D Glasses on Cuttlefish and Find Out They Use Human-Like Depth Perception to Hunt Prey

The National Zoo Is Hoping to Spark a Love Connection Between Two Sloths

The Reason So Many Babies Are Conceived in Winter

The Great Tryptophan Lie: Eating Turkey Does Not Make You Tired

Photographer Captures Polka-Dotted Zebra Foal in Kenya

Scientists Capture Video of Deepstaria, a Rarely Seen, Shapeshifting Jellyfish

The Reason Newborn Babies Don't Produce Tears

Honey Bees Can Understand the Concept of Zero

The Biologists and Activists Fighting to Save Endangered Tapirs in Costa Rica

The (Likely) Reason Men Don't Live as Long as Women

12 Facts About Your Digestive System

10 Facts About High Blood Pressure

NASA Reveals How Living in Space for a Year Affected Scott Kelly’s Poop