Meet The Eel That Generates 800V — A Biologist Explains How It Doesn’t Electrocute Itself
At first glance, the electric eel’s abilities feel implausible. But upon a closer inspection, we find a precise,…
289-Million-Year-Old Reptile Mummy Reveals Origin of Human Breathing System
A fossilized reptile the size of a small lizard has revealed the oldest known example of rib-driven breathing,…
Why Are 90% Of Humans Right-Handed? An Evolutionary Biologist Explains
Why do 90% of humans reach with the same hand? The answer stretches back millions of years and…
Meet The Bird That Kills Cobras With A Kick To The Face — A Biologist Explains
Not all birds of prey hunt from the sky. This bird reveals how an extreme environment is all…
Childhood flu infection leaves lasting immune imprint
Why the flu you caught as a child could determine your risk decades later. and what it means…
Big-Nosed Herbivorous Dinosaur May Have Been Picky Eater
New research shows that the large-bodied ornithopod dinosaur Muttaburrasaurus langdoni from the mid-Cretaceous of Australia was no ordinary…
Surprise fossil discoveries push back the evolution of complex animals
Artist’s reconstruction of the ancient ocean ecosystem preserved in the Jiangchuan biota Xiaodong Wang A huge and beautifully…
500-Million-Year-Old Fossil Identified as Oldest Known Chelicerate
Paleontologists at Harvard University have described a large predatory arthropod from the Middle Cambrian of Utah featuring massive…
Chimpanzee’s Drum Solo Offers Clues to Origins of Music
Researchers who analyzed dozens of spontaneous performances by a captive male chimpanzee named Ayumu say the animal’s steady…
Why Are Humans The Only Animals That Cook Their Food? An Evolutionary Biologist Explains
The human ability to cook may seem ordinary, but it marks one of the most important evolutionary turning…
Early Miocene Fossil Fills Gap in Ape Family Tree
Paleontologists have identified a new genus and species of fossil ape that lived about 17-18 million years ago…
Can evolution keep up with climate change? A flower offers hope
People have been trying all sorts of strategies to help species keep up in a warming world. They…