Biology
Why Scientists Tweak Lab Viruses to Make Them More Contagious
Some “gain of function” studies explore how a dangerous pathogen might cross species barriers to start an outbreak
Biology12612 articles archived since 1845
Biology
Elephants May Use Urine to Navigate
Scientists found that elephants often sniff pathways—and seem especially attuned to urine.
Biology
The First ‘Google Translate’ for Elephants Debuts
An online animal catalogue lets you decode communications and other behaviors for everyone’s favorite pachyderm
Biology
See Iridescent Jellyfish and Glowing Wonders of the Sea in World Oceans Day Photos
Mysterious creatures of the deep shine in images by marine biologist Alexander Semenov
Biology
Transcendence Happens All the Time
We’ve long fantasized about transformations from one mode of life to another, but nature has already beaten us to it
Biology
Century-Old Textiles Woven from Fascinating Fungus
Researchers pinpoint the mycelial source of museum artifacts
Biology
How Slime Molds Remember Where They Ate
These simple organisms physically encode food locations to solve complex tasks
Biology
Can a Cell Remember?
Surprisingly, there’s some evidence that it can
Biology
How This Zombie Fungus Turns Cicadas into Horror-Movie Sex Bots
Researchers explore how an amphetamine and a psychedelic help parasitic fungi spread their spores through insects’ doomed mating attempts
Biology
The Dirty Secret behind Some of the World’s Earliest Microscopes
Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek made extraordinary observations of blood cells, sperm cells and bacteria with his microscopes. But it turns out the lens technology he used was quite ordinary...
Biology
Humans Could Live up to 150 Years, New Research Suggests
A study counts blood cells and footsteps to predict a hard limit to our longevity
Neuroscience
Injection of Light-Sensitive Proteins Restores Blind Man’s Vision
The first successful clinical test of optogenetics lets a person see for the first time in decades, with help from image-enhancing goggles
Biology
Can a Cell Make Decisions?
A series of experiments shows, remarkably, that it just might
Biology
See the Most Bizarre and Beautiful Animal Eyes on Earth
Some of these peepers have eyepopping abilities
Biology
Deadly Fungi Are the Newest Emerging Microbe Threat All Over the World
These pathogens already kill 1.6 million people every year, and we have few defenses against them
Biology
Making Sense of the Great Whip Spider Boom
The discovery of exotic arachnids reveals as much about the structure of science as it does about the creatures
Medical & Biotech
Lab-Made Chicken Reaches Select Diners in Singapore
Club-goers in the island city-state take first bites of slaughter-free chicken nuggets grown in bioreactors
Biology
First Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Released in U.S. Are Hatching Now
As Aedes aegypti mosquitoes increase their range because of warming climate, genetic manipulation of the disease-carrying species could gain wider appeal
Biology
Artificial Light Keeps Mosquitoes Biting Late into the Night
It is like when your cell phone keeps you awake in bed—except mosquitoes do not doom scroll when they stay up, they feast on your blood.
Biology
Brood X Cicadas Are Emerging at Last
The Great Eastern Brood has been underground for 17 years. Here’s what the insects have been up to down there
