Mysterious Fossil Foot Belonged to Ancient Human That Lived Alongside ‘Lucy’
Newly identified bones tie the mysterious Burtele foot to a new Australopithecus species that lived alongside Lucy more than three million years ago
‘Dueling Dinosaurs’ Fossil Solves the Mystery of a ‘Mini T. rex’
An analysis suggests Nanotyrannus is a separate, smaller dinosaur that lived alongside T. rex, settling a 30-year debate
Enceladus’s Alien Ocean, Ancient Fungi and the Flavor of Influenza
Saturn’s moon Enceladus shows signs of life-supporting chemistry, fungi may have shaped Earth before plants, and repeat COVID infections raise long-term health risks for kids.
Chimpanzee Consumption of Boozy Fruit May Illuminate Roots of Humanity’s Love of Alcohol
Wild chimps ingest the equivalent of multiple alcoholic beverages a day
This Gloriously Weird Fish Has Teeth on Its Forehead for Sex
Researchers have finally traced the origin of the spotted ratfish’s bizarre forehead teeth, which are used for mating
What Can Nature Teach Us about Sex and Gender?
Traditional biology has long ignored nature’s sexual diversity—but evolution tells a far more complex story.
This Mushroom’s Incredibly Bitter Taste Is New to Science
The first analysis of mushroom bitterness reveals ultrapotent compounds
These Hamster Dads Are a Cut above the Rest
This Father’s Day, we’re celebrating the unusually involved Djungarian hamster dads
These ‘Real-Life Mermaid’ Divers Have Remarkable Underwater Abilities—And Genetics
The Haenyeo, an all-female group of divers on South Korea’s Jeju Island, spend much of their lives underwater without equipment—a “superpower” that may be written into their DNA
DNA Studies Uncover Unexpected Evolutionary Changes in Modern Humans
Mounting evidence from genome studies indicates that, contrary to received wisdom, our species has undergone profound biological adaptation in its recent evolutionary past
This Strange Mutation Explains the Mystifying Color of Orange Cats
Your orange cat may host a never-before-seen genetic pathway for color pigmentation, according to new studies
Carnivorous ‘Bone Collector’ Caterpillars Wear Corpses as Camouflage
Nicknamed the “bone collector,” this newly confirmed caterpillar in Hawaii secretly scrounges off a spider landlord by covering itself with dead insect body parts