Vampire bats have an unusual, blood-only diet that’s high in protein but lacking in other nutrients. Now, a new study hints that “missing” genes may explain how the flying mammals … Read more
When hives of the African lowland honeybee (Apis mellifera scutella) collapse, they do so because of an invisible inner threat: the growing, immortal clone army of a rival bee subspecies. … Read more
Creativity could be one of the main reasons Homo sapiens survived and dominated over related species such as Neanderthals and chimpanzees, according to a new study. The idea that creativity … Read more
Creativity could be one of the main reasons Homo sapiens survived and dominated over related species such as Neanderthals and chimpanzees, according to a new study. The idea that creativity … Read more
More than half a billion years ago, headless sea creatures that looked like leaves, teardrops and coils of rope trawled the primeval seas. Although these primordial animals looked nothing like … Read more
By tweaking a few key genes in the DNA of a roundworm, scientists have extended the animal’s life span by about 500%. That’s a huge jump in life: An average … Read more
Two piglets recently born in China look like average swine on the outside, but on the inside, they are (a very small) part monkey. A team of researchers generated the … Read more
Evolutionary scientists have been thinking about same-sex sexual behavior all wrong. That’s the implication of a new study on same-sex behavior in animals. Instead of asking why animals engage in … Read more
No individual gene alone makes a person gay, lesbian or bisexual; instead, thousands of genes likely influence sexual orientation, a massive new study of the genomes of nearly half a … Read more
Are we all going to be replaced? Stephen Hawking apparently thought so. In the grand tradition of famous physicists making claims about subjects beyond their scope of expertise, the great … Read more