Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

NEWS ABOUT: biology

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

Switch to grid view »

Thank Moss for Livable Planet

Plant may have prompted major shift in ancient climate

(Newser) - About 480 million years ago, the planet was a much hotter place—and we have moss to thank for the habitable Earth we enjoy today, research suggests. Back then, 16 times as much carbon dioxide existed in the atmosphere, scientists think. Some 20 million years later, carbon dioxide levels had... More »

Slime Mold Is Smarter Than You Think

It can solve mazes, might be used in future biocomputers

(Newser) - It may not look like much, but slime mold is capable of human-like "thought" beyond the reach of the most sophisticated computers. The organism can arrange its cells in order to find the quickest route through a maze, a Japanese scientist has found. "Humans are not the only... More »

Earth Holds 8.7M Species, Study Finds

And most of them are still undiscovered

(Newser) - Humanity shares the planet with roughly 8.7 million species, most of them still undiscovered, according to a new study. Researchers used complex mathematical models to tackle a question that has long puzzled scientists, identifying numerical patterns in data from 1.2 million known species, excluding viruses and microorganisms, reports... More »

What the Orange Goo Really Is

Scientists originally misidentified substance washed up in Alaska

(Newser) - At first, scientists were baffled by the orange goo that washed ashore in Alaska. Then they announced it was tiny eggs . Now they’re saying that's wrong: It’s actually fungal spores, the Los Angeles Times reports. Microbiologists in South Carolina linked the material to the spores that turn... More »

Scientists Seek 'Frankenstein Spark'

Synthetic life close to becoming a reality

(Newser) - Alien life may appear in a test tube on Earth long before it's found elsewhere—and by some standards, it's already here, researchers say. Multiple teams of scientists around the world are experimenting with genetic tools in an effort to create synthetic life, the New York Times finds.... More »

'Worms From Hell' Could Mean Life on Mars

Discovery of complex life deep below the Earth's surface raises new questions

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered the first complex creatures living a mile or more below the surface of the Earth, unlocking the possibility that similar organisms are elsewhere in the universe, the Washington Post reports. Researchers found the group of nematodes, or roundworms, in water flowing through several gold mines in South... More »

New Life Form Discovered at Truck Stop

Biologist makes big find en route to collecting trip

(Newser) - The world is teeming with undiscovered species, as biologist Piotr Naskrecki discovered at a ... South African truck stop. Naskrecki was part of a team hunting for specimens of Mantophasmotes—an entirely new order of carnivorous insects only discovered in 2002—in a remote area of Namibia. When he paused at... More »

'Darwin Day' Celebrated in Rural US, Quietly

Biologists take the opportunity to show kids science is 'cool'

(Newser) - How to celebrate "Darwin Day" in rural America? Very carefully, the New York Times reports: When evolutionary biologists set out on a road trip this weekend to Virginia, Nebraska, Montana, and Iowa to promote science in honor of Charles Darwin's 202nd birthday, one high school principal made sure to... More »

13% of High School Bio Classes Push Creationism

Only 28% advocate evolution; most take middle ground

(Newser) - About 13% of high school biology teachers nationwide push creationism as the process by which humans came to exist on Earth, LiveScience reports. A Penn State survey found that the majority of bio teachers—about 60%—take a soft stance on the contentious issue, avoiding definitive statements about either creationism... More »

Bacteria Ate Methane in Gulf at Near-Impossible Rate

Gas from spill consumed in less than 4 months, according to study

(Newser) - Bacteria appears to have broken down all the methane that spilled out of the Deepwater Horizon well in less than four months—even though the process should have taken years, according to one team of scientists studying the spill. “This was a surprise to us,” says the chemical... More »

Researchers Create Mice With 2 Daddies

No one's entirely sure why

(Newser) - Scientists at the University of Texas have managed to create mice from the genetic material of two males. A female mouse was involved, of course—researchers engineered one whose eggs contained only DNA from a male, then mated her with another male—but genetically the mice have two fathers. Scientists... More »

Scientists Blast NASA's Arsenic-Based Life Paper

Researchers refuse to respond directly to criticism

(Newser) - Scientists are coming out of the woodwork to deride NASA’s finding of arsenic-based life as flim-flam. “I was outraged at how bad the science was,” one microbiology professor tells Slate , and she wasn’t alone; Slate tracked down dozens of experts to ask their opinion of the... More »

NASA Discovers New Form of Life

Arsenic-based lifeforms found on Earth are unlike any previously observed

(Newser) - NASA has discovered a totally new kind of life form, but it’s not an alien—it’s here on Earth. Astrobiologists have found a bacteria living in a poisonous California lake that’s actually partially made of arsenic, it announced in a much-hyped press conference today. Whereas every other... More »

World's Hardiest Creatures Survive 'Martian Soil'

Researchers seek to keep Earth stowaways away from Mars

(Newser) - A tiny but incredibly tough creature called the tardigrade has been identified as the Earth-dweller most likely to hitch a ride to Mars and survive once there—indicating that our methods for sterilizing Mars rovers may not be up to snuff. The millimeter-long creature, also known as the water bear,... More »

How a Giraffe-Size Dinosaur Managed to Fly

16-foot creatures could traverse continents: scientists

(Newser) - Scientists think they’ve finally figured out how a dinosaur the size of a giraffe was able to soar through the air: It used its huge wings to pole-vault, the Daily Mail reports. Researchers from the UK and US say their theory trumps longstanding claims that pterosaurs couldn’t possibly... More »

Why Women Live Longer Than 'Disposable' Men

Females built to last for reproductive success: scientist

(Newser) - Women have their hardworking cells to thank for the fact that they tend to live longer than men, argues a scientist. Experts believe aging is caused by tiny problems in the body, and we die when our bodies stop repairing these issues, the Daily Mail reports. Women, suggests the UK... More »

Scientists Discover Screaming Tadpole

Sound saves frog larvae from being cannibalized

(Newser) - Scientists studying the calls of adult Argentine horned frogs were amazed to discover that the species' larvae also make sounds—screams even, reports the Independent . The tadpole's scream is a "brief, clear and very audible metallic-like sound," say researchers. They believe the distress calls save the tadpoles from... More »

Avatar Speaks to Our Inner Science Geek

Flick appeals to humans' natural wonder at the weird world

(Newser) - Excuse Carol Kaesuk Yoon if she seems “a bit breathless,” but Avatar has reinvigorated the biologist’s awe of the natural world, and she suspects that effect is what’s really driving the flick’s blockbuster success. People love to puzzle over nature, and try to order it... More »

Biologists: Drive to Help Others 'Innate'

Hard-wired helpfulness separates us from chimps

(Newser) - An inborn urge to be helpful may a key universal trait that makes us distinctively human, according to biologists. Experiments have found that babies just 12 months old are naturally helpful—pointing to help an adult find a lost item, for example—while chimpanzees aren't. The helpful instinct was found... More »

Climate Change Already Causing Evolution

(Newser) - Global warming is changing the face of the planet, and a key panel estimates that a quarter of the world's species will die out—but a few organisms are already evolving to survive in a hotter world. In the past few years Scottish sheep have become smaller, while species of... More »

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne