BIOLOGY

Wear Deodorant? You Have More Armpit Bacteria Than Antiperspirant Users

It's not necessarily a bad thing.

Giant Clams Could Help Us Make Better Screens and Solar Cells

Scientists are trying to better understand their iridescent shades.

Why Does Your Nose Run When It's Cold Outside?

A bit of physics and biology are to blame.

Facial Recognition Software Could Help Researchers Identify Individual Whales

Using the markings on their heads and backs, scientists are able to effectively tell the animals apart.

Why Does Skin Come in Different Colors?

One of the things that makes people so special is that we’re all different. Each person you meet has their own special talents, their own favorite food, and a different face looking back at them in the mirror.

Attaching Mini Motors to Sperm Could Help Treat Infertility

The "spermbots" use a magnetic field to propel forward.

Bodies Don’t Host as Much Bacteria as Experts Thought

The previous assessment that bacterial cells outnumber human cells in the body 10 to 1 is probably overblown, a new study finds. The ratio might be be closer to equal.

Vásquez V.E. et al. Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation, 2015

Scientists Identify Stealthy Ninja Shark

The aptly named shark is cloaked in black from head to tail and emits a faint blue glow.

Why Do Babies' Eyes Change Color?

In this episode of 'Big Questions,' Craig answers a pressing question from one of our YouTube fans.

Human Sleep Is Very Efficient, Scientists Argue

Compared to other primates, humans have shorter and deeper periods of sleep.

Hippos Eat Way More Meat than We Thought, and It Can Make Them Sick

Hippos apparently find meat far too tasty to pass up—but that doesn't mean they should eat it.

The Same Microbes Help Bodies Decompose No Matter Where They're Buried

And they could help determine time of death. Paging CSI.

Jaroslav Vogeltanz, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 3.0

Fleas Need Fresh Air

Burrows with high levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) can become death traps for the insects.

Ant Colonies Earn Their 'Superorganism' Reputation

A new study shows that ant colonies act like “a single organism would in response to attacks on different parts of its body.”

Newly Discovered Visual Sensors Aid Sperm’s Movement

Christian Grill, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 3.0

In a First for Fish, Needlefish Attack Prey from the Air

Off the east coast of Australia, some fish are doing something funny.

Why Can't I Sleep In On Weekends Anymore?

Short answer: Your internal clock doesn’t care what day it is.

Left photo: A. Diamant. Right photo: P. Cartwright

Microscopic Parasite Revealed to Be Teeny, Tiny Jellyfish

Sequencing the myxozoans’ genome revealed their unlikely cnidarian origins.

"Going with the flow: schooling to avoid a predator," Claudia Pogoreutz, Germany. Category winner: Behaviour. // Royal Society Publishing

Here Are the Winners of the Royal Society Publishing Photo Contest

The photographers captured biological principles at work through their camera lenses.

What It's Like to See Pink for the First Time

Thanks to a pair of glasses, Michael Arbeiter sees some colors for the first time.

Half of the World’s Natural History Specimens Might Be Labeled Wrong

Well, this is embarrassing.

Scientists Identify Proteins That Align with Magnetic Fields

Scientists have discovered a protein complex in several species that aligns itself with magnetic fields.

How Some Birds Evolved to Build Protected Nests

Birds' nests are as diverse as the creatures who build them. The variety of locations, shapes, and sizes they’re built in and the materials they’re made from can be staggering.

Carnivorous Plant Uses Rain to Spring Its Trap

“Rain, rain, go away, come again another day” is not a sentiment that many would disagree with. But then there’s Nepenthes gracilis, a carnivorous plant found in Southeast Asia that relies on rain to help it eat.

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