Reliable news for an expanding universe

Biology

Birds Raised by Other Species Use 'Password' to Recognize Their Own Kind

Cowbirds outsource parenting to other species, but an innate password tells their children to copy cowbird songs.

Nala Rogers, Staff Writer

Plants may recruit defenders by bribing them with other plants' pollen.

Nala Rogers, Staff Writer

Sponges, one of the most ancient animal lineages, can maintain normal gene activity even as oxygen levels drop.

Nala Rogers, Staff Writer

Scientists show that bacteria have unexpected effects in spider sex.

Rodrigo Pérez Ortega, Contributor

Researchers find that membranes may have helped the building blocks of life come together.

Sofie Bates, Contributor

Newly discovered family of fluorescent molecules explains how two kinds of seafloor-dwelling sharks glow.

Rodrigo Pérez Ortega, Contributor

Researchers are freezing cell samples with liquid nitrogen to keep biodiversity alive. Could this be the best way to conserve species for the future?

Katharine Gammon, Contributor

For the bluehead wrasse, going from female to male involves a dramatic genetic reprogramming in the sexual organs.

Rodrigo Pérez Ortega, Contributor

Skull was donated by an Inuit hunter in 1990.

Charles Q. Choi, Contributor