According to a new study, some wild plants are predisposed to “taming,” similar to how some wild animals have attributes that made them easier for ancient humans to tame. This might explain why our ancestors targeted certain plants to become crops. In attempting to re-tame wild versions of plant species that ancient farmers previously domesticated,

In a forest in southern Chile, a giant tree has survived for thousands of years and is in the process of being recognized as the oldest in the world. Known as the “Great Grandfather,” the trunk of this tree measuring four meters (13 feet) in diameter and 28 meters tall is also believed to contain

While analyzing the genomes of single-celled microbes, a team of researchers made a startling discovery: Thousands of previously unknown viruses were “hidden” within the microbes’ DNA. The researchers found DNA from more than 30,000 viruses built into genomes of various single-celled microbes, they report in a new study. They explain that viral DNA might enable

To look at them, squids and octopuses seem to have a lot in common. Both are soft, squishy, marine-dwelling animals with eight sucker-lined arms and a fascinating level of intelligence. But the last common ancestor between the two was around 300 million years ago. Since then, squids and octopuses have forged their own evolutionary paths,

We already know seahorses are among the cutest and most unique critters in the ocean, and now scientists have found out more about a clever and unusual way that they eat. Researchers from Tel Aviv University in Israel and the Rochester Institute of Technology in the US have calculated the power required of specialized anatomy

Terrestrial animals do something that fish don’t. Yes, OK, there’s the whole walking around out of the water thing. But there is something else so small you do it without even knowing. Most fish don’t blink. They don’t have the apparatus for it, the eyelids. They also don’t need to blink since the water they

By any measure, the Andes mountains are very, very big. Running for some 8,900 kilometers (5,530 miles) through South America, they reach up to 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) in height and stretch up to 700 kilometers (435 miles) in width. But how did the range grow to this gigantic scale? Plate tectonics – the movement

Elephant seals drift downwards into the ocean in a “sleep spiral” to catch up on sleep while on months-long foraging trips but are programmed not to drown, according to a new study. The seals fall into sleep during deep dives of up to 377 meters, which is around 1,235 feet, to avoid predators. They spiral

Octopuses are the chameleons of the sea, so it’s hard to keep tabs on who is who at a glance. Thanks to small, pigment-filled skin tissues called chromatophores, color-reflecting iridophores, and light-reflecting leucophores, the mollusk can change its patterns and coloring in a blink. Combined with their hydrostatic skeletons and dexterous muscles shifting their shapes

In humans and other animals, sex is usually determined by a single gene. However, there are claims that in some species, such as platyfish, it takes a whole ‘parliament’ of genes acting together to determine whether offspring develop as a male or female. In a new analysis, we took a close look at these claims.

With their baby-face aesthetics and a certain personable charm, flat-faced dogs are cherished companions around the world. It’s a love that dates back to Roman times, a new study suggests. The skull and jawbone of a dog with a decidedly squashed snout was unearthed in 2007 in the ruins of Tralleis (now Aydin in modern-day

As wooly mammoths grazed frigid Siberian steppes for more than half a million years, they evolved increasingly fluffy fur, large fat deposits, and smaller ears, according to a new study. By comparing the genomes of modern elephants with those of multiple wooly mammoths – including individual mammoths that lived 600,000 years apart – researchers gained

The most thorough study yet of a mysterious creature that lived 300 million years ago has ruled that it had no bones after all. Since its discovery nearly 70 years ago, the true nature of Tullimonstrum gregarium – AKA the Tully monster – has confounded scientists. Studies have variously found it was a vertebrate, or

The evolution of the human eye has long been considered one of biology’s more challenging mysteries, drawing debate over the sequence of steps required to turn rudimentary sensitivity to light into a complex photographic system. New research suggests some components of vertebrate vision may not have been shaped incrementally as their genes passed down family

There’s a problem for researchers trying to identify the size of ancient armored fish from the late Devonian period (approximately 382-358 million years ago): only the armored parts around their heads have been preserved in fossils. In other words, we’ve been trying to judge the size of species like those in the Dunkleosteus genus of

Tardigrades are microscopic creatures with a gift for survival. These aquatic invertebrates – aka water bears or moss piglets – can withstand exposure to high levels of radiation, the crushing pressure of the deep sea, and even the vacuum of space. We’ve also learned water bears have some pretty wild sex, thanks to recent video

A lightning bolt that struck a tree on Florida’s west coast has produced a fascinating type of phosphorus material we haven’t seen on Earth before: one that could represent a whole new mineral group, bridging the gap between space minerals and minerals found on Earth. The material, which is a close match for calcium phosphite

A buzz of clicks and gleeful victory squeals compose the soundtrack in the first footage ever recorded from the perspective of dolphins freely hunting off the coast of North America. For a scientific study published last year, the US Navy strapped cameras to its dolphins, which are trained to help identify undersea mines and protect

When Mount Vesuvius erupted nearly 2,000 years ago, the Roman city of Pompeii and its residents were buried alive, entombed in ash. But the nearby city of Herculaneum was obliterated, and few traces of its people were ever found. Their bodies were most likely vaporized in a searing hot blast of gas and particles, according

In May and June of 2018, Australia’s first near-complete skull of a sauropod – a group of long-tailed, long-necked, small-headed dinosaurs – was found on a sheep station northwest of Winton in Queensland. I was part of the dig team from the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum that made the discovery, and subsequently had the

Squirming slowly along the ocean floor, sea cucumbers look like an easy target to hungry predators. But at the slightest provocation, these chunky tube animals tear a hole in the wall of their own butt and cast out a tangle of fine, sticky, noodles. Stress-induced butt-vomiting might sound comical, but it serves a useful purpose

Birds likely aren’t the first things that spring to mind when you think of poisonous animals, but two common species in Papua New Guinea have been found hoarding a toxic arsenal in their feathers. The regent whistler (Pachycephala schlegelii) and rufous-naped bellbird (Aleadryas rufinucha) have been caught in possession of a potent neurotoxin. Batrachotoxin causes

At first the brown, mangled ball of fur and claws is unidentifiable. But X-ray scans have revealed this grapefruit-sized lump is actually a 30,000-year-old mummified ground squirrel from the ice age. A gold miner found the mysterious fur ball in 2018 in the Klondike gold fields near Dawson City, Yukon, according to the Yukon Beringia

Scientists have stitched together the most high-resolution map yet of the underlying geology beneath Earth’s Southern Hemisphere, revealing something previously undiscovered: an ancient ocean floor that may wrap around the core. This thin but dense layer sits around 2,900 kilometers (1,800 miles) below the surface, where the molten, metallic outer core means the rocky mantle

An ethereal blue glimmer just below the waterline has lured scientists like wisps from folklore to three new glowing species of marine bristle worm (polychaetes). Their genus name, Polycirrus, means ‘many tendrils‘ in Latin. Looking at these otherworldly worms, you can immediately understand why. Until now, we knew of only four species of Polycirrus with

Ask any pet owner if their beloved companion has a personality and you’ll most often get an emphatic “yes”. But now tiger researchers can nod along too – a study published Wednesday reveals that the world’s largest felines have individual character traits. The behavior of the 248 Siberian tigers observed through a personality test showed