By Subject - Biology

  • Sustaining symbiosis – new clues
    Sustaining symbiosis – new clues

    To hide from hungry fish, this animal houses luminous bacteria. But what prevents the bacteria from reproducing and killing the squid? At last, a genetic a balancing mechanism is revealed.


    Thursday, January 21st, 2010
  • Fish phishing attack explained!
    Fish phishing attack explained!

    Cleaner fish remove parasites from other fish. Why do males punish females who eat the wrong food from their host? A clue to the evolution of cooperation?


    Thursday, January 7th, 2010
  • Testing touch
    Testing touch

    Why do women have better sense of touch? It’s all in the size, and big isn’t better…


    Thursday, December 17th, 2009
  • Death of the mastodon
    Death of the mastodon

    It’s one of the biggest puzzles of paleontology: Why did North America’s large mammals go extinct shortly after the glaciers melted about 15k years ago? New study suggests that hunters get the credit — or blame.


    Thursday, November 19th, 2009
  • The gray moth is on bark.  Its wings have a border that is alternately red or yellow.
    Animal arms race

    The struggle between predator and prey never ends. Bats invented sonar, and now some moths are fighting back. Check out the Why Files acoustic-organic warfare, airborne edition.


    Thursday, July 16th, 2009
  • Senators, governors and other mammals…
    Senators, governors and other mammals…

    Can our evolutionary roots explain that self-destructive search for sex – and sexual companionship? Could Darwinian psychology constitute the cause home-wrecking, career-blitzing fatal attractions?


    Thursday, July 9th, 2009
  • The fly's face is dull gold.
    How a fly detects a poison

    Animals spend a lot of energy avoiding toxic chemicals in their food. A new type of gene that does this in fruit flies reinforces the importance of reproduction in shaping evolution.


    Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
  • History of fishing
    History of fishing

    A new study finds a surprising number of fish, birds and mammals in the oceans 100 and 1,000 years ago. Can this information help regulators slow the decline of important marine animals?


    Thursday, May 28th, 2009
  • Only two of the circles mapped show red.  Seven show yellow, while small impacts speckle the Earth.
    “No prob” sez life to crashing asteroids!

    4B years ago, the “late heavy bombardment” burned out all life — or not… High-temp bacteria could have survived in deep rocks.


    Thursday, May 21st, 2009
  • Lactococcus lactis bacteria are ovoid
    Microbial bliss

    Scientists are proving that intestinal bacteria can help health — but for what conditions? Should you take probiotic supplements or eat foods with beneficial bugs? What does the science say — and not say?


    Thursday, April 30th, 2009


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