To observe the microalgae of the Arctic, biogeochemist Clara Hoppe and her team spent months on a ship embedded in sea ice as part of the MOSAiC expedition, sampling ice and seawater. Saga Svarsdottir/Alfred Wegener Institut hide caption
biology biology
Stories About
biology
A white-browed sparrow weaver inspects a roost under construction, after just receiving some grass brought by another member of its group. Maria Cristina Tello-Ramos hide caption
When birds build nests, they're also building a culture
Conservation biologist Gliselle Marin carefully untangles a bat from a net in Belize during the annual Bat-a-thon. Her fanny pack is decorated with printed bats. Luis Echeverría for NPR hide caption
A scientist in Belize hopes bats can galvanize locals to protect their forests
Caecilians are amphibians that look superficially like very large earthworms. New research suggests that at least one species of caecilian also produces "milk" for its hatchlings. Photo by Carlos Jared hide caption
Researchers have found an amphibian that makes milk for its babies
The humble cricket joins lab mice, fruit flies and zebrafish in the curious pantheon of model organisms. HOANG DINH NAM/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
LOS ANGELES - JAN 8: Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data in the STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION episode, "The Hunted." Season 3, ep 11. Original air date, 1/8/90. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images) CBS Photo Archive/CBS via Getty Images hide caption
What is life? For scientists, asking is easier than answering
Tanisha Williams and Chris Martine examine an Australian bush tomato in the Rooke Science Building greenhouse. Emily Paine/Bucknell University hide caption
A newly identified type of tomato has been hiding in plain sight
A new study finds that orca mothers still feed their adult sons. It's a bond that may come with costs, researchers say. David K. Ellifrit/Center for Whale Research / NMFS research permit #21238 hide caption
Killer whale moms are still supporting their adult sons — and it's costing them
Of the many species the scientists photographed aboard the RV Investigator, the deep-sea batfish made one of the biggest splashes across social media. Benjamin Healley / Museums Victoria hide caption
Scientists discover fantastical creatures deep in the Indian Ocean
Biologist Peter Wimberger holds an ice worm in the snow. Nell Greenfieldboyce/NPR hide caption
Researchers were able to detect DNA from elephants at the Copenhagen Zoo simply by sampling the air nearby. Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A dozen organisms designed by artificial intelligence known as xenobots (C-shaped; beige) beside loose frog stem cells (white). Douglas Blackiston & Sam Kriegman hide caption
Though they're called ice worms, the creatures Hotaling (right) and his colleagues study on the glaciers of Mount Rainier can't handle the slightest bit of freezing. If temperatures dip even slightly below zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit), Hotaling says, the worms die. Peter Wimberger hide caption
It's Summer, And That Means The Mysterious Return Of Glacier Ice Worms
A health care worker tests a patient for the coronavirus in Nevada in July. Scientists say a 25-year-old Nevada man was infected with the virus twice. It is the first confirmed case of reinfection in the U.S. John Locher/AP hide caption
Scientists Confirm Nevada Man Was Infected Twice With Coronavirus
Their research is still in early stages, but Kristin Myers (left), a mechanical engineer, and Dr. Joy Vink, an OB-GYN, both at Columbia University, have already learned that cervical tissue is a more complicated mix of material than doctors ever realized. Adrienne Grunwald for NPR hide caption
Scientific Duo Gets Back To Basics To Make Childbirth Safer
Craig Byron, a biologist at Mercer University in Macon, Ga., opens a drawer of preserved mammal specimens he found when the department was packing up to move to a new building. Grant Blankenship/Georgia Public Broadcasting hide caption
Old Animal Specimens May Hold The Key To New Discoveries
Will Shindel prepares for a gene-editing class using the CRISPR tool at a Brooklyn community lab called Genspace. Alan Yu/WHYY hide caption
Say what you will about naked mole-rats, but their bodies have a trick that lets them survive periods of oxygen deprivation. Roland Gockel/Max Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine hide caption
Researchers Find Yet Another Reason Why Naked Mole-Rats Are Just Weird
Research with living systems is never simple, scientists say, so there are many possible sources of variation in any experiment, ranging from the animals and cells to the details of lab technique. Tom Werner/Getty Images hide caption
What Does It Mean When Cancer Findings Can't Be Reproduced?
Yoshinori Ohsumi, a professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, smiles as he speaks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on a phone during a press conference in Tokyo today, after he was awarded the Nobel Medicine Prize. Toru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Japanese Biologist Wins Nobel Prize In Physiology Or Medicine
Bug enthusiast Anna Lindqvist uploads photos like this — of the Ailanthus Webworm Moth (Atteva aurea) to the iNaturalist app. Like a social network for wildlife, her location paired with the photo help both amateur and expert naturalists identify the species. Annika Lindqvist hide caption
The App That Aims To Gamify Biology Has Amateurs Discovering New Species
A "corpse flower" is seen in bloom at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C., in 2013. This is not the same flower that's about to bloom in New York. Jacquelyn Martin/AP hide caption
These mitochondria, in red, are from the heart muscle cell of a rat. Mitochondria have been described as "the powerhouses of the cell" because they generate most of a cell's supply of chemical energy. But at least one type of complex cell doesn't need 'em, it turns out. Science Source hide caption