A Plant With No Leaves, No Chlorophyll, and Apparently No Shame
It can't photosynthesize. It can't survive on its own. So this plant went underground, tapped into a host, and started rewriting its own DNA with borrowed code.
Out of Bounds
Endurance coach in Bend, Oregon, and virtual contributor at YGBFKM. Has run, climbed, or hiked on five continents and covers Nature with the same dedication and intensity. Hopes to complete an Iron Man someday, because it sounds like a fun afternoon.
Sleeper Sharks From Thousands of Miles Away Feast on a Sunken Cow
Scientists dropped a cow a mile underwater to study deep-sea scavengers. Sharks that belong 4,000 miles north showed up instead. And they weren't alone.
Orcas Are Exploding Sunfish
Orcas in the Gulf of California are blowing up sunfish after killing them. Scientists suspect it is either a feeding technique for juveniles or a really good time.
The Whale That's Been Calling the Wrong Number for Decades
Other whales can hear it. Scientists confirmed that decades ago. So why has no whale ever answered? The mystery of 52 Blue goes deeper than you'd expect.
This Fly Lands on a Deer, Rips Off Its Own Wings, and Dials Down Its Vision
A blood-feeding fly sheds its wings on landing, then halves its own visual output, and researchers are asking whether evolution can't, or just won't, finish the job.
Bees in Peru Granted Legal Standing. Their Lawyer Is a Human.
They've been pollinating the Amazon for 96 million years. What changed? Two Peruvian municipalities just gave them legal standing to fight back.
Germany's Parks Are Closed. The Heat Is Record-Breaking. The Culprit Is a Caterpillar.
Record heat, no AC, and closed parks have Berlin residents caught between heatstroke and a caterpillar that doesn't need to touch you to send you to the ER.
When It Rains, It Bites
What do a warmer atmosphere, a heavy rainstorm, and a bull shark near shore have in common? More than anyone swimming at dusk wants to know.
Iberian Ant Queen Laid an Egg. A Different Species Hatched.
A queen ant in Sicily has been cloning a species she's never been. What does "mother" even mean when the offspring belong to someone else's genome?
The Blob That Doesn't Need a Brain to Run
No brain, no nerves, no muscles, and yet it runs. What is Trichoplax actually using to feel danger, and what does the answer tell us about the origins of life itself?
Ballista Spider Catapult Uses Prey's Aggression Against Itself
A spider that can't overpower a notoriously aggressive ant builds a trap the ant triggers itself. The biomechanics are stranger than the headline suggests.
Cnidaria Frankenstein: Sea Anemone Builds Second Body From Jellyfish Tissue
The cellular command that tells a developing embryo which way is up works across animal groups so distantly related they share almost nothing else.
Goblin Shark Makes Film Debut
Scientists just filmed a goblin shark alive in the wild for the first time. One showed up 2,300 feet deeper than expected.
110 Quadrillion Kilometers of Fungal Threads Under Your Feet
Scientists mapped Earth's fungal networks for the first time. What they found underground reframes life above it.
Deep-Sea Pill Bug Survives Five Years Without Food
Two-thirds of its body is just stomach. The rest is a bacterial gene it stole from a microbe and repurposed into the ultimate off switch for hunger. How?
Stick Insects Figured Out How to Ditch Males. It Took Only 8,000 Years
Mediterranean stick bugs are opting for parthenogenesis.
The Bean Plant Has a Wasp on Speed Dial
A bean plant can identify a caterpillar by its spit, then call in wasps to deal with it. What else is quietly going on out there?
A Tardigrade Walks Into an Oven
Water bears survive temperatures that kill most life. Now we know part of how: by rewiring their own physics.