Biology has posed an interesting question: Why are there two pods of orcas, or killer whales, that live off the coast of the American Northwest — one off British Columbia’s Vancouver Island and one further south off Washington State — that are of the same species but show different behaviors? The Vancouver orcas like to
It’s one of those unanswerable questions of the modern age. With so many stars in the Milky Way (not to mention all the stars in nearby galaxies) with the potential for tens of billions of planets, the odds of intelligent life existing somewhere are pretty high. Yet in all recorded history, no confirmed contact with
In the spirit of Halloween, have you ever heard of the Meguro Parasitological Museum? If you haven’t, that’s understandable. First, it’s a private research facility specializing in parasites. Second, it’s in the Meguro Ward in central Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1953 by Dr. Satoru Kamegai, the collection boasts over 45,000 immersed and prepared parasite specimens, including
As children, it was fun to imagine how animals could be combined. And we knew it was possible — a mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. But animal “hybrids” are actually more common than you might think. In nature, animals can breed with difference species populations and different subspecies,
Thanks to our intelligence, we humans have positioned ourselves at the top of the food chain. But which animal actually has the biggest brain? In another example of how size matters, the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) has the largest brain, which weighs in at 18 pounds (8 kilograms), on average. Compared to our three-pound brains, that’s huge. We
As a history nerd, one of my recurring interests is the parts of history that never make it into textbooks. You’ve probably heard of the Black women mathematicians who helped win the space race, as documented in the excellent book and movie Hidden Figures. Recently I found a story that is both similar in content
If you’ve ever had some of your best ideas while showering, it’s not an accident. There’s actually a scientific reason for it. Basically, any activity that can be done automatically frees your mind to be creative. This can be walking your dog, taking a shower, or anything that doesn’t require much thought. “People always get
Have you ever had a flood of memories triggered by a smell? If so, you are far from alone. There’s a reason for how smells can pull up specific memories, and it starts with the structure of the brain itself. Unlike sound, for example, which travels from our ears to the brainstem, then up to
Seaweed is a plant, right? And many plants depend on pollination for reproduction. So how is seaweed able to reproduce? The trail does lead to the process familiar to many land plants. First, scientists discovered in 2016 that zooplankton can pollinate seagrass in the Caribbean. Now scientists have found a small, bug-like crustacean called Idotea balthica that can pollinate
Other than our home planet, conditions in the Solar System can get pretty extreme. Take our own moon — daytime temperatures can climb to 260 degrees Fahrenheit, while nighttime temps can dip to -280 F. And yet… On July 16, 2022, a team of scientists announced they’ve found pits and caves on the moon that have