Biology News

October 25, 2025

Top Headlines

Snake Pee Might Hold the Secret to Ending Gout Pain and Kidney Stones

Oct. 25, 2025 — Reptiles don’t just pee, they crystallize their waste. Researchers found that snakes and other reptiles form tiny uric acid spheres, a water-saving evolutionary trick. This discovery could illuminate how to prevent gout and kidney stones in ...

“Lost” Giant Rat Found Alive in Papua Mountains After 30 Years

Oct. 23, 2025 — In the mist-shrouded mountains of New Guinea, a Czech researcher has achieved a world-first — capturing photos, video, and data of the elusive Subalpine Woolly Rat, Mallomys istapantap. Once known only from museum specimens, this giant, shaggy ...

Atlantic Dolphins Are Dying Much Younger. Scientists Sound the Alarm

Oct. 22, 2025 — Common dolphins in the North Atlantic are living significantly shorter lives, with female longevity dropping seven years since the 1990s. Researchers found this decline by analyzing stranded dolphins, revealing a 2.4% drop in population growth ...

How This Odd-looking Animal Outsmarted Aging

Oct. 20, 2025 — Naked mole-rats seem to have found nature’s cheat code for longevity. Scientists discovered that small tweaks in one of their proteins make it better at fixing DNA damage, helping the animals resist aging. Even fruit flies with the same changes ...

Glowing Sugars Show How Microbes Eat the Ocean's Carbon

Oct. 19, 2025 — Researchers have developed a light-emitting sugar probe that exposes how marine microbes break down complex carbohydrates. The innovative fluorescent tool allows scientists to visualize when and where sugars are degraded in the ocean. This ...

Scientists Finally Read the Hidden DNA Code That Shapes Disease

Oct. 18, 2025 — EMBL researchers created SDR-seq, a next-generation tool that decodes both DNA and RNA from the same cell. It finally opens access to non-coding regions, where most disease-associated genetic variants lie. By revealing how these variants affect gene ...

They’re Smaller Than Dust, but Crucial for Earth’s Climate

Oct. 10, 2025 — Coccolithophores, tiny planktonic architects of Earth’s climate, capture carbon, produce oxygen, and leave behind geological records that chronicle our planet’s history. European scientists are uniting to honor them with International ...

Scientists Unlock Nature’s Secret to a Cancer-fighting Molecule

Oct. 10, 2025 — Researchers have cracked the code behind how plants make mitraphylline, a rare cancer-fighting molecule. Their discovery of two critical enzymes explains how nature builds complex spiro-shaped compounds. The work paves the way for sustainable, ...

Scientists Discover Orchids Sprouting from Decaying Wood

Oct. 8, 2025 — Kobe University researchers found that orchids rely on wood-decaying fungi to germinate, feeding on the carbon from rotting logs. Their seedlings only grow near deadwood, forming precise fungal partnerships that mirror those seen in adult orchids ...

It’s Not Just Genes — Parents Can Pass Down Longevity Another Way

Oct. 6, 2025 — Scientists studying tiny roundworms have uncovered how the secrets of a long life can be passed from parents to their offspring — without changing DNA. The discovery shows that when certain cellular structures called lysosomes change in ways that ...

From Gentle Giants to Ghostly Hunters, Sharks Face an Unseen Peril

Oct. 5, 2025 — New research reveals that deep-sea mining could dramatically threaten 30 species of sharks, rays, and ghost sharks whose habitats overlap with proposed mining zones. Many of these species, already at risk of extinction, could face increased dangers ...

Japan’s Hot Springs Hold Clues to the Origins of Life on Earth

Oct. 3, 2025 — Billions of years ago, Earth’s atmosphere was hostile, with barely any oxygen and toxic conditions for life. Researchers from the Earth-Life Science Institute studied Japan’s iron-rich hot springs, which mimic the ancient oceans, to uncover how ...

Latest Headlines

updated 1:13pm EDT

Before T. Rex, There Was the “dragon Prince”

Oct. 24, 2025 — Scientists have unveiled Khankhuuluu, a new Mongolian dinosaur species that predates and closely resembles early Tyrannosaurs. With its long snout, small horns, and lean build, it represents a ...

MIT Scientists Discover Hidden 3D Genome Loops That Survive Cell Division

Oct. 24, 2025 — MIT researchers discovered that the genome’s 3D structure doesn’t vanish during cell division as previously thought. Instead, tiny loops called microcompartments remain (and even strengthen) ...

A Hidden Gene Could Triple Wheat Yields

Oct. 19, 2025 — Researchers discovered the gene that gives a rare wheat variety its unusual “triple-grain” trait. When switched on, the gene helps wheat flowers produce extra grain-bearing parts. The finding ...

Scientists Just Found Real Teeth Growing on a Fish’s Head

Oct. 16, 2025 — Scientists discovered true teeth growing on the head of the spotted ratfish, a distant shark relative. The toothed structure, called a tenaculum, helps males hold onto females during mating. Genetic ...

This Tiny Worm Uses Static Electricity to Hunt Flying Insects

Oct. 15, 2025 — A parasitic worm uses static electricity to launch itself onto flying insects, a mechanism uncovered by physicists and biologists at Emory and Berkeley. By generating opposite charges, the worm and ...

A 151-Million-Year-Old Fly Just Changed What We Know About Evolution

Oct. 15, 2025 — Scientists have uncovered a 151-million-year-old midge fossil in Australia that challenges long-held views about insect evolution. Named Telmatomyia talbragarica, the fossil shows freshwater ...

Archaeologists Uncover Lost Land Bridge That May Rewrite Human History

Oct. 12, 2025 — New research along Turkey’s Ayvalık coast reveals a once-submerged land bridge that may have helped early humans cross from Anatolia into Europe. Archaeologists uncovered 138 Paleolithic tools ...

Dolphins May Be Getting Alzheimer’s from Toxic Ocean Blooms

Oct. 11, 2025 — Dolphins washing up on Florida’s shores may be victims of the same kind of brain degeneration seen in humans with Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers discovered that cyanobacterial toxins—worsened ...

Glowing Shark and Hidden Crab Found Deep Off Australia

Oct. 9, 2025 — In a stunning glimpse into the mysteries of the deep, scientists have uncovered two new marine species off Western Australia—a glowing lanternshark and a tiny porcelain crab. The discoveries, made ...

Birds Around the World Share a Mysterious Warning Cry

Oct. 6, 2025 — Birds across the globe independently evolved a shared warning call against parasites, blending instinct and learning in a remarkable evolutionary pattern. The finding offers a rare glimpse into how ...

Earlier Headlines

Hidden for 70 Million Years, a Tiny Fossil Fish Is Rewriting Freshwater Evolution

Oct. 4, 2025 — Researchers in Alberta uncovered a fossil fish that rewrites the evolutionary history of otophysans, which today dominate freshwater ecosystems. The new species, Acronichthys maccognoi, shows early ...

Scientists Uncover a Mysterious Jurassic Lizard With Snake-Like Jaws

Oct. 3, 2025 — A strange Jurassic lizard discovered on Scotland’s Isle of Skye is shaking up what we know about snake evolution. Named Breugnathair elgolensis, the “false snake of Elgol” combined hook-like, ...

The Billion-Year Reign of Fungi That Predated Plants and Made Earth Livable

Oct. 1, 2025 — Fungi may have shaped Earth’s landscapes long before plants appeared. By combining rare gene transfers with fossil evidence, researchers have traced fungal origins back nearly a billion years ...

Black Mamba Venom Has a Deadly Hidden Second Strike

Sep. 30, 2025 — Scientists have uncovered a dangerous hidden feature in Black Mamba venom that explains why antivenoms sometimes fail. The study revealed that several mamba species launch a dual neurological attack, ...

Pollen Holds a Secret That Could Save Honeybees

Sep. 30, 2025 — Scientists have discovered that pollen is a hidden source of natural medicine for honeybees. Symbiotic bacteria called Streptomyces produce antimicrobial compounds that fight deadly bee and plant ...

Stunning Images Reveal How Antibiotics Shatter Bacterial Defenses

Sep. 29, 2025 — Researchers have revealed how polymyxins, crucial last-resort antibiotics, break down bacterial armor by forcing cells to overproduce and shed it. Astonishingly, the drugs only kill bacteria when ...

Fossils in Germany Reveal a Jurassic Sea Monster With a Swordfish Snout

Sep. 29, 2025 — Scientists have named a new ichthyosaur, Eurhinosaurus mistelgauensis, from fossils found in Mistelgau, Germany. The marine reptile had a dramatic overbite similar to swordfish and unique skeletal ...

Miscarriages, Down Syndrome, and Infertility All Linked to This Hidden DNA Process

Sep. 28, 2025 — Human fertility hinges on a delicate molecular ballet that begins even before birth. UC Davis researchers have uncovered how special protein networks safeguard chromosomes as eggs and sperm form, ...

Hidden Bacterial Molecules in the Brain Reveal New Secrets of Sleep

Sep. 25, 2025 — New studies show that a bacterial molecule, peptidoglycan, is present in the brain and fluctuates with sleep patterns. This challenges the idea that sleep is solely brain-driven, instead suggesting ...

Breakthrough Wetsuits Slash Shark Attack Injuries and Save Lives

Sep. 25, 2025 — Shark experts tested four innovative wetsuit materials to measure how well they reduce shark-bite injuries. The results show they can lessen major trauma, blood loss, and even save lives when ...

This Flower Smells Like Dying Ants, and Flies Can’t Resist It

Sep. 25, 2025 — Vincetoxicum nakaianum tricks flies into pollinating it by imitating the smell of ants attacked by spiders. Ko Mochizuki stumbled upon this finding when he noticed flies clustering around the flowers ...

Mushrooms Evolved Psychedelics Twice, Baffling Scientists

Sep. 24, 2025 — Researchers found that magic mushrooms and fiber caps independently evolved different biochemical pathways to create psilocybin. This convergence shows nature’s ingenuity, but the reason why ...

Student’s Pinkie-Sized Fossil Reveals a New Croc Species

Sep. 23, 2025 — A 95-million-year-old crocodyliform fossil, affectionately nicknamed Elton, was discovered in Montana by student Harrison Allen. Unlike most crocs, it lived on land and ate a varied diet. The find ...

The Surprising Way Metabolism Controls Embryo Growth

Sep. 21, 2025 — Metabolism does more than fuel embryos—it sets their developmental rhythm. EMBL researchers found that a sugar molecule, FBP, controls the pace of spine formation, suggesting metabolism may act as ...

Hidden Gene Trick Lets Ants Smell With Super Precision

Sep. 20, 2025 — Researchers uncovered how ants keep their powerful sense of smell clear: by using a genetic safeguard that silences surrounding receptor genes. This discovery not only solves a decades-old puzzle but ...

Strange New Hybrid Bird Spotted in Texas Backyard

Sep. 20, 2025 — In Texas, biologists have documented an extraordinary bird — the natural hybrid offspring of a green jay and a blue jay. Once separated by millions of years of evolution and distinct ranges, the ...

A Plant Compound Might Be the Secret Weapon Against Gum Disease

Sep. 30, 2025 — A team of researchers tested morin, a plant compound, against gum disease bacteria and found strong antimicrobial benefits. By encapsulating it in polymers, they created a powdered form for oral ...

Stunning Fossil from the Gobi Desert Rewrites Dinosaur History

Sep. 20, 2025 — A newly discovered fossil in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert has revealed the oldest and most complete pachycephalosaur ever found, offering a rare glimpse into the early evolution of these dome-headed ...

Tiny Protein Pairs May Hold the Secret to Life’s Origin

Sep. 18, 2025 — A team from the University of Illinois has uncovered surprising evolutionary links between the genetic code and tiny protein fragments called dipeptides. By analyzing billions of dipeptide sequences ...

Soil Warming Experiments Challenge Assumptions About Climate Change

Sep. 17, 2025 — Heating alone won’t drive soil microbes to release more carbon dioxide — they need added carbon and nutrients to thrive. This finding challenges assumptions about how climate warming influences ...