HowStuffWorks Newsletter
From the smallest microbe to the largest mammal, Life Science explores the origins, evolution and expansion of life in all its forms. Explore a wide range of topics from biology to genetics and evolution.
Topics to Explore:
Snake plants are attractive and virtually ironclad houseplants, almost impossible to kill, though some of the hype about them acting as air purifying filters has been overblown.
Mangroves provide a habitat for wildlife such as fish, birds, deer and insects. They also stabilize shorelines, protect against storm surges and improve water quality. What's not to love?
Think of goosebumps as 'skin orgasms' that are caused by unexpected and pleasant experiences. You know you get them when you're cold, but what is going on in our brains that triggers them?
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The 2003 announcement that scientists had completed the first human genome came with an 8 percent gap. Now that gap has been filled and the first end-to-end human genome has been published.
Do the sewers hold the answers to the next COVID-19 surge? And what else can testing samples of untreated wastewater tell us about the health of our communities?
Ever find yourself momentarily disoriented in a familiar place or encounter a friend who looks like a stranger? You could be experiencing jamais vu.
It's more than just a cool trick. Monitoring that invisible animal DNA could have huge benefits for animal conservation.
By Alia Hoyt
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Scientists at the Natural History Museum in London described 552 species in 2021, including a couple of dinosaurs.
Time to get nutty! How much do you know about all of the different types of nuts out there? Take this quiz and find out!
By Alia Hoyt
One in three people consistently struggle through the autumn and winter months with a type of depression known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Here are some tips for dealing with it.
A Punnett square helps predict the possible ways an organism will express certain genetic traits, such as purple flowers or blue eyes.
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Scientists have determined that years of ivory poaching to fund Mozambique's civil war altered the genetics of the country's elephants. But it only affected the females. A new study tells why.
Whole genome sequencing can analyze a baby's DNA and search for mutations that may cause health issues now or later in life. But how prepared are we for this knowledge and should it be used on all babies?
Research shows no two brains are put together quite the same way. And we can find out the patterns in under two minutes.
Footprints unearthed at White Sands National Park in New Mexico were made some 23,000 years ago. That's much earlier than scientists have previously placed humans in the Americas.
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CRISPR is the genius behind innovations that seemed impossible a decade ago. Could you grow tomatoes with the kick of hot sauce or ferment wine that doesn't cause a hangover? That's just two of the things scientists are looking into.
Does it bug you when people around you fidget? If it does, you have something called misokinesia and you are not alone because one-third of those studied felt the same way.
By Todd Handy & Sumeet Jaswal
Even if you've never seen a saguaro in person, when you think "cactus," you're probably thinking "saguaro."
Researchers from the University of California, Santa Cruz determined that only about 1.5 to 7 percent of the modern human genome is unique to humans. The rest we share with our relatives the Neanderthals and the Denisovans.
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Batesian mimicry is an evolutionary strategy used by vulnerable species to look like a dangerous species so predators will leave them alone. But it only works under the right circumstances.
They might look like piles of goop, but slime molds can think and seemingly make decisions without a brain.
The marshmallow test is all about delayed gratification in children, but can other animals pass it too? And why would they?
Mold is a type of fungus, and it's everywhere — indoors, outdoors and even in the air. But is black mold worse than the rest?
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The U.S. has been a nation in mourning for more than a year. But the normal rituals for mourning deceased loved ones have been anything but normal. How do we move on and when?
By John Donovan
One of the weirdest organisms on Earth has a predictably quirky method of deciding where to go and what to do.