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Biology

Essays and videos exploring physics, evolution, cosmology and other frontiers in science

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Microscopic images of cells showing vibrant colours in various patterns against a black background.

videoBiology

For 3 billion years, life was unicellular. Why did it start to collaborate?

4 minutes

Close-up digital illustration of a lysosome showing detailed proteins in various colours on its surface.

videoBiology

Dive deep into an egg cell to see how ageing reboots when a new life begins

2 minutes

Silhouette of a bird on a branch against a golden sunset sky.

essayAnimals and humans

Life thrums with music

Listen to the boundless sounds of nature, the great animal orchestra, whose songs imbue the world with fresh meaning

Jay Griffiths

3D colour spectrum graph with X, Y, Z axes and a colourful curved surface on a black background, digital rendering.

videoMathematics

After centuries of trying, we’ve yet to arrive at a perfect way to map colour

20 minutes

Abstract digital art of a web-like cosmic structure with purple and orange filament patterns, resembling a universe simulation.

essayCosmology

Rivers of galaxies

What are the largest shapes in the Universe? The answer might be found in the most unassuming places here on Earth

Mark Neyrinck

Photo of two polar bears exploring a decaying wooden building, one looks out a window, the other stands on the porch steps.

essayAnimals and humans

Humanlike?

Interpreting the emotional lives of animals requires a subtler and more nuanced understanding of anthropomorphism

Mike Dacey

Yellow slime mould on textured tree bark, showcasing intricate branching patterns.

essayBiology

Memories without brains

Certain slime moulds can make decisions, solve mazes and remember things. What can we learn from the blob?

Matthew Sims

essayThe future

Homo crustaceous

‘Everything becomes crab’ is more than an absurd meme. The crab is a deep symbol of our devil’s bargain with technology

Michael Garfield

Black birds flying over snowy mountains with dramatic cloudy skies in the background.

essayEvolution

Empire of flight

They have big brains, long childhoods and sociable, curious minds. So why haven’t birds developed complex culture?

Antone Martinho-Truswell

Photo of a wicker basket with two kittens and a squirrel inside against a decorative blue and white tiled wall.

videoAnimals and humans

One man’s quest to save an orphaned squirrel, as narrated by David Attenborough

14 minutes

Black and white photo of oil workers handling equipment on a rig, with oil splashing out from the pipe they are holding.

essayGender

Does testosterone make men?

In probing whether there are basic sex differences in humans, a psychologist and a biologist agree to seriously disagree

Cordelia Fine & Carole Hooven

Microscopic image showing a close-up view of a butterfly’s proboscis covered with vibrant pink and orange structures.

videoBiology

Butterflies become unrecognisable landscapes when viewed under electron microscopes

4 minutes

Microscope photo of a flea’s head showing detailed orange and black features against a black background.

videoBiology

‘Save the parasites’ may not be a popular rallying cry – but it could be a vital one

11 minutes

Black and white close-up photo of a lizard with its tongue extended, about to catch a worm. The background is dark and blurred.

videoEvolution

The many ways a lizard tongue sticks, grasps, pinches and plops – in slo-mo

6 minutes

Black and white photograph of a cloudy sky with swirling lines resembling bird flight patterns.

videoBiology

Starlings swoosh like brushstrokes across the sky in this dazzling short

3 minutes

A brown wren standing on a rock with a blurred background.

essayBiology

In praise of subspecies

To lump or to split? Deciding whether an animal is a species or subspecies profoundly influences our conservation priorities

Richard Smyth

Line drawing of a frog from a below perspective, with circles of various sizes indicating ripples.

videoEcology and environmental sciences

The tree frog die-off that sparked a global mystery – and revealed a dark truth

15 minutes

A small animal curled up asleep on brown moss against a black background illuminated by a spotlight.

essayBiology

Could humans hibernate?

Hibernation allows many animals to time-travel from difficult times to plenty. Could humans learn how to do it too?

Vladyslav Vyazovskiy

A sea turtle swimming underwater in clear turquoise water with sunlight shimmering on the surface.

essayPhilosophy of science

Elusive but everywhere

A new theory argues that unseen ‘fields’ guide all goal-directed things in the Universe, from falling rocks to voyaging turtles

Daniel W McShea & Gunnar O Babcock

Aerial view of a coastal area at dusk with multiple streaks of red light travelling over water and land, illuminating the landscape.

videoEcology and environmental sciences

GPS tracking reveals stunning insights into the patterns of migratory birds

6 minutes

Photo of two grey birds on a rock by water, one standing and the other appearing to crash land into the rock, neck bent with wings raised; green reeds in background.

essayPhilosophy of science

Life makes mistakes

Hens try to hatch golf balls, whales get beached. Getting things wrong seems to play a fundamental role in life on Earth

David S Oderberg

3D rendering of a green, abstract, textured structure resembling dense tangled fibres on a black background.

videoNeuroscience

This intricate map of a fruit fly brain could signal a revolution in neuroscience

2 minutes

Close-up photo of butterfly wing scales in shades of orange, pink, white and black arranged in a mosaic-like pattern.

videoBiology

Brilliant dots of colour form exquisite patterns in this close-up of butterfly wings

3 minutes

A kingfisher underwater catching a fish amid rising bubbles.

essayComplexity

Problem-solving matter

Life is starting to look a lot less like an outcome of chemistry and physics, and more like a computational process

David C Krakauer & Chris Kempes