Avocado trees change sex throughout the day by opening and closing their male and female flowers at different times, with different avocado types following opposite schedules to promote cross-pollination.

Fruit fly experiments show personality emerges, in part, from genetic factors

A 2025 study revealed that fruit flies exhibit unique behavioral preferences, akin to personalities, which could be artificially selected for when breeding to modify behavioral variability. This variability can be adaptive in unpredictable environments.

Human beekeeping has been traced back to 7000 BCE

Eighty-seven of the world's leading crops rely on pollination in some way, including 43 that are highly dependent or entirely reliant on it. Without pollinators, key foods such as apples, avocados, and almonds would likely become extinct, pushing entire ecosystems into collapse.

Fruit fly experiments helped identify genes responsible for major body development

The insects' fast life cycle and affordability have allowed geneticists to quickly identify which genes are responsible for limbs, eyes, and other body structures by inducing mutations. The same genes may be responsible for different parts of a species' body, such as limb-building genes being responsible for wing pigmentation in butterflies.

Over 1,500 insect species pollinate plants in the UK

These insects—including bumblebees, moths, butterflies, and beetles—play a crucial role in the reproduction of flowering plants, also known as angiosperms. They do so by transferring pollen from the male reproductive organ—the anther—to the female one—the stigma—which enables the plant to produce fruit.

Why are there as many males as females?

Pretty much every species breaks down with an equal sex-ratio, with roughly the same number of males as females. But on the surface, it appears that most species wouldn't need many males to keep the population growing, with their energy-efficient, abundant sex cell production. So why is it equal? Scientists argue an equal ratio is the most evolutionarily stable. Learn about this quirk of biology here.

Pollinators help develop seeds by transferring pollen between flowering plants

As bees approach a bright, colorful flower for nectar, they bump into its stamen—the flower's male reproductive organ—and pollen gets stuck to the pollinator's body. This pollen can then be deposited on another flower's sticky pistil—the flower's female reproductive organ—which brings the pollen down to the ovule for fertilization.

Some female tardigrades reabsorb their eggs if no male fertilizes them

The eggs are laid in skin that has detached after molting. These species undergo sexual reproduction, but others reproduce asexually, with females producing clones from unfertilized eggs. Some hermaphrodite species have both male and female reproductive organs and can self-fertilize.

Sex determination isn't all XX and XY

We're generally taught that chromosomes determine an animal's sex, but it is way more nuanced than that. Watch this 12-minute video to find out how.

Genetic engineering has accelerated millennia of altering various crops' genes

Although farmers have long cross-bred crops to obtain plants with specific colors, sizes, and other characteristics, these processes took significant time. Today, genetic modification in agriculture involves scientists altering an organism's DNA for various purposes, including enhancing pathogen resistance, removing allergens, and delaying spoilage.

Fruit fly sperm are gigantic—about 40 times larger than human sperm, according to scientific research published in June 2026.

Twin studies helped scientists understand why mosquitoes like some of us more than others

A combination of carbon dioxide output, skin chemistry, genetic factors, hormones, and clothing choice can make us particularly vulnerable to mosquito bites. Watch how mosquitoes responded to one man in the video versus his wife, a research approach typically conducted with identical and fraternal twins to test mosquito attractiveness.

Small genetic changes that accumulate over time force flu vaccines to be updated regularly.

Coevolution of pollinators and flowering plants diversified both

The first pollinators were beetles, which consumed pollen before flowering plants existed. Over time, plants evolved to attract more insects and improve the uptake of pollen, while insects adapted their biology to enhance the capture of pollen, such as developing specialized mouthparts.

Millions of honeybees are hauled yearly across the US to help pollinate farms

As indigenous pollinator populations dwindle, farmers increasingly rely on commercial honeybees, which truckers often transport during cooler periods to prevent die-off from overheating. Pollinating all the almond trees in California requires 85% to 90% of all honeybees available to pollinate in the country.

Major genetic shifts in flu viruses can spark global pandemics

Antigenic shift happens when two different influenza viruses infect the same host and swap genetic material. The result is a brand-new subtype of influenza which, if easily spread among people, can trigger a worldwide pandemic.

Why physiology and genetics prevent king bees from existing

The mating process is fatal to male honey bees, as their endophallus detaches from their bodies and remains temporarily within the queen. Because fertilized honey bee eggs develop into female bees, if a male somehow did survive and become king, his line of succession would also abruptly end.

Almost 80% of people diagnosed with autoimmune diseases are women

Yet it's still unanswered what may account for that difference. To better understand this disparity researchers are exploring factors including hormonal changes that occur around puberty, pregnancy, and menopause, as well as gut microbe differences, and aspects of X-chromosome protein-coding genes. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

Sleep deprivation leads to the buildup of dangerous molecules in the gut.

Why are women more likely to suffer autoimmune diseases than men?

A majority of Americans with autoimmune diseases have more than one X chromosome, a typical marker of the female biological sex, according to a study published in February of 2024. During fetal development, cells side with one X chromosome over the other, preventing the overproduction of X-chromosome-specific proteins and shutting down the twin chromosome. This article explores how this X-chromosome inactivation can lead to autoimmune disorders by generating antibodies to the body's own tissues.

Without dinosaurs, plants could produce fleshy fruits with bigger seeds

Previously disturbed by massive herbivores, denser and darker forests shifted plant evolution, reaching the greatest diversity of seed sizes, fruit sizes, and fruit types about 50 million years ago.

Metamorphosis evolved over millions of years as species that hatched as smaller versions of adults started exhibiting genetic mutations that differentiated juvenile and adult bodies.

About one-third of the world's food supply depends on pollinators like bees, butterflies, and bats to transfer pollen between flowers, which use bright colors, scents, and nectar to attract them.

Unlike fruits, the category of 'vegetables' is a culinary term, not a scientific one

Within botany, fruits are defined as the ripened ovaries of flowering plants, and include apples, grapes, tomatoes, avocados, green beans, peppers, and almonds. In the kitchen, "vegetables" is an umbrella term that encompasses many fruits and other parts of plants, such as leaves (lettuce, kale) and roots (carrots, beets).

Spiders may manipulate captured male fireflies into mimicking female mating signals

Rather than killing a male firefly captured in its web, the Araneus ventricosus spider bites into it, which researchers believe injects a venom that disrupts normal flashing behavior and produces a form of mimicry to attract additional males. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Organisms can possess multiple unique sets of DNA in one body

Genetic chimeras can result when cells with different DNA combine, such as when two sperm cells fertilize two egg cells, creating two embryos that then merge. In mosaicism, mutations arise within an organism after conception and can spread through cell division, resulting in diseases and forming genetically distinct anatomy.

Bees are more likely to remember a flower if its nectar contains caffeine

Plants want pollinators to keep coming back, so the finding suggests that some plants, such as Citrus and Coffea species, have evolved to include caffeine in their nectar. Researchers suggest the findings could help develop methods to reinvigorate pollinator populations.

How we helped make Aedes aegypti mosquitoes such a problem

Mosquito genome sequencing data suggests that Aedes aegypti mosquitoes first started specializing on human blood around 5,000 years ago—when climates shifted and humans started domesticating plants in Africa and stored large amounts of water that may have attracted the bugs.

Unique species evolved independently on each Galápagos island

The islands formed over millions of years because of a hot spot in the Nazca Plate, where magma breaks through and forms volcanoes. As these islands drifted, plants and animals became secluded, making each island its own an isolated experiment that would influence Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

Our love of chocolate may have to do with how it ferments than previously realized—with specific microbes associated with more fruity or acetic tastes.

Bees are crucial for pollination and food security

When animals and insects pick up the pollen of flowers and spread it, they allow plants, including many food crops, to reproduce. The most common pollinator is the bee, but bees are at risk from pollution and pesticides.

Distinct plant species evolved to produce caffeine as a pesticide

Although it provides a defense against insects trying to eat caffeine-bearing plants, the molecule is an example of exaptation, where its original function was repurposed over time. Studies show that some plants now produce caffeine-laced nectar to help pollinators move more quickly and pollinate more efficiently.

Poison ivy is in the same family as mangoes, cashews, and pistachios, and they all produce oily urushiol in their raw, unprocessed state—but they are typically prepared in ways to avoid causing human discomfort.

Appropriate timing of land management techniques can help support pollinators

The mowing, grazing, and burning practices used to maintain land should be tailored to the life cycles and needs of native pollinators, particularly those of rare or endangered species. For example, mowing is recommended in the fall or winter when flowers are not in bloom.

Solar panels can create pollinator-friendly habitats by protecting flowering plants

An example of agrivoltaics, where land is used for solar energy production and agriculture, the panels provide clean energy while also shading plants from excessive sunlight. Pollinator-friendly plants can improve water quality and reduce soil erosion by obstructing the wind.

A weed from the mustard family facilitated the molecular era of botany

The small genome and rapid growth cycle of Arabidopsis thaliana have made it an ideal organism for genetic studies, with over 100,000 research papers exploring topics such as disease resistance, stress tolerance, and response to light. The first studies were done on plants that grew from seeds saved during the Hungarian Uprising of 1956.

Female Anopheles mosquito bites are the primary way malaria spreads

Females are the only ones that bite: They need blood to get essential nutrients for egg development. Very rarely, the disease is also spread via blood transfusions, organ transplants, shared needles, or from mother to fetus during pregnancy or birth.

As of 2025, scientists at B2 study the heat tolerance of cacao and coffee trees

The research at Biosphere 2 has led to the development of low-cost plant monitors, which can be provided to farmers worldwide to enable more precise monitoring of crops. Geodesic domes built within the ocean biome are used to investigate the best architectural structures for repopulating degraded reefs.

Variations in beak shape helped birds survive the dinosaur extinction event

The asteroid that struck Earth 66 million years ago killed some avian dinosaurs. The smaller species endured by reproducing more quickly and adapting to the environment. Their different beaks allowed them to eat more varied foods for survival.