Larger animals like giraffes, elephants, and blue whales have developed a unique defense against cancer, a phenomenon known as Peto's Paradox

Dinosaurs suffered from cancer, arthritis, and infections seen in modern animals

Using CT scans and advanced pathology techniques, paleopathologists have identified respiratory illnesses, malignant osteosarcoma, and other diseases in dinosaurs. The research has helped show how many of these ailments are not exclusively modern phenomena.

Environment and genetics explain why animals have widely different lifespans

Both environmental conditions and genetic factors shape how long various animals live. For some creatures, colder conditions allow for less energy use and slower aging. Larger animals have fewer predators. While humans don't live the longest, we are a rare species that successfully lengthened its average lifespan over time.

The immune system is in a constant fight against mutations

At the heart of cancerous cells is the development of mutations—an ongoing and continuous process that happens frequently. So why don’t we get cancer immediately? The body’s immune system has developed intricate methods to detect and destroy cancer cells, catching the vast majority before they get the chance to evolve into tumors.

Why don't giraffes get hypertension?

The average blood pressure of a giraffe is about double that of a human, yet they don't suffer from the symptoms of high blood pressure that humans do: stiffening of the left heart ventricle, shortness of breath, fatigue, or swollen legs and ankles. This article explains how giraffes have evolved to have the "biological equivalent of support stockings."

Low cell division rates in heart cells make heart cancer particularly rare

The heart's location in the chest also offers protection from external cancer-causing factors. The disease affects about 3 in every 10,000 people, though most cases arise from metastasis from other body parts.

Some animals have little or no bacterial populations in their gut

Gut microbiomes are essential to human health, but many animals have a much smaller, transient, or even nonexistent microbiome. The discoveries have advanced our understanding of the evolution of the human microbiome.

Georges Cuvier used his knowledge of anatomy to prove extinction had occurred

Extinction had been viewed as impossible because a divine plan for the world would not rationally involve the loss of any of God’s creations. However, mammoth and mastodon bones differed from elephants’, and it seemed impossible that such creatures could be hiding elsewhere on Earth.

Cells cannot grow forever due to escalating inefficiency in transporting chemicals

As cells get larger, their volume grows much faster than the surface area through which nutrients and waste products pass, creating a bottleneck that eventually causes cells to die. This forces nearly all organisms visible to the naked eye to comprise enormous numbers of smaller cells, such as the approximately 30 trillion found in the average adult human.

There are hundreds of subtypes of cancer, making a universal cure nearly impossible

Cancer is an umbrella term for over 200 different diseases, each with its own subtypes, genetic mutations, and behaviors. This diversity means that a treatment effective for one cancer type or patient may be ineffective for others. Moreover, as tumors grow, their cells accumulate different mutations, creating subclones with unique characteristics.

Evolution doesn't want you to see these animals

Invisibility is an oft-coveted superpower that many creatures throughout the animal kingdom have evolved to mimic through transparent camouflage. This article explores the science of this seemingly magical ability. The two critical ingredients in...

Pigs are preferred for xenografts because of their size and low disease risk

Pigs are of particular interest for xenotransplants because the animals are close to human size, are easily raised in captivity, and have large litters. They’re already routined killed for food and they’re less genetically related to humans than nonhuman primates, which reduces disease transmission risks and some researchers’ ethical concerns.

An interesting perspective on whether (and how) brain size matters in cognitive ability

Some brains are bigger than others, but what is the relevance, if any, to brain size and intelligence? This Scientific American article explores the question and offers examples. It also visually compares frontal slices of several mammals' brains, showing that humans don't necessarily have the biggest cerebrums on the block.

Bears have evolved natural mechanisms to avoid blood clots while hibernating

Movement is essential to keeping blood from clotting, which raises the question of why animals such as hibernating bears don't suffer from clots despite going months lying still. New research suggesting that the animals may have evolved to have lower concentrations of a specific protein may explain this phenomenon.

Advanced drugs are closing in on cancer's deadliest mutations

The protein KRAS, mutated in many cancers, was deemed ‘undruggable’. Now scientists are hoping to save lives with a batch of new compounds that target it.

Zoo animals have developed allergies, too

Although scientists do not know if allergies manifest among wild animals—and if animals can survive with them—in a zoo setting, veterinarians have observed zoo animals with common allergy symptoms, including itchiness, crusty skin, and runny eyes. Veterinarians have identified Asian elephants with pollen allergies and at least one jaguar with an allergy to fleas.

Humans are more genetically similar to cats than to dogs

While humans are not closely related to either cats or dogs from an evolutionary standpoint, scientists find that human and cat chromosomes are organized more similarly to each other than human and dog chromosomes, making cats a better model for studying human diseases.

Humans aren't the only mammals who go through menopause, but it's rare in the animal world

While scientists are unsure how many mammals actually experience menopause, they do know for sure that humans aren't the only ones. Orcas and some toothed whales (like belugas and narwhals) go through menopause. And a recent study found chimpanzees also experience the condition, though it's late in life.

Tigers emerged much earlier as a species than lions

Both lions and tigers are iconic big cats known for their size and power, but they remain distinct species. Beyond just looking different, they can exhibit very different behaviors. For example, tigers are significantly less social than lions, who live in social matriarchal groups. Tigers and lions are unlikely to ever interact in the wild, but humans have artificially bred them in captivity, creating a "liger."

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

How race science influences breast cancer research

Despite researchers' and physicians' pushback, race is still used in studies and clinics to categorize human differences in health conditions and treatment responses. This article explores how race has influenced breast cancer research. Considering race as a factor in cancer research, diagnosis, and treatment can lead to racial inequalities. Sociocultural factors, including food access and air pollution, greatly influence health outcomes.

Explore different living beings' sizes, from DNA to whales and the Pando clone

The Pando is actually a single organism in Utah, comprising more than 47,000 stems connected by a vast root system. It spans roughly 108 acres. Meanwhile, the average human stands at 5 feet and 7 inches. DNA, the genetic instructions for life, stands at a height of 3.5 nanometers.

Two dogs were able to detect prostate cancer in 98% of patients in one study

In this small study published in 2015, two highly trained German Shepherd dogs sniffed hundreds of urine samples and were able to accurately detect prostate cancer—sniffing out certain volatile organic compounds—in almost every single case. One dog was correct 98% of the time and the other correctly identified patients 100% of the time. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

The deep-sea fangtooth has the largest teeth of any marine species relative to body size

From transparent fish to the heaviest worms on the planet, these seven creepy creatures lurk in the deep sea. Learn all about them and the unique traits that help them survive and hunt.

Women typically have more robust immune responses than men

This difference helps women better combat infectious diseases, but this more turbo-charged response may also make women more vulnerable to autoimmune diseases by potentially priming their immune systems to overreact to their own cells and tissues and label them as invaders that must be destroyed. Roughly 80% of American women have autoimmune conditions.

The economics of horseshoe crab blood

Horseshoe crabs are older than dinosaurs and have survived five mass extinctions that wiped most life from the planet. But it's only now that their future as a species is in danger. This blood, worth about $60,000 per gallon, is hyper-sensitized to certain bacteria that are fatal to humans. This 17-minute podcast dives into humanity's pursuit of horseshoe crab blood, a "somewhat magical" mixture heavily relied on by the pharmaceutical industry.

Learn how monoclonal antibodies, which mimic the body's antibodies, can fight diseases like Ebola.

Scientists now know why wombats poop cubes

For years, scientists have been wondering why wombat poop is cube-shaped (yes, really). Now, they say they have got to the bottom of the mystery.

Tattoos remain visible on your skin thanks to immune cells called macrophages

Poison ivy will likely become both larger and more resilient due to climate change.

Animal phobias are likely the most common type of phobias, followed by an extreme fear of heights.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

Crows are believed to have intelligence on par with a seven-year-old child and demonstrate complex behaviors, from problem-solving with tools to recognizing human faces.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

Explore the animals that populate the depths of the ocean, from fish and coral in the first few hundred feet, all the way down to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Planarian flatworms are small, aquatic worms with exceptional regenerative capabilities. When cut, the worms can regenerate multiple bodies in a matter of weeks.

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

Learn how your body is, scientifically, like a firework with its own slow, controlled burn.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

Human-to-human transmission of hantavirus remains extremely rare, so the 2026 hantavirus cruise ship outbreak doesn't mean we're facing a COVID-style pandemic risk.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

While the sun's gravity keeps the planets in orbit, their gravity also pulls on the sun, causing it and everything else in the solar system to orbit around a mutual balance point called the barycenter—the true center of the solar system.

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.