Chimpanzees are dying from human colds

Increasing contact between humans and wild animals is driving zoonotic threats

Zoonotic diseases, which spread from animals to humans, present one of the most significant emerging threats worldwide. Scientists have identified around 200 viruses capable of infecting humans, and unfortunately, the number of such diseases are on the rise—at least 60% of all emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic in origin.

Wild chimpanzees have been spotted with leprosy lesions

In research published in 2021, scientists reported discovering cases of leprosy in wild chimpanzees from Guinea-Bissau and the Ivory Coast—marking the first time the disease has been found in any nonhuman species in Africa. They confirmed that leprosy was the cause of the deformities by testing the animals' poop for the presence of the disease-causing bacteria.

Watch how viruses like Ebola can spill over from animals to humans—and vice-versa.

HIV originated in Central and West Africa from a virus in chimpanzees

Researchers believe the virus crossed from chimpanzees to humans through bushmeat practices in the early 20th century, with genetic studies suggesting the most recent common ancestor of the HIV-1 M group, which is responsible for the global AIDS pandemic, emerged around 1910–1930 in Léopoldville (now Kinshasa) in the Belgian Congo.

Bird Flu is spreading—what does that mean for us and other species?

The rapid global spread of H5N1 bird flu—from remote Antarctic islands to US farms—shows how animal spillover, driven by human activity and ecological disruption, is accelerating pandemic risk across species long before sustained human transmission begins.

Yes, many animals get malaria—not just humans

Birds, rodents, monkeys, lizards, bats, apes, and livestock are among the species that can become infected with malaria. Infected animals' symptoms often resemble those of humans, including fever, lethargy, loss of appetite and difficulty breathing. Birds will also have ruffled feathers and drooped heads.

Climate change is influencing the spread of disease

Rising temperatures and water levels are forcing animals and pathogens beyond their typical boundaries. This article and its data visualizations explore the proliferation of climate-driven diseases.

At one point in the 20th century, more than a million Americans had pet monkeys

This choice to domesticate monkeys proved to be trickier than expected, and thus isn't a very appealing option for humans. Monkeys breed more slowly than other animals, while also being susceptible to diseases and challenging to contain.

Animals get SAD—especially those in zoos, like pandas

Giant pandas in locations outside their evolved latitudinal range (from southeast Asia to northern regions around Beijing) exhibit more sluggish behavior, even when they were born there. Researchers have observed that similar sensitivities to "photoperiods" (or time with light) impacts many animals, including birds, insects, and our pets. (Nautilus imposes a metered paywall.)

The Chinese market for donkey hides has created a new source of diseases

Since 1992, China’s donkey population has dropped more than 80 percent. This report examines how China’s booming demand for a traditional medicine known as e-jiao, made from collagen from donkey hides, is leading to the slaughter of 6 million African donkeys annually, and providing a new source for zoonotic diseases.

Watch an expert's take on the rare disease hantavirus—and why it's not of great concern to the general population

This rare zoonotic disease, transmitted to humans primarily through infected rodent droppings, urine, or saliva, is rarely spread between people. The disease was of particular concern in spring 2026, when an outbreak occurred on a 150-person cruise ship, prompting a flurry of action, including contact tracing for passengers in their home countries. The disease can be fatal. But early care—primarily oxygen support—can help patients survive.

The 4% DNA difference between humans and chimps

On the genetic level, we’re not all that different from chimps. But those small differences in DNA can have huge effects. This 11-minute video digs in to the topic.

The Paranthropus genus, our mysterious extinct cousins

In the last century, skull and jaw fragments have been discovered in East Africa suggesting an ancient hominin species lived, evolved, and died alongside humanity's ancestors. With large, broad skulls and strong jaws, the Paranthropus genus—which includes several related species—is an absorbing case of the effects of niche partitioning, where species coexist by adapting differently to the environment. Paranthropus died out and human ancestors endured. Find out why here.

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.

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.

Watch David Attenborough's unexpected interaction with a family of gorillas on 'Life on Earth'

On the border between Rwanda and the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo, Attenborough used specific vocalizations and behaviors to approach a female gorilla peacefully, only to have two of her children lie down on him. Through a comical exchange, the incident helps show the creatures to be the opposite of the aggressive, violent stereotypes about them.

Scientists can suck animal DNA from the air

A look at how researchers filtered the air around two zoos and identified genetic material from dozens of species, a technique that could help track and conserve wildlife.

Charles Darwin studied goose bumps by scaring zoo animals in London with a stuffed snake

Read the famous naturalist’s work from the late 1800s, detailing how he sought to draw comparisons between how animals and humans respond to fear. As part of that work, he exposed monkeys and a peccary to a stuffed snake and noted the animals’ hair-raising fear response.

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

How a deadly antarctic expedition turned poisonous

A deadly 1912 scientific expedition to the Antarctic took a turn for the worse when the expedition team's leader turned to man's best friend to fuel their journey. This 21-minute podcast episode provides a glimpse into the real-life dangers of...

California condors have been vaccinated against West Nile to protect their limited population

The condors became endangered in the 20th century primarily due to lead poisoning from consuming animals shot with lead bullet fragments inside them, so condors in captivity and in the wild are vaccinated against diseases including highly pathogenic avian flu and West Nile.

Tracing the history of the philosophy of human extinction

Global catastrophe is at the center of much contemporary debate over climate, war, science, technology, and more, and our period is marked by a lurking sense everything we know—including the human species—could end overnight. It wasn't always...

Humanity's reduced body hair slows down wound healing

Cuts to human skin take twice as long to heal compared to chimps and other mammals. Scientists argue this is due to the reduced number of hair follicles on human bodies. Hair follicles contain stem cells which help repair skin cells faster, so as humanity shed its hair over time, so to speak, it also slowed its wound healing.

Grieving primate mothers will carry dead infant for long after death—and others will comfort her

An examination of infant corpse carrying practices among non-human primate mothers found that 40 species of primate mothers will carry around their dead infant for days, weeks, or even months. In some cases, a grieving primate's group members would provide grieving support—hugging or staying close to mothers who experienced a loss.

South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are most at risk from falling pollinator numbers

Researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that declines in pollinator populations would lead to higher rates of nutritional deficiencies, particularly in developing nations. Nations with large populations, such as China and India, would also be significantly impacted.

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.

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

Schizophrenia increases heat death risks in several complex ways

Evidence shows that people with schizophrenia have an inherently harder time regulating internal body temperatures. They may also struggle to find safe shelter during extreme heat, and their prescribed antipsychotic medications often have dehydrating effects, collectively elevating the risk of heat-related illness and death, as illustrated by this article that focuses on the final days of Stephan Goodwin's life in 2022. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

Europeans' arrival to America brought disease to Indigenous populations

Indigenous people lived in the Americas for centuries before the arrival of the first Europeans in the 15th century. Their arrival was disastrous for Native tribes; in addition to being enslaved and losing their land, they had no natural immunity to the diseases brought by colonists. Eventually, up to 95% of the Native American population was killed by illnesses including typhus, chickenpox, and cholera, an event now known as the Great Dying.

How the most famous Ebola book, The Hot Zone, which sold 3.5 million copies and was translated into 30 languages, got aspects of the disease so wrong.

Cultural norms about how to handle the bodies of loved ones in communities in West Africa have hampered Ebola responses.

Apeirophobia is an overwhelming fear of living forever, perhaps stemming from the brain's inability to conceptualize an infinite life.

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

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

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.

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

See how each of the more than two million known species relates to each other—and to common ancestors—in this zoomable tree of life.

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

See these 16 pieces of art evoking phobias of snakes, flying, spiders, and more. 

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.

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

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

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

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

Volcanoes 'die' when their supply of magma runs out, if they are shifted away from their underlying magma reservoir, or if they get clogged by collapsing or their magma cooling back into rock.

Hurricanes, which rely on air consistently spinning in the same direction, cannot cross the equator because air curves in opposite directions north and south of it.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

Famed poet TS Eliot rejected the manuscript for George Orwell's political fable 'Animal Farm,' writing that its criticism of authoritarianism was not 'the right point of view.'