Coastal areas often bear the brunt of human activities, with pollutants seeping into the water and settling into the sediments. Among the creatures affected are golden kelp, E. radiata, which can't just up and leave when things get tough. They have to toughen up or adapt to survive. Scientists wanted to see how two groups of these kelp, living in different parts of ...

In the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, a group of stray dogs has captured attention not just for their survival skills, but also for their striking blue fur. This unusual coloration is thought to be due to chemical exposure, possibly from a leaking portable toilet, rather than radiation. The dogs, descendants of pets left behind during the 1986 nuclear disaster, have becom...

Nature is full of surprises, and one of them is how quickly animals can adapt to new environments. Take the fish Neosalanx brevirostris, for example. Scientists wanted to know how this fish could quickly adjust to living in freshwater after spending time in saltwater. They looked at the genes of four freshwater fish groups and compared them to their saltwater ancest...

Human nutrition has always been a mix of biology and culture. Let's start from the beginning, when our ancient relatives, the Homo genus, were busy foraging, scavenging, hunting, and gathering. This was a time when food was found in nature, not supermarkets. As time passed, we saw a big shift with the Neolithic transition, where people started farming and keeping liv...

Picture this: about 50, 000 years ago, humans and Neanderthals started mixing. This genetic exchange lasted for around 7, 000 years. Today, non-African humans carry about 1% to 2% Neanderthal DNA. This blend might have strengthened our immune systems and influenced our skin colors. But not all Neanderthal genes were welcome. There are parts of our DNA that are comple...