The Living Gömböc

Some turtle shells evolved the ideal shape for staying upright.

baseball

Battered Expectations

Do baseballs obey the conventional laws of physics?

Bird biomechanics 2

On Swift Wings

What airplane designers could learn from the shape-changing wings of birds

Moray eel

Jaws Two

Moray eels grab scientific attention—and more—with their jaws.

old skate

Skating through the Ages

Skaters have been speeding up over the centuries, thanks to better footwear.

Scallop Using Jet Propulsion

Cold Squirts

Antarctic scallops have lighter shells, less muscle mass, and more resilient hinge rubber than their tropical cousins.

algae

Keep Me Hanging On

Surviving in the intertidal zone tests the rubbery limits of algae.

shark bites

When the Shark Bites

Teeth that stab or crush to match their meal

fly foot

Shoe Fly

To walk on walls and ceilings, your feet have to stick, but they have to get unstuck, too.

fern

Spore Launchers

Ferns and fungi that explosively reproduce

blowfish

Boxed Up to Go

The seemingly unwieldy shape of a fish is anything but a drag.

Recent Stories

The way they live, the food they eat, and the effect on us

A true but unlikely tale

Story and Photographs by William Rowan

Increasing day length on the early Earth boosted oxygen released by photosynthetic cyanobacteria.

Genomic evidence shows that Denisovans and modern humans may have overlapped in Wallacea.