New Scientist

Biological processes such as DNA replication or cellular structure formation may become more accurate when done as quickly as possible, offering new hints into life's origins

When bacteria were put in alternating environments, some became better at evolving to cope with the changes – evidence that “evolvability” can be gained through natural selection

A kneecap and two teeth found in Germany have been identified as belonging to a new species of ape from 11.6 million years ago, thought to have weighed as little as 10 kilograms

Dominant male Verreaux’s sifakas always have the largest testicles in their group to make the most sperm, and they can grow their gonads to make sure of it

The mystery of how a single-celled predator extends its "neck" by more than 30 times its overall length has finally been solved

A genetic analysis of ancient horses reveals that breeding techniques developed by people in the Pontic-Caspian steppes enabled the rapid spread of horse-powered travel

Social media is adamant that you can fertilise your houseplants with milk, but I'll be saving mine for a hot drink, says James Wong

This astonishing image may look like a deep-sea monster, with its big teeth and gaping mouth, but the humpback anglerfish is really no bigger than your hand

Researchers trained a hawk outfitted with microphones to fly through a swarm of 600,000 bats, revealing how they can hear their own voice in a crowd

In recent years, China recalled pandas from three out of four US zoos that had the bears, signalling diplomatic tensions between the two countries – but this year China has offered two new pairs of giant pandas

A rare sighting of a giant pangolin revives hopes for the species' survival in West Africa, despite threats from poaching and deforestation

A rare fossil skull provides strong evidence that the Dromornithidae, an extinct group of Australian flightless birds, were related to geese and ducks

Efforts to remove animal traps and discourage poaching in Vietnamese protected areas have been partly effective, but conservationists say other approaches are needed to safeguard threatened species

Queen Asian hornets found in East Sussex this year are a genetic match to a 2023 nest, suggesting the invasive species is becoming established in the UK

A small fern found only on a few Pacific islands has more than 100 metres of DNA in every single cell, more than any other organism that we know of

Humans from many cultures tend to associate the nonsense words “bouba” and “kiki” with different shapes – and now it seems that 3-day-old chicks have the same inclinations

Feedback wonders if previous research into 'courtship behaviours of ostriches' in the UK will be taken into account by the owner of a new ostrich farm in New Hampshire

Ponds have long been neglected by science, but we can't overlook these diverse and important nature hotspots any more, say Jeremy Biggs and Penny Williams

A set of Australian fossils offers a rare glimpse of the ancient relatives of platypuses and echidnas that lived alongside the dinosaurs 100 million years ago

On Yakushima island, sika deer might have forced flora to shrink as small as a tenth of the size of their mainland counterparts