Ed Yong

The Strange Influence the Sun Has on Whales

A solar storm can throw whales off-course, suggesting that the large animals might have an internal compass.

• Ed Yong
• February 24, 2020

A Huge Discovery in the World of Viruses

Giant phages have been found in French lakes, baboons from Kenya, and the human mouth.

• Ed Yong
• February 20, 2020

The Cascading Consequences of the Worst Disease Ever

Nature is clearly in crisis—but what do researchers do when they only have imperfect data on the extent of the losses?

• Ed Yong
• February 13, 2020

The New Coronavirus Is a Truly Modern Epidemic

New diseases are mirrors that reflect how a society works—and where it fails.

• Ed Yong
• February 3, 2020

The Deceptively Simple Number Sparking Coronavirus Fears

Here’s what the oft-cited R0 number tells us about the new outbreak—and what it doesn’t.

• Ed Yong
• January 28, 2020

There’s a Perfectly Good Reason to Mass-Produce Snake Venom

Lab-grown glands can now produce realistic cocktails of toxins, which could help address one of the world’s biggest and most neglected health crises.

• Ed Yong
• January 23, 2020

The Bleak Future of Australian Wildlife

The bushfires were a disaster waiting to happen for animals already fighting for survival.

• Ed Yong
• January 14, 2020

What Scientists Learned by Putting 3-D Glasses on Cuttlefish

They perceive depth in a very different way than we do.

• Ed Yong
• January 8, 2020

The Survival Advantage of Being a Fancy Baby Coot

Unlike many other gaudy animal ornaments, the red-and-orange heads of coot chicks are honest indicators of weakness and vulnerability.

• Ed Yong
• December 31, 2019

The Startling Secret of an Invincible Virus

A phage that resists all forms of the antiviral defense known as CRISPR has an unusual means of survival.

• Ed Yong
• December 11, 2019

The Blue Whale’s Heart Beats at Extremes

For the first time, scientists recorded a cardiogram from the largest animal that has ever lived.

• Ed Yong
• November 25, 2019

What America Lost When It Lost the Bison

By migrating in huge herds, bison behave like a force of nature, engineering and intensifying waves of spring greenery that other grazers rely on.

• Ed Yong
• November 18, 2019

Apes Might Know That You Don’t Know What They Know

The latest volley in a decades-long debate about apes’ theory of mind involved one scientist dressing up as King Kong and stealing from his colleague.

• Ed Yong
• November 15, 2019

Has Humanity’s Homeland Been Found?

A contentious new paper traces the origins of modern humans to ancient wetlands in Africa, a claim other researchers have called far-fetched.

• Ed Yong
• October 28, 2019

A Textbook Evolutionary Story About Moths and Bats Is Wrong

For 50 years, researchers have thought that moths evolved ears to detect the ultrasonic calls of attacking bats—but a new study shows that ears came first.

• Ed Yong
• October 21, 2019

A Hidden World of Strange Starfish-Like Creatures in the Abyss

It has only now come to light, and could be destroyed if deep-sea mining is allowed to go ahead.

• Ed Yong
• October 17, 2019

The Real Danger of Booze-Making Gut Bacteria

Microbes can produce so much alcohol that people become drunk—and sustain liver damage—without touching any booze.

• Ed Yong
• September 20, 2019

The Quiet Disappearance of Birds in North America

Though the continent has 3 billion fewer birds than it did in 1970, those losses are hard to glean because it’s the commonest species that have been hit hardest.

• Ed Yong
• September 19, 2019

How Ancient DNA Can Help Recast Colonial History

The people of pre-colonial Puerto Rico did not disappear entirely—a new study shows that the island’s residents still carry bits of their DNA.

• Ed Yong
• September 18, 2019