Sleep is a form of rest that animals use to recover energy. For many species, adequate sleep is essential. When animals fail to obtain enough rest, they often show slower reactions and poorer judgment, which can negatively affect survival and performance. Most people are familiar with the experience of nodding off when they are sleep-deprived. If someone tries to perform a task that requires strong concentration—such as driving—while lacking sleep, brief episodes of drowsines

When people think about long-lived animals, creatures such as sea turtles that can survive for more than a century or whales that may live for two or three hundred years often come to mind. Compared with these organisms, the average human lifespan of roughly seventy or eighty years seems relatively short. Throughout history, many individuals have searched for ways to extend life, hoping to discover a secret that could delay aging or even achieve immortality. Scientists have l

Galls produced by the gall wasp Diplolepis polita （圖片來源：Dean Morley，採用  CC BY-ND 2.0  授權） When walking outdoors, you may sometimes notice strange structures appearing on plant leaves. Such unusual swellings can arise from various causes. In some cases they are produced by infections from viruses, bacteria, or fungi. In other situations, organisms such as nematodes or arthropods—including insects—can also trigger the formation of bizarre structures on plants. Among these possi

Human activity is currently releasing large quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, pushing Earth's climate toward levels of warmth not seen for millions of years and producing long-lasting effects on ecosystems. However, given present-day emission levels, even though certain regions may eventually become unsuitable for life because of severe greenhouse warming, most parts of the planet would still remain habitable. Over much longer timescales, the Sun itself will

The striped marlin Kajikia audax  is a large predatory fish and one of the top predators of the open ocean. It possesses remarkable swimming speed and a long, sharp bill. During hunting events these fish often appear in groups. Yet such high-speed predation creates a potential problem: when several predators armed with dangerous bills rush toward the same prey, how do they avoid injuring one another? Previous observations have shown that striped marlin hunting in groups typic

Silicon dioxide (SiO₂), commonly known as silica, is one of the most abundant minerals on Earth. It is a major component of rocks and sand, accounting for more than ninety percent of the material found in many geological formations. In daily life, human activities frequently bring workers into contact with silica-containing materials. Construction, demolition of old buildings, interior stone decoration, stone carving, ceramic production, quarry blasting, and sandblasting proc

Ebola virus under electron microscopy（圖片來源：Cynthia Goldsmith， CC0 1.0  公共領域） In 1976, a terrifying infectious disease broke out in villages near the Ebola River in Zaire, now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Individuals who became infected developed severe symptoms including systemic bleeding, fever, myocardial complications, and multiple organ failure. The first documented patient was a teacher named Mabalo Lokela. At the beginning of his illness, the disease w

Bonobo ( Pan paniscus ), a primate mammal that exhibits same-sex sexual behaviour（圖片來源：natataek，採用  CC BY-SA 3.0  授權） Same-sex sexual behaviour has long attracted attention from many academic fields, including psychology, sociology, biology, and evolutionary science. Because such behaviour does not directly lead to reproduction, it has often been viewed, in theoretical terms, as disadvantageous from an evolutionary perspective. Yet the behaviour persists in a wide range of an

Tetraodon mbu （圖片來源：snoopy42， CC0 1.0  公共領域） Pain is one of the body's fundamental protective mechanisms. When an animal encounters something that causes pain, the unpleasant sensation serves as a warning, prompting it to withdraw and avoid further harm. In most situations, pain triggered by contact with damaging stimuli is a normal physiological response and rarely causes lasting problems. Once the injury heals, the pain typically disappears as well. However, pain does not a

Humpback whale（圖片感謝Tomas Kotouc提供） Vocal communication is one of the most common ways animals interact socially. Sounds may serve many functions, including attracting mates, defending territories, coordinating group activities, or issuing warnings and defensive signals. Despite the widespread importance of acoustic communication, the ontogeny of animal vocalizations remains poorly understood. Current research has described the development of vocal behaviour in detail mainly i