Latest articles by Patrick Pester
Earless monitor lizards: The 'Holy Grail' of reptiles that looks like a mini dragon
Researchers are only beginning to understand the cryptic lives of the earless monitor lizards of Borneo.
What's the best evidence we've found for alien life?
Don't expect an alien invasion anytime soon.
Ancient skeletons of largest-ever marsupial unearthed in Australia
Diprotodon dates back to the Pleistocene epoch and is a giant relative of wombats and koalas.
10 of the strangest hybrid animals
Nature doesn't have strict rules for cross-species coupling.
Jurassic pliosaur 'megapredator' was a giant 'sea murderer'
The earliest pliosaur 'megapredator' helped rule the oceans 170 million years ago during the age of dinosaurs.
When did humans start burying their dead?
Ancient caves mark the beginning of recorded burial rituals, but there's still so much we don't know about the history of human graves.
11 ways orcas show their terrifying intelligence
Orcas have their own dialect, greeting ceremonies and even wore salmon as hats in a weird fad during the 1980s.
Orcas that hunted alongside humans might be extinct
Researchers used DNA analysis and traditional knowledge to learn about an orca named Old Tom and his family's remarkable relationship with humans.
10 phallic flora and fauna that look just like penises
Nature must think willies are funny, too.
Scientists propose 'missing' law for the evolution of everything in the universe
The "law of increasing functional information" says that complex systems in nature evolve to become more complex.
How often do orcas attack humans?
Killer whales are surprisingly gentle in the wild when interacting with humans — though it's sometimes a different story with orcas in captivity.
What's inside Earth?
The center of Earth lies around 4,000 miles beneath our feet — but what lies beneath the outer crust and the inner core?
Asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs allowed flowers to thrive in a post-apocalyptic world
Scientists have discovered flowering plants were largely unscathed by the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction event 66 million years ago, allowing them to take advantage of the new, dinosaur-free planet.
How far apart are stars?
Scientists have calculated the average distance between stars, but there's much more to star distribution than meets the eye.
Which animal has the shortest life span?
Mayflies are famous for cramming an entire life into a single day, but that's not strictly true.
Did the Tonga eruption cause this year's extreme heat?
The 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano eruption may have contributed to this year's heat, but it's not causing climate change.
The biggest hunt for the Loch Ness Monster in 50 years is about to begin
A visitor attraction in Scotland is enlisting the help of volunteers to search for Nessie, but it's unlikely to yield a monster discovery.
7 rules that explain Earth's most extreme animal shapes and sizes
Nature has a few rules to help explain the extreme shapes and sizes we see in the animal kingdom.
'Fleeing vampire' haunted Jurassic oceans with glow-in-the-dark organs, fossil reveals
The newfound vampyromorph species was equipped with defensive features not previously seen in the fossil record — and it's related to modern-day vampire squid.
Great white sharks: The world's largest predatory fish
Great white sharks are the largest predatory fish in the world, but scientists still have much to learn about these iconic predators.
40 human skulls found in Kentucky apartment linked to national network of body part dealers
The alleged theft of donated body parts from Harvard Medical School and an Arkansas mortuary is revealing a national network of human remains dealers.
Did Noah's flood really happen?
Noah's flood is a story much older than the Bible, and researchers are still learning about its roots.
462 million-year-old fossilized eyes and brains uncovered in 'secret' Welsh fossil site
Wales' new "Castle Bank" fossil site could be among the world's most important deposits.
