What are the northern lights? The aurora borealis explained
What causes the northern lights? The northern lights are caused by the interaction between the magnetic fields of the Sun and Earth. Dr Geoff Vasil, who studies the Sun’s workings at the …
Who were the Neanderthals? - Natural History Museum
Our closest ancient human relatives. Neanderthals were humans like us, but they were a distinct species called Homo neanderthalensis.. Read Chris Stringer's argument for why Neanderthals …
Squirrels in the UK: what they are up to, when and why
The UK is home to two squirrel species: the Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) and the grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis).The species you are more likely to see scampering through the …
Charles Darwin: History’s most famous biologist
Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882) transformed the way we understand the natural world with ideas that, in his day, were nothing short of revolutionary. He and his fellow pioneers in the …
What is natural selection? - Natural History Museum
Natural selection is a mechanism of evolution. Organisms that are more adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and pass on the genes that aided their success. This …
What is the Anthropocene and why does it matter?
The word Anthropocene comes from the Greek terms for human ('anthropo') and new ('cene'), but its definition is controversial. It was coined in the 1980s, then popularised in 2000 by …
Mutualism: eight examples of species that work together to get …
Aphids are little sap-sucking insects that secrete honeydew, a sugary liquid that is the waste product of their diet. Many aphid species are known to engage in a mutualistic relationship …
Immortal jellyfish: the secret to cheating death
The hydrozoan Turritopsis dohrnii, an animal about 4.5 millimetres wide and tall (likely making it smaller than the nail on your little finger), can actually reverse its life cycle.It has been dubbed …
Axolotls: Meet the amphibians that never grow up
What is an axolotl? The axolotl, Ambystoma mexicanum, is a type of salamander that doesn't go through metamorphosis. Salamanders are amphibians that, like frogs and newts, start off living …
How an asteroid ended the age of the dinosaurs
Asteroids are large, rocky bodies that orbit the Sun.They range from a few to hundreds of metres in diameter. Any fragment of an asteroid that survives landing on Earth becomes known as a …