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Tag: Biology

All longform pieces tagged with #biology on The Slow Scroll

Life lessons from a coastal wolf pack
High Country News24 Feb 2025 • ~2350 words

Caroline Van Hemert shares her family's encounter with a coastal wolf pack in Glacier Bay National Park. Witnessing both the harsh realities of nature and the surprising resilience of wildlife, Van Hemert reveals how these wolves have altered their diet dramatically in response t...

The Unnatural History of Bird Flu
Nautilus12 Feb 2025 • ~5050 words

Brandon Keim explores the history of the H5N1 virus, tracing its roots from poultry farms in Guangdong, China, to its global spread and potential threats to human health. As the story unfolds, it reveals the interplay between agricultural practices and the evolution of the virus ...

How the Tiger Really Got His Stripes
The New Yorker04 Feb 2025 • ~2100 words

Scientists are getting closer to figuring out what determines the patterns that animals wear. Rivka Galchen’s story takes a look into how research is progressing with two examples, the patterned skin of boxfish and the stripes of African striped mice.

In praise of subspecies
Aeon29 Jan 2025 • ~3300 words

To lump or to split? Deciding whether an animal is a species or subspecies profoundly influences our conservation priorities

How a US Agency Got Tangled Up With Controversial De-extinction Groups
Atmos28 Jan 2025 • ~2500 words

A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biobank could shape how biotechnology will fit into mainstream conservation for centuries to come.