Biological Sciences

Join Stephen Fry for the greatest story on Earth: the story of life itself. A twelve-part exploration of the incredible diversity of living beings on our planet. Our journey starts four billion years ago with the earliest signs of life deep in the ocean. Along the way it will take in Earth’s extraordinary range of life forms, from microbes to invertebrates, birds, amphibians, mammals and humanity itself.

At the southernmost tip of South Africa, where fresh and salt water collide, a tiny seahorse appears to levitate. Seahorses are the ocean’s slowest swimmers, but they have one of the world’s fastest muscle contractions, using it to suction up their prey. In this episode, we meander through eelgrass with a male Knysna seahorse as he twines tails with his partner, changes color to match the sand, and even gives birth to a brood of tiny seahorses.

In The Book of Cannabis, Jeremy Narby―renowned author of The Cosmic Serpent―delivers a sweeping, clear-eyed exploration of cannabis as both plant and cultural phenomenon. From its ancient medicinal and ritualistic roles to its vilification, Narby traces how cannabis became one of the most controversial plants in modern history.

Red pandas have thick bushy ringed tails like raccoons, but they aren’t related to panda bears or raccoons—in fact, they have no close relatives anywhere on Earth. In this episode, we wander the Himalayas with a red panda and her cubs as they munch on bamboo, practice walking in the treetops, and settle in to nap together as the first snowfall of the year covers their forest home.

Brain injuries can result in highly specific and surprising changes in behavior that have revealed to us how the mind works. The brain is the most complicated object in the known universe. After spending millennia trying to understand our ever-changing world, the brain is now turning its...

In this entertaining memoir, Rick McIntyre recounts his life spent amongst wild nature while working in the National Parks Service as a park ranger and shares the wisdom he has gained from spending nearly every day of his adult life in the presence of wolves.

The concept of canine consent is far more than simply a buzzword in modern dog training practices. In its current form, consent is a distinctly human concept, designed by humans and for humans. Looking beyond species boundaries can help us not only consider concepts of canine consent and...

Concrete Botany is a gritty, kick-in-the-guts look at the ecological disturbance humans have caused and the resilience of the plants living amongst it. Delivered in his raw and unapologetic yet botanically accurate tone, Joey Santore—the unforgettable host of Crime Pays but Botany...

“A truly remarkable achievement.” —Jill Lepore “A gorgeous story of human nature and animal behavior—and of the way science itself evolves.” —Dava Sobel The tumultuous life and radical science of a revolutionary thinker, and the history of an idea that changed the world In the...

How did the world as we know it—from the soil beneath our feet to the air we breathe and the life that surrounds us—come to be? Geologists have proposed one set of answers while biologists have proposed another. Earth and Life is the first book to reveal why we need to listen to both voices—the physical and the biological—to understand how we and our planet became possible.

From the New York Times bestselling author of A World on the Wing, an exploration of the efforts led by scientists, conservationists, and Indigenous peoples to save birds around the world. As populations fall and once-great migration multitudes wither away, the future of birds may seem grim. But...

From the award-winning, New York Times best-selling author of Cod and Salt, To Catch a Fish is an entertaining and beautifully written illustrated collection of essays that explore a lifetime fascination with fishing. For as long as there have been humans, there have been humans trying to catch...

INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER Discover the joy of houseplant care with this welcoming and practical guide filled with no-nonsense tips and encouraging advice from plant expert and content creator Tanner Mitchell a.k.a. Tanner The Planter. Caring for plants can be a meditative practice, even a form...

In this riveting portrait of George B. Schaller, the world’s leading field biologist, Miriam Horn captures the seventy years he spent living among wild animals in the world’s remotest regions, forever altering how we see—and save—the natural world In 1959, though just twenty-six years...

Struggling to house-train your dog—no matter what you try? If your dog still pees in the house, refuses to go outside, or seems impossible to train, you are not alone—and it’s not your fault. Many dogs face hidden challenges that make traditional house-training frustrating for even the most dedicated owners. House-Training the Difficult Dog delivers fast, effective results using a blend of proven strategies, expert guidance, and compassionate insight. Whether you're working with a stubborn puppy, an anxious rescue, or an adult dog set in his ways, this audiobook gives you the tools to succeed.

Master the future of flower cultivation—without soil. Hydroponic Floriculture Mastery is a complete, practical guide to growing vibrant, high-quality flowers using precision hydroponic systems. Whether you’re a home grower, greenhouse operator, or aspiring commercial florist, this book gives you the tools to produce consistent, beautiful blooms year-round.

We call ourselves a nation of animal lovers--- yet millions of dogs, cats, and other animals are abandoned, surrendered, or killed every year. In Disposable Lives: The Animal Crisis Paradox, psychotherapist and animal advocate Marci Elliott confronts the painful contradiction at the heart of America's pet overpopulation crisis. Drawing on decades of experience in animal welfare and mental health, she examines irresponsible pet ownership, unchecked breeding, shelter overcrowding, and the cultural attitudes that have allowed this cycle to continue for far too long.

“Constantly fascinating and impeccably reported...You won’t look at yourself in the same way again.” —Ed Yong, bestselling author of An Immense World and I Contain Multitudes A captivating exploration of the remarkable ways our DNA mutates over the course of our lives, with radical...

“I found Ms. Sifferlin’s book entertaining, enlightening, and in addition timely—a book mindful of science in this era when crackpot notions about public health and medicine are routinely issued from on high.” —Tracy Kidder, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Mountains Beyond Mountains A...

Einmal im Leben einen Wal sehen – für die 23-jährige Malina beginnt mit diesem Traum ein Abenteuer, das ihr Leben verändern wird. Sie zieht für ein halbes Jahr auf eine winzige Atlantikinsel, um dort als Wal-Tour-Guide zu arbeiten – ganz allein, ohne jemals dort gewesen zu sein und ohne Plan. Zwischen Selbstzweifel, Heimweh und Seekrankheit wächst Malina über sich hinaus, lernt, die eigenen Ängste zu überwinden und ihrer Begeisterung zu folgen.

High-yield study guides break intimidating topics into manageable chunks. Every pathway, mechanism, and core concept is organized with clinical context so you understand WHY it matters—not just WHAT happens. Covering glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, protein/lipid metabolism, enzyme kinetics, and more.

For centuries, we have viewed viruses as simple parasites—mindless invaders to be fought and eradicated. But when SARS-CoV-2 swept across the globe, adapting with seeming precision to evade our defenses, a deeper question emerged: How do entities without brains, without consciousness, without any capacity for thought, achieve outcomes that appear so intelligent?

From the acclaimed author of the New York Times bestseller On Trails comes a wondrous new journey through the wilds of nature and the gnarls of history, exploring how trees—from the mightiest sequoia to the tiniest bonsai—can teach us to grow wise. To truly grasp the wisdom of a tree, you...

Perhaps the closest a human being comes to visiting another planet is to descend into the sea. In Soundings, Kennedy Warne connects his lifelong exploration of the underwater world with a global story of humanity’s relationship with the sea. Drawing on over 20 years of work for National Geographic, he shares experiences that range from diving with harp seals under the sea ice of the Gulf of St Lawrence to following the legendary ‘sardine run’ along South Africa’s Wild Coast; from watching turret-building ghost crabs in Arabia to witnessing the impact of dynamite fishing in the Philippines…

Ancient and carbon-rich, old-growth forests play an irreplaceable role in the environment. Their complex ecosystems clean the air, purify the water, cool the planet, and teem with life. In a time of climate catastrophe, old-growth and other natural forests face existential threats caused by...