Belinda Smith

The staggering array of penis shapes and sizes in nature can tell scientists a surprising amount about the evolution of animal biology and behaviour. Heads up: you might get a few questions if you're reading this on your commute or at work.

Smartphones are now advanced enough to take photos that were once only possible using bulky cameras. Here's our guide to snapping a stunning shot of the Milky Way.

The Olympic and Paralympic Games are approaching, but even elite sportspeople can find themselves unable to perform. Why do athletes "choke" under pressure, and how can they reduce the likelihood of it happening again?

Remnants of fireplaces and burnt, fat-smeared sticks excavated in a secluded cave in Victoria point to an ancient ritual where a powerful Gunaikurnai doctor, known as a mulla-mullung, cast a spell.

Scientists are piecing together a picture of how Australia's extinct giant kangaroos moved.

A snake doesn't have to be alive to bite and kill you. So how can this be, and how long can they remain dangerous after they've wriggled off this mortal coil?

Girls who go through puberty early are at higher risk of anxiety and depression than their later-developing counterparts. Why does this happen, and how can parents help kids through this time?

The humble sheep might be considered by some as the perfect embodiment of docility. But they are not mundane mindless mammals — not in the slightest.

Natural selection is very good at shedding superfluous traits, but in an evolutionary decluttering that would make Marie Kondo proud, some species have taken it to the extreme.

For decades, we've known sunscreen dramatically lowers a person's risk of developing skin cancer, with some of the first evidence coming from (aptly) the Sunshine State. This is how it works.

Scientists report cloning a monkey using a technique that most famously gave us Dolly the sheep in 1996. So what's new about this study, and what does it mean for humans?

For two million years, Gigantopithecus blacki roamed the forests of what is now southern China. A new study claims to discover when — and why — it went extinct.

Broad-brimmed, legionnaire, sombrero — whatever your choice, even moderate UV days call for sun protection atop your noggin. But we're not the only hat-wearers in the animal kingdom.

The humble bag of chips has come a long way, with flavours like cheeseburger, curry, and cucumber now available. To get the flavours right involves a bit of technology — and a whole lot of noses.

Researchers watched hours of video footage of a common bat species doing the deed to discover they use their massive penis like an arm to reproduce via "contact mating" instead of penetration, making them the first-known mammal to use this method.

Urine samples collected from wild chimpanzees in Uganda over decades have revealed older female chimps undergo hormonal changes much like those in menopausal humans.

The Marshall Islands are surrounded by seawater, but fresh water is in short supply. As the Pacific nation stares down the barrel of climate change, people are working to help mitigate what's to come.

Attempts to understand why there is much more matter in the Universe than antimatter have been dealt a blow with an experiment ruling out one of the major explanations.

The famous Argyle diamond deposit was created some 1.3 billion years ago, when a chunk of an ancient supercontinent started splitting apart, violently blasting hot rock carrying the precious stones to the surface, new research suggests.

Cats fed vegan diets tended to be healthier than their meat-fed counterparts, according to a new study. But, experts warn, the evidence for vegan kitties is not that clear-cut.

In January 2022, a mega explosion from the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano generated a coast-battering tsunami and vivid sunsets. Now we know the extent of the eruption's devastation below the waves.

As the world's shipping industry decarbonises at a glacial pace, the Marshall Islands has a plan to wean its fleets off fossil fuels completely by 2050.

Wind back the clock a few hundred million years, and landscapes were completely silent of any truly meaningful communication through sound. So when did animals first find their voice, so to speak, and why?

A small lake near the Canada-US border has been chosen as the site that may define the start of a new geological epoch called the Anthropocene.

The next time you book yourself in for a cervical screen, spare a thought for the woman who endured a similar procedure every day for 21 years.