Darren Incorvaia

Darren Incorvaia is a writer and comedian based in Chicago. His writing has also appeared in Scientific American, Discover Magazine, and Reductress. He has a Ph.D. in ecology, evolution, and behavior from Michigan State University. His favorite animal is all of them.

All Stories by Darren Incorvaia

  1. A black sea cucumber (Holothuria leucospilota) expels a stringlike substance, called the Cuvierian organ, as a defense against predators like crabs, as shown in this artist’s illustration.
    Animals

    This sea cucumber shoots sticky tubes out of its butt. Its genes hint at how

    A new genetics study is providing a wealth of information about silky, sticky tubes, called the Cuvierian organ, that sea cucumbers use to tangle foes.

  2. A photo of Aaron Judge swinging at a baseball with spectators out of focus in the background.
    Climate

    Baseball’s home run boom is due, in part, to climate change

    Higher air temperatures led to an average of 58 more home runs each MLB season from 2010 to 2019, a study shows.

  3. A photo of a small purple fist swimming near some plant life and what appears to be a robot arm.
    Animals

    A ‘fire wolf’ fish could expand what we know about one unusual deep-sea ecosystem

    Unlike other known methane seeps, Jacó Scar is slightly warmer than the surrounding water and is a home for both cold-loving and heat-loving organisms.

  4. In a photo, stroke patient Heather Rendulic, who has dark hair and is wearing a dark shirt and a hospital mask, holds a Campbell's soup can. Devices used to monitor her implant are visible on her arm.
    Health & Medicine

    A new treatment could restore some mobility in people paralyzed by strokes

    Electrodes placed along the spine helped two stroke patients in a small pilot study regain control of their hands and arms almost immediately.

  5. A fisher stands in waist-deep water with a fishing line as he looks at a dolphin breaking through the surface
    Animals

    Here are 3 people-animal collaborations besides dolphins and Brazilians

    Dolphins working with people to catch fish recently made a big splash. But humans and other animals have cooperated throughout history.

  6. A close up photo of two prairie voles sitting next to each other on a white background.
    Animals

    Prairie voles can find partners just fine without the ‘love hormone’ oxytocin

    Researchers knocked out prairie voles’ oxytocin detection system. They weren’t expecting what happened next.

  7. An Amami rabbit sitting on the ground.
    Animals

    A rare rabbit plays an important ecological role by spreading seeds

    Rabbits aren’t thought of as seed dispersers, but the Amami rabbit of Japan has now been recorded munching on a plant’s seeds and pooping them out.

  8. photo of someone pulling a pint of beer
    Microbes

    The ancestor to modern brewing yeast has been found hiding in Ireland

    Previously found in Patagonia and elsewhere, the brewing yeast Saccharomyces eubayanus has been found in Europe for the first time.

  9. Several blue, cylindrical SharkGuard devices hanging by string off a rail
    Animals

    These devices use an electric field to scare sharks from fishing hooks

    SharkGuard gadgets work by harnessing sharks’ ability to detect electric fields. That could save the animals’ lives, a study suggests.

  10. A swarm of locusts flies over a field.
    Animals

    Insect swarms might generate as much electric charge as storm clouds

    Honeybees flying over a sensor measuring atmospheric voltage sparked a look into how insect-induced static electricity might affect the atmosphere.

  11. A honeybee on a white background with three black squares around it.
    Animals

    Honeybees order numbers from left to right, a study claims

    In experiments, bees tend to go to smaller numbers on the left, larger ones on the right. But the idea of a mental number line in animals has critics.

  12. Bacillus subtilis spores
    Microbes

    How dormant bacteria spores sense when it’s time to come back to life

    Bacterial cells shut down and become spores to survive harsh environments. An internal countdown signals when it’s safe for bacteria to revive.