Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. During a dive off the coast of Southern California in 1979, ...

This story originally appeared on Massive Science, an editorial partner site that publishes science stories by scientists. Subscribe to their newsletter to get even more science sent straight to you.

Armed with the ability to accept all cells as its own, comb jellies can merge with others to survive. Here’s how it works. On a quiet summer day at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, ...

Were sponges or comb jellies the first to split from the animal family tree? A new approach at settling this question, which is critical to understanding the evolution of animals, points strongly to ...