Beki Hooper
Writer
Beki has a PhD in cognitive evolution and a double master's degree in evolutionary biology. She writes about human and animal evolutionary biology, genetics and genomics, psychology, cognition, conservation and animal ethics.
Recent articles by Beki Hooper
What's the rarest fish on the planet? And can they be saved?
Despite just around 38 left scientists are hopeful these beautiful vibrant blue fish can be saved from extinction
Elephants have 'conveyor belt’ teeth, dolphins grow theirs in layers like trees, while sharks have a never-ending supply - so why are we stuck with just 2 sets?
From baby teeth to ‘conveyor belt’ molars, here’s why humans—and other mammals –grow and replace their teeth in such fascinatingly different ways
Do all gulls live by the sea?
Do animals ever eavesdrop on each other – like us humans do?
How it can be useful for some species to listen into messages from other animals...
10 biggest hearts in the animal kingdom, including one the size of a piano
In the animal kingdom, the creatures with the biggest hearts – relative to their size – are often the tiniest among us.
10 ruthless queens that rule their worlds: Meet the female leaders that like to dominate, including murderess meerkats
From matriarchs who guide entire herds to queens that dominate their hives, the animal kingdom is full of powerful females calling the shots.
8 deadly animals that can kill you in minutes
You want to give these animals a wide berth
It’s not just glow worms or fireflies that glow in the dark… this is the first ever image of a wild marsupial lighting up under UV
Biofluorescence is most common in marsupials such as platypuses and quolls
Scientists extract DNA from 'vampire squid from hell’ – and uncover 300-million-year-old secret
When researchers sequenced the genome of this elusive deep-sea creature, they found clues about how squids and octopuses evolved into so many species.
DNA reveals remarkable new tree toad species in Tanzanian mountains. They do something incredibly unique
Scientists investigating a single species of African toad found more than they
bargained for: three species, all of which give birth to live young.
Weird spider with no eyes found on remote Atlantic island. Arachnologists are baffled
By searching through museum specimens, scientists found two new, and rather peculiar, spiders species from St Helena: one eyeless and another with thick armour.
“If they don’t find a meal within one hour, they might die”: Meet the 10 greediest animals on the planet, who never seem to stop eating
No matter their size, some animals simply need to eat a lot of food in order to survive – here are the greediest animals in the world
Scientists unearthed an ancient jawed fish in western Mongolia – and it upended everything they knew about shark evolution
The partial fossil convinced researchers that an ancestor of sharks evolved a bony skeleton – then lost it
Pandas have evolved an extra body part – and evolutionary experts think it happened when switching to a plant-based diet
When giant pandas switched from eating meat to a mainly plant-based diet, they evolved an extra body part to help them chow down
This is the rarest colour in nature – an expert explains why
The natural world is full of colour – but some are more common than others. So what's the rarest hue?
Global warming vs climate change: what's the difference?
While global warming and climate change are often used interchangeably, they actually have different meanings. Beki Hooper explains
Snake more lethal than we thought: Scientists find deadly mambas have a secret second strike that's more dangerous than their first. here's why...
Antivenom doesn’t always work against mamba bites, and scientists have just figured out why.
Watch slow-motion BBC footage of how alligators use the gruesome ‘death roll’ to kill their prey
Ever wondered how alligators can take down much larger prey? It's all thanks to the death roll
Survival of the fittest? Why flashiness is best for the mating game – if you’re a peacock, that is
In theory, peacocks with bright, big tails are at a survival disadvantage – so why are they the most popular partners among peahens?
Deadliest teeth and most murderous mouths on the planet: Lethal weapons that kill by slicing, sucking, crushing, slashing or delivering deadly venom
When it comes to teeth there's a whole array of ways they can kill their prey
It is one of the most deadliest and feared snakes in the Americas, able to kill a person with one bite. Fortunately you can hear it coming...
Keep an ear out for their infamous rattle if you are spending time in the American wilderness!
Underwater robot sent to toxic vents deep in Pacific Ocean. What it found stuns scientists
The remotely operated vehicle discovered an animal that has found a way to live in one of the most inhospitable places on Earth – and it involves making two poisons meet.
Are sharks losing their deadliest weapon?
Ocean acidification could leave the ocean’s top predators with crumbling teeth
Great white shark DNA study mystifies scientists
Great white shark DNA tells two different stories of the species’ evolutionary history, and scientists don’t know why.