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
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.
“If they don’t find a meal within one hour, they might die”: Meet the world’s 10 greediest animals
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
The bizarre blue blood of a prehistoric-looking ‘living fossil’ has saved millions of human lives – here’s how it works
The blood of this marine creature has several special features – including its bright blue hue
6 deadliest sea snakes on the planet: These beautiful sea serpents are so lethal they can kill with one bite
"That’s the length of a double decker bus!" 33ft monster tops biggest snakes in the world list
Discover the biggest snakes in the world including the reticulated python and green anaconda
Suffer from stress? At least you don’t shoot blood or ooze a stinky liquid from your rear – unlike these animals
Do animals get stressed? They might, explains Beki Hooper, but they show it in very different ways to humans
How Burmese pythons are able to to swallow and digest prey as large as cattle, bones as well, has long mystified scientists – until now...
Unique bone-digesting ability discovered in python bellies
Blind dragon-like creatures found crawling through South Korean caves
Four species of blind cave-dwelling pseudoscorpions with dragon-like jaws have been discovered in South Korea.
Wild killer whales filmed offering food to humans – here's what scientists think it means
Researchers found 34 instances of killer whales approaching humans with a range of food items, including dead fish and birds, stunned stingrays and incapacitated sharks.
Evolution experts say wild tomatoes in Galápagos are going 'back in time'
The curious 're-evolving' plants are growing on the archipelago's younger volcanic islands.
Could rabies have entered Britain? Rabies-causing virus found in Isle of Wight animal
Isle of Wight bat displayed worrying symptoms
Who would win in a fight between two of the world's most fearsome predators – a saltwater crocodile or a great white shark?
These deadly apex predators are at the top of their food chains – so who would win in a fight?
“We’re not trying to recreate a species from ancient DNA scraps”: One of Earth’s rarest animals could be brought back from the edge of extinction
It's all thanks to the creature's cells being frozen over a decade ago, as part of a process called biobanking.