Stories by Cody Cottier

Cody Cottier is a freelance journalist based in Fort Collins, Colo.

Close up portrait of a mature male bonobo making a vocalization

AnimalsApril 3, 2025

Bonobos’ Complex Calls Share an Extraordinary Trait with Human Language

Bonobos’ grunts, peeps and whistles may share an advanced linguistic property with human language

Cody Cottier

High-speed photo of a stream of water twisting as it is thrown with a cloudy, warm colored sky in the background

BiochemistryMarch 14, 2025

Life on Earth May Have Been Jump-Started by ‘Microlightning’

Charged water droplets generate sparks that can forge organic compounds

Cody Cottier

A mother humpback whale and her calf swimming just below the surface of the water

AnimalsFebruary 6, 2025

Whale Songs Obey Basic Rules of Human Languages

Humpback whales learn their haunting melodies in much the same way humans learn words

Cody Cottier

Mushroom vector seamless repeat grey on black.

GeneticsJune 21, 2024

Out of Sight, ‘Dark Fungi’ Run the World from the Shadows

The land, water and air around us are chock-full of DNA from fungi that scientists can’t identify

Cody Cottier