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About Rachael Funnell

Rachael Funnell

Rachael Funnell

Senior Science Writer

About the Author

Rachael is a writer and zoologist with a degree from the University of Southampton, specializing in animal behavior, evolution, palaeontology, and the environment. As a producer for CURIOUS Live, IFLScience's virtual event, she has led engaging discussions on forensic pathology, taphonomy, entomology, and botany on the Death Stage, with further events scheduled for 2025. As co-editor of CURIOUS, IFLScience’s e-magazine, Rachael crafts travel features exploring the science behind Earth’s most fascinating habitats and landmarks, and dives into the latest sci-fi TV, films, and books. She is also a host on the Break It Down, We Have Questions, and The Big Questions podcasts, and produces and presents video content for YouTube and social media.

Read IFLScience Editorial Policy

ACADEMIC HISTORY

Southampton University, BSc Zoology , 2014

TIME AT IFLSCIENCE

2020 - PRESENT

3,096 PUBLISHED ARTICLES

LOCATION

London

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

AnimalsEvolutionPalaeontology Funerary practiceForensics
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Latest from Rachael Funnell

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2,300 Species Protected Under US Endangered Species Act To Be Biobanked, Becoming A “Modern-Day Noah’s Ark” On Icematt james stands in front of a frozen storage system containing animal cells
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2,300 Species Protected Under US Endangered Species Act To Be Biobanked, Becoming A “Modern-Day Noah’s Ark” On Ice

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One Of The Largest And Oldest Living Things On Earth Looks Just Like An Ordinary ForestPando aspen grove at Fishlake National Forest

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One Of The Largest And Oldest Living Things On Earth Looks Just Like An Ordinary ForestPando aspen grove at Fishlake National Forest
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One Of The Largest And Oldest Living Things On Earth Looks Just Like An Ordinary Forest

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This 125-Million-Year-Old “Pregnant” Bivalve Is The Oldest Known Fossil Evidence Of Maternal Care In Shellfishthe shellfish fits in the palm of a person's hand

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This 125-Million-Year-Old “Pregnant” Bivalve Is The Oldest Known Fossil Evidence Of Maternal Care In Shellfishthe shellfish fits in the palm of a person's hand
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This 125-Million-Year-Old “Pregnant” Bivalve Is The Oldest Known Fossil Evidence Of Maternal Care In Shellfish

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These 570-Million-Year-Old Fossils Are Some Of The Strangest Ever Found On Earth, And We Finally Know WhyA diorama of the macroscopic organisms of the Avalon assemblage at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the oldest and earliest-known major phase of Ediacaran biota.

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These 570-Million-Year-Old Fossils Are Some Of The Strangest Ever Found On Earth, And We Finally Know WhyA diorama of the macroscopic organisms of the Avalon assemblage at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the oldest and earliest-known major phase of Ediacaran biota.
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Ever Noticed How The Caffeine From Tea Hits Differently To Coffee? Turns Out, There’s A Reason For Thata cup of coffee on the left, a cup of tea on the right

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Ever Noticed How The Caffeine From Tea Hits Differently To Coffee? Turns Out, There’s A Reason For Thata cup of coffee on the left, a cup of tea on the right
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Ever Noticed How The Caffeine From Tea Hits Differently To Coffee? Turns Out, There’s A Reason For That

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Prototaxites Were 8-Meter-Tall Organisms That Lived On Land Before Trees. Not Plants, Not Fungi, Something Else EntirelyArtist impression of what Prototaxites would have look like in life. It is a gray pillar-like structure

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Put Your Smartwatch On A Fruit And Something Really Weird Happens. How Can A Banana Have A Heart Rate?a banana wears a smart watch, the cardiac reading shows a pulse rate of 76 beats per minute

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Put Your Smartwatch On A Fruit And Something Really Weird Happens. How Can A Banana Have A Heart Rate?

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In 2021, Scientists Found The World’s Smallest Chameleon And Discovered It Has “Surprisingly Large” GenitalsThe males of Brookesia nana are packing surprisingly large genitals.

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In 2021, Scientists Found The World’s Smallest Chameleon And Discovered It Has “Surprisingly Large” GenitalsThe males of Brookesia nana are packing surprisingly large genitals.
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In 2021, Scientists Found The World’s Smallest Chameleon And Discovered It Has “Surprisingly Large” Genitals

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In 2014, Scientists Noticed A Strange Moaning Sound Near The Mariana Trench. Not Ship Noise, But An Ocean GiantGiant Tube Worms Riftia pachyptila thriving at a deep-sea hydrothermal vent in the Mariana Trench 2025

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In 2014, Scientists Noticed A Strange Moaning Sound Near The Mariana Trench. Not Ship Noise, But An Ocean GiantGiant Tube Worms Riftia pachyptila thriving at a deep-sea hydrothermal vent in the Mariana Trench 2025
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In 2014, Scientists Noticed A Strange Moaning Sound Near The Mariana Trench. Not Ship Noise, But An Ocean Giant

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In 1891, A Scientist Discovered The “Devil’s Corkscrews Of Agate”. Dating Back 23 Million Years, What On Earth Made Them?A man stands next to a Daemonelix spiral fossil that is taller than he is.

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In 1891, A Scientist Discovered The “Devil’s Corkscrews Of Agate”. Dating Back 23 Million Years, What On Earth Made Them?A man stands next to a Daemonelix spiral fossil that is taller than he is.
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In 2024, The First Dissection Of The World's Rarest Whale Revealed It Has 9 Stomach ChambersA spade-toothed whale washed up on a beach in New Zealand back in 2024.

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In 2024, The First Dissection Of The World's Rarest Whale Revealed It Has 9 Stomach ChambersA spade-toothed whale washed up on a beach in New Zealand back in 2024.
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In 2024, The First Dissection Of The World's Rarest Whale Revealed It Has 9 Stomach Chambers

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Ice Age Zombies? 700,000-Year-Old Fossilized Poop Reveals Squirrels Crawled Out Of The Ground To Feast On Dead Mammoths, Bison, And Big Catsmammoths walk in the background as a group of ground squirrels feast on the carcass of a dead mammoth

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Ice Age Zombies? 700,000-Year-Old Fossilized Poop Reveals Squirrels Crawled Out Of The Ground To Feast On Dead Mammoths, Bison, And Big Catsmammoths walk in the background as a group of ground squirrels feast on the carcass of a dead mammoth
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