Ecology & Zoology

The Complex Ecosystem- Dust Storms In The Sahara Desert Sustain Life In The Atlantic Ocean

Research at the University of Liverpool has found how Saharan dust storms help sustain life over extensive regions of the North Atlantic Ocean. Working aboard research vessels in the Atlantic, scientists mapped the distribution of nutrients including phosp ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 18 2008 - 9:43am

New Community Of Bamboo Lemurs Found In Madagascar

Researchers in Madagascar have confirmed the existence of a population of greater bamboo lemurs more than 400 kilometers (240 miles) from the only other place where the Critically Endangered species is known to live, raising hopes for its survival. The dis ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 21 2008 - 11:53pm

The Other Mouse Questions

Nicholas Wade has an outstanding piece in today's Times Science section about the "hope" for Resverotrol and other sirtuin-activating compounds that may activate the lifespan extending pathway controlled by caloric restriction, although, lik ...

Article - Greg Critser - Jul 22 2008 - 6:24pm

A Pronounced Affection For Parasites

According to Peter Olson of the Natural History Museum in London, "All free-living organisms host one or more parasites." This can be taken two ways, both of them generally true: a) that each individual multicellular organism hosts at least one ...

Article - T. Ryan Gregory - Jul 25 2008 - 9:52am

What Do Squid Hear?

The ocean is a noisy place and although we don't hear much when we stick our heads underwater, the right instruments can reveal a symphony of sound. The noisemakers range from the low-frequency bass tones of a fish mating ritual to the roar of a motor ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 28 2008 - 8:39am

Global Warming May Change The Gender Ratio Of Some Fish, Says Study

In vertebrates with separate sexes, sex determination can be genotypic (GSD) or temperature-dependent (TSD). TSD is very common in reptiles, where the ambient temperature during sensitive periods of early development irreversibly determines whether an indi ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 29 2008 - 8:59pm

Leptotyphlops Carlae Discovered: World's Smallest Snake Can Fit On A Coin

The world's smallest species of snake, as thin as a spaghetti noodle and small enough to rest comfortably on a U.S. quarter, has been identified on the Caribbean island of Barbados. The species, with adults averaging just under four inches in length, ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 3 2008 - 9:22am

Great White Shark Has The Hardest Bite Of Any Living Creature

Shark researchers from the University of New South Wales, Newcastle University, NSW Department of Primary Industries Fisheries (Australia) and University of California (USA) reveal unprecedented information about the feeding habits of the great white shark ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 4 2008 - 12:36am

Multi-Tasking Maggots In Superbug Showdown- Yes, Maggot Secretions Are An Antibiotic

You may have laughed when you read in history books that in years gone by maggots were used to cure disease. Laugh no more. It’s not uncommon for someone to suffer from chronic infected wounds for 18 months, despite all sorts of conventional treatment, but ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 5 2008 - 10:15am

Great Apes Not So Extinct- New Census Shows Twice As Many As Previously Believed

Yesterday, newspapers were telling us half of apes and monkeys face extinction and today we find out we could be overwhelmed by them. The Wildlife Conservation Society released a census showing massive numbers of these great apes alive and well in the Repu ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 5 2008 - 9:16pm