Ecology & Zoology

Top 10 New Species For 2009 Part 2

The International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University and an international committee of taxonomists – scientists responsible for species exploration and classification – today announce the top 10 new species described in 2008. ...

Article - News Staff - May 23 2009 - 5:07pm

Top 10 New Species For 2009 Part 3

The International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University and an international committee of taxonomists – scientists responsible for species exploration and classification – today announce the top 10 new species for 2009, consisting o ...

Article - News Staff - May 23 2009 - 5:10pm

Temporary Infidelity- Why It Has Helped Some For 50 Million Years

"We were on a break," is just an excuse likely to get you yelled at today but a new study at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Gamboa, Panama says there may be some long-term value in it- at least if you are an ant. Fungus-farming an ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 1 2009 - 9:57am

Super Weed Villain Gains Power From UV Radiation

Comic books have warned us time and time again to keep villains away from radiation.  It only makes them stronger.  Researchers at University of Delaware have discovered that ultraviolet radiation from the sun increases the plant-destroying powers of the ...

Article - Stephanie Pulford - Jun 3 2009 - 3:23pm

'Pelvis' Has Left The Building- Sticklebacks And Convergent Evolution

New research shows that when two species of stickleback fish evolved,  different genes in each species caused the loss of their pelvises and body armor.  Researchers say they were surprised because they expected the same genes would control the same change ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 4 2009 - 1:03pm

New research on a really freaking weird animal

Is it a pig? A rhino? A zebra? Heck if I know. But it's really freaking weird looking, that's for sure. The headline in the NY Times article, "New Research on Malaysia's Odd, Elusive Tapir" caught my attention, mostly because I had ...

Blog Post - Becky Jungbauer - Jun 4 2009 - 7:38pm

Bat Behavior- Echolocation Helps Them Recognize Each Other's Voices

Bats, unlike most animals, don't primarily use their voices for communication.  Instead, they use echolocation to navigate their surroundings but they can also use it, and the characteristics of other bats' voices, to recognize each other, accord ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 4 2009 - 9:14pm

Would you like your shrimp on a plate or a....treadmill?

Some enterprising scientists at NOAA have studied the health of animals suffering from bacterial infections by studying shrimp running on a treadmill. I don't think this is recent news, but I just heard about it today and the video is too cute to pass ...

Blog Post - Mrs. H. - Jun 9 2009 - 12:37pm

Theropod Dinosaurs Evolved Into Birds? Not Likely, Says Study

Paleontologists and some in biology have long believed that modern birds are the direct descendants of ancient, meat-eating dinosaurs. Researchers at Oregon State University contend they have made a fundamental new discovery about how birds breathe and hav ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 9 2009 - 3:16pm

Next Time Your Wife Says You're An Inconsiderate Lover, Show Her This Article On Flies

If you're a man, somewhere at some time some woman has said you just don't make love long enough.  Okay, for some men all women have said that.   But there are other extremes as well.     Male flies of the species Drosophila montana are all about ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 11 2009 - 7:53pm