Ecology

The four-year study took thousands of samples at hundreds of sites

A crude petroleum spill that has stained a California beach and fouled offshore waters may rank as the biggest oil spill to hit the Santa Barbara coastline in more than four decades.

The skin of a California octopus species has a molecular light-sensing mechanism that allows it to change color to match its surroundings with no input from the creature's eyes or brain. Dina Fine Maron reports

New autopsy results confirm mass dolphin strandings largely stemmed from BP's 2010 Macondo well blowout

As the icy region melts, experts grapple with how to simultaneously allow growth and protection

Drugmakers are being asked to spell out their sales according to their use in cattle, swine or poultry as part of a new proposed rule

The International Monetary Fund notes that subsides for burning fossil fuels enrich the wealthy and make air pollution worse

The first results from the upgraded Large Hadron Collider, syntactic foam, a Fibonacci clock, and a worm with a fractal nose glove are among this week's highlights.

Analysis of clamshell and screw-shaped shells reveals the structures withstand much greater forces than would a simple sphere or cylinder. Cynthia Graber reports

The southern damselfy is disappearing in northern Africa as freshwater resources disappear. Is this a harbinger of things to come?

The environmental assessment brings New York State one step closer to banning fracking

Models show that leaving sea cucumbers unharvested in some underwater zones for two years at a time stabilizes the overall population and actually increases yield for fishers. Cynthia Graber reports