First Footage Captured of Rare "Type D" Orcas
As they were tracking a Nigerian poaching vessel through the South Indian Ocean on Boxing Day last year, Australian conservationists aboard the SSS Bob Barker saw something pretty incredible – a pod of 13 Type D orcas.
Making Evolution Make Microbes Make Products
By selecting for bacteria that can survive only if they make a particular product of interest over multiple iterations, researchers vastly improved yields and decreased production times. Cynthia Graber reports
Teeny, Tiny Relative of Komodo Dragon Discovered in Australia
Lizards don’t get much bigger than the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), which can reach three meters in length and may weigh as much as 70 kilograms.
Deepest Fish Features Angel Wings, Tentacles and Amazing Ability to Perform Under Pressure
There comes a depth at which even fish struggle to survive the titanic pressure. But that depth is only found at the few places on Earth that lie below 27,600 feet of water, where the weight of the water warps piscine proteins and crushes cells.
What Makes Bowerbirds Such Good Artists?
Bowerbirds are perhaps the most intriguing artists of the bird world. Their beautiful constructions are built purely to impress females (they are not nests, as often mistaken to be).
Human Eye Sometimes Sees the Unseeable
Under certain conditions people can catch a glimpse of usually invisible infrared light. Karen Hopkin reports
Monarch Butterflies Could Gain Endangered Species Protection
The flutter of a single butterfly’s wings may or may not be capable of causing tsunamis, but the loss of millions of butterflies is definitely being felt here in North America.
Bullied One-Eyed Fish Gets Prosthetic to Stop Harrassment
“Hey! One-Eyed Pete! Stop, where are you going? Wait up!" "Yes?" "Hey what are you bringing to Martin's corner on Friday? I'm thinking just Doritos?
Experimental Drugs Target Bacteria’s Social Network
Evolutionary biologists are trying to attack bacteria in a new way: by short-circuiting their social life
Meet the (Newest Known) Beetles!
Researchers announced the discovery of 98 beetle species previously unknown to science. David Biello reports
How Robins Became the Birds of Christmas
It's time to wind things down for Christmas, so what better way to do it than to write a short article about robins. And here I mean the `original' or `proper' robin - the European robin Erithacus rubecula - a Eurasian passerine that also occurs in northern Africa and is (conventionally) regarded as the only [...]
Could Extinct Clouded Leopards be Reintroduced in Taiwan?
Two years ago, after an intense 13-year quest, scientists concluded that the Formosan clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa brachyura) had gone extinct in Taiwan.