EvolutionAugust 29, 2014
Common Octopus Proves Uncommonly Difficult to Define
The seemingly ubiquitous common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) is our platonic octopus ideal. Even if Plato didn’t write about it, Aristotle did.
Evolutionary Biology
The SciencesAugust 29, 2014
Satirists As a Source of Science News
How many times have you read a science-themed article from The Onion or watched a science-themed segment on The Daily Show (TDS) or The Colbert Report (CR) and remarked at how “spot on” they are?
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EvolutionAugust 29, 2014
Ancient DNA Could Return Passenger Pigeons to the Sky
Genetic engineering could restore the once profuse North American bird after a century or more of extinction
EvolutionAugust 28, 2014
Poet and Paleontologist: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The German lawyer, author, poet, politician and artist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (born August 28, 1749-1832) was also a mining engineer and quite interested in geology and paleontology.
EvolutionAugust 27, 2014
Dumbo Octopus Gives Rare View [Video]
New, stunning video from a deep-sea vehicle reveals a rare view of the Dumbo octopus. Don’t let the name fool you—the Dumbo octopus (Grimpoteuthis) is no dummy.
EvolutionAugust 25, 2014
Exploring the Vast Nuthatch Empire
Today I'd like to focus on passerine birds again, and this time on a group that I don't think I've ever blogged about before: the certhioids.
The SciencesAugust 25, 2014
How Book Scorpions Tend to Your Dusty Tomes
Book scorpions are the best/worst thing to happen to books, because book scorpions! But also book scorpions... Properly known as pseudoscorpions, these tiny, tiny creatures have a fondness for old books, because old books also happen to contain delicious booklice and dust mites.
EvolutionAugust 21, 2014
Baffling Genetic Barrier Prevents Similar Animals from Interbreeding
A short stretch of DNA challenges what it means to be a species
The SciencesAugust 21, 2014
Dandruff-Causing Skin Fungi Discovered Unexpectedly in Deep Sea Vents, Antarctica
Until relatively recently, the fungus Malassezia was thought to have one favorite home: us. As the dominant fungus on human skin and sometimes-cause of dandruff, the yeast Malassezia was thought to live a simple if sometimes irritating domestic existence humbly mooching off the oils we exude.
TechnologyAugust 21, 2014
Octopus-Inspired Camouflage Flashes To Life In Smart Material
Octopuses and their cephalopod cousins are the undisputed masters of disguise. An octopus can change its color, texture and luminosity faster than you can say “camouflage.” So far our lowly human attempts at imitation have been quite crude.
EvolutionAugust 20, 2014
Neandertals Disappeared from Europe Earlier Than Thought
Carbon-dating improvements show that Neandertals disappeared from Europe much earlier than thought
HealthAugust 20, 2014
Seals Brought Tuberculosis to the Americas
Bacteria found in ancient human skeletons in Peru point to a relatively recent origin of the disease and to its spread by sea