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?
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Baffling Genetic Barrier Prevents Similar Animals from Interbreeding
A short stretch of DNA challenges what it means to be a species
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.
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.
Neandertals Disappeared from Europe Earlier Than Thought
Carbon-dating improvements show that Neandertals disappeared from Europe much earlier than thought
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
Similarities Between Human and Chimp Genomes Revealed by Hilbert Curve
Editor’s Note: The following is a guest post from Martin Krzywinski, a contributing artist who designed the Graphic Science illustration in the September issue of Scientific American magazine.