Space & Physics
Astrobiology Roundup: 5 Cool Stories
Five intriguing discoveries and recent news items
"Evolution"
The Sciences
The Teacher and the Scientist: A Match Made on Facebook
How Lee Berger and a middle-school biology teacher brought the Homo nalendi discovery to students around the world
Evolution
Having an Existential Crisis? It Could be Worse, and Weirder
Living on a small planet in a big universe exposes us to all manner of existential problems, but what are the worst, and what are the weirdest?
Evolution
A New Era for Origins of Life Science?
A new effort to bring global cohesion to origins of life science launches, and with it a fresh look at how to crack one of the greatest existential questions.
Evolution
The Refined, Fine-Tuned Placental Mammal Family Tree
The 'Novacek tree' - an influential view of placental phylogeny from 1992. Our understanding of phylogeny – the shape of the tree of life – is constantly evolving, and it’ll continue to evolve as long as new data keeps coming in and so long as we continue to generate hypotheses based on this data.Since the late 1990s, our view of placental mammal phylogeny has changed radically as molecular studies have shed new light on the shape of the tree...
Evolution
Speculative Zoology at Tet Zoo, The Story So Far
Speculative Zoology (regarded here as a subset of Speculative Biology or Speculative Evolution) has been a regular presence at Tet Zoo since 2007. Long-time readers will know that I – and many others, I’m sure – have slightly confused feelings as goes our love of Spec...
Evolution
Archaeologists Take Wrong Turn, Find World's Oldest Stone Tools [Update]
Archaeologists working in the Kenyan Rift Valley have discovered the oldest known stone tools in the world. Dated to around 3.3 million years ago, the implements are some 700,000 years older than stone tools from Ethiopia that previously held this distinction...
The Sciences
Root Fungi Can Turn Pine Trees Into Carnivores — or at Least Accomplices
Root fungi may confer dark but useful powers on their plant hosts
Great News for Lions, Terrible News for Rhinos
Two important sets of numbers about large mammals have emerged in the past few days. One tells a story of conservation success whereas the other tale is far from that.
The Sciences
Domestic Horses of Africa
I've said on several previous occasions that domestic animals are far from outside the Tet Zoo remit. On the contrary, I find them to be of great interest, and I think that their diversity, evolution and behaviour is something that we should pay attention to more often...
Mind & Brain
An Appreciation of Oliver Sacks, Anti-Theorist of the Mind
So many people are singing the praises of neurologist and author Oliver Sacks that I hesitate to chime in. In February, Sacks revealed in The New York Times that he has terminal cancer, and reviewers are now raving about his new autobiography, On the Move, and entire oeuvre...
Evolution
Dying Trees Can Send Food to Neighbors of Different Species
No tree is an island, and no place is this truer than the forest
Prehistoric `Lizard of Great Sleepiness' Nearly Extinct in Vietnam and China
Are pet collectors about to drive another species into extinction? This time around it's the prehistoric-looking Chinese crocodile lizard (Shinisaurus crocodilurus).
Evolution
Feathered Dinosaurs on Post-its
Sometimes, the pathway to a new idea becoming universally accepted requires a steady stream of little nudges, small pebbles thrown into the lake.
Evolution
Yi qi Is Neat but Might Not Have Been the Black Screaming Dino-Dragon of Death
A couple of weeks ago I hatched a plan to write about all the neat new dinosaur-themed studies that had just appeared in print; I began by penning my thoughts on the Brontosaurus issue.
Biology
Tube Worm Larvae Use Prickly Bacterial Flowers to Choose Home
Like a steaming pile of lava or the soggy soil below a melting glacier, the freshly scrubbed hull of a ship is a magnet for new life.
Can Hunter-Gatherer Societies Teach Us About Cooperation?
We're big on teaching cooperative practices, even while we encourage competition. Humans are the only species to cooperate to the degree that we do, and this cooperation may have allowed for many other derived social traits related to group living to emerge, including generosity, sharing, teaching and learning, and shared intentionality...
Health
Botanical Sexism Cultivates Home-Grown Allergies
It's the time year for watery eyes and itchy noses, and if you're among the afflicted, you may be surprised to learn that decades of botanical sexism in urban landscapes have contributed to your woes...
Environment
Mesquite Invasion Threatens a Unique Species in India
It's almost barbeque season, which means that for many of us it's just about time to break out the mesquite. But mesquite isn't all that popular when it isn't providing a nice, smoky flavor to our burgers and chicken...
Environment
The Last 3 Bornean Rhinos Are in a Race against Extinction
Is there any hope of saving the Bornean rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni) from extinction? Sadly, the chances of that happening seem to grow slimmer and slimmer.
