1,375 results
- Humans
Obama, McCain Shun Science at the Podium
The presidential candidates have pledged to respond to science questions in a virtual debate.
- Paleontology
Life explodes twice
The Ediacaran fauna were as varied as all animals in existence today and, more impressively, as in the Cambrian, report paleontologists.
- Earth
A Whale’s Tale: Puzzling marine compounds are natural
Antique whale oil shows that some mysterious compounds that resemble DDT and PCBs are naturally produced.
- Ecosystems
Fish Houses
Tanked half-way houses allow people and fish to get acquainted on their own terms — and exhibit their individual personalities.
- Math
A Grove of Evolutionary Trees
"Trees of life" show patterns of evolutionary descent, and they fit together mathematically to form an abstract forest.
-
When Mice Fly: Bat DNA leads to longer limbs in mouse embryos
Mice with a stretch of bat DNA grow longer limbs, a possible step in the evolutionary path to wings.
- Ecosystems
Saving Whales the Easy Way? Less lobstering could mean fewer deaths
A provocative proposal suggests that the U.S. lobster fleet in the Gulf of Maine could reduce the number of traps, maintain its profits, and improve life for endangered right whales.
- Ecosystems
Sea Change: People have affected what penguins eat
Adélie penguins in Antarctica significantly changed their eating habits about 200 years ago, after whaling and other human activities transformed the ocean ecosystem.
-
- Earth
Warning: Slow down for whales
To protect a major population of right whales, the U.S. government is proposing periodic go-slow rules for big ships passing through the animals' migration routes.
- Humans
Letters from the December 23 & 30, 2006, issue of Science News
Playing dead is a lively topic I am amazed that “Why Play Dead?” (SN: 10/28/06, p. 280) concluded that “Scientists have a long way to go to explain why” prey animals play dead. As a veterinarian, I have learned that there are separate centers in the brain dealing with predatory behavior and with hunger. The […]
- Animals
Den Mothers: Bears shift dens as ice deteriorates
As Arctic ice has dwindled, pregnant polar bears in northern Alaska have become more likely to dig their birthing dens on land or nearshore ice than on floating masses of sea ice.
