8,095 results
- Genetics
Top genomes of 2013
Scientists continue to decode the genetic blueprints of the planet’s myriad flora and fauna.
- Paleontology
3-D scans reveal secrets of extinct creatures
Paleontologists can dig into fossils without destroying them and see what’s inside using 3-D scanning. What they’re learning helps bring the past to life.
- Animals
The giraffes that sailed to medieval China
Chinese exploration of the world is often left out of Western textbooks (at least it was left out of mine), but for a brief period, from 1405 to 1433, the Chinese under Ming emperor Yongle sent out numerous trade missions that reached as far as present-day Kenya. During the fourth expedition, which left China in 1413, part of the fleet led by commander Zheng He sailed to Bengal in India, where in 1414 they met envoys from the African coastal state of Malindi (now part of Kenya). The men from Malindi had brought with them as tribute giraffes, and they gave one of those giraffes to the Chinese, who took it home.
- Genetics
Male zebrafish sex tool stops fin regeneration
Tiny, spiked structures on the pectoral fins of male zebrafish help them hold females steady while mating. However, the structures produce a protein that seems to hinder the fish’s ability to regenerate fins.
- Physics
Simple invisibility cloaks hide toys, pets, people
Using everyday materials, two research teams conceal ordinary objects by guiding light around them.
- Anthropology
Ancient farmers, foragers kept genes to themselves
Ancient DNA and diet clues suggest how farmers and hunter-gathers contributed to modern Europeans’ genetic profiles.
- Ecosystems
Arctic melting may help parasites infect new hosts
Grey seals and beluga whales encounter killer microbes as ranges change.
- Life
Coelacanth is not closest fishy relative of terrestrial animals
Genes of “living fossil” do reveal changes needed to live on dry land.
- Animals
Fungi threaten sea turtle nests
The pathogens can kill up to 90 percent of eggs in a single nest.
- Plants
Climbing high to save a threatened West Coast plant
A group of scientists hopes to save a cliff-hugging plant threatened by invasive grasses, drought and fire in California’s Santa Monica Mountains.
- Animals
What animal is the world’s best rock climber?
Lots of animals manage to scale vertical heights, and each has their own way of accomplishing the feat.
- Animals
Why was Marius, the euthanized giraffe, ever born?
The problem of ‘surplus’ zoo animals reveals a divide on animal contraceptives.
