442 results
- Earth
Toxic Surfs
Scientists have discovered not only three new mechanisms by which an alga species in Florida water can poison but also a trio of natural antidotes produced within that same species.
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Reflections of Primate Minds: Mirror images strike monkeys as special
Capuchin monkeys don't react to their own mirror images as they do to strangers, perhaps reflecting an intermediate stage of being able to distinguish oneself from others.
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Culture of the Sea
Whales and dolphins strut their social stuff for scientists.
- Tech
Ocean Envy
By mimicking the flippers of penguins, whales, and dolphins, engineers hope to make ocean vessels that are as maneuverable and efficient as the marine animals.
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Unsure Minds
A controversial set of studies indicates that monkeys and dolphins know when they don't know the answer to certain tasks, an ability that presumably relies on conscious deliberations.
- Animals
Bad Bubbles: Could sonar give whales the bends?
Odd bubbles of fat and gas have turned up in the bodies of marine mammals, raising the question of whether something about human activity in the oceans could give these deep divers decompression sickness.
- Humans
Science News of the Year 2005
A review of important scientific achievements reported in Science News during the year 2005.
- Earth
Whale meat in Japan is loaded with mercury
Some people in Japan who eat dolphins and other toothed whales are ingesting amounts of mercury that exceed legal health limits.
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Dolphins bray when chasing down a fish
The first high-resolution analysis of which dolphin is making which sound suggests that hunters blurt out a low-frequency, donkeylike sound that may startle prey into freezing for an instant or attract other dolphins.
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How whales, dolphins, seals dive so deep
The blue whale, bottlenose dolphin, Weddell seal, and elephant seal cut diving energy costs 10 to 50 percent by simply gliding downward.
- Paleontology
Learning from the Present
New field studies of unfossilized bones, as well as databases full of information about current fossil excavations and previous fossil finds, are providing insights into how complete—or incomplete—Earth's fossil record may be.
- Humans
Rare animals get U.N. protection
Several types of whales, river dolphins, the great white shark, and an unusual camel are among animals designated to receive new or heightened protection under a United Nations treaty.
