394 results
-
Wolf Search
For those fascinated by wolves, retired biology professor Bill Forbes has developed a Web site devoted to these amazing, magnificent creatures. The site provides links to a wide variety of publications, including research articles and other materials, about wolves. It also includes wolf sounds, images of wolf skulls, quizzes, and even an interactive crossword puzzle. […]
- Ecosystems
Brave Old World
If one group of conservation biologists has its way, lions, cheetahs, elephants, and other animals that went extinct in the western United States up to 13,000 years ago might be coming home.
-
19538
Your article gives a simplistic and generally inaccurate account of the relationship between Fst [also called Wright’s F statistic] and race/subspecies/species. Fst reflects the relative amount of total genetic variation between populations. While there is bound to be a correlation between Fst and species status, Fst is not normally used to define species. An Fst […]
- Humans
Letters from the June 4, 2005, issue of Science News
Stem winder “Full Stem Ahead” (SN: 4/2/05, p. 218) showed several reasons why stem cell research is a good thing: Stem cells from embryos might cure cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and many other diseases. But the article should have included the fact that stem cells may help with transplanting organs. Stem cells may […]
- Humans
Science News of the Year 2006
A review of important scientific achievements reported in Science News during the year 2006.
- Animals
Wolf vs. Raven? Thieving birds may drive canines to form big packs
A previously underappreciated reason why wolf packs get so big could be the relentless food snitching of ravens.
-
19398
In this article, the thesis is that wolves hunt in packs because they lose less of a carcass to ravens (37 percent loss per pair versus 17 percent loss per pack). Yet the article also states that it’s more energy efficient for wolves to hunt in pairs and that a pack is not needed to […]
- Humans
Letters from the May 29, 2004, issue of Science News
Judging by science “Forensics on Trial” (SN: 3/27/04, p. 202: Forensics on Trial) was an eye-opener. Our courts may be accepting many analytical techniques that haven’t been adequately validated. We should be careful, especially where the death penalty is involved, not to be guilty of hubris in the application of scientific knowledge. Bob SauerPrinceton, Mass. […]
- Animals
How dingoes got down under
DNA analysis suggests that Australia got its famous dingoes from a very few dogs brought along with people fanning out from East Asia some 5,000 years ago.
- Animals
Feral breed lacks domestic dogs’ skill
Wild dogs that haven't lived with people for 5,000 years share little of the capacity of their domesticated cousins for interpreting human gestures.
-
Kibble for Thought: Dog diversity prompts new evolution theory
A genetic mutation that researchers have examined in several dog breeds may drive evolution in many other species.
- Paleontology
L.A.’s Oldest Tourist Trap
Modern excavations at the La Brea tar pits are revealing a wealth of information about local food chains during recent ice ages, as well as details about what happened to trapped animals in their final hours.
