Life
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Ecosystems
Brazil Nut Loss Looms: Harvest may be too heavy to last
A study of 23 spots in Amazonian forests has raised the question of whether the collection of Brazil nuts—praised as a model of gentle forest use—has reached such levels that it may not be sustainable.
By Susan Milius -
Plants
Sweet Lurkers: Cryptic fungi protect chocolate-tree leaves
A whole world of fungi thrives inside tree leaves without causing any harm, and researchers now say these residents may help fight disease.
By Susan Milius -
Plants
Warm-Blooded Plants?
Research heats up on why some flowers have the chemistry to keep themselves warm.
By Susan Milius -
Ecosystems
New Farmers: Salt marsh snails plow leaves, fertilize fungus
A salt marsh snail works the leaves of a plant in what researchers say looks like a simple form of farming.
By Susan Milius -
Paleontology
Proud paleontologists proclaim: It’s a boy!
Marine sediments deposited about 425 million years ago have yielded what scientists contend is the world’s oldest undoubtedly male fossil.
By Sid Perkins -
Ecosystems
UK halts badger kill after study of TB
Partial results from a new study have pushed the United Kingdom to stop its controversial, decades-old policy of killing local badgers if cattle catch TB.
By Susan Milius -
Ecosystems
Will Climate Change Depose Monarchs? Model predicts too-wet winter refuges
A computer analysis suggests that eastern monarch butterflies may not be able to tolerate the increasingly moist climate in Mexico, their current wintering site.
By Susan Milius -
Paleontology
Northern Extinction: Alaskan horses shrank, then disappeared
Horses that lived in Alaska shrank dramatically in body size before they went extinct at the end of the last ice age.
By Sid Perkins -
Plants
Micro Sculptors
Snippets of RNA that control biochemical reactions by squelching the creation of specific proteins play a role in the development of leaves.
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Animals
Not-So-Great Hunter: Said the spider to the fly—Eek! I’m outta here
The poisonous brown recluse spider may turn out not to be a fearsome hunter so much as a scavenger.
By Susan Milius -
Animals
First Impressions: Early view biases spider’s mate choice
In a new wrinkle on how females develop their tastes in males, a test has found that young female wolf spiders that see a male's courtship display grow up with a preference for that look in mates.
By Susan Milius -
Paleontology
Ancient atmosphere was productive
New laboratory experiments suggest that extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in the era just before the dinosaurs went extinct may have boosted plant productivity to at least three times that found in today’s ecosystems.
By Sid Perkins