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  1. Animals

    Wasps drive frog eggs to (escape) hatch

    A tree frog's eggs can match their response to the degree of danger: all-out mass action for snakes but less activity for one wasp.

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  2. Animals

    Vanishing Vultures: Bird deaths linked to vet-drug residues

    The recent puzzling crash in vulture populations in Pakistan comes not from some new disease but from exposure to veterinary drug residues in livestock carcasses.

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  3. Plants

    Dawn of the Y: Papaya—Glimpse of early sex chromosome

    Genetic mappers say that the papaya plant has a rudimentary Y chromosome, the youngest one in evolutionary terms yet found, offering a glimpse of the evolution of sex chromosomes.

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  4. 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.

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  5. Animals

    Beetle fights bass in mouthwash duel

    A whirligig beetle duels with a hungry fish by dribbling out a repulsive chemical while the fish tries to rinse it off.

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  6. Animals

    Cheap Taste? Bowerbirds go for bargain decor

    When male spotted bowerbirds collect sticks and other doodads to wow females, they don't search for the rare showpiece but go for the cheap trinket.

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  7. Paleontology

    Ancestral Handful: Tiny skull puts Asia at root of primate tree

    Researchers have unearthed the partial skull of the oldest known primate, a tiny creature that lived in south-central China 55 million years ago.

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  8. Animals

    Whale Haunt: Nursing, feeding spot found off south Chile

    A survey along the coast of southern Chile has turned up a previously undocumented blue whale hangout that seems to be a feeding ground.

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  9. 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.

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  10. 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.

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  11. 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.

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  12. Plants

    Warm-Blooded Plants?

    Research heats up on why some flowers have the chemistry to keep themselves warm.

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