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Deadwood in winter
Sky and snowpack are two kinds of white, and the pale skin of arboreal fungi makes a third. Within a year or two after death, a log or snag has already become an extension of the ground in one...
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When accounting for the global nitrogen budget, don't forget fish
Like bank accounts, the nutrient cycles that influence the natural world are regulated by inputs and outputs. If a routine withdrawal is overlooked, balance sheets become inaccurate. Over time,...
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Giant Fossil Frog from Hell
A team of researchers, led by Stony Brook University paleontologist David Krause, has discovered the remains in Madagascar of what may be the largest frog ever to exist. The 16-inch, 10-pound ancient...
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Some Migratory Birds Can't Find Success In Urban Areas
New research finds fresh evidence that urbanization in the United States threatens the populations of some species of migratory birds. But the six-year study also refutes one of the most widely...
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Gravity-defying bird beak mystery
As Charles Darwin showed nearly 150 years ago, bird beaks are exquisitely adapted to the birds' feeding strategy. A team of MIT mathematicians and engineers has now explained exactly how some...
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Primate's Scent Speaks Volumes
Perhaps judging a man by his cologne isn't as superficial as it seems. Duke University researchers, using sophisticated machinery to analyze hundreds of chemical components in a ringtailed lemur's...
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Everywhere I look
Remember the early days of this humble blog when I anguished about the lack of walnut trees in my woods at Roundrock? There was a point where any time I happened upon a walnut tree, it gave it a post...
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Ecosystem changes and climate warming
Unparalleled warming over the last few decades has triggered widespread ecosystem changes in a number of temperate North American and Western European lakes, say scientists at Queen's University and...
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Fish With Transparent Head
Check out this fish called Macropinna microstoma.It has tubular eyes and a see-through head.
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4.18.2009
The coincidental sequence repeated itself! After we had crossed the dam (see yesterday’s post), we continued hiking around the lake. I steered my feet deeper into the forest though. I was hoping to...
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What makes a cow a cow?
Scientists report today in the journal Science that they have sequenced the bovine genome, for the first time revealing the genetic features that distinguish cattle from humans and other mammals. The...
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Cutting cattle methane
Beef farmers can breathe easier thanks to University of Alberta scientists who have developed a formula to reduce methane gas in cattle. By developing equations that balance starch, sugar, cellulose,...
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Climate Change and Decline of Horseshoe Crabs
A distinct decline in horseshoe crab numbers has occurred that parallels climate change linked to the end of the last Ice Age, as per a research studythat used genomics to assess historical trends in...
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Using poplars for biofuels
A potential solution for global energy demands is the use of Poplar, a fast-growing tree with high yields, for biofuels. To get the most out of Poplar plantations, varieties that are the best fit for...
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Learning the language of bacteria
Bacteria are among the simplest organisms in nature, but a number of of them can still talk to each other, using a chemical "language" that is critical to the process of infection. Sending and...
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New study about Arctic habitat
Alaska Sea-ice habitats essential to polar bears would likely respond positively should more curbs be placed on global greenhouse gas emissions, as per a new modeling study published recently in the...
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Choosing organic milk
Wetter, cooler summers can have a detrimental effect on the milk we drink, according to new research published by Newcastle University. Researchers found milk collected during a particularly poor UK...
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Think globally, but act locally
Global warming is clearly affecting plants and animals, but we should not try to tease apart the specific contribution of greenhouse gas driven climate change to extinctions or declines of species at...
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Precedent-sEtting and biodiversity
Frequent reports of accelerating species losses invariably raise questions about why such losses matter and why we should work to conserve biodiversity. Biologists have traditionally responded to such...
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Tiny bubbles signal to coral reefs
A newly released study from University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science researchers Chris Langdon, Remy Okazaki and Nancy Muehllehner and his colleagues from the...
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