Nature
Nature, or the natural world, encompasses the behavior and physiology of animals, plants and minerals
The Tallest, Strongest and Most Iconic Trees in the World
Its bark is fire resistant. Its fruit is edible. It scoffs at the driest droughts. It shrugs, and another decade has passed. It is the baobab tree, one of the longest-living, strangest looking plants in the world
July 05, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
Did All Dinosaurs Have Feathers?
A newly-discovered fossil raises the possibility that all dinosaur lineages were fuzzy.
July 05, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
White-Nose Syndrome Kills Social Bats Most Frequently
Scientists have found that bat species that hibernate in clusters are more likely to be struck by the dreaded disease and may be at risk of extinction
July 05, 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
U.S. & Europe are Hotspots for Deadly Emerging Diseases
“A hot virus from the rainforest lives within a 24 hour plane flight from every city on earth,” Richard Preston wrote in The Hot Zone. It turns out, however, that the places most likely to usher in the next deadly outbreak are in fact the cities of the United States and Western Europe. At least [...]
July 05, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Frog Daddy Raises Babies in Throat, Spits Them Out When Ready
“A baby is the beginning of something special – usually dinner.” For more of that preciousness, check out this NatGeo video on male Darwinian frogs, found in South America. Babies grow up in daddy’s vocal sack, and when they outgrow the parental homestead, they’re coughed up like so many amphibious hairballs. More from Smithsonian.com: Rare [...]
July 05, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Fitness Afar: Great Places to Hang Out at the Bar
Going abroad needn’t mean going flabby—determined globe-trotters can find pull-up bars and other outdoor gymnastics equipment in some of the most unexpected places.
July 03, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
A Sneak Peek at a New Dinosaur
Argentina unveils a new dinosaur to celebrate the country's bicentennial.
July 03, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Stick Bugs Have Sex for Two Months Straight
Yes. They can. Two-plus months. Or, more specifically, 79 days, says pseudonymous entomologist--blogger Bug Girl
July 03, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Wrecked Rivers of T.S. Eliot’s ‘The Wasteland’ Teem With Life Once More
“The river sweats / Oil and tar / The barges drift / With the turning tide,” wrote T. S. Eliot in an ode to the River Thames in The Wasteland. Indeed, oil and tar and other industrial pollutants for years plagued Britain’s rivers, from the “Great Stink” of 1858 when human waste choked London’s Thames [...]
July 03, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Spend Your Fourth of July Hominid Hunting
Celebrate Independence Day with a trip to one of America's many archaeological parks
July 02, 2012 |
By Erin Wayman
Chimps Celebrate the End of a Research Era
For 30 years, countless chimps have lived out their days at Bioqual, a research facility where the Humane Society described treatment of some animals as “unethical.” Now, the last four chimps living at Bioqual are bidding goodbye to the facility, thanks in part to a recent report calling most chimp research unnecessary. The Washington Post [...]
July 02, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Extreme Geese Reveal High-Altitude Secrets in Wind Tunnel
Next time you’re cruising on a short flight in Mongolia or Tajikistan, take a peep out the window and see if you can spot any bar-headed geese sharing the air space. The birds soar up to 20,000 feet on their migration routes between Central and South Asia where they have to scale pesky obstacles like [...]
July 02, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Temple Grandin on a New Approach for Thinking About Thinking
The famed author and advocate for people with autism looks at the differences in how the human mind operates
July 2012 |
By Temple Grandin
Let the Children Play, It's Good for Them!
A leading researcher in the field of cognitive development says when children pretend, they’re not just being silly—they’re doing science
July 2012 |
By Alison Gopnik
What is So Good About Growing Old
Forget about senior moments. The great news is that researchers are discovering some surprising advantages of aging
July 2012 |
By Helen Fields
Your Brain, By the Numbers
Somehow, the brain is greater than the sum of its parts
July 2012 |
By Laura Helmuth
There's a New Breed of Forty-Niners Rushing to the Pacific
Lured by the soaring price of the precious metal, prospectors are heading for the California hills like it's 1849 all over again
July 2012 |
By Abigail Tucker
Animal Brains, More Beautiful Than You Could Ever Imagine
More than just eye candy, these images are teaching scientists new insights into how the brain is organized
July 2012 |
By Laura Helmuth
New Mind-Reading Device Lets Paralyzed People Type
Using an fMRI machine and innovative software, researchers have figured out how to enable typing without moving a muscle
June 29, 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
Cork Trees: Soft-Skinned Monarchs of the Mediterranean
A cork tree stripped of its bark will be harvested again in nine years—if people are still using cork by then
June 28, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
