Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Egg Shell Game
Birds apparently cheat chance when it comes to laying eggs that contain sons or daughters.
- Animals
Spider blood fluoresces
Among spiders, fluorescence under ultraviolet light seems to be a widespread trait.
- Animals
Living Fossil: DNA puts rodent in family that’s not extinct after all
The Laotian rock rat, which is very much alive, belongs to a rodent family that supposedly vanished 11 million years ago.
- Animals
Killer mice hit seabird chicks
A surveillance video shows a worrisome sight: house mice nibbling to death rare seabird chicks on a remote island breeding colony.
- Paleontology
Forest Primeval: The oldest known trees finally gain a crown
Recently unearthed fossils provide new insights about the appearance of the world's oldest known trees, plants that previously were known only from preserved stumps.
- Paleontology
Ancient Extract: T. rex fossil yields recognizable protein
New analyses of a Tyrannosaurus rex leg bone reveal substantial remnants of proteins that strengthen the link between modern birds and dinosaurs.
- Ecosystems
The Great Turtle Race
This international conservation event involves 11 leatherback turtles that are “racing” toward feeding areas south of the Galapagos Islands. Pick your favorite of these endangered animals and follow its progress, as tracked by satellite, from April 16 to April 29. Go to: http://greatturtlerace.com
- Animals
Too Few Jaws: Shark declines let rays overgraze scallops
A shortage of big sharks on the U.S. East Coast is letting their prey flourish, and that prey is going hog wild, demolishing bay scallop populations.
- Paleontology
Birds’ ancestors had small genomes too
Among mammals, reptiles, and related animals, today's birds have the smallest genomes, and the dinosaurs that gave rise to birds had small genomes as well.
- Plants
Old plants were lost in the grass
An obscure family of plants long thought to be relatives of grasses turns out to represent one of the most ancient surviving lineages of flowering plants.
- Animals
Honey, I Ate the Kids
Some of the most devoted parents in the animal kingdom routinely devour some of their own children.
- Ecosystems
Lakeshore Nature Preserve
This nature preserve at the University of Wisconsin–Madison protects undeveloped lands along the shore of Lake Mendota. Even if you can’t visit it in person, the award-winning interactive map will help you appreciate the qualities of this beautiful slice of nature. Go to: http://www.lakeshorepreserve.wisc.edu
