Life

Paleontology

Forged fossil is a fish-eating fowl

Detailed analyses of Archaeoraptor, a forged fossil once thought to be a missing link between dinosaurs and birds, reveal that the majority of that fake comes from an ancient, fish-eating bird.

Animals

Mad Deer Disease?

Chronic wasting disease, once just an obscure brain ailment of deer and elk in a small patch of the West, is turning up in new places and raising troubling questions about risks.

Ecosystems

Worm Attacks: Invading earthworms threaten rare U.S. fern

An unusual study of the effects of invading earthworms on North American plants finds that the exotics might be on the way to killing off a rare fern.

Animals

The whole beehive gets a fever…

When bee larvae are fighting off disease, the nest temperature rises, so the whole hive gets a fever.

Animals

Ear for Killers: Seals discern foes’ from neighbor-whales’ calls

Harbor seals eavesdrop on killer whales and can tell the harmless neighborhood fish eaters from roving gangs with a taste for fresh seal.

Animals

Tadpoles kill by supersuction

A high-speed video shows tiny African tadpoles that catch their prey in a manner unlike that used by any other frog larvae: by shooting out a tubular mouth for superfast suction.

Animals

Lizard’s Choice: Mating test pits physique versus domain

When she decides to move in, is it him or is it his real estate?

Plants

X-rayed Flowers

For new insights into the delicate architecture of flowers, take an X-ray view. Albert G. Richards, who taught dental radiography at the University of Michigan, presents a gallery of unfamiliar views of familiar flowers, from the hidden archways of an iris to the complex plumbing of columbine spurs. Go to: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~agrxray/gallery.html

Animals

Fish Fraud: Cleaners show off before biting clients

Some of the reef fish that make their living by nibbling parasites off other fish may be luring clients into scams by offering free massages.

Animals

Female owls: First to advertise good genes

Swiss researchers find the first case of a female flashing ornaments that advertise her gene quality to choosy males.

Paleontology

Fossils Hint at Who Left Africa First

Fossil skulls found in central Asia date to 1.7 million years ago and may represent the first ancestral human species to have left Africa.

Animals

Upside Way Down: Video turns fish story on its head

The first video of whipnose anglerfish reveals them swimming upside down and trolling for prey on the 5,000-meter deep ocean floor.