What the Winter Solstice Means - The Onset of Winter and The Darker Days Ahead

Medicine & Technology Dec 22, 2014

The Holiday Season is upon us; a time for presents, family, food. But it's also time for a celestial shift too. And while the onset of winter happened just this past weekend, many researchers are questioning why Winter's cold caught a grip of Earth early this year-at least in the northern hemisphere, that is.

Yellowstone's Thermal Springs - Pollution and Their Unique Coloration

Dec 22, 2014

Yellowstone's thermal springs are one of the park's largest attractions. But they weren't always the rainbow of colors you see now.

Corals Hint At Global Warming Spike―What Climate Change Is Doing Now

Dec 22, 2014

Coral reefs are dying-off, in front of our very eyes. And they're the "canaries in the mines" for our terrestrial well-being.

Half the Size, But Twice the Bite—Study Reports European Wolves Are on the Rise

Dec 19, 2014

As carnivorous species in the United States, like the Mexican Gray Wolf, face dwindling populations and increased difficulties finding niche habitats, a new study reveals that carnivores in Europe are on the rise—and they are more than twice as abundant. The new study published this week in the journal Science reports that while Europe may be one of the most industrialized landscapes on the face of the Earth, that conservation efforts and restoration practices have led the continent to large-scale success in bringing back continental carnivore populations.

Genomic Study Reveals Pre-Cambrian Explosion of Bird Species, Who Faired Better than Gentle Dinosaurs

Dec 14, 2014

They’re far from the scaled reptilian giants that once walked the Earth, but for decades researchers have sought out an evolutionary connection between our winged bird species of today and the dinosaurs that once took flight in prehistoric times. For the past four years, a team of international researchers have fully developed The Avian Phylogenomics Project, in which they have sequenced genomes of nearly all species of the evolutionary branches including a majority of birds known to man. Now that the research is done, the mapping of 48 bird species genomes has evolved into more than two-dozen articles published in the journal Science, as well as a new understanding of how birds may link to their dinosaur ancestors.

Can A Peripheral Anomaly Cause Hummingbirds to Crash?

Dec 11, 2014

For decades now, man has modeled their methods of flight from the majestic bird species that have conquered the skies. But what if there’s a glitch in birds’ programming that remains hidden in the secrets of aviation?

More Seafloor Methane Released Into the Pacific Ocean

Dec 11, 2014

Increased Seafloor Methane Released Into the Pacific Ocean

What’s Happening to All Our Giraffes? The Disappearing Species Faces Silent Extinction

Dec 08, 2014

In what perhaps may be the most shocking upset in the news this week, ecologist revealed last Friday, Dec. 5, that giraffes may be headed towards extinction – and it’s in part due to a lack of awareness of dangers facing the African species. While contemporary studies in Africa’s central savannahs have revealed the collected threats that human encroachment , habitat loss and black market poaching has posed to wildlife communities, researchers say that giraffes are amongst some of the hardest hit populations in the long list of black market species. And without significant change in the way giraffes are protected, they may disappear all together within a matter years.

Albert Einstein Archive Sparks Even More Reasons to Love the Man Behind the Theory—E=MC^2

Dec 07, 2014

There’s a point in nearly every individual’s life when they come to realize that their idol is nothing if not human beneath their perfect façade. And for some it’s a tragic state of affairs that reveals this shocking truth. But for others, it’s a sobering revelation that creates a tangible connection between them and their idol. If you’re a fan of genius Albert Einstein, and you’ve even got his haircut to match, this week you will be surprised to learn that you’ll have over 80,000 more reasons to idolize the beloved scientist, including perhaps a love letter or two that reveal a bit of a playboy side to the rebellious physicist. Released beginning this past Friday, Dec. 5, the Princeton University Press and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, whom inherited Albert Einstein’s vast written history in the form of some 80,000 documents he left behind, have digitized what is left of Einstein’s written words in a new online archive called “Digital Einstein”.

NATURE Says Mammals Developed 3D Neural Compass to Better Navigate Terrain

Dec 06, 2014

Ever wonder how you could lose your way on the freeway, and still find your destination without Google Maps or MapQuest as an aid? Or how a dog with an attention span of only mere minutes can recall the path least travelled, and find its way home, in spite of the baffling sounds and smells around it? Well as it so happens, researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel believe that new research reveals that mammals have developed an internal compass that guides our way. And it’s not just dogs and humans that have evolved the nifty trick deep within the brain.

Violent Californian Subculture Faces Bans as Advocates Stand Up for Coyotes

Dec 04, 2014

While California may be one of the most progressive states in terms of animal rights, there’s a subculture that exists within the Western state where marksmen find that wildlife is their main target. Organized coyote hunts, where legal, are sparking a clash between wildlife advocates and anti-coyote interest groups, and marksmen are making money off of the deaths of these key landscape species.

While Some Researchers Find Brains Who can Navigate, Others Just Can’t Find Theirs

Dec 04, 2014

News early this morning broke courtesy of a study in the journal Nature, where researchers finally discovered how brains intrinsically can navigate the body, by using what they call a “3-D neural compass”. The study conducted at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel investigated the Egyptian fruit bat and revealed a toroidal shaped grouping of neural cells within the brain that helped the bats differentiate their orientation and the place in a 3-dimensional field.

While Some Researchers Find Brains Who can Navigate, Others Just Can’t Find Theirs

Dec 04, 2014

News early this morning broke courtesy of a study in the journal Nature, where researchers finally discovered how brains intrinsically can navigate the body, by using what they call a “3-D neural compass”. The study conducted at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel investigated the Egyptian fruit bat and revealed a toroidal shaped grouping of neural cells within the brain that helped the bats differentiate their orientation and the place in a 3-dimensional field.

Earth’s Warm Streak Could Peak in a Decade, If Policymakers Don’t Change

Dec 02, 2014

Speed up the models and cut down on your carbon footprints, because a bit of change today could spell better weather and a better Earth only a decade away. While climatologists and researchers across all of science have in recent years discussed the long-term goals of climate change and the effects of carbon emissions, a new study published today, Dec. 2, in the journal Environmental Research Letters reveals that reductions in carbon emissions today will help shape the planet’s atmosphere in as little as 10 years, versus the 30 to 50 year models used by researchers and policymakers until now.

What Drives Monkeys to Drink—The Fruit-Filled Tale Of Why We Imbibe

Dec 02, 2014

As a child, alcoholism was something that surrounded evolutionary physiologist Robert Dudley from the University of California Berkeley. Watching first-hand as his father descended into the addictive disease, Dudley’s first fascinations as a scientist were with what predispositions led to humans’ strong attraction to the intoxicating libations.