ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE

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

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE 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

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

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

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

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.

Wintry Weather Brings Delays for Travelers Heading Home for Turkey Day

If you were expecting your relatives to arrive this morning on the Red-Eye, you may have been disappointed to hear that just like your relatives, you’ll likely be stuck at the airport most of this Turkey Day. As it happens, winter has set in this Thanksgiving, and while it’s a bit early for snow and storms of this magnitude, America has seen hundreds of delays today when airports are at their peaks.

East Coast storm threatens Thanksgiving travel

Cars make their way through the Washington bridge in New York November 26, 2014. A blast of rain and snow along the East Coast is threatening to snarl traffic and disrupt flights for millions of Americans at the start of the long Thanksgiving weekend, traditionally the busiest time of the year for U.

You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks, But You Can’t Clean Up Their Drinking Habits

Any pet lover knows that it comes as no surprise to discover that dogs aren’t quite as graceful as their feline friends, the cat. While a kitten will take a hundred little sips to lap up a saucer of milk, a puppy will likely splatter the milk all over the floor before drooling out half of the contents – and we love them for that. But while you may chalk up the messy behavior to a carefree disposition or a hasty nature, behavioral ethologists who study the exquisite techniques of getting a drink have recently discovered that cats and dogs have distinct strategies of their own. And each one benefits the species in its own unique way.

Grand Canyon Wolf—Female Offers New Hope of Grand Canyon Pack’s Return

Earlier this month when news broke that an endangered gray wolf from the northern Rocky Mountains may have made its way all the way to the national forest near Grand Canyon National Park, environmentalists and national park officials questioned the highly unlikely scenario of a lone wolf returning to the park where they were driven to extinction over six decades ago. But new DNA tests, conducted on feces remnants collected by park officials, confirmed on Friday Nov. 21 that the suspect captured in pictures throughout the park since Oct. 30 is indeed a lone wolf – and a female at that.

How Crops Will Change the Atmosphere of the Future—CO2 On the Rise

There’s a lot more to consider when looking at climate change in future models than meets the eye. Yes carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels plays a part, but so can the simple changes in the agricultural practices that feed a growing world. And a new study published this week in the journal Nature reveals that levels of carbon dioxide will likely be on the rise, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, as summer heat and the tail-end of the growing season will spark major crop plants to release CO2 in parts of the growing season.

How a Crop Found in Beer Helped Early Man Survive in Frigid Tibetan Plateau

In spite of the harsh climate, freezing many regions of Tibet’s upper plateaus in the mountains of Asia, researchers have uncovered a rich anthropological history of the past amidst frozen objects of the past. And what they reveal is that even in the far off past, the surmounting odds against survival in the region known as the “Roof of the World” created many interesting challenges for ancient man.

How Early Man Survived at the ‘Roof of the World’—And Found the Secret to Beer Too

For early man, surviving and conquering niche environments, like that of the Tibetan Plateau of Asia, was a difficult task that required the perfect combination of conditions. Tribes needed to learn how to work together, to traverse harsh terrain, to find/build shelter, and above all they had to learn how to feed themselves year-round. And while the surmounting odds of surviving the domain known as the “Roof of the World” were stacked against them, with extreme altitudes, relentless winds, frigid temperatures and low-oxygen conditions complicating the living conditions they had in their new home, researchers now say that early men were able to conquer this uninhabited ecosystem thanks to a cold-hardy crop used to make beer – barley.

Wandering Northwoods Moose Suddenly Found Dead on Sleepy Eye Farm

It’s been a strange story from the beginning, but now it’s taken an even more tragic turn for the worse. Nearly two weeks ago reporters in Minnesota revealed that a large 7-foot-tall moose, native to the habitat of Northwoods, travelled hundreds of miles to the farmlands of Sleepy Eye, Minnesota and found a temporary new home in Verna and Leonard Wendiner’s backyard.

Massive Crater in Siberia Sparks Conversations of UFOs and Bermuda Triangle

For those who have ventured to Siberia in their lifetime, you know that there is a mysterious air about the desolate arctic tundra plains. But earlier this summer when a giant sinkhole was discovered in northern Siberia’s Yamal Peninsula, researchers realized just how strange it may be.
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