Archive for the ‘Biology’ Category

  • Life during the “other” Big Bang!

    Did the arrival of 4,000,000,000,000,000,000 tons of space junk start the formation of organic molecules roughly 4 billion years ago? “Could be,” says a new study from Japan…


    Thursday, December 11th, 2008
  • Assembly-lines don’t work for ants!

    Specialization may work in factories, but it does not make ant colonies more efficient. As the conventional wisdom about social insects goes topsy-turvy, what’s an ecologist to think?


    Thursday, November 27th, 2008
  • Fish prove: The eyes have it!

    The color, vision and genetics of an African fish all vary depending on the clarity of its home waters. A new study suggests how species can form without geographic barriers.


    Thursday, October 2nd, 2008
  • Small is beautiful: Nanotech meets biology!

    Biology operates on the nanometer scale, and now ultra-small technology is producing monster benefits for genetic analysis, cell biologists, and the treatment of blinding glaucoma.


    Thursday, September 25th, 2008
  • At last: Parasites get some respect!

    Along the coast of Baja, California, a new study finds that parasites outweigh top predators. What does this mean for ecology, and what is the story with “castrating parasites”?


    Thursday, July 24th, 2008
  • Coral reefs: Massive threats to survival around the globe

    Coral reefs are the ocean’s biodiversity hotspots, but a new study finds that one-third of reef-building corals are under some threat of extinction.


    Thursday, July 10th, 2008
  • Song of the crocodile

    How does momma croc know when to dig up the young? How do the embryos know when to start hatching? The secret’s in the song…


    Thursday, June 26th, 2008
  • Learning to read mouse pee

    Mice can tell the sex, mating status and identity of another mouse — all from sniffing urine. A new study of how mice read pheromones also gives insight into the human sensory apparatus…


    Thursday, May 1st, 2008
  • Bring in the clones: Sand dollars make small change

    Minute sand dollar larvae, tasty morsels in a sea of famished fish, have a clever way to help ensure their genes are passed to the next generation.


    Thursday, March 20th, 2008
  • Caterpillar camouflage

    Presto-chango! Caterpillar larva looks like a bird dung — and then like a leaf. New study points a finger at hormonal balance…


    Thursday, February 21st, 2008


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Image courtesy of Pete Mouginis-Mark, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawaii at Manoa

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